ForestLife project in the workshop for the management of Natura 2000 Mediterranean forests
A popular destination for nature enthusiasts in France, Luberon Regional Natural Park, was selected as the grounds for the workshop on management of Mediterranean forests of the Natura 2000 network, which took place between 9-11 May 2016. Luberon Park, near the French Riviera, hosts characteristic West Mediterranean ecosystems and also, typical architectural elements of the French countryside. There, the management authority of the Park, in collaboration with the French Forest Service, implements a series of good management practices and tests new management tools, taking part in a large number of European projects for nature conservation (LIFE, Med etc.) A total of 40 experts in forest management and restoration, coming from Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Greece participated in the workshop.
EKBY Photo Archive / P. KakourosThe workshop participants during fieldwork.
Primeval forests in the spotlight
EKBY Photo Archive / P. KakourosThe task group on forest management for the benefit of biodiversity
Although, nearly all matters of ecology, silviculture and forest management in the Natura 2000 network were discussed, the main thematic of the workshop was the management of the primeval (old growth) forests of the Mediterranean and the connectivity in the landscape level. These matters are actively discussed in the countries of the Western Mediterranean (Italy-France-Spain-Portugal). The more specific matters of methods of research and evaluation of the ecological restoration of these forests (mainly oak and beech forests), appropriate silvicultural measures for biodiversity conservation and the contribution of the Natura 2000 sites to the connectivity of natural ecosystems.
Dr. Jacques Blondel, former Director of the Centre for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, spoke about the importance of old-growth forests to the movement of species, making a thorough analysis on the factors that shaped the current situation for biodiversity in the Mediterranean.
Biodiversity conservation and forest ownership
A large part of the conversations, especially during the fieldwork, were devoted to the effect of different forest ownerships to forest management and biodiversity conservation. In the Western Mediterranean, a large part of forests are privately owned and often constitute small properties. It is imperative thus, to find funding sources so as forest owners have incentives to keep an adequate number of trees or stands outside management.
Forest management in Natura 2000 areas in Greece
EKBY Photo Archive / P. KakourosForesters of the local branch of French Forest Service talk about the evolution of forests in Luberon
In Greece, 43% of land surface of the Special Areas of Conservation are covered by 28 forest habitat types. Although forests in the Greek areas of the Natura 2000 are generally in favourable conservation status, they face pressures and threats, with the impacts projected to rise due to climate change.
For this reason, projects addressing particular pressures and threats were chosen to be presented in the workshop, along with some projects that regard to the entirety Natura 2000 forests with the potential of wider application. Project LIFE JunEx regards to a primeval forest where management embodies new approaches in vegetation management, along with two restoration projects, one in primeval forest (Nestos river riparian forests) and one in a high forest of Mediterranean conifers (LIFE PINUS for the restoration of Mt Parnon burnt Austrian pine forests), where connectivity was a criterion for the design of the restoration plan. Also, project LIFE AdaptFor was presented because of the integrated approach on the procedures that need to be followed for the adaptation of forest management to climate change and project LIFE ForestLife, which will develop tools and actions for the dissemination of information and building of cooperation on forest management in Natura 2000 sites.
EKBY Photo Archive / P. KakourosCharacteristic landscape in Ochre area, where mixed scots pine and downy oak forest has been established on abandoned ochre mines.
