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LIFE CLIMARK - Newsletter no. 3 - March 2021
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This latest edition of the LIFE CLIMARK newsletter presents all the work we managed to get done in 2020, despite the unprecedented circumstances, thanks to the efforts of all involved. We finished identifying the measures that maximise the impact of forest management on the carbon balance, water production and the conservation of biodiversity, based on the real application in the field of the Guidelines for Sustainable Forest Management in Catalonia (ORGEST) at six sites covering a combined total area of a hundred hectares. At the same time, we have been meeting (on-line!) with panels of experts who will help us to make the best use of these sites and agree the methodologies that will be used to calculate climate credits. And finally, we launched campaigns to publicise the new climate credits, with an updated website and materials aimed at both the owners of forestry land and companies interested in taking part in the climate credit market pilot studies to be developed in 2021.
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New LIFE CLIMARK project milestone: forestry work completed
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The LIFE CLIMARK project continues to make progress on its goal of promoting forestry management as a tool for mitigating climate change through the design of a local market for climate credits.
After two years working towards this goal, the forestry measures programmed as part of the project were completed last autumn (2020). The work was carried out at nine sites, referred to as landscape units (LU), at Montmell, La Vall de Rialb, Aspres, Replans de Berguedà, Capçaleres del Llobregat, Serres d’Ancosa, Plana del Vallès, Plana de la Selva and Serra de Marina. It involved implementing multifunctional forestry management practices designed to mitigate climate change in young and mature forests and in new plantation work.
A total of 88 hectares of land in 24 stands were managed. For each stand, the most suitable forestry practices for mitigating climate change were identified, including treatments to improve the forest's carbon sequestration capacity, fire prevention, the use of water and the conservation and/or improvement of biodiversity.
To define the treatments and assess their impact on the selected indicators (carbon, water and biodiversity), detailed tests were carried out on the sites. Dasometric inventories were performed to obtain parameters for calculating the existing carbon volumes and water availability. The l’Catalan Biodiversity Potential Index (IBP) was used to measure biodiversity. This innovative tool allows the biodiversity potential of a stand to be assessed and helps to determine what conservation and improvement measures are needed. In addition, in some stands, real water flows were measured (using piezometers or flow measurements) and studies of the accumulated carbon were performed.
The analysis of all the data obtained during the LIFE CLIMARK project formed the basis for defining Climate Credit which will shortly be presented to the public.
Meanwhile, the managed stands are being used as a meeting point for landowners, forestry technicians, students, etc. who are interested in learning about our smart forest management ideas. Further information.
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Building on our knowledge of the relationship between forest management and water.
3rd meeting of the LIFE CLIMARK project's Committee of Experts on Water
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 3rd meeting of the LIFE CLIMARK project’s Committee of Experts on Water, attended by representatives of the Catalan Water Agency (ACA), the CSIC-IDAEA, the CTFC and the CPF.
The purpose of the meeting was to share the knowledge generated from two field experiments carried out in the Vallcebre basin (Berguedà) and at La Llacuna (L’Anoia) on the effects of forest management on water resources, and to agree a methodology for the ex ante measurement of these resources using structural data from the forests before and after the intervention.
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The CLIMARK project in ITALY
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The CLIMARK project is working on two municipally owned forests in Italy’s Vèneto region: a beech wood in Cansiglio and a spectacular mixed forest of spruce, larch and beech in Lorenzago de Cadore. At both sites, researchers from Italy’s National Research Council (CNR) have collected data to assess the stands’ capacity to generate “Climate credits” after applying a range of forestry management methods over the last nine years as part of the LIFE ManFor C.BD project. Species found in humid mountain regions at medium to high altitudes are expected to be the most affected by climate change in the Mediterranean region, as these do not have the capacity to respond to drought that other species have.
In winter 2011-2012, a number of permanent plots were created in the stands to monitor the response of each tree to the different treatments applied. Within these plots, regular measurements were taken of the normal diameter of all the trees and core samples taken from the trunks to evaluate their growth response (carbon capture) over time, and the medium-term impact of the different treatments on the trees’ intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE). Isotope ratios in the growth rings are analysed to directly measure this eco-physiological parameter. This technique will be used on the cores extracted from the CLIMARK sites in Catalonia.
The work of the CNR research group on the CLIMARK project was presented at “European Researchers Night”, with a short video entitled “Andiam, andiam, andiami a carotar” which can be viewed on the website of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche.
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INFORMATION LEAFLET: What is Climate Credit?
What are the benefits for LANDOWNERS?
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 Maintaining a forest is not easy or economical and there are many reasons for managing it. These include making them safe from forest fires, reducing water use and improving the appearance of the landscape.
Maintaining their forests is very costly for landowners.
Including their land in this scheme enables them to care for it better whilst helping to improve the carbon sequestration capacity of their forests, thereby contributing to combating climate change. Further information.
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INFORMATION LEAFLET: What is Climate Credit?
What are the benefits for COMPANIES?
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 Companies buy climate credits, thereby helping to fund the work, which is vital for work to continue in the area of smart forest management.
By supporting LIFE CLIMARK and buying climate credits, the company boosts its image, as its customers and society in general
can see that it is taking clear, positive action to improve the environment. Further information.
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LIFE CLIMARK (LIFE16 CCM/ES/000065) is a LIFE Climate Change Mitigation project, co-financed by the LIFE Program of the European Union.
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