The Impact of Climate Change on Forest Development: A Sustainable Approach to Management Models Applied to Mediterranean-Type Climate Regions.

Leonel J R Nunes,Nuno M C Almeida Ribeiro,Carlos J Pinto Gomes,Catarina I R Meireles

doi:10.3390/plants11010069

Leonel J R Nunes, Nuno M C Almeida Ribeiro + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11010069

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Abstract

Forest ecosystems are divided into three major groups: boreal, temperate, and tropical. These can be subdivided according to the particularities of each type due to its relative location (littoral, mountain, etc.), climatic conditions, or even geological substrate. Climate change affects each type of forest ecosystem differently. However, it seems to affect temperate forests in Mediterranean-type climate regions more intensely. These regions are located over several continents, with major impacts of increased temperature during summer and decreased precipitation during winter. This situation affects Mediterranean forest ecosystems by increasing the risk of fires, which arise more frequently and are more severe. In addition, the emergence of pests and the spread of invasive species are well-known problems affecting these ecosystems. All of these conditions contribute to losses of productivity and biodiversity. To avoid the destruction of forest resources, and since Mediterranean-type climate regions are considered climate change hot spots with increased vulnerability to disturbances, the implementation of adaptive forest management models could contribute to increasing the resilience of such forests, which could also contribute to mitigating climate change.

Highlights

Climate change is considered the most significant challenge humanity has ever faced [1]
Climate change is a problem that affects everyone on a global scale, with a profound
Forest are susceptible to climate change, are in different ways, ranging fromecosystems the loss of forest productivity to the loss of theand ecosystem services they provide, as the capture and of atmospheric affected in different ways, such ranging from the loss ofsequestration forest productivity to the losscarbon

Summary

Introduction

Climate change is considered the most significant challenge humanity has ever faced [1]. The most visible and reported effect is undoubtedly the increasingly recurrent frequency with which extreme weather events occur, directly affecting the daily lives of people all over the world [3]. Example of this include the change in monsoon cycles, which subsequently changed agricultural cycles in Southeast Asia, significantly impacting food production, and prolonged drought periods in Mediterranean-type climate regions, with a direct impact on the increased risk of rural fires, as shown by recent events in California (USA), Portugal, Spain, and Greece, caused by the increasing air temperature in the Mediterranean-type climate regions, as shown in Figure 1 [4,5].

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