Models for Adaptive Forest Management

The project MOdels for AdapTIVE forest Management (MOTIVE) will evaluate the consequences of the intensified competition for forest resources given climate and land use change. The project focuses on a wide range of European forest types under different intensities of forest management. In particular, MOTIVE examines impacts with respect to the disturbance regimes determining forest dynamics. MOTIVE seeks to develop and evaluate strategies that can adapt forest management practices to balance multiple objectives under changing environmental conditions. The evaluation of different adaptive management systems will take place within a scenario analysis and a regional landscape framework. A wide range of possible scenarios will be taken into account on different time scales. The main forest types in Europe for the most important bioclimatic regions will be covered and the most important goods and services delivered by Eurpean forests will be assessed using the most up to date models. The ultimate objective of the MOTIVE project is to provide insights, data and tools to improve policymaking and adaptive forest resource management in the face of rapidly changing climatic and land-use conditions. In order to reach its objectives, MOTIVE is organized into six scientific work packages in addition to a management-oriented work package : Baseline trends and possible futures for the EU. Development of improved models for Adaptive Forest Management. Testing and evaluating management options and risks. Evaluating and selecting good adaptive forest management strategies. Improved decision support in adaptive forest management. Stakeholder/Decision maker interaction and Dissemination. One of the main deliverables of MOTIVE will be an Adaptive Forest Management toolbox. The toolbox will provide up-to-date methods for planning and decision making in AFM to the decision maker (forest resource manager, policy maker) for actual use in strategic and tactical forest management planning