Improved forest data

Specific challenge: The significant societal changes over the last decades and the emergence of new policies, e.g. on biodiversity, bioenergy and climate change (LULUCF accounting, adaptation) trigger the need to enhance the sustainability of a multipurpose EU forestry. The changing context is particularly sensitive for forests, as their lifetime spans over a large period, limiting the adaptation potential. To maintain the socio-economic, and environmental functions of forests, there is need improve the record of forest data, systems of monitoring and management models. This is currently challenged in the EU by the diversity of national and subnational systems of forest inventory, cartography, monitoring and planning, developed in the context of local/regional frameworks of policies and conditions, making the overall assessment of forest management and policy development, difficult. In addition to the work on harmonisation of forest data deriving from the existing national databases, and site-specific adaptive forest management (i.e. breeding, harvesting and wood utilisation), there is further need to close the remaining gaps in the recorded parameter space and provide for consolidated methodologies for estimation of forest data and improved data systems, and develop stand-related techniques and management models responsive to changing conditions on long term, conducive to increased wood production, while meeting the increasing societal demands and bioeconomy objectives.

Scope: Proposals should address one of the following issue (A):

A. [2014]Improved forest data

Proposals should contribute to improvement and harmonization of forest data flowing into European shared environmental information systems (e.g. EFDAC[1]), by means of national forest inventories and monitoring of sustainable forest management. Work on forest data should build on the existing experience of the Member States on forest inventories, monitoring systems and management planning, complement previous projects and COST Actions, such as USEWOOD (FP 1001), FORSYS (FP 0804) or E43, and make innovative use of field-collected data and EC space-based applications on Earth observation and satellite positioning systems (e.g. Copernicus, Galileo). Priority should be given to parameters supporting several policy areas and representative for multipurpose forest management, as well as to parameters previously not systematically collected, such as disturbances. Specific methodologies and products should be readily available for end-users, i.e. forest administration and management planning entities. Data generated during the project must conform to INSPIRE guidelines[2].

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU in the range of EUR 5 million for (A) would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected impact: Proposals should show how some, or all, of the following impacts will be achieved:

         Strengthening the methodological framework for more accurate and harmonized information derived from forest inventories and monitoring systems, above the present state of the art, able to feed into the EU information systems.

         Further support in the development of EU policies and international processes relying on consistent forest information, such as UNFCCC[1], and contribution to further development of GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems) and the related GFOI initiative (Global Forest Observing Initiative).

         Forest management models geared to sustainable supply of wood for material and energy use, supporting further development of the bioeconomy.

         Forest stands resilient in a continuously changing environment (including climate change), while preserving the capacity to provide for NWFP and essential ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, water regulation, soil and nutrient regulation, and recreation.

Type of action: Research and innovation actions

[1] United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

[1] European Forest Data Centre

[2] Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community