Identifying suitable multifunctional restoration areas for Forest Landscape Restoration in Central Chile

Abstract

AbstractLarge‐scale deforestation has led to drastic alterations of landscapes worldwide, with serious declines of biodiversity and ecosystem functions, leading to impacts on humanity ranging from the local to the global scale. However, the provision of crucial ecosystem functions is not only determined by the extent, but also by the spatial configuration of forests within the landscape mosaic. An approach that aims to restore forest functions on a landscape scale is Forest Landscape Restoration, with the purpose to regain ecological integrity and support human well‐being. The landscape‐scale approach should enhance the contribution of site‐based restoration to larger‐scale processes and functional synergies. A fundamental challenge for Forest Landscape Restoration is therefore the identification of restoration areas within the landscape where multiple functions operating on different scales can be enhanced. Equally important is the task of identifying areas requiring restoration. Proposed strategies include the assessment of current, past, and reference landscape states. However, integrative planning approaches combining historical and functional perspectives on a landscape scale are little developed. In this paper, we demonstrate how forest restoration areas can be identified that account for historical forest patterns while simultaneously targeting multiple forest functions. We use a method developed for habitat suitability modeling based on recent historical forest occurrence and regeneration patterns from 1985 to 2008 in order to predict areas that are suitable for forest restoration (potential forest growth) as well as areas where forest potentially recovers by natural regeneration. For both, unsuitable areas are excluded by masking restoration constraints. Separately, we map potential forest functions and assess spatial synergies or “multifunctional hotspots” using spatial multi‐criteria analysis. To derive a scenario of potential restoration areas, predicted maps of restoration suitability and regeneration potential are separately combined with a map depicting the degree of multifunctionality. These maps are finally overlapped to identify multifunctional restoration and regeneration areas. These designated areas are then evaluated regarding their distribution on current land cover and recent historical deforestation areas. We test this approach for the dry forest landscape in Central Chile, an international biodiversity hotspot, which has undergone profound historical transformations and considerable deforestation in recent decades.