A decade of French support to Mediterranean forests. Unasylva 255:15-20, https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/394ae648-3729-47a2-bfe9-5a2b95406a2c

Understanding what controls global leaf type variation in trees is crucial for comprehending their role in terrestrial ecosystems, including carbon, water and nutrient dynamics. Yet our understanding of the factors influencing forest leaf types remains incomplete, leaving us uncertain about the global proportions of needle-leaved, broadleaved, evergreen and deciduous trees. To address these gaps, we conducted a global, ground-sourced assessment of forest leaf-type variation by integrating forest inventory data with comprehensive leaf form (broadleaf vs needle-leaf) and habit (evergreen vs deciduous) records. We found that global variation in leaf habit is primarily driven by isothermality and soil characteristics, while leaf form is predominantly driven by temperature. Given these relationships, we estimate that 38% of global tree individuals are needle-leaved evergreen, 29% are broadleaved evergreen, 27% are broadleaved deciduous and 5% are needle-leaved deciduous. The aboveground biomass distribution among these tree types is approximately 21% (126.4 Gt), 54% (335.7 Gt), 22% (136.2 Gt) and 3% (18.7 Gt), respectively. We further project that, depending on future emissions pathways, 17–34% of forested areas will experience climate conditions by the end of the century that currently support a different forest type, highlighting the intensification of climatic stress on existing forests. By quantifying the distribution of tree leaf types and their corresponding biomass, and identifying regions where climate change will exert greatest pressure on current leaf types, our results can help improve predictions of future terrestrial ecosystem functioning and carbon cycling.

Read the full article here

Haozhi Ma, Thomas W. Crowther, Lidong Mo, Daniel S. Maynard, Susanne S. Renner, Johan van den Hoogen, Yibiao Zou, Jingjing Liang, Sergio de-Miguel, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Peter B. Reich, Ülo Niinemets, Meinrad Abegg, Yves C. Adou Yao, Giorgio Alberti, Angelica M. Almeyda Zambrano, Braulio Vilchez Alvarado, Esteban Alvarez-Dávila, Patricia Alvarez-Loayza, Luciana F. Alves, Christian Ammer, Clara Antón-Fernández, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Luzmila Arroyo, …Constantin M. Zohner etc…

The Governing Missions and Mission-Oriented Research and Innovation in the European Union guidelines promoted by the European Commission (EC) are helpful as a starting place for creating the enabling environment for BioCities which follow the principles of natural ecosystems to promote life (Mazzucato 2018, 2019). The strength of mission-oriented policies, defined as systemic public policies that draw on frontier knowledge to attain specific goals, is the empowerment of emergent solutions achieved by: (1) being bold and inspirational with wide social relevance; (2) having a clear direction with targeted, measurable, and time-bound metrics; (3) being ambitious but realistic; (4) being cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral; and (5) driving multiple bottom-up solutions (Ergas 1987).

M. Salka · V. Guallart · D. Ibañez
Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), Barcelona, Spain
e-mail: michael.salka@iaac.net
D. G. P. Rodriguez
Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Ås, Norway
N. Picard
GIP Ecofor – Ecosystems Forestiers (ECOFOR), Paris, France
J. Wilkes-Allemann · E. C. Brantschen
Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), Bern, Switzerland
S. Boeri · L. Shamir · L. De Marco · S. Paoli
Stefano Boeri Architetti (SBA), Milan, Italy
M. C. Pastore
Politecnico of Milan (PoliMi), Milan, Italy
I. Živojinović
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Vienna, Austria

The article is available here : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29466-2_11

Résultat d’une journée thématique et de réflexions d’un groupe de travail sur la Restauration des Paysages Forestiers (GT-RPF), cette note vise à compléter les très nombreux travaux existants sur le sujet, en faisant notamment ressortir les points critiques en matière d’opérationnalisation de l’approche.

