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. 2018 Jan;21(1):31-42.
doi: 10.1111/ele.12868. Epub 2017 Nov 15.

Continental mapping of forest ecosystem functions reveals a high but unrealised potential for forest multifunctionality

Fons van der Plas  1   2   3 , Sophia Ratcliffe  3 , Paloma Ruiz-Benito  4   5 , Michael Scherer-Lorenzen  6 , Kris Verheyen  7 , Christian Wirth  3   8 , Miguel A Zavala  5 , Evy Ampoorter  7 , Lander Baeten  7 , Luc Barbaro  9   10 , Cristina C Bastias  11 , Jürgen Bauhus  12 , Raquel Benavides  6 , Adam Benneter  12 , Damien Bonal  13 , Olivier Bouriaud  14 , Helge Bruelheide  8   15 , Filippo Bussotti  16 , Monique Carnol  17 , Bastien Castagneyrol  9 , Yohan Charbonnier  9 , Johannes H C Cornelissen  18 , Jonas Dahlgren  19 , Ewa Checko  20 , Andrea Coppi  21 , Seid Muhie Dawud  22 , Marc Deconchat  9   10 , Pallieter De Smedt  7 , Hans De Wandeler  23 , Timo Domisch  24 , Leena Finér  24 , Mariangela Fotelli  25 , Arthur Gessler  26 , André Granier  13 , Charlotte Grossiord  27 , Virginie Guyot  9   10 , Josephine Haase  6   28 , Stephan Hättenschwiler  29 , Hervé Jactel  9 , Bogdan Jaroszewicz  20 , François-Xavier Joly  29 , Tommaso Jucker  30 , Stephan Kambach  15   31 , Gerald Kaendler  32 , Jens Kattge  8   33 , Julia Koricheva  34 , Georges Kunstler  35 , Aleksi Lehtonen  36 , Mario Liebergesell  3   8 , Peter Manning  1   2 , Harriet Milligan  34 , Sandra Müller  6 , Bart Muys  23 , Diem Nguyen  37 , Charles Nock  6 , Bettina Ohse  3 , Alain Paquette  38 , Josep Peñuelas  39   40 , Martina Pollastrini  16 , Kalliopi Radoglou  41 , Karsten Raulund-Rasmussen  22 , Fabian Roger  42 , Rupert Seidl  43 , Federico Selvi  16 , Jan Stenlid  37 , Fernando Valladares  11 , Johan van Keer  44 , Lars Vesterdal  22 , Markus Fischer  1   2 , Lars Gamfeldt  42 , Eric Allan  1
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Free article

Continental mapping of forest ecosystem functions reveals a high but unrealised potential for forest multifunctionality

Fons van der Plas et al. Ecol Lett. 2018 Jan.
Free article

Abstract

Humans require multiple services from ecosystems, but it is largely unknown whether trade-offs between ecosystem functions prevent the realisation of high ecosystem multifunctionality across spatial scales. Here, we combined a comprehensive dataset (28 ecosystem functions measured on 209 forest plots) with a forest inventory dataset (105,316 plots) to extrapolate and map relationships between various ecosystem multifunctionality measures across Europe. These multifunctionality measures reflected different management objectives, related to timber production, climate regulation and biodiversity conservation/recreation. We found that trade-offs among them were rare across Europe, at both local and continental scales. This suggests a high potential for 'win-win' forest management strategies, where overall multifunctionality is maximised. However, across sites, multifunctionality was on average 45.8-49.8% below maximum levels and not necessarily highest in protected areas. Therefore, using one of the most comprehensive assessments so far, our study suggests a high but largely unrealised potential for management to promote multifunctional forests.

Keywords: Biodiversity; FunDivEUROPE; climate; ecosystem multifunctionality; ecosystem services; forest; large-scale; phylogenetic diversity; tree communities; upscaling.

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