UK-Finland Sustainability Knowledge Exchange 19-21 October 2020

1. James Morison and Robert Matthews
Forest Research
UNITED KINGDOM
‘Climate smart forestry’
in Forest Research
UK-Finland workshop on sustainability research, October 2020

2. 2
Forest Research
22/10/2020
Forest Research is Great Britain’s
principal organisation for forestry and tree
related research. Multidisciplinary with
Groups covering:
• Inventory, forecasting & operational support
• Forest resources & timber quality
• Social and economic research
• Genetic resources & habitat conservation
• Tree health – pests & diseases
• Urban forests & green infrastructure
• Spatial land use & ecosystem services
• Forest hydrology, soil sustainability
• Forest management, mensuration,
modelling and forecasting
• Climate change research
3.2Mha, 13% land cover

3. 3
Forest Research
22/10/2020
• 230 staff across England, Scotland & Wales
• Approx. 40 PhD students linked to Universities
• Long-term experiments, access to national (state) forests
• 3 main centres
• Field stations
Bangor Alice Holt

4. 4
Key ‘CSF’ priorities across FR
22/10/2020
• Understanding risks from changing climate
• Wind, drought, wildfire, flood, pests and pathogens
• Information & tools to help adaptation reduce risks (and take
opportunities)
• Tree species research and tools for tree species choice (Ecological
Site Classification (ESC), forest growth models)
• Wind risk (ForestGALES)
• Urban trees for climate adaptation
• Nature-based solutions: e.g. natural flood management (NFM)
• Information & tools to help with mitigation actions
• Impact of forest management on GHG balances
• Soil sustainability: carbon and nutrient balances
• Forestry and land-use modelling (GHG balances, CARBINE)
• Forest-wood value chain assessment (LCA)
• Integrated assessment of ecosystem services
• Adaptation and mitigation in forest expansion

5. 5
Research priorities (1)
• Assessment of climate change
risks
– drought, wind, wildfire, flood
• Understanding new species
suitability and susceptibility
– ESC is key DSS in predicting
species performance and informing
choice
– Key tool in diversification to reduce
risk (and take opportunities)
• Adaptation:
– Evidence for recommending
various measures
– Barriers to take-up
22/10/2020

6. 6
Research priorities (2)
• C & GHG balance of forests and
impacts of management
– Ground preparation
– Thinning, clearfell
– Natural regeneration/colonisation
• Forestry on peat
- expand, replant or restore ?
• Impacts of extremes on C
balance - e.g. drought
22/10/2020

7. 7
Research priorities (3)
• Mitigation impacts of forest
management/wood use options
– “Sequestration versus substitution”
– Role of bioenergy (good, bad or
both…)
• Large-scale scenario analysis (UK,
EU, wider…)
– Policy impact assessment
– LULUCF reporting
– Forest carbon accounting options
– Land use policies
• Knowledge Exchange
– Policy and practice
– Government, industry, NGOs, IPCC
– Field guidance including IPCC GPG.
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
NetGHGemissionsincrease/decrease
(+/-)(tCO2-eqha-1yr-1)
“Savings”
Emissions”
Forest
machinery
etc. Soil
Trees
Dead and litter
Wood products
Bioenergy
Materials etc.
2030 2050 2100
22/10/2020

8. 8
Research priorities (4)
22/10/2020
• Data, models and tools for (3)!
• Forest growth models
• Decision support (management)
• Silvicultural systems
• (Climate sensitive)
• Estate forecasting
• ‘Elemental models’
• Forest sector C/GHG/LCA models
• CARBINE, SCOTIA (from ECOSSE)
• ‘Model chains and networks’
• Data acquisition
• Sample plots
• TLS
• LiDAR and other RS technologies.

9. 9
Potential collaborations
22/10/2020
James:
• Assessing climate change risks
• Measuring forest GHG balances and components
• Assessing other forest-climate interactions
• Forestry on peat debate: expand, replant or restore ?
• Modelling climate change and management impacts
– e.g. developing 3PGN around drought
Robert:
• TLS and remote sensing resource (carbon) monitoring
• Soil carbon modelling (ECOSSE/SCOTIA/Yasso)
• Growth modelling for adaptation and mitigation
– Linked process-management growth models
– Mixed-species growth models
• LULUCF/carbon accounting/policy impacts
• Bioenergy debate (including LCA?)

10. Thank you!
‘Climate-smart forestry in FR’
James Morison
james.morison@forestresearch.gov.uk
Robert Matthews
robert.matthews@forestresearch.gov.uk