Increasing the resilience of managed forests
Evidence suggests that intact forests, particularly primary forests, will be more resistant to climate change than second-growth forests and degraded forests.159 Management that is closer to natural forest dynamics is, therefore, likely to increase adaptive capacity. Maintaining or restoring species and genotypic diversity in these forests would increase their adaptive capacity when some species or genotypes will no longer be suited to the altered environment, and their resistance against spreading pests.
In addition, maintaining structural diversity (presence of various successional stages instead of evenaged stands) would increase their resilience and resistance in the face of extreme events (wind-throw, ice/snow damage). At broader scales adaptation can include the maintenance of different forest types across environmental gradients, the expansion of national and, where appropriate, regional systems of protected areas, the protection of climatic refuges, the reduction of fragmentation, and the maintenance of natural fire regimes bearing in mind that as fire becomes a major threat to forests, risk assessment should be reviewed at regional level and an alert system should be developed.
Forests cover 1/3 of the Earth’s surface and are estimated to contain as much as 2/3 of all known terrestrial species. Forest ecosystems also provide a wide array of goods and services. In the last 8,000 years, about 45% of the Earth’s original forest cover has been converted. Most of it was cleared during the past century.
Forest contain 80% of all the carbon stored in terrestrial vegetation and deforestation and land-clearing activities emit about 1.7 billion metric tons of carbon per year into the atmosphere. Hence, the conservation of forests offers important opportunities to protect biodiversity and mitigate climate change.
Forests provide a perfect example of the links that exist between biodiversity and climate change. On the one hand, forests are threatened by the impacts of climate change, but on the other hand, have the potential to mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration.
Source:
"Connecting Biodiversity and Climate
Change Mitigation and Adaptation"
Report of the Second Ad Hoc Technical Expert
Group on Biodiversity and Climate Change
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Biodiversity and climate change are closely linked, and each impacts upon the other: biodiversity is threatened by human-induced climate change, but biodiversity resources can reduce the impacts of climate change on population and ecosystems.
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