Toward a national strategy of forest adaptation to climate change?

Abstract

Forest adaptation is of prime importance to face up with climate warming and prevent likely resulting crises. It is also a prerequisite for the mitigation of climate change by the wood-forest sector and the maintenance of the provision of other ecosystem services; this multifunctionality of forests is also part and parcel of adaptation. A true strategy aimed at the adaptation of forests is required in mainland and overseas France to i) provide a framework of forest management choices for present and future stands, ii) anticipate trends and the related crises, iii) clarify the relationships between stakeholders worried about diverse deep changes resulting directly from climate change and indirectly from the adaptation of management practices to these new circumstances. Finally, such a strategy is expected to scale up means to the level of the different stakes.