We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Can natural forest expansion contribute to Europe's restoration policy agenda? An interdisciplinary assessment.
- Authors
Frei, Theresa; Espelta, Josep Maria; Górriz-Mifsud, Elena; Hampe, Arndt; Lefèvre, François; Martín-Forés, Irene; Winkel, Georg
- Abstract
Natural forest expansion (NFE), that is, the establishment of secondary forest on non-forested land through natural succession, has substantially contributed to the widespread expansion of forests in Europe over the last few decades. So far, EU policies have largely neglected the potential of NFE for meeting policy objectives on restoration. Synthesising recent interdisciplinary research, this paper assesses the challenges and opportunities of NFE in view of contributing to European forest and ecosystem restoration. Specifically, we discuss the potential for supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and forestry and economic use, summarize the current knowledge about societal perceptions and the policymaking on NFE, and make policy recommendations to better use the potential of NFE. We conclude that NFE has the potential to contribute to the European restoration policy agenda if local contexts and possible trade-offs are properly considered.
- Subjects
EUROPE; BIODIVERSITY conservation; FOREST restoration; CLIMATE change adaptation; CLIMATE change mitigation; FORESTS &; forestry; SECONDARY forests; BIODIVERSITY
- Publication
AMBIO - A Journal of the Human Environment, 2024, Vol 53, Issue 1, p34
- ISSN
0044-7447
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s13280-023-01924-2