PAR
Bernard Mallet (émérite Cirad)
AVEC LES CONTRIBUTIONS DE Christophe Besacier (FAO), Christian Castellanet (Secrétariat CST-F/Gret), Marion Daugeard (Secrétariat CST-F/Gret), Marie-Ange Kalenga (Fern), Régis Peltier (Cirad), Nicolas Picard (GIP-Ecofor), Plinio Sist (Cirad), Daniel Vallauri (WWF)

L’article est disponible ici : https://www.cst-foret.org/ressource/note-de-politique-n-2-loperationnalisation-de-lapproche-de-la-restauration-des-paysages-forestiers-en-question-decryptage-et-perspectives/

1. Biodiversity is an important component of natural ecosystems, with higher species richness often correlating with an increase in ecosystem productivity. Yet, this relationship varies substantially across environments, typically becoming less pronounced at high levels of species richness. However, species richness alone cannot reflect all important properties of a community, including community evenness, which may mediate the relationship between biodiversity and productivity. If the evenness of a community correlates negatively with richness across forests globally, then a greater number of species may not always increase overall diversity and productivity of the system. Theoretical work and local empirical studies have shown that the effect of evenness on ecosystem functioning may be especially strong at high richness levels, yet the consistency of this remains untested at a global scale.

2. Here, we used a dataset of forests from across the globe, which includes composition, biomass accumulation and net primary productivity, to explore whether productivity correlates with community evenness and richness in a way that evenness appears to buffer the effect of richness. Specifically, we evaluated whether low levels of evenness in speciose communities correlate with the attenuation of the richness–productivity relationship.

3. We found that tree species richness and evenness are negatively correlated across forests globally, with highly speciose forests typically comprising a few dominant and many rare species. Furthermore, we found that the correlation between diversity and productivity changes with evenness: at low richness, uneven communities are more productive, while at high richness, even communities are more productive.

4. Synthesis. Collectively, these results demonstrate that evenness is an integral component of the relationship between biodiversity and productivity, and that the attenuating effect of richness on forest productivity might be partly explained by low evenness in speciose communities. Productivity generally increases with species richness, until reduced evenness limits the overall increases in community diversity. Our research suggests that evenness is a fundamental component of biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships, and is of critical importance for guiding conservation and sustainable ecosystem management decisions.

Hordijk, I., Maynard, D. S., Hart, S. P., Lidong, M., ter Steege, H., Liang, J., de-Miguel, S., Nabuurs, G.-J., Reich, P. B., Abegg, M., Adou Yao, C. Y., Alberti, G., Almeyda Zambrano, A. M., Alvarado, B. V., Esteban, A.-D., Alvarez-Loayza, P., Alves, L. F., Ammer, C., Antón-Fernández, C. … Crowther, T. W. (2023). Evenness mediates the global relationship between forest productivity and richness. Journal of Ecology, 00, 1–19.

The article is available here : https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14098

Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Peter B. Reich, Javier G. P. Gamarra, Tom Crowther, Cang Hui, Albert Morera, Jean-Francois Bastin, Sergio de-Miguel, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Jens-Christian Svenning, Josep M. Serra-Diaz, Cory Merow, Brian Enquist, Maria Kamenetsky, Junho Lee, Jun Zhu, Jinyun Fang, Douglass F. Jacobs, Bryan Pijanowski, Arindam Banerjee, Robert A. Giaquinto, Giorgio Alberti, Angelica Maria Almeyda Zambrano, Esteban Alvarez-Davila, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Valerio Avitabile, Gerardo A. Aymard, Radomir Balazy, Chris Baraloto, Jorcely G. Barroso, Meredith L. Bastian, Philippe Birnbaum, Robert Bitariho, Jan Bogaert, Frans Bongers, Olivier Bouriaud, Pedro H. S. Brancalion, Francis Q. Brearley, Eben North Broadbent, Filippo Bussotti, Wendeson Castro da Silva, Ricardo Gomes César, Goran Cešljar, Víctor Chama Moscoso, Han Y. H. Chen, Emil Cienciala, Connie J. Clark, David A. Coomes, Selvadurai Dayanandan, Mathieu Decuyper, Laura E. Dee, Jhon Del Aguila Pasquel, Géraldine Derroire, Marie Noel Kamdem Djuikouo, Tran Van Do, Jiri Dolezal, Ilija Ð. Ðordevic, Julien Engel, Tom M. Fayle, Ted R. Feldpausch, Jonas K. Fridman, David J. Harris, Andreas Hemp, Geerten Hengeveld, Bruno Herault, Martin Herold, Thomas Ibanez, Andrzej M. Jagodzinski, Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Vivian Kvist Johannsen, Tommaso Jucker, Ahto Kangur, Victor N. Karminov, Kuswata Kartawinata, Deborah K. Kennard, Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas, Gunnar Keppel, Mohammed Latif Khan, Pramod Kumar Khare, Timothy J. Kileen, Hyun Seok Kim, Henn Korjus, Amit Kumar, Ashwani Kumar, Diana Laarmann, Nicolas Labrière, Mait Lang, Simon L. Lewis, Natalia Lukina, Brian S. Maitner, Yadvinder Malhi, Andrew R. Marshall, Olga V. Martynenko, Abel L. Monteagudo Mendoza, Petr V. Ontikov, Edgar Ortiz-Malavasi, Nadir C. Pallqui Camacho, Alain Paquette, Minjee Park, Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy, Pablo Luis Peri, Pascal Petronelli, Sebastian Pfautsch, Oliver L. Phillips, Nicolas Picard, Daniel Piotto, Lourens Poorter, John R. Poulsen, Hans Pretzsch, Hirma Ramírez-Angulo, Zorayda Restrepo Correa, Mirco Rodeghiero, Rocío Del Pilar Rojas Gonzáles, Samir G. Rolim, Francesco Rovero, Ervan Rutishauser, Purabi Saikia, Christian Salas-Eljatib, Dmitry Schepaschenko, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Vladimír Šeben, Marcos Silveira, Ferry Slik, Bonaventure Sonké, Alexandre F. Souza, Krzysztof Jan Sterenczak, Miroslav Svoboda, Hermann Taedoumg, Nadja Tchebakova, John Terborgh, Elena Tikhonova, Armando Torres-Lezama, Fons van der Plas, Rodolfo Vásquez, Helder Viana, Alexander C. Vibrans, Emilio Vilanova, Vincent A. Vos, Hua-Feng Wang, Bertil Westerlund, Lee J. T. White, Susan K. Wiser, Tomasz Zawila-Niedzwiecki, Lise Zemagho, Zhi-Xin Zhu, Irié C. Zo-Bi, Jingjing Liang (2022). « The number of tree species on Earth », Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(6): e2115329119.

The article is available here : https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2115329119

Nicolas Picard, Jessica Rebola Lichtenberg, Rune Groven, Emmanuel Albina, Siegfried Harrer (2022). Combatting imported deforestation – challenges for science. Policy Brief, SCAR ARCH & FOREST SWG, 8 p.

The policy brief is available on SCAR Europe’s website : https://scar-europe.org/images/FOREST/Documents/Policy-brief-Combatting-imported-deforestation.pdf

Picard N., Marchi M., Serra-Varela M. J. et al., « Marginality indices for biodiversity conservation in forest trees », Ecological Indicators, Volume 143, 109367, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109367.

Abstract: Marginal and peripheral populations are important for biodiversity conservation. Their original situation in a species’ geographic and ecological space often confers them genetic diversity and traits of high adaptive value. Yet theoretical hypotheses related to marginality are difficult to test because of confounding factors that influence marginality, namely environment, geography, and history. There is an urgent need to develop metrics to disentangle these confounding factors. We designed nine quantitative indices of marginality and peripherality that define where margins lie within species distributions, from a geographical, an environmental and a historical perspective. Using the distribution maps of eight European forest tree species, we assessed whether these indices were idiosyncratic or whether they conveyed redundant information. Using a database on marginal and peripheral populations based on expert knowledge, we assessed the capacity of the indices to predict the marginality status of a population. There was no consistent pattern of correlation between indices across species, confirming that the indices conveyed different information related to the specific geometry of the species distributions. Contrasting with this heterogeneity of correlation patterns across species, the relative importance of the indices to predict the marginality status of populations was consistent across species. However, there was still a significant country effect in the marginality status, showing a variation in expert opinion of marginality vis-á-vis the species distribution. The marginality indices that we developed are entirely based on distribution maps and can be used for any species. They pave the way for testing hypotheses related to marginality and peripherality, with important implications in quantitative ecology, genetics, and biodiversity conservation.

