Page 40 - European Energy Innovation - autumn 2019 publication
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40 Autumn 2019 European Energy Innovation
FOREST MANAGEMENT
Growing insight into the
future of mixed forests
By Dr Andrés Bravo-Oviedo, Chair of European mixed forests network. Senior Research Scientist.
Dept. of Biogeography and Global Change. Spanish National Research Council. Spain
ACOST-funded network has
deepened knowledge about fostered collaboration between research, an ongoing EU-funded
mixed forests that could 153 researchers, forest managers ERA-NET project about mixed forest
feed into efforts to counter and companies from 42 countries resilience and helped improve a
between 2013 and 2017. forest management app.
the effects of global warming while
protecting biodiversity and valuable “This COST Action was very timely Branching out
natural resources. because of concerns about global The network produced a 2018
warming and loss of biodiversity,” Springer reference book for students,
Comprising multiple tree species, says Andrés Bravo-Oviedo, a senior researchers and policymakers
mixed forests have the capacity to research scientist at the National entitled Dynamics, Silviculture and
better resist – and recover from – Museum of Natural Sciences in Management of Mixed Forests. It
pests and phenomena related to Madrid who chaired the Action. “To also led to at least 35 peer-reviewed
global warming, such as drought. my knowledge, it was one of the first articles published in a range of
They can also store more carbon times that such a large number of journals, including the Annals of
than their monoculture counterparts. researchers from across Europe and Forest Science, Forest Ecology and
outside Europe sat down together to Management and the Journal of
To tackle this issue, the COST Action discuss silviculture and management Ecology.
‘European mixed forests – integrating of mixed forests.”
scientific knowledge in sustainable Furthermore, the Action was an
forest management (EuMIXFOR)’ The network resulted in published opportunity to develop additional
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