1. Knowledge gaps about mixed forests : What do European forest managers want to know and what answers can science provide?
- Author
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Maciej Pach, Zoran Govedar, Dejan Stojanović, Sanja Perić, Anna Barbati, Magnus Löf, Lluís Coll, Lauri Valsta, Andrés Bravo-Oviedo, Ervin Rasztovits, Marek Metslaid, Tzvetan Zlatanov, Kris Verheyen, Peter Spathelf, Catherine Collet, Mário Pereira, Barbara Ferrari, Hubert Sterba, Susana Barreiro, Jiri Kulhavy, Dagnija Lazdina, Ian Short, Bill Mason, Frits Mohren, Aitor Ameztegui, Quentin Ponette, Ioan Vasile Abrudan, Kamil Bielak, University of Lleida (UL), Forest Technology Centre of Catalonia, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Laboratoire d'Etudes des Ressources Forêt-Bois (LERFoB), AgroParisTech-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Forest Research, Northern Research Station, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Ghent University, University of Transilvania, Tuscia University, University of Lisbon, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), Universitad de Valladolid, Spanish National Institute for Agriculture and Food Research and Technology (INIA), Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), University of Banja Luka, Mendel University in Brno, Latvian State Forest Research Institute 'Silava', Estonian University of Life Sciences, Wageningen University and Research Center (WUR), Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Croatian Forest Research Institute, University of Western Hungary, Teagasc Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc), Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNE), Universität für Bodenkultur Wien [Vienne, Autriche] (BOKU), University of Novi Sad, Forest Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), Department of Forest Sciences, Lauri Valsta / Principal Investigator, Forest Bioeconomy, Business and Sustainability, Forest Economics, Business and Society, Centre de Ciència i Tecnologia Forestal de Catalunya (CTFC), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria = National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA), Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR] (CGIAR), Mendel University in Brno (MENDELU), Estonian University of Life Sciences (EMU), Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR), and Université Catholique de Louvain = Catholic University of Louvain (UCL)
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,[SDV.SA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences ,Sociology of scientific knowledge ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Review ,01 natural sciences ,Ecosystem services ,FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY ,Marketing ,media_common ,4112 Forestry ,forêt mélangée ,Environmental resource management ,mixed forests ,NORWAY SPRUCE ,Forestry ,Research challenges| Ecosystem services ,PE&RC ,BIODIVERSITY EXPERIMENTS ,PRODUCTIVITY INCREASES ,Process (engineering) ,media_common.quotation_subject ,enquête auprès des professionnels ,ECOSYSTEM MULTIFUNCTIONALITY ,Resistance (psychoanalysis) ,TREE SPECIES-DIVERSITY ,Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law ,010603 evolutionary biology ,Adaptability ,Goods and services ,Participatory process ,TEMPORAL DYNAMICS ,BOREAL FORESTS ,forester ,Bosecologie en Bosbeheer ,Set (psychology) ,SCOTS PINE ,Forest management and functioning ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Nature and Landscape Conservation ,RESEARCH QUESTIONS ,business.industry ,Citizen journalism ,Research challenges ,Forest stability ,15. Life on land ,Species mixtures ,Forest Ecology and Forest Management ,forestier ,Business ,Species mixturesReviewForest management and functioningParticipatory processResearch challengesEcosystem servicesForest stability ,gestionnaire de ressources - Abstract
Research into mixed-forests has increased substantially in the last decades but the extent to which the new knowledge generated meets practitioners' concerns and is adequately transmitted to them is unknown. Here we provide the current state of knowledge and future research directions with regards to 10 questions about mixed-forest functioning and management identified and selected by a range of European forest managers during an extensive participatory process. The set of 10 questions were the highest ranked questions from an online prioritization exercise involving 168 managers from 22 different European countries. In general, the topics of major concern for forest managers coincided with the ones that are at the heart of most research projects. They covered important issues related to the management of mixed forests and the role of mixtures for the stability of forests faced with environmental changes and the provision of ecosystem services to society. Our analysis showed that the current scientific knowledge about these questions was rather variable and particularly low for those related to the management of mixed forests over time and the associated costs. We also found that whereas most research projects have sought to evaluate whether mixed forests are more stable or provide more goods and services than monocultures, there is still little information on the underlying mechanisms and trade-offs behind these effects. Similarly, we identified a lack of knowledge on the spatio-temporal scales at which the effects of mixtures on the resistance and adaptability to environmental changes are operating. Our analysis may help researchers to identify what knowledge needs to be better transferred and to better design future research initiatives meeting practitioner's concerns. This article is based upon work from COST Action FP1206, EuMIXFOR, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). The authors want to specially thank the large number of forest managers that were involved in the participatory process and kindly responded to the surveys. The first author also thanks the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for funding the project AGL2015-70425-R which partly supported his contribution to this study. MM acknowledges support by grant IUT21-4 of the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research and DS support by project III 43007 (2011–2017) from Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Republic of Serbia.
- Published
- 2018
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