You can find the article on this link.

Liang J., Gamarra J.G.P., Picard N. et al., « Co-limitation towards lower latitudes shapes global forest diversity gradients », Nature Ecology & Evolution, 8 August 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01831-x

Abstract : The latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) is one of the most recognized global patterns of species richness exhibited across a wide range of taxa. Numerous hypotheses have been proposed in the past two centuries to explain LDG, but rigorous tests of the drivers of LDGs have been limited by a lack of high-quality global species richness data. Here we produce a high-resolution (0.025° × 0.025°) map of local tree species richness using a global forest inventory database with individual tree information and local biophysical characteristics from ~1.3 million sample plots. We then quantify drivers of local tree species richness patterns across latitudes. Generally, annual mean temperature was a dominant predictor of tree species richness, which is most consistent with the metabolic theory of biodiversity (MTB). However, MTB underestimated LDG in the tropics, where high species richness was also moderated by topographic, soil and anthropogenic factors operating at local scales. Given that local landscape variables operate synergistically with bioclimatic factors in shaping the global LDG pattern, we suggest that MTB be extended to account for co-limitation by subordinate drivers.

You can find more information on this article here.

Fady B., Esposito E., Abulaila K., Aleksic J.M., Alia R., Alizoti P., Apostol E.N., Aravanopoulos P., Ballian D., Dagher Kharrat M. B., Carrasquinho I., Cheikh Albassatneh M., Curtu A.L., David-Schwartz R., De Dato G., Douaihy B., Homer Eliades N.G., Fresta L., Suheil Gaouar S.B., Hachi Illoul M., Ivetic V., Ivankovic M., Kandemir G., Khaldi A., Khouja M.L., Kraigher H., Lefèvre F., Mahfoud I., Marchi M., Pérez Martín F., Picard N., Sabatti M., Sbay H., Scotti-Saintagne C., Stevens D.T., Vendramin G.G., Vinceti B., Westergren M., « Forest Genetics Research in the Mediterranean Basin: Bibliometric Analysis, Knowledge Gaps, and Perspectives », Current Forestry Reports, 22 July 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40725-022-00169-8

Abstract :

Purpose of Review: Recognizing that in the context of global change, tree genetic diversity represents a crucial resource for future forest adaptation, we review and highlight the major forest genetics research achievements of the past decades in biodiversity-rich countries of the Mediterranean region. For this, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of the scientific literature spanning the past thirty years (1991–2020). Putting together the representative regionwide expertise of our co-authorship, we propose research perspectives for the next decade.

Recent Findings: Forest genetics research in Mediterranean countries is organized into three different scientific domains of unequal importance. The domain “Population diversity and Differentiation” related to over 62% of all publications of the period, the domain “Environmental conditions, growth and stress response” to almost 23%, and the domain “Phylogeography” to almost 15%. Citation rate was trending the opposite way, indicating a strong and sustained interest in phylogeography and a rising interest for genetics research related to climate change and drought resistance. The share of publications from Asia and Africa to the total within the Mediterranean increased significantly during the 30-year period analyzed, reaching just below 30% during the last decade.

Summary: Describing poorly known species and populations, including marginal populations, using the full potential of genomic methods, testing adaptation in common gardens, and modeling adaptive capacity to build reliable scenarios for forest management remain strategic research priorities. Delineating areas of high and low genetic diversity, for conservation and restoration, respectively, is needed. Joining forces between forest management and forest research, sharing data, experience, and knowledge within and among countries will have to progress significantly, e.g., to assess the potential of Mediterranean genetic resources as assisted migration material worldwide.

