Climate change weakens European forests as demands grow

European societies are expecting forests to provide more benefits even as climate change and conflicting policies reduce their ability to meet those demands, ERR reported.

Forests are expected to supply timber and bioenergy, absorb carbon, provide opportunities for recreation, support biodiversity, and protect soil and water. At the same time, the condition of Europe’s forests is deteriorating because of climate change, while their average age is increasing, writes Jürgen Aosaar, an associate professor of silviculture at the Estonian University of Life Sciences.

A recently published review article by researchers from several German universities examined Europe’s forests’ ability to meet society’s expectations. The researchers analysed conflicts arising from the use of forest ecosystem services and assessed how legislation affects those conflicts.

The study by Tobias Laimer of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and his colleagues focused on key objectives related to European forests, including carbon absorption, the supply of timber and energy wood, and biodiversity conservation.

Europe’s climate is warming roughly twice as fast as the global average. As a result, European forests are increasingly affected by heatwaves, droughts and storms. Extreme weather further worsens other disturbances, including insect damage and forest fires, which have already caused widespread tree mortality.

The researchers said European forests need adaptation measures, but developing effective strategies is difficult because of uncertainty. Forecasts for greenhouse gas emissions, warming and extreme weather events remain uncertain, while forests must withstand rapid environmental changes throughout their lifespans. It is therefore unclear which tree species and management methods will remain viable in the future.

Previous research cited by the authors has concluded that it is difficult to reconcile different policy goals, including biodiversity protection, increased carbon absorption by forests and timber harvesting. Scientists have also found that these ambitions are not sufficiently coordinated under the European Green Deal.

Despite the political goal of increasing carbon absorption by forests, the trend in European forests is moving in the opposite direction. The researchers attributed this to increasingly damaging disturbances and the rising average age of forests.