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Climate-smart forestry (CSF) has gained increasing attention in recent years. Yet, a framework to assess the three pillars of CSF, in terms of mitigation and adaptation to climate change and ecosystem service (ES) provision based on national forest inventory (NFI) data is currently lacking. In this study, we present an assessment framework of CSF based on forest indicators derived from NFI. To quantify the three pillars of CSF we defined 1) mitigation based on the forest carbon stock, 2) adaptation using biodiversity and susceptibility to disturbances caused by storm and bark beetles and 3) ES provision with timber production and protection against avalanches and rockfall. We demonstrate the application of this framework using Swiss NFI data and projections of future forest development under four different management scenarios. Our results show that, in general, the carbon stock is increasing at the national scale when current management practices are maintained. Increases are especially pronounced in the Jura and Southern Alps regions. Trade-offs occur between enhancing mitigation and adaption, and the sustainable provision of ES such as timber production. Scenarios with increased harvesting intensities lead to a higher timber supply in the short-term, while decreasing the carbon stock, biodiversity-related old-growth indicators and the protective function of forests. The indicator framework presented in this study provides a first methodological approach that can support policy making to balance the different forest services in the context of CSF., Ecological Indicators, 133, ISSN:1470-160X, ISSN:1872-7034

The recent mountain pine beetle (MPB) outbreak has had a major impact on the carbon (C) cycling of lodgepole pine forests in British Columbia. Mitigation efforts to control the insect outbreak have led to increased harvesting rates in the province. This study determines whether partial harvesting as an alternative forest management response to clearcutting can increase the net ecosystem production (NEP) of a mixed conifer forest (MPB-09) in Interior BC. Using the eddy-covariance (EC) technique, the C dynamics of the 70-year old stand were studied over the two years after partial harvest following MPB attack and also compared to an adjacent clearcut (MPB-09C) over the growing season. The annual NEP at MPB-09 increased from -107 g C m⁻² in 2010 to -57g C m⁻² in 2011. The increase of NEP was because the associated increase in annual gross ecosystem photosynthesis (GEP) from 812 g C m⁻² in 2010 to 954 g C m⁻² in 2011 exceeded the increase in annual respiration (Re) from 920 g C m⁻² to 1011 g C m⁻² in the two years of study. During the growing season of 2010, NEP at MPB-09C was -132 g C m⁻² indicating high C losses in the clearcut. MPB-09 was a C sink during the growing season of both years, increasing from 9 g C m⁻² in 2010 to 47 g C m⁻² in 2011. The increase of NEP in the partially harvested forest suggests stand recovery following harvest, which corresponds to a 25% increase in the maximum assimilation rate in the second year. This study shows that retaining the healthy residual forest can greatly enhance the C sequestration of MPB-attacked stands and has important implications for forest management.