You can find more information on this link.

BLONDET Marieke, AMM Annabelle, ARNOULD Maxence, BOUVET Alain, GIRARD Marc, LARDON Sylvie, LENGLET Jonathan, De MOROGUE Francis, PEYRON Jean-Luc, RICCHETTI Michaël, SIMON Laurent, SERNA RODAS Juliana. 2022. “S’EnTET – S’Engager dans la Transition Ecologique dans les Territoires : Innover pour un véritable contrat forêt-filière-société.” Rapport final Projet S’EnTET – AAP TEES 2018-2019, 101p.

Ce rapport présente les résultats du projet S’EnTET – S’Engager dans la Transition Écologique dans les Territoires, lauréat de l’AAP TEES 2018-2019 de l’ADEME. Le projet visait à étudier les processus de Transitions écologiques, économiques et sociales (TEES) autour des forêts et des acteurs de la filière forêt-bois. Son objectif est 1) d’interroger l’effet territoire sur les modes de coordination des acteurs et les dynamiques de transition en court et 2) d’analyser les motivations et motifs d’engagement des acteurs dans ces processus. L’intention ultime de S’EnTET était d’accompagner les acteurs de nos trois territoires d’étude (PETR d’Épinal, PNR Haut Languedoc et Parc national de Forêts) dans leurs processus de TEES en co-construisant avec eux les projets à faire émerger et à porter.

L’ouvrage est disponible en ligne : https://librairie.ademe.fr/recherche-et-innovation/5606-s-entet-s-engager-dans-la-transition-ecologique-dans-les-territoires.html

Leroy M., Bontemps J.D., Brahic E., Forget P.M., Garcia S., Gond V., Kleinschmit A., Landmann G., Morin X., Pélissier R., Picard N., Marty P., 2021. « Quels besoins de connaissances pour construire le futur des forêts en France ? Au-delà du plan de relance ». Note du conseil scientifique d’Ecofor, Revue forestière française, Vol. 73, N° 1, pp. 7-19.

Résumé : Le plan France Relance lancé en septembre 2020 prévoit des mesures forestières sur 2 ans, avec un accent sur la reconstitution des peuplements forestiers sinistrés, affaiblis par les sécheresses ou attaqués par les scolytes. Cependant la crise forestière liée au changement climatique est partie pour durer et les efforts sur les connaissances à acquérir pour aider la forêt à s’adapter au changement climatique devront être poursuivis sur le long terme. Nous identifions quatre enjeux principaux, fortement liés à la préservation de la biodiversité : 1) S’assurer des conditions de succès d’établissement des forêts plantées. 2) Tirer parti des dynamiques naturelles et de la biodiversité pour limiter les risques. 3) Raisonner territorialement, impliquer davantage les acteurs. 4) Connecter les enjeux nationaux aux enjeux économiques mondiaux.

Vous pouvez retrouver la note complète ici.

Nicolas Picard, Frédéric Mortier, Pierre Ploton, Jingjing Liang, Géraldine Derroire, Jean-François Bastin, Narayanan Ayyappan, Fabrice Bénédet, Faustin Boyemba Bosela, Connie J. Clark, Thomas W. Crowther, Nestor Laurier, Engone Obiang, Éric Forni, David Harris, Alfred Ngomanda, John R. Poulsen, Bonaventure Sonké, Pierre Couteron, Sylvie Gourlet-Fleury. « Using model analysis to unveil hidden patterns in tropical forest structures », Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9:59920

Read the article here.

Karsenty A., Picard N. 2021. Zéro déforestation importée : synthèse du colloque, Montpellier, 5 juillet 2021. Note d’ECOFOR, 9 pages.

Retrouvez la synthèse du colloque ici.

Alain Karsenty, Nicolas Picard. « Imported deforestation: how Europe contributes to tree loss worldwide, and what we can do about it », The Conversation, 28 October 2021.

