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This study investigates the carbon offset potential in Espoo, Finland, by comparing a construction-impacted deforestation site with a larger conserved forest area. Addressing a knowledge gap in localized forest conservation as a CO2 offset method, our research quantifies the carbon stock and sequestration impacts under both baseline and alternative scenarios for the two study sites. The baseline scenario for offset site reflects standard forest management practices, while the alternative scenario involves complete forest conservation without active management. Our findings reveal that the conserved forest (79 ha), dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), increased its carbon stock by 26 Mg C ha-1 in soil and 65 Mg C ha-1 in biomass. This enhancement is sufficient to compensate for the smaller deforestation site's (19 ha), also containing a mix of Norway spruce and Scots pine, stock loss of 186 Mg C ha-1 in soil and 43 Mg C ha-1 in biomass. Furthermore, this study illuminates the complexities of CO2 compensation regulation and emphasizes the necessity for robust, transparent carbon accounting practices. The insights offer a valuable perspective on integrating nature-based solutions in urban planning to achieve broader ecological and climate goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing of forests is a powerful tool for monitoring the biodiversity of ecosystems, maintaining general planning, and accounting for resources. Various sensors bring together heterogeneous data, and advanced machine learning methods enable their automatic handling in wide territories. Key forest properties usually under consideration in environmental studies include dominant species, tree age, height, basal area and timber stock. Being proxies of stand productivity, they can be utilized for forest carbon stock estimation to analyze forests' status and proper climate change mitigation measures on a global scale. In this study, we aim to develop an effective machine learning-based pipeline for automatic carbon stock estimation using solely freely available and regularly updated satellite observations. We employed multispectral Sentinel-2 remote sensing data to predict forest structure characteristics and produce their detailed spatial maps. Using the Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) algorithm in classification and regression settings and management-level inventory data as reference measurements, we achieved quality of predictions of species equal to 0.75 according to the F1-score, and for stand age, height, and basal area, we achieved an accuracy of 0.75, 0.58 and 0.56, respectively, according to the R2. We focused on the growing stock volume as the main proxy to estimate forest carbon stocks on the example of the stem pool. We explored two approaches: a direct approach and a hierarchical approach. The direct approach leverages the remote sensing data to create the target maps, and the hierarchical approach calculates the target forest properties using predicted inventory characteristics and conversion equations. We estimated stem carbon stock based on the same approach: from Earth observation imagery directly and using biomass and conversion factors developed for the northern regions. Thus, our study proposes an end-to-end solution for carbon stock estimations based on the complexation of inventory data at the forest stand level, Earth observation imagery, machine learning predictions and conversion equations for the region. The presented approach enables more robust and accurate large-scale assessments using limited annotated datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Aim Location Taxon Methods Results Main Conclusions Many tree species may be threatened with declines in range and biomass, or even extinction, if they cannot disperse or adapt quickly enough to keep pace with climate change. One potential, and potentially risky, strategy to mitigate this threat is assisted migration (AM), the intentional movement of species to facilitate population range shifts to more climatically suitable locations under climate change. The ability for AM to minimise risk and maximise conservation and forestry outcomes depends on a multi‐faceted decision process for determining, what, where and how much to move. We provide an assessment on how the benefits and risks of AM could affect the decision‐making process.Mountainous coastal western United States.Trees.We used a dynamic vegetation model parameterised with 23 tree species.We found that most of the modelled species are likely to experience a substantial decline in biomass, with many potentially facing regional extinction by 2100 under the high‐emission SSP5‐85 climate‐change scenario. Though simulations show AM had little effect on the forestry goal of total biomass across all species, its effects on the conservation goal of promoting individual species' persistence were far more substantial. Among eight AM strategies (differing in the life cycle stage of movement and target destination selection criteria), the approach that conserved the highest biomass for individual species involved relocating target seedlings to areas that recently experienced fire. Although this strategy significantly reduced extinction risk for six at‐risk species compared with no action, it also slightly reduced biomass of four species, due to increasing competition. Species with relatively weak tolerance to drought, fire or high temperature were the most likely candidate groups for AM.Our simulations indicate that AM can aid conservation by reducing extinction risks for species vulnerable to climate change, but it has limited impact on forestry‐specific goals, affecting overall biomass minimally. This model framework could be applied to other forest ecosystems to evaluate the efficacy of AM globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Since 1990, there has been a global decline in forest areas. Between 2010 and 2020, the greatest annual net loss of forests was on the African continent. Despite South African indigenous forests and trees being protected under the National Forests Act of 1998 (Act No. 84 of 1998), the country has also shown an increased annual net loss of forests. Although the Vhembe District Municipality in South Africa has lost forest owing to humaninduced deforestation and other land use activities, sacred forests have not been affected. According to traditional beliefs, exploitation of such indigenous patches of sacred forests is taboo. This study aims to explore the role of taboos in the protection of the remaining patches of sacred forest. Methods: The study relies on data collected between December 2022 and December 2023. Semi-structured interviewswere conductedwith key informants (n = 61) and local communities in Tshidzivhe and Duthuni villages (n = 60). Observations were used as a further data collection tool. The interview questions were prepared to assess the role of taboos in the protection and management of sacred forests. Data collected through interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis, while field observations helped to corroborate the results from the interviews. Results and discussion: The study identified two main taboos - one that restricts entry into the sacred forests (i.e. preventing entry into the sacred forests, and harvesting, hunting and hiking in these areas), and another that prohibits noise or activities that disrespect sacred forests. The study found that believers and nonbelievers alike, for fear of retribution by the spirits, still obey these taboos and their relatedmyths. This has allowed these areas to develop dense stands of closed-canopy evergreen forest that support more diverse flora and fauna than found in surrounding areas. Although sacred forests are not meant for biodiversity conservation, they offer opportunities to be integrated into global conservation targets of "30x30" and "Half-Earth" by 2030. They also offer the opportunity of serving as carbon sinks which is key to climate change mitigation. Recommendations for protecting sacred forests and associated taboos are drawn up based on these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests provide important ecosystem services (ESs), including climate change mitigation, local climate regulation, habitat for biodiversity, wood and non‐wood products, energy, and recreation. Simultaneously, forests are increasingly affected by climate change and need to be adapted to future environmental conditions. Current legislation, including the European Union (EU) Biodiversity Strategy, EU Forest Strategy, and national laws, aims to protect forest landscapes, enhance ESs, adapt forests to climate change, and leverage forest products for climate change mitigation and the bioeconomy. However, reconciling all these competing demands poses a tremendous task for policymakers, forest managers, conservation agencies, and other stakeholders, especially given the uncertainty associated with future climate impacts. Here, we used process‐based ecosystem modeling and robust multi‐criteria optimization to develop forest management portfolios that provide multiple ESs across a wide range of climate scenarios. We included constraints to strictly protect 10% of Europe's land area and to provide stable harvest levels under every climate scenario. The optimization showed only limited options to improve ES provision within these constraints. Consequently, management portfolios suffered from low diversity, which contradicts the goal of multi‐functionality and exposes regions to significant risk due to a lack of risk diversification. Additionally, certain regions, especially those in the north, would need to prioritize timber provision to compensate for reduced harvests elsewhere. This conflicts with EU LULUCF targets for increased forest carbon sinks in all member states and prevents an equal distribution of strictly protected areas, introducing a bias as to which forest ecosystems are more protected than others. Thus, coordinated strategies at the European level are imperative to address these challenges effectively. We suggest that the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy, EU Forest