A new proposal for the MCPFE
Forest Types classification
Feasibility and issues of country reporting
Marco Marchetti
Italian Academy of Forest Sciences
EcoGeoFor – Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Geomatics, University of Molise,
Italy
European forest area =1004 million ha
if we don’t take into
account the variability
in natural conditions
and anthropogenic
influences affecting
MCPFE indicators
Can we correctly
evaluate the state
of European
forests?
Today MCPFE reporting: in a country with high ecological
diversity…
reporting data by BROADLEAVED FOREST makes somewhat fruitless the effort in collecting and
processing data on growing stock, tree specie composition, deadwood!
deciduous+evergreen forest together
no consideration of ecological differences between forest communities
(mesophytic/thermophilous/mediterranean sclerophyllous)
The European forest types Categories and types for
sustainable forest management
reporting and policy:
Product of an international
consortium lead by the Italian
Academy of Forest Sciences
under EEA contract
http://www.eea.europa.eu/
European Forest Types
=
14 classes of European forests growing under
relatively homogeneous ecological conditions
(climatic, edaphic) and levels of anthropogenic
modification
Applications:
1. possible future reporting of the 7 forest types based MCPFE
indicators
2. forest monitoring, with particular reference to
large scale forest biodiversity assessments
Classification scheme
14 Top level classes for the MCPFE reporting (CATEGORIES)
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
6
6
7
7
8
8
9
9
10
10
11
11
12
12
13
13
14
14
76 low level classes (TYPES) to describe and document the variety
of forest communities that each category comprises
Types are intended to stratify national forest data,
the 14 categories for data evaluation and
international reporting
14 Categories
Higher naturalness
1. Boreal forest
2. Hemiboreal and nemoral coniferous and
mixed broadleaved-coniferous forest
3. Alpine coniferous forest
4. Acidophilous oak and oak-birch forest
5. Mesophytic deciduous forest
6. Beech forest
7. Montainous beech forest
8. Thermophilous deciduous forest
9. Broadleaved evergreen forest
10. Coniferous forests of the Mediterranean,
Anatolian and Macaronesian regions
11. Mire and swamp forest
12. Floodplain forest
13. Non-riverine alder, birch or aspen forest
Lowest
naturalness
14. Plantations and self-sown exotic forest
13 classes
of forest
dominated by
native tree
species
Important breaking point
of naturalness
COVERAGE: forest land as defined in FAO (2004)
76 Types
CATEGORIES 1-13 delineation:
- changes of ecological forest zones
influencing the natural tree-species
composition, the length of the growing
season (i.e. growing stock),
decomposition rate and natural
disturbance regimes (i.e deadwood
type and amount)
- variation in management systems
Cat. 14 - Plantations and self-sown exotic forest
(planted forest – plantations & planted/seeded
component of semi-natural - in the newly proposed FRA
reporting tables from Kotka V ?!):
- simplification of forest structure (monospecific,
regularly tree spacing)
- relevant modification in site species composition,
when the native vegetation is replaced by forest
stands predominantly consisting of non-native (or
non-indigenous, exotic, introduced) trees
Estimated number of
categories per
countries, based on a
preliminary
assessment on ICP
level I plots
the increased
reporting effort is
seemingly moderate:
the shift will be from
the current 3 classes
to, on average, 6
reporting categories
per country
Classification keys
• The European Forest Types are provided with a
classification key allowing a systematic cross-link (poststratification) of national forest data (e.g. NFIs, forest
management plans) to categories and types, based on:
– simple ecological information (biogeographic region, water
regime, site edaphic condition)
– forest dominant tree species (as resulting from NFIs plots dbh
data)
Nomenclature
• The classification key is integrated by a
nomenclature,
a
descriptive
frame
to
characterise categories and types, that includes:
– the definition of the category
– the geographical distribution of the category
– Types descriptions
• Types are also referenced to:
– Eunis III level classes
– EU Habitats Directive Annex I (92/43/EEC)
Example of type description
Feasibility of the scheme
Cross-linking country data to European
Forest Types
COST action E43 Harmonisation of National Forest
Inventories in Europe: tecniques for common reporting
Data from a questionnarie circulated within 20 European countries
Countries without forest types scheme in NFIs
Countries with forest types scheme in NFIs
Countries not covered by the questionnarie
YES
NO
0
5
10
15
20
Most of the European countries included in the survey
declare they can easily link NFIs data to European Forest
Types
A number of countries (Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany,
Austria, Denmark, Spain, Ireland) volunteered to classify
NFIs raw data (plots) by European Forest Types
Results will be delivered to the COST ACTION by june 2007
A second way to cross-link NFIs field plots to EFTs are
Label to label bridging functions
• applicable and convenient in the countries having
already NFIs forest types schemes to stratify ground
plots, provided that: such classifications are grounded on
same diagnostic criteria as the European forest types
(e.g. actual forest vegetation, forest tree species
composition, site ecological conditions, etc)
Label to label bridging function: Italy
14 first level classes (CATEGORIES)
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
4
5
5
6
6
7
7
8
8
9
9
10
10
11
11
12
12
13
13
14
14
75 second level classes (TYPES)
76
second level classes (TYPES)