Read the article here.

Karsenty A., Picard N., 2021. « A strategy for solving Europe’s imported deforestation problem », Institut français des relations internationales, Éditoriaux de l’Ifri, 6 pages.

The European Union (EU) is the world’s main trader in agricultural products, with imports totaling €142 billion in 2020. These imported agricultural products include commodities – palm oil, beef, cocoa, coffee, soy, etc. – that are responsible for deforestation in producing countries and thus create an “imported deforestation” problem for Europe.

Read the article here.

Picard N., Dreyer E., Bontemps J.D., Marty P., 2021. « Comment améliorer la mesure des récoltes de bois en Europe ? », The Conversation.

Résumé : En juillet 2020, une étude publiée par une équipe du Centre commun de recherche (CCR) de l’Union européenne annonce que le niveau de la récolte de bois en Europe aurait bondi de 49 % sur la période 2016-2018, en comparaison à 2011-2015.

L’information a surpris les acteurs forestiers, chercheurs, gestionnaires ou acteurs des politiques publiques. Les statistiques forestières nationales des pays européens n’ont en effet détecté aucune variation qui conclurait à une telle hausse.

En juillet 2021, le GIP Ecofor a donc dressé un bilan du débat scientifique sur le sujet un an après son éclosion.

Pour en savoir plus, vous pouvez lire l’article complet ici.

Picard N., 2021. « Réseaux de représentation des forestiers au niveau européen : regards croisés – GIP Ecofor ». Forêt Entreprise, 258:52.

Vous pouvez acheter le n°258 de Forêt Entreprise ici.

Karsenty A., Picard N., 2021. « Quelles pistes pour freiner la déforestation importée ? », The Conversation.

La France importe 20 % de son alimentation et cette part est croissante. Parmi ces produits agricoles figurent des denrées – huile de palme, bœuf, cacao, café, soja… – responsables de déforestation dans les pays qui les produisent ; c’est ce que l’on appelle la déforestation importée.

Vous pouvez retrouver l’article complet ici.

Picard N., Kolström T., 2021. European research priorities in the forest domain. SCAR SWG FOREST (Strategic Working Group on forests and forestry research and innovation), 9 pages.

Authors : Adrián Cardil, Sergio de-Miguel, Carlos A. Silva, Peter B. Reich, David Calkin, Pedro H. S. Brancalion, Alexander C Vibrans, Javier G. P. Gamarra, M Zhou, Bryan C. Pijanowski, Cang Hui, Thomas W Crowther, Bruno Hérault, Daniel Piotto, Christian Salas-Eljatib, Eben North Broadbent, Angelica M. Almeyda Zambrano, Nicolas Picard, Luiz E. O. C. Aragão, Jean-Francois Bastin, Devin Routh, Johan van den Hoogen, Pablo L. Peri, Jingjing Liang

Published in : Environmental Research Letters, 15 121003

Date of publication : 11 December 2020

Read the publication « Recent deforestation drove the spike in Amazonian fires » : DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/abcac7

Picard N., 2020. Empreinte forêt : quel indice pour la mise en oeuvre de la Stratégie nationale de lutte contre la déforestation importée ? [Rapport Technique], GIP Ecofor.

Landmann G., 2020. Recommandations pour une récolte durable de biomasse forestière pour l’énergie. Forêt Entreprise, n°252 (mai-juin), pp. 34-39.

Prix du n°252 de Forêt Entreprise : 8 €.

Peyron J.L. et Landmann G., 2020. Forêts : adapter la gestion aux changements du climat. (propos recueillis par J. Dedenon). Entrepreneurs des Territoires Magazine – n°128 (avril-mai), pp. 24-25.

Référence bibliographique : Dorioz J., Peyron J.-L., Nivet C., 2019, Vers l’évaluation des services rendus par les forêts dans la Région Grand-Est. Rapport d’étude – contribution au projet Territoires d’innovation de Grande Ambition « Des Hommes et des Arbres » porté par la Métropole du Grand-Nancy, 68 p.