Strategy, and targets for forest carbon sinks require complementary measures to alleviate the conflicting demands on forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agroforestry-integrated community forests foster greater plant diversity compared to conventional agriculture, potentially offering significant ecological and societal benefits. However, the specific contribution of diverse floor vegetation within these forests to carbon cycling remains understudied. This study addresses this knowledge gap by comprehensively analyzing the floristic composition and carbon storage potential of floor vegetation in tropical community forests. Using a stratified random sampling design with quadrats to ensure representative data collection across various locations in Ciamis Regency, West Java, Indonesia, we identified 296 plant species belonging to 89 families. Our analysis revealed that the understory vegetation exhibits moderate species diversity and stores carbon ranging from 0.107 to 0.238 Mg C ha-1, with an average sequestration potential of 0.730 Mg C ha-1. These findings suggest that community forests harbor diverse floor vegetation communities with significant carbon storage and sequestration potential, providing valuable insights for environmentally sustainable community forest management and contributing to broader efforts towards climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing global population causes more anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and raises the need for forest products, which in turn causes deforestation and elevated CO2 levels. A rise in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the major reason for global warming. Carbon dioxide concentrations must be reduced soon to achieve the mitigation of climate change. Forest management programs accommodate a way to manage atmospheric CO2 levels. For this purpose, we considered a nonlinear fractional model to analyze the impact of forest management policies on mitigating atmospheric CO2 concentration. In this investigation, fractional differential equations were solved by utilizing the Atangana Baleanu Caputo derivative operator. It captures memory effects and shows resilience and efficiency in collecting system dynamics with less processing power. This model consists of four compartments, the concentration of carbon dioxide C(t), human population N(t), forest biomass B(t), and forest management programs P(t) at any time t. The existence and uniqueness of the solution for the fractional model are shown. Physical properties of the solution, non-negativity, and boundedness are also proven. The equilibrium points of the model were computed and further analyzed for local and global asymptotic stability. For the numerical solution of the suggested model, the Atangana-Toufik numerical scheme was employed. The acquired results validate analytical results and show the significance of arbitrary order ffi. The effect of deforestation activities and forest management strategies were also analyzed on the dynamics of atmospheric carbon dioxide and forest biomass under the suggested technique. The illustrated results describe that the concentration of CO2 can be minimized if deforestation activities are controlled and proper forest management policies are developed and implemented. Furthermore, it is determined that switching to low-carbon energy sources, and developing and implementing more effective mitigation measures will result in a decrease in the mitigation of CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest restoration is critical for meeting global objectives related to climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods.Recently, new technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles (hereafter drones) have been promoted to support activities across the planning, implementation, monitoring and maintenance stages of forest restoration. Yet, there is little empirical data on how the development and application of drones are perceived by restoration managers and stakeholders and how drones intersect with existing forest social–ecological systems (SESs).Here, we investigate how drone tree planting initiatives in Australia can support ecosystem restoration. Through interviews and focus groups with key actors, we examine the opportunities and challenges that have been experienced or are foreseen with drone use.Opportunities included the ability of drones to access degraded sites that are difficult or unsafe to access on foot, for example, following bushfires, floods or landslides. They were also perceived to ease the labour shortage of bush regenerators in Australia. Drones were considered particularly useful when operating at scales of around 20–100 ha.Challenges included restrictive flying regulations that prohibit use of artificial intelligence to plot courses through complex terrain, their unproven ability to control or eradicate weeds and the uncertain supply, germination and survival rates of seeds—upon which drone‐based restoration relies. Drone use may also reduce the emotional, spiritual and cultural connections of people to the land, as compared to hand‐planting seeds or seedlings.We conclude by conceptualising how drone‐assisted restoration can be embedded within a forest SESs management framework. Ultimately, we argue that drones offer a 'boutique' restoration approach that supports, rather than replaces, traditional forest restoration techniques. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural forests are crucial for climate change mitigation and adaptation, but deforestation and degradation challenges highly reduce their value. This study evaluates the potential of natural forest carbon stock and the influence of management interventions on enhancing forest carbon storage capacity. Based on forest area cover, a study was conducted in nine purposely selected forest patches across various forest ecosystems. Data on diameter, height, and environmental variables from various forest management approaches were collected and analyzed with R Ver. 4.1. The findings revealed a substantial difference (p.029) in carbon stock between environmental variables and management interventions. The findings revealed a strong connection between environmental variables and the overall pool of carbon stock within forest patches (p.029). Carbon stocks were highest in the Moist‐montane forest ecosystem (778.25 ton/ha), moderate slope (1019.5 ton/ha), lower elevation (614.50 ton/ha), southwest‐facing (800.1 ton/ha) and area exclosures (993.2 ton/ha). Accordingly, natural forests, particularly unmanaged parts, are sensitive to anthropogenic stresses, decreasing their ability to efficiently store carbon. As a result, the study highlighted the importance of sustainable forest management, particularly area exclosures and participatory forest management, in increasing forest carbon storage potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change mitigation technologies have been a focus in reducing atmospheric carbon levels for the past few years. One such mitigation technology is pyrolysis, where biomass feedstocks are combusted at elevated temperatures for varying durations to produce three main products: biochar, bio-oil, and biogas. While bio-oil and biogas are typically used to produce energy via further combustion, biochar can be used in several different applications. Furthermore, using forest harvest residues as a feedstock for biochar production helps use excess biomass from the forestry industry that was previously assumed unmarketable. In our study, we combined forest carbon analysis modelling with cradle-to-gate life cycle emissions to determine the greenhouse gas emissions of biochar produced from forest harvest residues. We examined three collection scenarios, spanning two harvesting methods in one forest management unit in northern Ontario, Canada. From our analysis, we observed immediate reductions (− 0.85 tCO2eq·tbiochar−1 in year 1) in CO2-equivalent emissions (CO2eq) when producing biochar from forest harvest residues that would have undergone controlled burning, without considering the end use of the biochar. For the forest harvest residues that would remain in-forest to decay over time, producing biochar would increase overall emissions by about 6 tCO2eq·tbiochar−1. Throughout the 100-year timeframe examined–in ascending order of cumulative emissions–scenario ranking was: full tree harvesting with slash pile burn < full tree harvesting with slash pile decay < cut-to-length/tree-length harvesting. Highlights: Cradle-to-gate life cycle analysis for biochar production was evaluated. Forest harvest collection methods influence overall life cycle emissions for biochar. Harvest residues that typically undergo controlled burning are an ideal feedstock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest canopy structural complexity (CSC) plays a crucial role in shaping forest ecosystem productivity and stability, but the precise nature of their relationships remains controversial. Here, we mapped the global distribution of forest CSC and revealed the factors influencing its distribution using worldwide light detection and ranging data. We find that forest CSC predominantly demonstrates significant positive relationships with forest ecosystem productivity and stability globally, although substantial variations exist among forest ecoregions. The effects of forest CSC on productivity and stability are the balanced results of biodiversity and resource availability, providing valuable insights for comprehending forest ecosystem functions. Managed forests are found to have lower CSC but more potent enhancing effects of forest CSC on ecosystem productivity and stability than intact forests, highlighting the urgent need to integrate forest CSC into the development of forest management plans for effective climate change mitigation.