Continental mapping of forest ecosystem functions reveals a high but unrealised potential for forest multifunctionality

van der Plas, Fons; Ratcliffe, Sophia; Ruiz-Benito, Paloma; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Verheyen, Kris; Wirth, Christian; Zavala, Miguel A.; Ampoorter, Evy; Baeten, Lander; Barbaro, Luc; Bastias, Cristina C.; Bauhus, Jürgen; Benavides, Raquel; Benneter, Adam; Bonal, Damien; Bouriaud, Olivier; Bruelheide, Helge; Bussotti, Filippo; Carnol, Monique; Castagneyrol, Bastien; ... (2018). Continental mapping of forest ecosystem functions reveals a high but unrealised potential for forest multifunctionality. Ecology Letters, 21(1), pp. 31-42. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing 10.1111/ele.12868

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Humans require multiple services from ecosystems, but it is largely unknown whether trade-offs between ecosystem functions prevent the realisation of high ecosystem multifunctionality across spatial scales. Here, we combined a comprehensive dataset (28 ecosystem functions measured on 209 forest plots) with a forest inventory dataset (105,316 plots) to extrapolate and map relationships between various ecosystem multifunctionality measures across Europe. These multifunctionality measures reflected different management objectives, related to timber production, climate regulation and biodiversity conservation/recreation. We found that trade-offs among them were rare across Europe, at both local and continental scales. This suggests a high potential for ‘win-win’ forest management strategies, where overall multifunctionality is maximised. However, across sites, multifunctionality was on average 45.8-49.8 below maximum levels and not necessarily highest in protected areas. Therefore, using one of the most comprehensive assessments so far, our study suggests a high but largely unrealised potential for management to promote multifunctional forests.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Further Contribution)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS) > Plant Ecology
10 Strategic Research Centers > Centre for Development and Environment (CDE)
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS)
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS) > Plant Community Ecology

UniBE Contributor:

van der Plas, Alfons Leendert Derk, Manning, Peter, Fischer, Markus, Allan, Eric

Subjects:

500 Science > 580 Plants (Botany)

ISSN:

1461-023X

Publisher:

Wiley-Blackwell Publishing

Language:

English

Submitter:

Peter Alfred von Ballmoos-Haas

Date Deposited:

13 Dec 2017 08:17

Last Modified:

21 Nov 2023 11:55

Publisher DOI:

10.1111/ele.12868

PubMed ID:

29143494

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Biodiversity, climate, ecosystem multifunctionality, ecosystem services, forest, FunDivEUROPE, large-scale, phylogenetic diversity, tree communities, upscaling

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.107170

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/107170

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