Research
SUPERB – Upscaling Forest Restoration
Research Status:upcoming
SUPERB “Systemic solutions for upscaling urgent ecosystem restoration for forest-related biodiversity and ecosystem services” is a four-year EU Horizon 2020 project with 36 partners in 16 countries. SUPERB is developing 12 large-scale forest restoration Demonstrations across Europe, and Forest Research, in partnership with Forestry and Land Scotland, is leading the UK Demo at Queen Elizabeth Forest Park. Restoration actions being demonstrated include conversion to continuous-cover forestry, high-elevation forestry, and riparian woodlands that include natural flood management measures. We will develop and link practical and scientific knowledge from the Demo, and work with stakeholders with the aim of upscaling forest restoration.
SUPERB links practical and scientific knowledge in actions to enable future forest restoration, including implementing adaptation measures at different scales to provide the ecosystem services that people will need from forests as the climate changes. It is focussed on 12 large-scale restoration demonstrators across Europe, in forests experiencing a wide range of stressors and challenges.
The SUPERB Scotland Demo is a partnership between Forest Research and Forestry and Land Scotland, based in Queen Elizabeth Forest Park. It focused on three major restoration activities:
Overall, these measures are expected to improve forest resilience to climate risks, reduce flooding in neighbouring communities, reduce soil loss, improve water quality, increase biodiversity and encourage use of the forest by visitors. Restoration within the SUPERB project will be focused using stakeholder workshops and monitored to ensure it meets a wide range of forest management objectives and provides enhanced ecosystem services for stakeholders and local communities.
The SUPERB Scottish Demo forest demonstrates stakeholder focussed restoration, diversification and climate change adaptation with the aim of scaling these up to the wider landscape.
Forest Research manages the SUPERB project Scottish Demo in partnership with Forestry and Land Scotland. We gather practical information from on-the-ground restoration actions in Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, and from monitoring that is underway across the forest. We are also working with a range of local and national scale stakeholders to focus activities in the forest, and to explore how to upscale forest restoration and climate change adaptation across the wider landscape.
Examining the effects of climate change on woodland and forestry.
How woodland management can adapt in anticipation of climate change
The changing climate is affecting our trees, forests and woodlands, how they grow and survive and the important ecosystem services they provide. For our forests and woodlands to thrive, adaptation measures must be considered carefully, and action taken. Ten measures to reduce climate risks and improve resilience are presented.
More biodiverse woodlands are better able to resist or adapt to threats, such as climate change. This enhanced resilience supports the continuity of woodlands and the ecosystem services they provide. Biodiversity is the variation at different levels of biological organisation - the genes within a species; the species within a community; and the diversity between communities and ecosystems.
The six main foliar pathogens already causing significant damage to conifers and broadleaved tree species in the UK are described along with the likely impact of climate change on their spread and severity.
How do woodlands and forests affect the climate?
There is increasing interest in designing policy interventions to sustain positive individual or societal behaviours and to encourage behaviour change which tackles environmental issues including climate change.
The three main fungal root pathogens already present in the UK, causing significant damage in forestry, are described along with the likely impact of climate change on their spread and severity.
Milder and wetter winters, followed by increased spring rainfall, are likely to enhance the survival and infection potential of many tree pathogens. Hotter, drier summers leading to drought stress in trees will also increase their susceptibility to disease and expand the distribution range of some pathogens. The increased incidence and severity of diseases caused by Phytophthora species reduces the benefits that trees provide, including climate change mitigation.
Canker-inducing pathogens kill the inner, living bark of trees resulting in poorer growth or mortality of affected individuals which limits their contribution to climate change mitigation.
Urban forests can both help reduce climate change and help urban society cope with its impacts.
Many parts of the UK are periodically affected by flooding and the frequency of floods is expected to increase due to climate change. Tree planting and forest management can alter flood flows, although the extent of this depends on many factors. Here we describe the latest understanding of how forestry can help.
This factsheet explains how forestry affects the carbon stored in peat and the role forest-to-bog restoration can play in reducing carbon emissions.
Principal Scientist
Scientist