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data acquisition for sustainable forest management has focused on obtaining high quality information to estimate biomass. Improving the quality of non-timber sustainability indicators, like deadwood volume, has been a minor interest. To explore how inventory approaches could be improved, we applied a Global Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis (GUSA) to evaluate which factors propagate more errors in deadwood modelling and how better data collection can minimize them. The impact of uncertainty on deadwood characteristics (diameter, collapse ratio, decay class, tree species, and position) was explored under stakeholders´ preferences, management actions, and climate change scenarios. GUSA showed that removing the prediction error in deadwood tree species and diameter would alter the most the total uncertainty in deadwood volume. We found that assessment of high deadwood volume was less uncertain for the scenarios where small deadwood items were left decaying on the forest floor (BAU) and for high-end climate change scenario (RCP8.5) which resulted in lower deadwood accumulation in forest stands and therefore also in lower likelihood of erroneous estimates. Reduced uncertainty in tree species and diameter class will elevate the certainty of deadwood volume to a similar level achieved in living biomass estimation. Our uncertainty and sensitivity analysis was successful in ranking factors propagating errors in estimate of deadwood and identified a strategy to minimize uncertainty in predicting deadwood characteristics. The estimation of uncertainty in deadwood levels under the scenarios developed in our study can help decision makers to evaluate risk of decreasing deadwood value for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon accumulation in forest ecosystems helps to mitigate climate changes, therefore the interest in finding strategies for adapted forest management is a major goal of our time. The artificial plantations of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst) are part of the Bulgarian project to restore the regulatory functions of forest ecosystems. Due to their low resistance, intensive processes of deposition and degradation take place in them, which emphasizes the need to understand the condition of soils and the amount of accumulated carbon in them. This paper reports results from a study on the thinning in even-aged Norway spruce plantations (Picea abies Karst) and its effect on some soil properties. The study includes two thinned plots and an untinned control: 1) Control – an unmanaged spruce plantation, without any activities in it through the last 20 years; 2) Thinned – managed with regular felling over the years, the last of which was carried out 10 years ago with 25% intensity; and 3) Ice storm – plantation damaged from an ice storm in 2007 (when it was 33 years old), felling followed by removal of all affected trees – over 95%, and afforestation with spruce saplings. The soil was examined by layers from 10 cm to 30 cm depth. The main soil characteristics connected with the carbon stocks in soil are analyzed - bulk density, skeleton, and carbon content. The results of the experiment show that the performed forestry activities were conducted with abidance of the requirements for habitat protection and the ecosystem’s functionality in the studied sites. No significant changes in coarse fraction content and bulk density of soils were found. There is no statistical difference between the plots in the studied depths, but there is a trend of decrease in the organic carbon content in the managed sites. The differences in the soil carbon stocks are significant for the first two soil layers between the control and the managed trough thinning plot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of digital technologies into forest management is crucial for the European Union's Green Deal, the Forestry Strategy 2030, and Italy's national forestry strategy, aiming to enhance governance and efficiency. However, sustainable forest management's administrative aspects are often overlooked, despite the potential for digital tools to significantly improve environmental performance. Through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for a case study in the Umbria region, the research quantifies CO2 emissions associated with over-threshold forestry administrative procedures under both current and future digitalisation scenarios. Data were collected from legislative documents, interviews with forestry professionals, and emissions calculated according to ISO standards. The findings reveal a considerable reduction in CO2 emissions through digitalisation, from 75.07 kgCO2 to 38.14 kgCO2, with the implementation of the LIFE FOLIAGE project's digital platform. This underscores digitalisation's role in climate change mitigation, highlighting the significant, albeit modest per procedure, of the cumulative national impact. The main findings support further digitalisation in forest management as a method of increasing resource efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, thus contributing to the Green Deal's and Italy's forest sustainability goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The Politics of Deforestation and REDD+ in Indonesia: Global Climate Change Mitigation" by David Aled Williams explores the implementation of the REDD+ program in Indonesia from a political ecology perspective. The book examines the historical dynamics of forest management in Indonesia and highlights the marginalization of local communities' rights. It discusses the challenges faced by the REDD+ program, including lack of support from regional governments and corruption concerns. The author also explores the perspectives of local communities and the power contestation between various parties involved in the program. The book raises important questions about the relationship between politics, economics, and the environment, and sheds light on the social and justice dimensions of environmental policy. [Extracted from the article]

Improving the precision of aboveground biomass (AGB) estimation in lowland tropical forests is crucial to enhancing our understanding of carbon dynamics and formulating climate change mitigation strategies. This study proposes an AGB estimation method for lowland tropical forests in Xishuangbanna, which include various vegetation types, such as Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis, oak, Hevea brasiliensis, and other broadleaf trees. In this study, 2016 forest management inventory data are integrated with remote sensing variables from Landsat 8 OLI (L8) and Sentinel 2A (S2) imagery to estimate forest AGB. The forest age and aspect were utilized as stratified variables to construct the random forest (RF) models, which may improve the AGB estimation accuracy. The key findings are as follows: (1) through variable screening, elevation was identified as the main factor correlated with the AGB, with texture measures derived from a pixel window size of 7 × 7 perform best for AGB sensitivity, followed by 5 × 5, with 3 × 3 being the least effective. (2) A comparative analysis of imagery groups for the AGB estimation revealed that combining L8 and S2 imagery achieved superior performance over S2 imagery alone, which, in turn, surpassed the accuracy of L8 imagery. (3) Stratified models, which integrated aspect and age variables, consistently outperformed the unstratified models, offering a more refined fit for lowland tropical forest AGB estimation. (4) Among the analyzed forest types, the AGB of P. kesiya var. langbianensis forests was estimated with the highest accuracy, followed by H. brasiliensis, oak, and other broadleaf forests within the RF models. These findings highlight the importance of selecting appropriate variables and sensor combinations in addition to the potential of stratified modeling approaches to improve the precision of forest biomass estimation. Overall, incorporating stratification theory and multi-source data can enhance the AGB estimation accuracy in lowland tropical forests, thus offering crucial insights for refining forest management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Above-ground biomass (AGB) is affected by numerous factors, including topography, climate, land use, or tree/forest attributes. Investigating the distribution and driving factors of AGB within the managed forests in Nepal is crucial for developing effective strategies for climate change mitigation, and sustainable forest management and conservation. A total of 110 field plots (circular 0.02 ha plots with a 9 m radius), and airborne laser scanning (ALS)-light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data were collected in 2021. The random forest (RF) model was employed to predict the AGB at a 30 m × 30 m resolution based on 32 LiDAR metrics derived from ALS returns. The study assessed the relationships between the AGB distribution and nine independent variables using statistical techniques like the random forest model and partial dependence plots. Results showed that the mean value of the estimated AGB was 120 tons/ha, ranging from 0 to 446.42 tons/ha. AGB showed higher values in the northeast and southeast regions, gradually decreasing towards the northwest. Land use land cover, mean annual temperature, and mean annual precipitation were identified as the primary factors influencing the variability in AGB distribution, accounting for 64% of the variability. Elevation, slope, and distance from rivers were positively correlated with AGB, while proximity to roads had a negative correlation. The increase in precipitation and temperature contributed to the initial rise in AGB, but beyond a certain lag, these variables led to a decline in AGB. This study showed the efficiency of the random forest model and partial dependence plots in examining the relationship between the AGB and its driving factors within managed forests. The study highlights the importance of understanding the AGB driving factors and utilizing LiDAR data for informed decisions regarding the region's sustainable forest management and climate change mitigation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As forest-based climate change mitigation has become a crucial element of international climate policy it is of increasing importance to understand the processes leading to the carbon offsetting capacity of the sector. In our study, we assessed the climate benefits of contrasting forest management strategies: decreasing harvest and enlarging the forest carbon