Forest subsidy distribution in five European countries

Haeler, Elena; Bolte, Andreas; Buchacher, Rafael; Hänninen, Harri; Jandl, Robert; Juutinen, Artti; Kuhlmey, Katharina; Kurttila, Mikko; Lidestav, Gun; Mäkipää, Raisa; Rosenkranz, Lydia; Triplat, Matevž; Vilhar, Urša; Westin, Kerstin; Schueler, Silvio

doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2022.102882

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The importance of country-level drivers was emphasised throughout our results. This large between-country variation was also reported by Levers et al (2014) and it can relate to differences in the ownership structure, legislation, regulations and subsidies for forestry (Bauer et al, 2004;Haeler et al, 2023;Nichiforel et al, 2018). Harvest practices can also be expected to vary based on the national (or state) level variation in the guidelines for forest management (Cardellini et al, 2018), values of the forest owners (Westin et al, 2023) and the valuation of different ecosystem services provided by the forests (Winkel et al, 2022).…”

Section: Harvest Regimes and Driversmentioning

confidence: 89%

Understanding Europe’s forest harvesting regimes

Suvanto,

Esquivel Muelbert,

Schelhaas

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The functioning and structure of most European forests are actively shaped by intensive human use. Harvesting of wood is one of the key processes of forest management, making it a crucial element to include in any large-scale analysis of forest ecosystems. Yet, our understanding of how forests are harvested across Europe is limited, as the true harvest regimes – a realisation of decisions made by individual forest owners – are not well described by aggregated wood harvest statistics or formal management guidelines. To fill this gap, we analysed recent forest harvest activity, as observed in permanent plots of forest inventories in eleven European countries, totalling to 182,649 plots and covering all major forest types from boreal to Mediterranean forests. We aimed to (1) characterise harvest regimes through the frequency and intensity of harvest events spatially across Europe, and (2) build predictive models for the probability and intensity of harvest events at the plot-level, by linking individual harvests to the pre-harvest forest structure and composition, but also to climatic, topographic and socio-economic factors, as well as past natural disturbances. The results reveal notable variation in harvest regimes across Europe, with different harvest strategies emerging in regions with similar total harvest rates. These include, for example, low-frequency but high-intensity harvest regimes in northern Europe and high-frequency but low-intensity harvest regimes in eastern Central Europe. The harvest regimes were strongly driven by country-level variation, emphasising the role of national level factors in driving harvest patterns. Pre-harvest forest structure and composition was an important driver for the intensity of harvest events, whereas probability of harvest was more related to socio-economic factors and the occurrence of natural disturbances. The empirical quantification of the current forest harvesting regimes across Europe presented in our study provides much needed detail in our understanding of the contemporary forest management practices in Europe, crucial for understanding how human activities shape forests and providing a baseline against which to assess future changes in management.

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Section: Harvest Regimes and Driversmentioning

confidence: 89%

Understanding Europe’s forest harvesting regimes

Suvanto,

Esquivel Muelbert,

Schelhaas

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…They are targeted by information campaigns on recommended measures for climate change adaptation [59,60]. Their participation in EAFRD calls is disproportionately low because the expected monetary gain is unattractive when accounting for administrative needs upon the implementation of EAFRD projects [28]. Yet, many political objectives are reached due to voluntary activities.…”

Section: Incentives For Establishing Beech In Mixed-species Forestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The European forest policy advocates nationally implemented incentives that support the increase in broadleaved forests. We used information from an international survey to evaluate whether European support programs are supporting a wider distribution of beech forests [28].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

European Beech Forests in Austria—Current Distribution and Possible Future Habitat

