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Developing adaptation measures in forestry is an urgent task because the forests regenerated today will have to cope with climate conditions that may drastically change during the life of the trees in the stand. This paper presents a comprehensive review of potential adaptation options in forestry in Europe based on three pillars: a review of the scientific literature, an analysis of current national response strategies, and an expert OPEN ACCESSForests 2011, 2 962 assessment based on a database compiled in the COST Action ECHOES (Expected Climate Change and Options for European Silviculture). The adaptation measures include responses to both risks and opportunities created by climate change and address all stages of forestry operations. Measures targeted to reduce vulnerability to climate change may either aim to reduce forest sensitivity to adverse climate change impacts or increase adaptive capacity to cope with the changing environmental conditions. Adaptation measures mitigating drought and fire risk such as selection of more drought resistant species and genotypes are crucial. For adaptation to be successful it is of the utmost importance to disseminate the knowledge of suitable adaptation measures to all decision makers from the practice to the policy level. The analysis of the ECHOES database demonstrates that this challenge is well recognized in many European countries. Uncertainty about the full extent of climate change impacts and the suitability of adaptation measures creates a need for monitoring and further research. A better understanding of how to increase adaptive capacity is also needed, as well as regional vulnerability assessments which are crucial for targeting planned adaptation measures.

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To investigate the risk of frost damage to Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in northern regions under climatic warming, a submodel for such damage to trees was included in a forest ecosystem model of the gap type. An annual growth multiplier describing the effects of frost was calculated with the help of simulated daily frost hardiness and daily minimum temperature. The annual growth multiplier was used in the main ecosystem model when simulating the development of a tree stand using a time step of one year. Simulations of the growth and development of Scots pine stands in southern Finland (61° N) under an elevating temperature indicated that climatic warming could increase the risk of frost damage due to premature onset of growth during warm spells in the late winter and early spring. Risk of frost damage imp1ies uncertainty in yie1d expectations from borea1 forest ecosystems in the event of climatic warming.

Abstract:The utilization rate of woody biomass in eastern Finland is high and expected to increase further in the near future as set out in several regional, national and European policies and strategies. The aim of this study was to assess the sustainability impacts of changes in fuel consumption patterns. We investigated fossil and woody biomass-based energy production chains in the region of North Karelia, focusing on some economic, environmental and social indicators. Indicators were selected based on stakeholder preferences and evaluated using the Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment (ToSIA). The analysis was based on representative values from National Forest Inventory data, scientific publications, national and regional statistics, databases, published policy targets and expert opinion. From the results it became evident that shifting from fossil to wood-based energy production implies some trade-offs. Replacing oil with woody biomass in energy production would increase the local value added remaining in the region, create employment opportunities and would reduce total GHG emissions. However, firewood, wood chips from small-diameter trees from early thinning and wood pellets have high production costs. Moreover, large greenhouse gas emission resulted from wood pellet OPEN ACCESSEnergies 2012, 5 4871 production. The case study generated valuable reference data for future sustainability assessments and demonstrated the usefulness of ToSIA as a tool presenting existing knowledge on sustainability impacts of alternative energy supply chains to inform decision making.

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