stock, or increasing harvest to increase carbon uptake, wood product carbon pools, and substitution effects. We developed the Forest Industry Carbon Model (FICM) which is a new carbon accounting tool covering forest biomass, dead organic matter, soil, and harvested wood product pools, as well as avoided emissions through product and energy substitution. We modeled the carbon balance of the Hungarian forest industry under three different scenarios. In the business as usual (BAU) scenario, we assumed no changes in the current harvest and afforestation levels. In the extensification scenario, we assumed that the harvest and afforestation levels drop to half, while in the intensification scenario, we assumed an increase in afforestation, improved industrial wood assortments, and a gradual increase in logging, reaching the highest level as per sustainability criteria by 2050. Our results show that the intensification scenario is characterized by the largest net removals and the maximized product and energy substitution effects. By 2050, the net forest industry carbon balance reaches −8447 kt CO2 eq under the BAU scenario, while −7011 kt CO2 eq is reached under the extensification scenario and −22,135 kt CO2 eq is reached under the intensification scenario. Although substitution effects are not accounted for under the land-based (LULUCF) sector in the greenhouse gas inventory, the emission reductions in the industry and energy sectors have beneficial effects on the national carbon balance. Modeling results show that the 2030 LULUCF greenhouse gas removal target set by EU legislation for Hungary is reached under the intensification scenario. To achieve this outcome, widespread innovation is needed in the wood sector. The modeling results show that nonutilization of forests can only be a very short-term solution; however, its favorable effects will be reversed by 2050 resulting in additional emissions compared to the BAU scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prescribed fire has been increasingly promoted to reduce wildfire risk and restore fire‐adapted ecosystems. Yet, the complexities of forest ecosystem dynamics in response to disturbances, climate change, and drought stress, combined with myriad social and policy barriers, have inhibited widespread implementation. Using the forest succession model LANDIS‐II, we investigated the likely impacts of increasing prescribed fire frequency and extent on wildfire severity and forest carbon storage at local and landscape scales. Specifically, we ask how much prescribed fire is required to maintain carbon storage and reduce the severity and extent of wildfires under divergent climate change scenarios? We simulated four prescribed fire scenarios (no prescribed fire, business‐as‐usual, moderate increase, and large increase) in the Siskiyou Mountains of northwest California and southwest Oregon. At the local site scale, prescribed fires lowered the severity of projected wildfires and maintained approximately the same level of ecosystem carbon storage when reapplied at a ~15‐year return interval for 50‐year simulations. Increased frequency and extent of prescribed fire decreased the likelihood of aboveground carbon combustion during wildfire events. However, at the landscape scale, prescribed fire did not decrease the projected severity and extent of wildfire, even when large increases (up to 10× the current levels) of prescribed fire were simulated. Prescribed fire was most effective at reducing wildfire severity under a climate change scenario with increased temperature and precipitation and on sites with north‐facing aspects and slopes greater than 30°. Our findings suggest that placement matters more than frequency and extent to estimate the effects of prescribed fire, and that prescribed fire alone would not be sufficient to reduce the risk of wildfire and promote carbon sequestration at regional scales in the Siskiyou Mountains. To improve feasibility, we propose targeting areas of high concern or value to decrease the risk of high‐severity fire and contribute to meeting climate mitigation and adaptation goals. Our results support strategic and targeted landscape prioritization of fire treatments to reduce wildfire severity and increase the pace and scale of forest restoration in areas of social and ecological importance, highlighting the challenges of using prescribed fire to lower wildfire risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of Perhutani and local farmers in developing agroforestry in Bogor Forest Management Unit (FMU) is important for carbon sequestration-based climate mitigation efforts. Different compositions of the plants in seven agroforestry systems in four part of Bogor FMU. Farmers adjust the multipurpose crops planted with Perhutani main plants, which are more dominant. The potential mean annual carbon increment based on aboveground carbon stock of agroforestry is between 2.26 to 66.65 tonnes per hectare, while in 2 monocultures land system is between 13.65 to 18.29 tonnes per hectare. The carbon increment in agroforestry systems is better than monoculture because of plant diversity and different ages. Then, carbon revenue using carbon pricing set by the World Bank-FCPF Program in East Kalimantan is in the range of IDR 1,547,325 to IDR 49,292,405 per hectare, using the Social Cost scheme in the range IDR 12,997,535 to IDR 414,056,204 per hectare and using domestic carbon tax is range IDR 635.017 to IDR 20,229,441 perhectare. Regarding carbon revenues, the wider the agroforestry land managed by farmers, the higher the carbon income received. Using the benefit transfer method over a 20-year mitigation period, an estimated 2.19 times increase in carbon revenues is obtained at an inflation rate of 4%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the significant contributions of Spanish professionals within the FAO's forestry sector, spanning fifty years of collaboration marked by innovation in data collection, and initiatives like REDD+ for climate change mitigation. It highlights their efforts in promoting sustainability, supporting indigenous communities, and advancing global restoration projects, underscoring the crucial role of multidisciplinary approaches and international cooperation in forest management.

Canada is recognized as a global leader in sustainable forest management. Canadian forests and the forest sector remain vital pillars of the Canadian economy and home to many rural and remote communities. However, climate change is an existential threat to the sustainability of forests and forest-dependent communities. While both direct and indirect threats posed by climate change to Canada's forest sector are now well understood, our understanding of specific forest practices that have emerged from the body of science to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts is not well documented. Through a review of the scientific and grey literature, this study expands our knowledge and operational gaps associated with implementing climate change adaptation and mitigation practices in Canadian forests. The study found a dearth of literature specifically dedicated to reporting on the type of forest practices currently in use across Canada to address mitigation and adaptation. Most reports or studies were published in 2019 or later, with federal and provincial governments being the dominant actors in reporting and monitoring, research, and funding. Across the 15 terrestrial ecozones in Canada, forest practices linked to climate change were reported in 12 ecozones, with most practices reported in the Montane Cordillera located in western Canada. Common forest practices reported include fuel management, assisted migration, enhanced silvicultural activities, and carbon offset projects. We conclude that climate change adaptation/mitigation practices in Canada are in their early stages of implementation. Many practices remain in experimental stages (e.g., genetic trials) or are implemented at a relatively small scale in Canada (e.g., climate-based seed transfer and carbon reserves). The literature suggests that the most mainstream practices associated with climate change mitigation in Canada include tree planting for carbon sequestration and the designation of protected areas to enhance ecosystem resilience. We conclude that despite increasing reports linking climate change benefits with reported forest practices, the reporting in the scientific literature is scarce, poorly reported, and often not grounded in credible evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With its northern location, the exposure and vulnerability of Canada's forest ecosystems to climate change impacts are all too glaring. While there is now an extensive body of literature describing expected climate change impacts and potential responses, studies characterizing the implementation of adaptation and mitigation practices in forest management remain rare in the Canadian forest sector. Using a systematic literature review, we examined reports on forest management practices implemented in response to climate change, specifically focusing on governance and institutional arrangements that either support or limit climate change adaptation and mitigation responses. Our literature sample size of 24 documents suggests that the body of literature reporting on adaptation and mitigation practices in forest management is scarce. Governments remain the dominant actors providing funding and leading the implementation and reporting of climate change adaptation practices, primarily in response to national or international climate change commitments. Forest practices such as enhanced silviculture, assisted migration, and nature-based solutions were the most frequently reported. However, given the scarcity of literature, it is difficult to conclude the scope of climate change adaptation practice uptake in Canada. Barriers such as lack of information/data, inter-jurisdictional knowledge transfer, policy conflicts, forest tenure models, technical capacity gaps, and economic barriers to adaptation need to be overcome to strengthen climate change response in forest management. Better coordination of reporting at the provincial and national levels and improved