Cross-reference at the type level
Italian NFIs forest types
20 classes of semi-natural forests grounded on forest physiognomy; 3 classes
corresponding to forest plantations
EUROPEAN FOREST TYPES
ITALIAN
NFI FOREST TYPES
CATEGORY
TYPE
CLASS (code). Dominant species
3. Alpine coniferous forest
3.1 Subalpine larch-arolla pine and
dwarf pine forests
1. Larch, Arolla
3.2 Subalpine and montane spruce
and montane mixed spruce-fir
mixed forests
2. Spruce
3.3 Scots pine and Black pine forests
4. Scots pine
4. Mountain pine
3. Fir
5. Black pine
4. Acidophilous oak and oak birch
forest
4.1 Acidophilous oak-dominated (Q.
petraea, Q. robur)
9. Sessile oak, Peduncolate oak
5. Mesophytic deciduos forest
5.2 Sessile oak-hornbeam forest
12. Horn-beam
5.8 Ravine and slope forest
14. Maple, lime
6. Beech forest
6.3 Subatlantic submontane beech
forests
8. Beech
7. Montane beech forest
7.3 Apennine-Corsican montane
beech forests
8. Beech, fir
STRATIFICATION OF NFIs
plots by categories
European Forest
Types
nomenclature
+ key
by field survey plots are
assigned to NFI forest types
dominant species
&
basic ecological information
EUROPEAN FOREST TYPES
ITALIAN
NFI FOREST TYPES
CATEGORY
TYPE
CLASS (code). Dominant species
12. Floodplain forest
12.1/2 Riparian/fluvial forest
13. Alders
12.1/2 Riparian/fluvial forest
13. Aspen
12.1 Riparian forest
13. Willow
12.3 Mediterranean and
Macaronesian riparian forest
13. Plane tree
13.2 Italian Alder forest
14. Italian alder
13.4 Southern boreal birch forest
14. Birch
14.1 Plantation of site-native species
19. Plantations of native broadleaves
(e.g. cherry, walnut)
13. Non-riverine alder, birch or
aspen forest
14. Plantatations and self-sown
exotic forest
20. Plantations of native conifers
14.2 Plantations of not-site-native
species and self-sown exotic forest
14. Self-sown stands of Robinia
pseudoacacia, Ailanthus altissima
18. Plantation of Popolus clones
19. Plantations of Eucalyptus
20. Plantations of Pseudotsuga
menziesii or Pinus radiata or of other
exotic conifers
ITALY = 11 categories
classification
of forest
vegetation
communities
BASED ON FOREST MANAGEMENT
PLANS DATA
Label to label
bridging function:
Slovenia
The way ahead: MCPFE reporting
• The European Forest Types have been
presented and discussed in the MCPFE
Workshop on “Pan-European understanding
of forest classification” (November 2006, Bled
Slovenia)
• The system was recognized as scientifically
sound and bridging functions developed in
Italy/Slovenia were regarded as proofs of the
feasibility of the scheme at country level: no
additional data collection is required to link
avalaible dbs to European Forest Types
Reccomendations from the MCPFE Workshop
• To present the proposed 14 main Categories of the
‘European Forest Types’ for consideration and if possible
for adoption by the MCPFE Expert Level Meeting (5-6
June 2007) as the standard for the seven MCPFE
indicators which require reporting ‘by forest type’
• Actions (training at a regional level, development of tools
to cross-references national forest type classifications to
the proposed pan-European scheme) are needed in order
to strengthen capacity and to facilitate implementation in
many countries
• The case-studies (Italy, Slovenia) showed that most of the
data needed to classify forests into the Forest Types are
readily available in most countries, however, it was
recommended that more case-studies would be valuable
(cf. in this direction goes the COST ACTION test)
Final remark



Experts concluded that some additional forest types would be useful in
some categories when validation at a national level suggested such a need
and that for certain forest types some definitions need more clarification and
should be redefined: e.g.
the Slovenian evaluation showed the need of a ‘silver fir forest’ type
Category 14, Plantations and self sown exotic forest; this category would
need further elaboration, e.g. by adding types to separate highly managed
plantations of non-native species from more ‘naturalized’ plantations, which
may host more natural biodiversity (e.g. Picea sitkensis old plantations in
UK)
Before accomodating new types into the scheme, would not be
better to wait for a first round of application of the scheme at EU
level (to have a better overview of new types needed at EU level)?
The question is not to agree on a classification fully reflecting the
variety of forest condition at country level (44 countries!) but at
the pan-European one!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION