Geodata Requirements for Mapping Protective Functions and Effects of Forests

Perzl, Frank; Teich, Michaela

doi:10.5772/intechopen.99508

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…These often include the combination of data-based analyses and reconstruction of the protective forest's change with a simulation-based assessment of its protective effect, as for example in a case study on impacts of land-use change on rockfall risk conducted by Farvacque et al (2019). Empirical evidence on the development of the protective effect is scarce, as direct field measurements of forests' effect on, e.g., avalanches or rockfall are difficult to obtain (Ringenbach et al, 2022), and long data series on hazard events (e.g., García-Hernández et al, 2017) are rarely available (Perzl and Teich, 2022). Furthermore, the reviewed studies cover a large variety of different forest types and natural hazard dispositions, making general conclusions difficult.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mountain protective forests under threat? an in-depth review of global change impacts on their protective effect against natural hazards

Moos,

Stritih,

Teich

et al. 2023

Front. For. Glob. Change

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Forests in mountain areas provide an indispensable ecosystem service by protecting people and infrastructure against natural hazards. As forests are increasingly affected by global change, including climate change, more frequent and severe natural disturbances, and shifts in land use, open questions remain regarding the long-term and sustainable provision of this crucial protective service. To improve our understanding of the various effects of global change on protective forests, we summarized the current knowledge based on a systematic review. Focusing on changes in mountain forests’ protective effect against snow avalanches, landslides, rockfall, torrential floods and debris flow, we assessed 72 peer-reviewed, English publications. Overall, climate-induced changes are expected to increase forests’ protective effect at higher elevations but reduce it at lower elevations mainly due to increased drought. Natural disturbances usually decrease the protective effect of forests, and their impact is often further exacerbated by salvage logging. Different forest management strategies are often studied using forest simulation models, and their impacts on protective forests strongly depend on the local context and interactions with climate change. While clearcuts consistently reduce the protective effect, other forest management interventions such as thinning can have either positive or negative effects. Most of the reviewed studies were case studies based on forest simulation or process-based hazard models (but rarely combining the two), while empirical evidence was scarce. Forests’ protective effect is often assessed using (diverse) indicators of forest structure, but evaluations of resulting risks are less common. More consistent modeling approaches linking forest structure to hazard and risk, as well as consistent indicators across different case studies, are needed for a better understanding of changes in protective forests and the service they provide under global change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mountain protective forests under threat? an in-depth review of global change impacts on their protective effect against natural hazards

Moos,

Stritih,

Teich

et al. 2023

Front. For. Glob. Change

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“…The national definitions that are combined in the protective forest definition matrix imply that not only a hazard (potential), but also a natural hazard risk, i.e., a damage potential (the assets to be protected by forest and their entities, which are called "objects" in the context of protective function mapping; see chapter [55] of this book), must be present when declaring a forest area as an object protective forest. Object protective forests are forests, which are located in process areas of natural hazards that endanger objects below and can have 1) a direct protective function and, if applicable, protective effect against gravitational natural hazards such as rockfall, shallow landslides, or snow avalanches, allowing to directly link the Protective Forests for Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) in the Alpine Space DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99505 precise locations of the hazard and the endangered objects; or 2) an indirect object protective function (and effect) for floods and other water-related natural hazards [51].…”

Section: Protective Forests As Ecosystem-based Solution For Disaster ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it was the 1922 Chauveau law that established the legal status of "protective forestry," acknowledging the major role of forests in natural hazard prevention and risk mitigation for lowland areas, which were becoming more and heavily industrialized [59]. The acknowledgment of the protective effects of forests is one factor, but its implementation in forest management practices is often impeded by the lack of a comprehensive mapping of forests with a protective function (see also chapter [55] of this book). Eventually, any legislation can be improved, considering the increase in knowledge and changes in the paradigms of the implementation of measures.…”

Section: Forest Policy Needs To Utilize Forest-based Solutions For Ec...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Protective Forests for Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) in the Alpine Space

Teich¹,

Accastello²,

Perzl³

et al. 2022

Protective Forests as Ecosystem-Based Solution for Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-Drr)

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Mountain forests are an efficient Forest-based Solution (FbS) for Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) by lowering the frequency, magnitude, and/or intensity of natural hazards. Technical protection measures are often poor solutions as stand-alone measures to reduce disaster risk limited by material wear and fatigue or financial resources and aesthetical values. Protective forests should therefore be considered as key elements in integrated risk management strategies. However, the definition of protective forests and the understanding and assessment of their protective functions and effects differ greatly among Alpine Space countries. In this chapter, we present a short introduction to the concept of Eco-DRR and companion terms and propose a definition of FbS as a specific case of Nature-based Solutions for an ecosystem-based and integrated risk management of natural hazards. That is, we guide the reader through the maze of existing definitions and concepts and try to disentangle their meanings. Furthermore, we present an introduction to forest regulations in the Alpine Space and European protective forest management guidelines. Our considerations and recommendations can help strengthen the role of protective forests as FbS in Eco-DRR and the acknowledgment of the key protective function they have and the crucial protective effects they provide in mountain areas.

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Modeling Protective Forests for Gravitational Natural Hazards and How It Relates to Risk-Based Decision Support Tools

D'Amboise¹,

Teich²,

Hormes³

et al. 2022

Protective Forests as Ecosystem-Based Solution for Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-Drr)

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Simulation tools and their integrated models are widely used to estimate potential starting, transit and runout zones of gravitational natural hazards such as rockfall, snow avalanches and landslides (i.e., gravitational mass flows [GMFs]). Forests growing in areas susceptible to GMFs can influence their release and propagation probabilities (i.e., frequency and magnitude of an event) as well as their intensity. If and how well depends on the GMF type, the topography of the terrain and the forests’ structure. In this chapter, we introduce basic concepts of computer models and state-of-the-art methods for modeling forest interactions with rockfall, snow avalanches and landslides. Furthermore, an example of a protective forest routine embedded in the runout angle-based GMF simulation tool Flow-Py will be presented together with its parameterization for forest-GMF interactions. We applied Flow-Py and two custom extensions to model where forests protect people and assets against GMFs (the protective function) and how forests reduce their frequency, magnitude and/or intensity (the protective effect). The goal of this chapter is to describe protective forest models, so that practitioners and decision makers can better utilize them and their results as decision support tools for risk-based protective forest and ecosystem-based integrated risk management of natural hazards.

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Geodata Requirements for Mapping Protective Functions and Effects of Forests

Cited by 3 publications

References 25 publications

Mountain protective forests under threat? an in-depth review of global change impacts on their protective effect against natural hazards

Mountain protective forests under threat? an in-depth review of global change impacts on their protective effect against natural hazards

Protective Forests for Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) in the Alpine Space

Modeling Protective Forests for Gravitational Natural Hazards and How It Relates to Risk-Based Decision Support Tools

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