Introduction

Decision Support for the Supply of Ecosystem Services under Global Change (DecisionES) is a Marie Curie Horizon 2020 – Research and Innovation Framework Programme (2021-2025). Pressures on forest ecosystems are very likely to increase as a consequence of socioeconomic and demographic trends. A growing population will demand more products (e.g., wood) to be extracted from forest ecosystems. At the same time, these harvesting activities and their interactions with global change drivers will impact the sustainability of the supply of a wider range of non-provisioning services (e.g., wildfire protection, water, and biodiversity). The integrity of ecosystems must be safeguarded when developing harvesting activities, and yet this is further complicated by the occurrence of natural disturbances such as wildfires and droughts, etc. New decision support approaches are needed that can cope with this challenge.

European and the American experiences with the development and application of decision support approaches for the provision of ecosystem services (ESs), offer a solid base for continued improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of forest management in the context of global change (e.g., responding to changes in demographics, socioeconomics, and climatic conditions). This provided the rationale for a project that will help to strengthen research collaboration through active networking and staff exchange between 8 European organizations and 10 American organizations that are leaders in these fields.

This project will build from the top-level multidisciplinary expertise (wildfire ecology and management, wildfire behaviour simulation, hydrology, process-based modelling, biodiversity, wildlife management, ecology, water services, operations research, management science, stakeholder engagement, forest ecosystem management planning methods, supply chain management methods and decision support systems) in these organizations to address the integration of operational, tactical and strategic forest ecosystem management planning levels and potentiate the supply of ecosystem services at various spatial and temporal scales.

Partners

Specific objectives of DecisionES are the generation of knowledge:

1) to project forested landscapes and the provision of ecosystem services under different management regimes and scenarios of global change (WP2)

2) to integrate ecosystems management planning and policy processes to effectively address concerns with the sustainability of the provision of ecosystem services (WP3)

3) to develop computer-based tools to encapsulate all the models and methods for ecosystem management planning generated by the project (WP3)

4) to develop a communication and dissemination platform to facilitate the utilization of new decision support tools by stakeholders in each country/geographical regions (WP4).

These objectives will be achieved by integrating knowledge and tools developed under the work organized in the different work packages. DecisionES will contribute to a consistent worldwide quality reference for addressing the delivery of ecosystem services, with products being made available to public administrators, forest owners, and industry for enhanced integration of adaptive strategies in forest management planning and policy analysis in the context of global change.

Opportunities

Interchange of lecturers and students between the UEF and partner institutions

Development of state-of-the-art methodological approaches in forest management and planning