information flows between private sector organizations and governments are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests are a vital source of food, fuel, and medicine and play a crucial role in climate change mitigation. Strategic and policy decisions on forest management and conservation require accurate and up-to-date information on available forest resources. Forest inventory data such as tree parameters, heights, and crown diameters must be collected and analysed to monitor forests effectively. Traditional manual techniques are slow and labour-intensive, requiring additional personnel, while existing non-contact methods are costly, computationally intensive, or less accurate. Kenya plans to increase its forest cover to 30% by 2032 and establish a national forest monitoring system. Building capacity in forest monitoring through innovative field data collection technologies is encouraged to match the pace of increase in forest cover. This study explored the applicability of low-cost, non-contact tree inventory based on stereoscopic photogrammetry in a recently reforested stand in Kieni Forest, Kenya. A custom-built stereo camera was used to capture images of 251 trees in the study area from which the tree heights and crown diameters were successfully extracted quickly and with high accuracy. The results imply that stereoscopic photogrammetry is an accurate and reliable method that can support the national forest monitoring system and REDD+ implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the Can Gio district in Vietnam has faced escalating challenges linked to climate change, including deforestation, urbanization, and rising carbon emissions. This study employs remote sensing techniques to estimate critical forest metrics, particularly aboveground biomass (AGB) and carbon sequestration potential in the region. Through meticulous data collection and analysis, this research establishes strong correlations between vegetation indices derived from remote sensing data and AGB, as well as CO2 absorption. Our results reveal that the Can Gio mangrove forest boasts an impressive AGB ranging from 200 to 500 tons/ha and demonstrates significant variations in carbon sequestration potential across different sub-zones. These findings not only contribute to efficient AGB estimation methods but also facilitate sustainable forest management and climate change mitigation strategies, vital for the Can Gio district and regions globally grappling with similar challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management of forest plantations is a natural based solution to the global‐scale mitigation of climate change; however, the role of carbon sequestration remains poorly understood, and this is hampered by a lack of detailed distribution on the global forest plantations. For the first time, we generated a global spatial distribution for forest plantations (GSDFP) during 2015 at a spatial resolution of 250 m using hierarchical extraction based on a machine learning algorithm taking time series of MODIS and ALOS PALSAR imagery as the source data, and finally estimates the biomass carbon stored in forest plantations. The resultant map was validated using reference samples visually interpreted, as well as reference samples collected from previous studies, and inter‐compared with statistical forest plantation area and regional forest plantation maps, and the GSDFP was found to accurately represent the spatial distribution of forest plantations around the globe. Globally, forest plantations account for 7.35% (360.22 × 104 km2) of the global forest area and are estimated to contribute 4.60% (12.85 Pg C) of global forest biomass carbon. The forest plantation map and biomass carbon stock estimates will assist forest management and provide a benchmark for the estimation of the forest plantation carbon sink. Plain Language Summary: In recent decades, global reforestation and afforestation practices have aroused wide concern in the effectiveness of climate change mitigation. However, the lack of spatial explicit data on forest plantations is the vital limitation with respect to the corresponding biomass carbon stock estimates. In this study, we generated the global spatial distribution of forest plantations at a spatial resolution of 250 m, and further estimated the biomass carbon stock in forest plantations. We found that forest plantations contributed less biomass carbon stock to forests than their corresponding area. Our results can provide crucial scientific information for decisions on forest management and climate change mitigation. Key Points: A global distribution of forest plantations was created using machine learning, and the biomass carbon stock in forest plantations was estimatedThe proportion of plantation area in the forest (360.22 × 104 km2, 7.35%) is higher than that of biomass carbon stocks (12.85 Pg C, 4.60%)The forest plantations map and biomass carbon stock estimates will be beneficial for natural based solutions for climate mitigation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aim: Despite mounting empirical evidence regarding the positive effects of forest structural diversity (STRDIV) on forest functioning, the underlying biotic mechanisms and controlling abiotic factors remain poorly understood. This study provides the first assessment of the interactive effects of STRDIV and diversity in species and functional traits on aboveground biomass (AGB) in natural forests in West and East Africa. Location: West and East Africa. Time period: 2014–2020. Major taxa studied: Woody plants. Methods: Using data from 276 plots and 7993 trees of 207 species distributed across various types of natural forests and major climatic zones of Africa, linear mixed‐effects and structural equation models, we have evaluated how alternative causal relationships between STRDIV and taxonomic and functional diversity attributes influence AGB, while accounting for the effects of environmental covariates. We also assessed the consistency of these relationships across floristically and environmentally homogenous forest types. Results: We found that the positive effects of STRDIV on AGB were underpinned by both the community‐weighted mean (CWM) of trait values (selection effects) and species richness (niche complementarity), but the relative importance of these effects varied depending on forest types. Across the forest types, STRDIV primarily mediated the effects of CWM of traits and species richness on AGB. We also found that STRDIV–AGB relationships were constrained by resource (water and nutrient) availability. Main conclusions: Our findings provide novel insights into the role of functional traits as key determinants of the effects of STRDIV on AGB in tropical forests. We suggest that forest management and climate change mitigation strategies aimed at conserving biodiversity, and fostering biomass storage through increased STRDIV should focus on maintaining high levels of functionally dominant species while also increasing tree species diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change mitigation and carbon neutrality are current hot topics. Forests, urban green spaces, and wetland ecosystems are recognized as important carbon sinks. The Yangtze River Delta region in Eastern China, which plays a pivotal role in China's economic and social development, is rich in such carbon-sink resources. There is, however, a lack of regional carbon data. The investigation of carbon storage and carbon densities of forest, urban green space, and wetland ecosystems is, therefore, of great importance. In this study, the forest resource management map (including wetland) and green space system planning map of Changzhou city, combined with a field investigation and laboratory experimental analysis, were used to estimate the carbon storages and carbon densities of the forest, urban green space, and wetland ecosystems in Changzhou city. The average carbon density and carbon storage in Changzhou were 83.34 ± 4.91 Mg C ha−1 and 11.30 ± 0.67 Tg C, respectively, of which soil accounted for 74%, plants accounted for 25%, and litter accounted for less than 1%. The forest ecosystem contributed the most to the carbon pool (72%), with the green space ecosystem and the wetland ecosystem each accounting for 14% of the carbon pools. Clearly, the forest, green space, and wetland ecosystems in Changzhou city have a large carbon storage capacity. This study is of significance as it provides data on the carbon sink functions of forest, green space, and wetland ecosystems at the provincial and national regional scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustaining forest carbon sinks is a priority in climate change mitigation and forest management strategies. However, several issues confront the role of Philippine forests in climate change mitigation. These include the loss of old-growth cover, unsustainable forest landuse practices, and lack of site-specific modelling. These are the realities in the Quirino Forest Landscape Project (QFLP), a semi-contiguous collection of secondary forests in four municipalities of Quirino Province. This study was undertaken to develop a forecast model for carbon in aboveground of underutilised trees in QFLP. Data were collected through field inventory, the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority Land Cover Databases, and secondary sources. Multiple linear regression, principal components analysis, and biodiversity indices were used to analyse the data collected from different sampling areas to develop a forecast model. Findings suggest that the QFLP forest was secondary, as evidenced by the fact that > 60% of the trees were underutilised. With the ongoing decline in forest cover due to resource use and lack of forestry policy enforcement, it is worth noting that the carbon sequestration potential of underutilised species is not dependent on ecological dominance; that is, species that are more vulnerable to local extinction have higher potential to gain carbon. Given all the variables and their high forecasting power, the study demonstrated that the developed model was precise enough to provide future carbon capture values for QFLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the intensification of the effects of climate change, the urgent need to address their drivers, especially greenhouse gas emissions, has become essential. In this context, forests offer a robust solution, with their potential to store and mitigate carbon emissions. However, striking a balance is critical given the significant economic contribution of the forestry and wood-based industries, which account for about 5% of Romania's GDP and employ 6% (around 300 thousand) of its active workforce. This study, conducted in the Piatra Craiului National Park located in Romania's Southern Carpathians, we utilize the EFISCEN application to generate three distinct 50-year forest evolution scenarios based on harvest intensity, namely Business As Usual (BAU), Maximum Intensity (MAX), and No Harvest (MIN), on two historical different managed forests, i.e., conservation and production. The study aims to guide forest owners in decision making with scenario modeling tools, with the objectives of assessing the forest carbon sequestration potential and evaluating the economic feasibility. In the most probable scenario, the BAU scenario, the growing stock increases from 2.6 million m3 to 3.8 million m3 over 50 years, with a more than 40% increase. Comparing the carbon stock change for all tree harvest scenario types indicates that the MIN scenario has the highest carbon sink capacity in the next 50 years; the BAU scenario is a well-balanced option between carbon sink and wood provision and has an optimal EUR 3.7 million in annual revenue. The MAX scenario can boost the growth and increase the annual revenue from wood by 35% but is effective only for a short time and thus has the smallest calculated revenue in time. Achieving a win–win relationship between carbon sequestration and wood supply is imperative, as well as good planning and scenarios to contribute to climate mitigation and also as provisions for local communities and to sustain the local economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forests are invaluable for maintaining biodiversity, watersheds, rainfall levels, bioclimatic stability, carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation, and the sustainability of large-scale climate regimes. In other words, forests provide a wide range of ecosystem services and livelihoods for the people and play a critical role in influencing global atmospheric cycles. Providing sustainable, reliable, and accurate information on forest cover change is essential for an holistic forest management, efficient use of resources, neutralizing the effects of global warming and better monitoring of deforestation activities. Within the scope of this study, it is aimed to perform semantic segmentation of 5 different tree species (larch, red pine, yellow pine, oak, spruce) from Sentinel-2 satellite images. For this purpose, the regions where these tree species are densely populated in Turkey (Marmara, Aegean, Eastern Black Sea) were selected as pilot regions. A unique data set was created using the data of the selected pilot regions. As a result of the study, it was possible to determine the forest types temporally for the selected classes with more than 90% Intersection over Union score for all classes. The developed deep learning model with the created forest data set can be implemented to the other forests areas with same species in other parts of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Integrating carbon models for forest systems into a LCA of a building for detailed carbon dynamics when using wood in buildings. • Including temporal forest carbon dynamics shift the weight of environmental impacts between current and future emissions. • The results are highly sensitive to the modeling assumptions, in particularly the system boundaries, level of perspective, allocation principles. • Building design incentives remain similar when applying the method from the European standard or this study's approach. • Forest dynamics in LCA alter the environmental impacts of using wood in buildings and should be addressed in future recommendations for building LCAs. The urgent issue of climate change has sparked increasing interest in using wood to reduce buildings' greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe). While attributional life cycle assessment (LCA) methods are commonly employed to estimate GHGe from buildings, they lack a temporal distribution of carbon fluxes from biogenic materials, overlooking forest management impacts on emissions and sequestration. Consequently, we investigated the integration of forest and building systems, examining emissions associated with three different forest management scenarios at stand and landscape levels. Our findings suggest a 6 % to 81 % lower GHGe for the building using this study's approach compared to the static methodology recommended by the European Standard EN16485 in a 50 year perspective. However, the accumulated impact over the building's lifetime remains similar. Hence, both methods incentivize building designers' to use wood to lower GHGe, although the dynamic integration postpones benefits from the forests' carbon sequestration to later stages of the building's lifetime. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change presents formidable challenges to forest biodiversity and carbon storage. Bamboo forests will be affected particularly in Southwest China's mountainous regions. Bamboo serves as not only a key food resource and habitat for giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca but also a potential carbon sink due to its rapid energy-to-matter conversion capability. We employ the MaxEnt model to project the distribution shifts of 20 giant panda foraged bamboo species in Sichuan Province under future climate scenarios, utilizing climate data of 30m resolution. Based on the changes in the diversity and distribution area of bamboo communities caused by climate change, the changing of giant pandas' food resources and the carbon storage of bamboo forests were calculated. The results indicated that the area of bamboo communities is projected to expand by 17.94%–60.88% more than now by the end of the 21st century. We analyzed the energy balance between the dietary needs of giant pandas and the energy provided by bamboo. We predicted that bamboo communities from 2000 to 2150 could support the continuous growth of the giant panda population (6533 wild individuals by 2140–2150 in an ideal state in Sichuan province). However, the species diversity and carbon storage of bamboo forests face out-of-sync fluctuations, both temporally and spatially. This is a critical issue for subalpine forest ecosystem management under climate change. Therefore, we propose a dynamic conservation management framework for giant panda habitats across spatial and temporal scales. This framework aims to facilitate the adaptation of subalpine forest ecosystems to climate change. This innovative approach, which integrates climate change into the conservation strategy for endangered species, contributes a conservation perspective to global climate action, highlighting the interconnectedness of biodiversity preservation and climate mitigation. • By 2100, Giant panda habitat could expand 17.94%-60.88%, supporting up to 6533 pandas, with fluctuating bamboo diversity and carbon storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oleaginous forests provide diverse ecosystem services, including timber, seed yield (a vital feedstock for biodiesel production), and substantial carbon savings. These carbon savings encompass carbon sequestration related to timber growth and carbon savings resulting from substituting fossil fuel with biodiesel. However, oleaginous forests are vulnerable to seed wasp attacks (disservice), which significantly threaten both seed yield and carbon savings. Using an integrated ecological-economic model that includes Faustmann's Land Expectation Value model and a pest damage control model, we aim to understand the intricate relationship among multiple ecosystem services and disservices of oleaginous forests. The results reveal four distinct phases contingent on varying pesticide application rates: the pesticide under-use phase, substitution phase, complementary phase, and over-use phase. Notably, a potential avenue to minimize pest damage is identified during the complementary phase by reducing the optimal rotation age at the expense of decreased carbon sequestration and bioenergy provision, posing a challenge to climate change mitigation. These findings have implications for formulating policies to manage conflicting ecosystem services of energy forests, offering valuable insights into the intersection of sustainable forest management and climate policy. [Display omitted] • Oleaginous forests provide services such as bioenergy and carbon sequestration. • The vulnerability of oleaginous forests to seed wasp attacks affects their services. • We employ Faustmann's Land Expectation Value model and a pest damage model. • Minimizing pesticide application may compromise carbon sequestration. • Climate policy requires coordinated forest management of ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Alpine study sites with a long close-to-nature forestry (CNF) history were studied. • Alternative climate change and CNF management scenarios were simulated. • CNF performs well in ensuring multiple forest ecosystem services and biodiversity. • Climate change requires adaptation of CNF by fostering climate-adapted tree species. • High multifunctionality, including biodiversity, needs diversified management. Close-to-nature forestry (CNF) has a long tradition in European Alpine forest management, playing a crucial role in ensuring the continuous provision of biodiversity and forest ecosystem services, including protection against natural hazards. However, climate change is causing huge uncertainties about the future applicability of CNF in the Alpine region. The question arises as to whether current CNF practices are still suitable for adapting forests to climate change impacts while also meeting the increasing societal demands regarding Alpine forests, including their potential contribution to climate change mitigation. To answer this question, we simulated forest development using the ForClim forest model at two Alpine study sites, together representing a large biogeographic gradient from high-elevation inner Alpine forests (Switzerland) to lower-elevation south-eastern Alpine forests (Slovenia). The simulations considered three climate scenarios (historical climate, SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5) and six alternative management strategies, including both current CNF management practices and climate-adapted versions. Using an indicator based multi-criteria decision analysis framework, we assessed the joint impacts of climate and management on biodiversity and key ecosystem services of the investigated regions, including carbon sequestration (CS) inside and outside the forest ecosystem boundary. The joint effects of climate change and CNF varied, both among and within the study sites along the biogeographical gradient. While CS was more resistant to climate change under current CNF at the south-eastern Alpine site, it was more sensitive at the inner Alpine site, where CS potentials decreased at lower elevations. This adverse effect could be partly mitigated by fostering the use of climate-adapted tree species. However, current CNF and adaptations of it did not meet multiple management objectives equally well: while protection from gravitation hazards and timber production also benefited from this silvicultural practice, biodiversity benefited from CNF variants with low-intensity or no management. In conclusion, CNF has a high potential to continue fulfilling its crucial role in European Alpine forests. A differentiated approach will be needed in the future, however, to identify forest stands where adaptive measures are required, especially at sites particularly vulnerable to climate change. In combination with less intensively managed or unmanaged areas, CNF provides a management portfolio that will help European Alpine forests to meet the demands of future society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Integrated multi-objective optimization with wood price uncertainty. • Identified trade-offs and synergies, considering wood price uncertainty. • Optimal management allocations shift with spatial and harvest size constraints. • Spatial restrictions and wood price uncertainty impact NPV and carbon sequestration. • Results inform strategic decisions in forest management. Forest ecosystems deliver multiple services crucial for human wellbeing and welfare, with complex relationships among forest ecosystem services (FESs). Implementing sustainable forest management (SFM) policy requires insights into trade-offs, conflicts and synergies among key FESs, necessitating decision-support tools for multiple objectives. However, uncertainty in key parameters adds complexity. We formulated a tri-objective optimization problem concentrating on three vital ecosystem services in Nordic boreal forests: timber supply, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity conservation. Furthermore, future timber price uncertainty was integrated into the optimization model. Utilizing the TreeSim individual-tree growth and yield simulator, we simulated forest growth and yields, carbon stocks, and biodiversity values. Pareto-optimal solutions were found for four distinct management strategies using the epsilon-constrain method to solve the optimization problem. These management strategies differed in spatial restrictions on harvest location and timing, including considerations like harvest adjacency, green-up and maximum harvest opening area (MOA). The analysis revealed trade-offs among all three objectives, with variations influenced by management intensity. Furthermore, within the Pareto solutions for each strategy, a compromise solution was identified based on the knee-point method. The study demonstrated nuanced impacts of green-up constraints related to harvest practices, showing minor effects on harvesting, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation when MOA was restricted to 35 hectares or less. However, more substantial impacts were observed with a MOA limited to 60 hectares or in a strategy without spatial restrictions. Our results underscore the importance of considering multiple objectives in forest management and policy under uncertain wood prices, preventing undesired effects from a singular or deterministic approach. This work provides insights into trade-offs and synergies, contributing to strategic planning and policy design. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boreal forests are often managed to maximize wood production, but other goals, among which climate change mitigation, are increasingly important. Hence, it is necessary to examine synergies and trade-offs between forest production and its potential for carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation in forest stands. To this aim, we develop a novel mass-balanced process-based compartmental model that allows following the carbon path from its photosynthetic fixation until its return to the atmosphere by autotrophic or heterotrophic respiration, or by being burnt as wood product. Following carbon in the system allows to account for how long forest ecosystems and wood products retain carbon away from the atmosphere (i.e., the carbon transit time). As example, we apply the model to four management scenarios, i.e., mixed-aged pine, even-aged pine, even-aged spruce, and even-aged mixed forest, and contrast metrics of performance relative to wood production, carbon sequestration, and climate change mitigation potential. While at the end of an 80 yr rotation the even-aged forests held up to 31% more carbon than the mixed-aged forest, the mixed-aged forest was superior during almost the entire rotation when factoring in the carbon retention time away from the atmosphere, i.e., in terms of climate change mitigation potential. Importantly, scenarios that maximize production or amount of carbon stored in the ecosystems are not necessarily the most beneficial for carbon retention away from the atmosphere. These results underline the importance of considering carbon transit time when evaluating forest management options for potential climate change mitigation. [Display omitted] • We evaluate wood production and climate change mitigation potential of boreal forests. • We combine an ecophysiological growth model with forest inventory tree allometries. • Higher carbon sequestration does not ensure higher climate change mitigation potential. • Potential climate change mitigation depends on carbon time away from the atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the need for climate change mitigation and altered forest management practices, little is known about the impacts of silvicultural practices such as partial-cuts and clear-cuts on forest ecosystem carbon (C) dynamics. Specifically, the effect of these two overstory treatments on C pools other than the aboveground biomass of trees remains poorly understood. Here, C stocks were estimated for a northern temperate mixed forest located in eastern Québec, Canada, five years after clear-cutting and partial-cutting, either with or without a brushing treatment to control the competing vegetation. The biomass of the aboveground vegetation (trees, saplings, understory), litter and woody debris (coarse, small, fine), as well as the roots (diameter ≤ 1.5 cm) was evaluated. Additionally, soil C pools up to a depth of 35 cm of the mineral soil were assessed. Total ecosystem C stocks were influenced by the overstory treatments reflecting harvest intensities. Although the belowground C pools were major contributors to total ecosystem C stocks, silvicultural treatments only influenced forest floor and aboveground C stocks. However, assessments like the one presented here capture contemporary C stocks, which highlights the need for monitoring to build suitable forest ecosystem C models and to understand long-term C dynamics. • Northern temperate mixed forests store large quantities of carbon. • Belowground carbon pools are major contributors to total ecosystem carbon stocks. • Total ecosystem carbon stocks are influenced by silvicultural overstory treatments reflecting harvest intensities. • Silvicultural treatments only influenced forest floor and aboveground carbon stocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The nexus between forest-based climate mitigation and health is poorly researched. • This scoping review identified exposure pathways and health co-benefits from forests. • There is potential for synergies between forest management and health benefits. • Interdisciplinary efforts are required for advancement of research and understanding. Climate change is a pressing global challenge with profound implications for human health. Forest-based climate change mitigation strategies, such as afforestation, reforestation, and sustainable forest management, offer promising solutions to mitigate climate change and simultaneously yield substantial co-benefits for human health. The objective of this scoping review was to examine research trends related to the interdisciplinary nexus between forests as carbon sinks and human health co-benefits. We developed a conceptual framework model, supporting the inclusion of exposure pathways, such as recreational opportunities or aesthetic experiences, in the co-benefit context. We used a scoping review methodology to identify the proportion of European research on forest-based mitigation strategies that acknowledge the interconnection between mitigation strategies and human impacts. We also aimed to assess whether synergies and trade-offs between forest-based carbon sink capacity and human co-benefits has been analysed and quantified. From the initial 4,062 records retrieved, 349 reports analysed European forest management principles and factors related to climate change mitigation capacity. Of those, 97 studies acknowledged human co-benefits and 13 studies quantified the impacts on exposure pathways or health co-benefits and were included for full review. Our analysis demonstrates that there is potential for synergies related to optimising carbon sink capacity together with human co-benefits, but there is currently a lack of holistic research approaches