Challenges and Opportunities of Aligning Forest Function Mapping and the Ecosystem Service Concept in Germany

André Tiemann,Irene Ring

doi:10.3390/f9110691

Abstract

In the context of considering natural capital in decision-making, the ecosystem services concept is steadily increasing in importance. This also holds for the forest sector in Germany. This development calls for a harmonisation of approaches and terms used in the forest sector, as well as being made compatible with the ecosystem services concept and relevant classifications. In Germany, and a number of Central European countries, a common way to assess the multifunctional benefits of forests is the forest function mapping method. Due to the federal multi-level governance system in Germany, each state has its own classification of forest functions and mapping. A first objective of this paper is to align the various forest function categories across German states as a basis to relate them to the ecosystem services concept. Second, this bottom-up approach is combined with a top-down approach, building on the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). The aim is to develop a harmonised, methodological framework, suitable for accounting forest-related ecosystem services, as a step towards future ecosystem services monitoring and reporting commitments in the forest sector. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of the ecosystem services concept for forest management are discussed and ways forward are elaborated.

Highlights

IntroductionForests cover almost four billion ha of land globally, amounting to about 30% of total land area [1].Forests and their biological diversity hold special significance for the provision of ecosystem services (ESS), contributing to human well-being in an extraordinarily vast and far-reaching way [1].This paper aims to harmonise the approaches and terms used in the forest sector with the ESS concept, ESS are defined here according to the definition provided by Haines-Young and Potschin (2018) in their Guidance on the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES)V5.1 [2] as “the contributions that ecosystems make to human well-being, and distinct from the goods and benefits that people subsequently derive from them." Besides providing resources like timber or fuel wood, forests regulate water quantity and quality as well as the climate, or they protect soils against erosion and drought [3]
This holds for the forest sector in Germany
In search for a harmonised set of terminology compatible with ecosystem services (ESS) classifications, the forest function mapping (FFM) method that is applied in Germany and a number of Central European countries as a common way to assess the multifunctional benefits of forests is used as a starting point [16]

Summary

Introduction

Forests cover almost four billion ha of land globally, amounting to about 30% of total land area [1].Forests and their biological diversity hold special significance for the provision of ecosystem services (ESS), contributing to human well-being in an extraordinarily vast and far-reaching way [1].This paper aims to harmonise the approaches and terms used in the forest sector with the ESS concept, ESS are defined here according to the definition provided by Haines-Young and Potschin (2018) in their Guidance on the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES)V5.1 [2] as “the contributions that ecosystems make to human well-being, and distinct from the goods and benefits that people subsequently derive from them." Besides providing resources like timber or fuel wood, forests regulate water quantity and quality as well as the climate, or they protect soils against erosion and drought [3]. Forests cover almost four billion ha of land globally, amounting to about 30% of total land area [1]. Forests and their biological diversity hold special significance for the provision of ecosystem services (ESS), contributing to human well-being in an extraordinarily vast and far-reaching way [1]. V5.1 [2] as “the contributions that ecosystems make to human well-being, and distinct from the goods and benefits that people subsequently derive from them." Besides providing resources like timber or fuel wood, forests regulate water quantity and quality as well as the climate, or they protect soils against erosion and drought [3]. The climate protection function is affected, and since 1990 the amount of carbon

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