Outlook on climate change adaptation

Forestry The Carpathians contain the largest continuous forests in Europe. On average, 75% of the Northern Carpathians and 66% of the entire region is covered by woods (Borsa et al., 2009). Half of the Carpathian forests is in Romania. The region provides an important refuge and corridor for the migration of diverse species and hosts exceptional biodiversity. The Carpathian forests are the largest pristine forests in Western and Central Europe. Forestry is crucial for the economy of many local communities. People in rural areas rely on firewood and use the forests for additional income. The prevailing demand for wood is visible in the young age of the forest: only about 11% is mature forest and over 50% is young and deforested (ibid). Effects of past management, land ownership and institutional changes can persist for centuries, and affect forest ecosystem composition, health and structure, and consequently ecosystem services and habitat availability (Munteanu, 2016). Forests are important for the sustainability of the landscape. They mitigate greenhouse gases and provide resilience to climate hazards by regulating soil and water regimes as well as protect biodiversity. Carbon sequestration is an important service provided by forests. They remove carbon from the atmosphere as they grow, contributing to climate change mitigation. There is a possible conflict between adaptation and mitigation in the forestry sector. The use of biomass for energy production has been offered as an option for climate change mitigation, however it is unclear whether this will make forests less resilient to climate hazards due to increased harvest. The projected rate of forest adaptation is insufficient to secure the sustainable provisioning of desired ecosystem services under climate change; a greater intensity of adaptation actions is required (Hlásny, 2017).

Magura National Park, Poland

Recent studies suggest that climate change will lead to the local extinction of many tree species during this century, affecting the functioning and ecosystem services of many forests (Somogyi, 2017). Forests are under pressure due to intensification of forestry, agriculture and infrastructure. The amount of forest has declined because of formal wood harvesting, but also illegal logging. Forests face increased pressure form invasive species, especially in the South- Western slopes (Simpson, 2011). Native trees could be further replaced, which is particularly problematic for vulnerable alluvial forest. In addition, some of the forest stands have been damaged from wind, insect pest

outbreaks, as well as increasingly recognized effects of droughts that can trigger forest fires (San-Miguel- Ayanz et al., 2015). For example, Norway spruce forests of the Carpathian High Tatra Mountains have been subject to unprecedented tree mortality caused by attacks of the Eurasian spruce bark beetle in recent decades (Mezei et al., 2017). The expected droughts will also lead to a higher vulnerability to storms and top soil erosion as forests will be less resilient (Kazakova & Popp, 2009). The most vulnerable species to rising temperatures in summer include spruce, the Scotch pine and the European larch (Lindner et al., 2008; Szewczyk et al., 2011).

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