assessing these interrelationships. We suggest enhanced interdisciplinary efforts, using for example multideterminant modelling approaches, to advance evidence and understanding of the forest and health nexus in the context of climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Substitution factors for forest products for the Canadian context were developed. • Substitution factors ranging from 0.51 to 0.91 tC/tC were found. • They will lead to more accurate assessments of the forest GHG mitigation potential. • These factors will help governments to manage forest and fight climate change. Evaluating the climate change mitigation potential of the forest sector requires a holistic approach based on forest carbon (C) sequestration, C storage in harvested wood products (HWP) and substitution on markets. High uncertainty is associated with substitution factors, that express avoided fossil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the use of forest-based products in replacement of GHG-intensive materials and fossil fuels. Few studies have focused on the development of substitution factors in Canada, resulting in the use of unrepresentative generic data. Here, we provide a framework to reduce uncertainties related to substitution factors for primary wood products in a Canadian context. A life cycle assessment framework is used to quantify fossil GHG emissions for a baseline and a wood-intensive scenario. For solid product substitution, we focused on the construction sector and analyzed a range of innovative wood buildings with steel and reinforced concrete as alternative materials. We found non-weighted averages of 0.80 tC/tC for sawnwood and 0.81 tC/tC for panels. For energy substitution, we analyzed cases with different specifications on biomass product, facility type and alternative fossil fuel source in non-residential heat production and biofuel transportation sectors. We found a non-weighted average of 0.80 tC/tC for non-residential heat production and 0.51 tC/tC for biofuel transportation, that can be interpreted as 0.91 tC/tC for heavy fuel oil, 0.69 tC/tC for light fuel oil and 0.68 tC/tC for natural gas substitution. These results provide a benchmark for substitution factors in Canada, to help guide forest management strategies for climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporary carbon storage and substitution benefits of harvested wood products (HWPs) aid in mitigating global warming. However, the extent of this effect remains unclear. Current studies typically rely on a simple summation of the annual carbon sink. This method overlooks the fact that, due to radiative forcing delay, each ton of carbon sequestered has an impact on global warming, which dynamically changes year by year. Such an oversight could lead to an underestimation of HWPs' contribution to global warming mitigation. This study focused on a forestry resource-based city in Northeast China and utilized the Carbon Budget Model for the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3) and dynamic life cycle assessment (DLCA) to quantify the dynamic global warming impact (DGWI) of forestry biogenic carbon. The results indicate that: 1) From 2020 to 2120, the maximum DGWI could reach −42.70 Mt CO 2 e. Enhancing the collection and utilization of harvesting residues and promoting products with longer lifespans and higher substitution potential can further increase these benefits. 2) The DLCA method, integrating substitution effects, offers a more precise evaluation of forestry's climate mitigation benefits. Across all scenarios and periods in this study, HWPs' contribution to mitigating global warming, as calculated by the DLCA method, exceeds that estimated by the simple carbon sink summation method by 7.70 %–560.72 %. These findings help to delve deeper into the role of forests in emission reduction and carbon sequestration, providing important references for achieving sustainable forestry management. • Developing and strategically using HWPs positively impacts global warming mitigation. • Method of simply summing up carbon sinks undervalues HWPs' cumulative climate impact. • DLCA method helps assess dynamic global warming impact of forestry biogenic carbon. • Forest management should balance wood production and climate mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Most of the NbS of Tropical drylands of India are not follow the IUCN standard criteria. • The Identified NbS are baised towards environmental services than addressing social needs of the people. • Improved NbS interventions requires intensive enagement of stakeholders for addressing social causes. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) is a flexible, adaptable, and multi-functional strategies employed to address climate change. However, all the claimed NbS are actually do not adhere the criteria of being NbS. Therefore, present study analysed 87 articles to appraise adherence of potential NbS as per the IUCN Global Standard, along with evaluation of flow of associated ecosystem services (ES). The review identified 39 interventions, out of which only twelve interventions adhered the criteria of NbS. Among the classified NbS, two interventions, namely, sustainable forest management (SFM) (80.83%) and haveli rejuvenation (75.61%) strongly adhered to the IUCN Standard. Lack of adherence in the non-classified NbS interventions was mainly attributed to absence of information on inclusive governance, monitoring and associated trade-offs. The identified 39 interventions were also observed to be enhancing a total of 37 ES, evaluated through 37 distinct indicators i.e. different and enhanced flow of ES were observed by the different NbS. However, the majority of classified NbS were biased towards flow of environmental services than social services. Present study results that all claimed NbS cannot fulfilled the intended objectives of NbS and thus cannot be classified under the NbS as per global standard. Moreover, assessing the flow of associated ES may be an additional support to broaden the scope of NbS implementation. Therefore, present study also highlights to integrate the flow of ES along with the adherence criteria of NbS. Moreover, the review also facilitate to understand constraints associated with the implementation of potential NbS interventions and thus, suggests considering wider aspects in the future researches for assessing the implementation of NbS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Stand spatial structure plays an important role in the fragile natural secondary forest. • Species diversity have a negative impact in changing restored woodlands, thereby reducing productivity. • Stand spatial structure has a stronger impact on forest carbon sink than species diversity. • Stand spatial structure is a prioritized indicator in the regulation of fragile forest ecosystems. Increasing attention for adjusting forest structural and species diversity has been paid to enhance carbon storage. However, the relative importance of stand spatial structural diversity and species diversity to restored stand carbon stocks remains unclear. To address this issue, we conducted a sample plot setup in the Loess Plateau with the aim of exploring the effects of stand spatial structural diversity and species diversity on forest carbon stocks. Therefore, we determined index parameters for species diversity (Simpson, Shannon-Wiener, and Pielou) and spatial structural diversity (Angular scale, Mingling, Aggregation, and Competition) within the oak forest ecosystem. We examined carbon storage in all vegetation organs and different soil layers. Additionally, we employed a structural equation model to develop a model that illustrates the effects of stand spatial structure and species diversity on ecosystem carbon storage. The results reveal that stand spatial structure and species diversity influence the ecosystem carbon storage through biomass (trees and litter) and soil carbon (0–100 cm). Stand spatial structure exhibits positive direct effects (path coefficients: 0.764 and 0.890), while species diversity shows negative direct effects (−0.320 and −0.206) on biomass and soil carbon, respectively. Finally, the total effect of spatial structure diversity on forest carbon storage surpasses that of species diversity. Therefore, stand spatial structure should be adjusted preferentially during forest management in fragile ecological environment. Our results provide important insights into the climate change mitigation potential associated with the structure-based management of forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Four design principles would inform a forest carbon market-based mechanism in India. • Robust governance and accounting emerge as key technical considerations. • Local community involvement and flexible spatio-temporal criteria would encourage participation. • Land tenure, implementation challenges and design flaws may inhibit effectiveness. Forest carbon markets (FCMs) have emerged as a significant means to direct resources toward urgent climate action that can mobilize a large set of actors and catalyze funding toward reducing deforestation and promoting sustainable forest management. Here, we conduct a critical qualitative review of global academic and investigative literature to identify ten major sets of design principles that provide a platform for the functioning of carbon markets worldwide. From these, we pinpoint four design principles which may be relevant to future market-based mechanisms in India We propose that clarity over market-quality standards, comprehensive regulatory framework, minimization of transaction costs and upfront financing options, and flexibility in time-bound and spatial commitments would be fundamental to ensure that market-based mechanisms in India accrue sustainable and long-term benefits to climate action and human well-being. A successful market-based mechanism in India's forestry sector would have to overcome challenges around land property rights, local implementation capacities and knowledge gaps, and incentive structures to ensure that it likely caters to the needs of all stakeholders while delivering socio-ecological benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]