AIR3-CT94-2392 Silvicultural Strategies for Predicting Damage to Forests from Wind, Fire and Snow: Integrating Tree, Site and Stand Properties with Geographic Information Systems and Regional Environmental Models to Evaluate Options for Forest Management

Contacts




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AIR Cluster IX - Forestry : Forestry : Wood (Lignocellulose)

	Contract No	AIR3-CT94-2392
	Total Cost	1 213 101
	EC Contribution	890 197
	Start Date	01/12/1994
	Duration	36 months

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OBJECTIVE:

Forest damage by wind, snow and fire is the most serious economic problem facing the forestry sector within the EC, costing it hundreds of millions of ECU each year. Between 1980 and 1988, 585,000 hectares of forests were burned in Member States and in 1990 100 million m3 were blown down in a single storm. Snow damage accounts for an estimated 4 million m3 each year.

Reducing the problem depends on foresters making appropriate silvicultural decisions in forests and forest stands to minimise the risk of damage. The silvicultural knowledge needed to make these decisions is generally not available at stand level. Current approaches are at a single tree, or at generalised national levels. This project will determine the knowledge needed by foresters at stand level to make silvicultural decisions in relation to the risk of damage. The project will pool the knowledge of groups working on single tree and regional studies, to develop a modelling system for use by foresters throughout Europe to aid management decisions such as thinning, clear felling and fire hazard fuel clearance while maintaining wood quality and quantity.

The project first studies stem, root and branch resistance to wind and snow damage, and ground accumulations in terms of fire risk. The second part is on silvicultural models for ameliorating damage and formulating general modelling tools for a prototype Geographic Information System (GIS) for planning long term risk assessment.

The project comprises 7 tasks:

1. A programme planning stage to formalise information transfers between participants and structure the common data access.

2. Calculate, from observations on single trees, their stem and crown characteristics, the stress caused by the wind on the tree and the tree's ability to withstand it.

3. Quantify the resistance of trees to overturning and susceptibility to fire and the mechanisms of wind and fire induced damage in forests.

4. Use results of (2) and (3) to predict the circumstances that damage will occur at stand level.

5. Apply (4) to stands of trees with different silvicultural practices.

6. A vulnerability assessment using outputs from completed tasks of risks at regional or national levels using remotely sensed data and GIS.

7. Evaluate the models, test applicability in North, Western and Southern Europe .

Data output will be in form appropriate for incorporation into the EUROSTAT database of the EC.

Contacts

Coordinator

• Seppo KELLOMAKI / University of Joensuu Faculty of Forestry / FINLAND

EC Scientific Officer

• Alexandros ARABATZIS / European Commission DG Research Theme 1 Key Action 5.3 / BELGIUM

Participant

• Mr Christopher QUINE / Forestry Commission Forestry Authority Northern Res Stat / UNITED KINGDOM
• M Manuela BAPTISTA / Instituto Florestal PORTUGAL
• Dr David MILLER / The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute / UNITED KINGDOM
• Dr Erik VALINGER / The Swedish University of AgriculturalSciences / SWEDEN
• Dr Andrew CAMERON / University of Aberdeen UNITED KINGDOM
• Mrs Maria PERESTRELLO DE / VASCONCELOS Centro Nac de Informacao Geografica / PORTUGAL