Forest disturbance regimes (i.e. size, frequency and severity) are expected to change as global warming intensifies, thus affecting the productivity, growth and vitality of vegetation. For instance, hotter droughts are leading to widespread canopy dieback episodes rising tree mortality rates. Understanding and quantifying forest vulnerability to such disturbances and the underlying driving mechanisms is crucial to assess climate impacts and develop effective adaptation strategies.
This session will cover aspects ranging from observed and projected climate change to consequences for forest ecosystems and their assessment, spanning a range of scales, biomes and conditions. In particular, we welcome submissions on the following subjects:
• Evaluation of the effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on forest productivity, health and growth.
• Multidisciplinary approaches for monitoring tree vulnerability at the local, regional and global scales.
• Mapping and forecasting forest mortality and dieback phenomena under different climate and land-use scenarios.
• Modelling climate and environmental influences on forest and tree vigor and growth at different scales and considering different methods or processes (e.g., wood formation, leaf phenology, shoot growth, canopy greenness).
• Vulnerability of old-growth and mountain forests and also old trees to climate change.
• Assessing forest resilience to drought and other extreme climate events (e.g., frosts).
• Using adaptive management to buffer forest vulnerability.
• Methods and tools for decision support and adaptation support in the forestry sector considering multiple stakeholders and multifunctional perspectives.