Knowledge gaps about mixed forests: what do European forest managers want to know and what answers can science provide?

Coll Mir, Lluís; Améztegui González, Aitor; Collet, Catherine; Löf, Magnus; Mason, Bill; Pach, Maciej; Verheyen, Kris; Abrudan, Ioan; Barbati, Aanna; Barreiro, Susana; Bielak, Kamil; Bravo Oviedo, Andrés; Ferrari, Barbara; Govedar, Zoran; Kulhavy, Jiri; Lazdina, Dagnija; Metslaid, Marek; Mohren, Frits; Pereira, Mário; Peric, Sanja; Rasztovits, Ervin; Short, Ian; Spathelf, Peter; Sterba, Hubert; Stojanovic, Dejan; Valsta, Lauri; Zlatanov, Tzvetan; Ponette, Quentin

doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2017.10.055

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2018

Author

Coll Mir, Lluís

Améztegui González, Aitor

Collet, Catherine

Löf, Magnus

Mason, Bill

Pach, Maciej

Verheyen, Kris

Abrudan, Ioan

Barbati, Aanna

Barreiro, Susana

Bielak, Kamil

Bravo Oviedo, Andrés

Ferrari, Barbara

Govedar, Zoran

Kulhavy, Jiri

Lazdina, Dagnija

Metslaid, Marek

Mohren, Frits

Pereira, Mário

Peric, Sanja

Rasztovits, Ervin

Short, Ian

Spathelf, Peter

Sterba, Hubert

Stojanovic, Dejan

Valsta, Lauri

Zlatanov, Tzvetan

Ponette, Quentin

Suggested citation

Coll Mir, Lluís; Améztegui González, Aitor; Collet, Catherine; Löf, Magnus; Mason, Bill; Pach, Maciej; ... Ponette, Quentin. (2018) . Knowledge gaps about mixed forests: what do European forest managers want to know and what answers can science provide?. Forest Ecology and Management, 2018, vol. 407, p. 106-115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2017.10.055.

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.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/64996

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2017.10.055

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Forest Ecology and Management, 2018, vol. 407, p. 106-115

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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as cc-by-nc-nd (c) Elsevier, 2017