Jandl,

Foldal,

Ledermann

et al. 2023

Forests

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A change in tree species composition in Central Europe to increase the resilience of forests when coping with climate change effects is imminent. We evaluated the present and expected future role of the European beech, (Fagus sylvatica L.), with respect to the expansion of its habitat and its stem. We assessed the current relevance of beech from data of the Austrian Forest Inventory 2007/09, and analyzed forest policies promoting the establishment of beech forests. We simulated forest growth with the model CALDIS, linked with the timber-market model FOHOW2. We used a business-as-usual (BAU) forest management strategy under moderate (RCP 4.5 BAU) or extreme (RCP 8.5 BAU) climate change. We also simulated an extreme climate change scenario with a forced change in the tree species composition (RCP 8.5 Change Species). Beech occurs in Austrian forests over the elevational gradient of 250 to 1600 m a.s.l. In low elevation, it forms beech-dominated forests, often for the supply of the domestic fuelwood demand. In mountain regions, beech enriches the diversity of Norway spruce, (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.)-dominated forests. In a BAU setting, the habitat of beech increases only slightly in both climate scenarios. The scenario ‘RCP 8.5 Change Species’ increases the habitat of beech in the next 60 years considerably. With progressing warming, other broadleaved tree species gain relevance. The vulnerability to drought and pathogens are limiting factors for Austrian beech forests. The future habitat depends on many factors such as the ability of forests to cope with climate change, the confidence to arising market opportunities of beech timber in the wake of technological progress, and financial and non-financial incentives for the implementation of adaptive forest management.

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“…Another significant positive correlation was found between the level of environmental subsidies (F.8) and the increase in forestation (E.5 r = 0.68) (Figure 3C). The results of research carried out in five countries of the European Union showed that thanks to the flexibility that the CAP gives countries to adapt their subsidy programs to specific national needs, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and equivalent national subsidies have indeed been used in a wide range of activities [60]. Due to the diverse needs of forestry and the functions performed by forest areas, subsidized investments were also varied.…”

Section: Kpis Assessing the Level Of Environmentalmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comprehensive Approach to Assess the Impact of Agricultural Production Factors on Selected Ecosystem Services in Poland

Bojar,

Żarski,

Kuśmierek-Tomaszewska

et al. 2023

Resources

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The conservation of environmental resources is aimed at ensuring the continuity of ecosystem services for future generations and maintaining ecosystem integrity. Given the extensive reliance of agriculture on the environment, it is crucial to identify factors that impact the quality of ecosystem services (ESs), which can be regulated at large and heterogeneous national or European scales. This research, conducted within the Polish use case of the AGRICORE project, aims to demonstrate the feasibility of establishing indicators depicted in three ES categories, which can be shaped under the actions of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The study was conducted based on national sources, mostly the database of the Central Statistical Office. The analyses of regression showed a significant impact of selected agricultural productivity factors on the key performance indicators (KPIs) assessing the level of selected ESs. The yield of cereal grains, which quantitatively expresses the potential of current crop production, depended to the greatest extent (r = 0.81) on a comprehensive indicator of the agricultural production space suitability, as well as on the rise of the level of nitrogen fertilization (r = 0.68), and also on the reduced share of permanent grassland in the agricultural area (r = −0.53). It was proved that in territorial units, in which the level of nitrogen fertilization per 1 ha was greater, the share of soils with favorable pH > 5.5 was also greater. The gross nitrogen balance had a positive and significant correlation with the level of investment subsidies (r = 0.86), the share of agricultural land in the total area (r = 0.67), and the level of nitrogen fertilization (r = 0.66). Notably, there were positive correlations between the level of environmental subsidies and the increase in forestation (r = 0.68) and also between air quality and the share of cereals in the sowing structure (r = 0.86). Additionally, the impact of agricultural productivity factors on cultural eco-services was found, e.g., the share of ecological land had a positive impact on the number of natural monuments, the area of nature reserves, the number of agritourists, and agritourism nights, while the share of cereals in the sowing structure negatively correlated with the most of analyzed cultural indicators. These results are useful for the development of a module for the ABM model that employs the desired environmental parameters to provide different assessments of the impact of selected agricultural productivity factors and ecosystem services on the economic farm status.

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Forest subsidy distribution in five European countries

Cited by 14 publications

References 46 publications

Understanding Europe’s forest harvesting regimes

Understanding Europe’s forest harvesting regimes

European Beech Forests in Austria—Current Distribution and Possible Future Habitat

A Comprehensive Approach to Assess the Impact of Agricultural Production Factors on Selected Ecosystem Services in Poland

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