Archetypal typology of European forest ecosystems integrating management intensity and naturalness

Abstract

The crises of climate change and biodiversity loss have pushed the aim for increasing the resilience of forest ecosystems high on the agenda of foresters and policymakers. At the same time, synergistic opportunities for restoring forests and biodiversity are emerging to safeguard these ecosystems. Naturalness is a key characteristic of forest ecosystems, which should be considered when estimating benchmarks for resilience and biodiversity conservation. The naturalness of forest ecosystems is highly dependent on the intensity of human activity, as different levels of management intensity can change the original traits of forest ecosystems. This paper presents an archetypal typology of forest ecosystems, describing the association between management and naturalness. Both features are represented as gradients covering the full spectrum observed in European forests. The array of forest ecosystem archetypes was verified using case studies across Europe. The typology provides useful information for setting targets for resilience and restoration of forest ecosystems.

Keywords: Archetype; Ecosystem; Europe; Forest; Management; Naturalness.

Fig. 1

Archetype typology of forest ecosystems associating naturalness and forest management. Archetypes: A primary forests, B newly untouched forest, C specially managed forest under closer-to-nature forestry, D exploited natural forest under closer-to-nature or combined objective forestry, E plantation-like natural forest under intensive even-aged forestry, F partly natural forest under passive to medium intensity forest management, G native plantation under intensive even-aged or short-rotation forestry, H exotic plantation under intensive even-aged or short-rotation forestry, I exotic self-sown forest under intensive even-aged or short-rotation forestry