Projected ecosystem data - Spain

Forest restoration initiatives are becoming widespread in many European countries. Within these initiatives, attempts are being made to restore various forest habitat types and a wide range of areas with different socioeconomic and ecological backgrounds. Forest restoration goals in Europe may not always align with those of historical reference forests, as climate change increasingly makes such restoration unfeasible. As a result, objectives are often redirected toward managed forest states that support the continued provision of desired goods and ecosystem services. Therefore, the most likely trajectories of future forest development are needed to assess and evaluate restoration outcomes, as well as advise on successful measures that could support the upscaling of restoration initiatives. This Spanish projection report is part of the deliverable D6.5 on projected ecosystem data. The forest development under varying restoration scenarios was projected for the upcoming 30-years, till 2055, using the EFISCEN-Space and FastTrack models. The models’ projections showed that (1) planting density strongly affects the CO2 capture in the restored forests, (2) specific tree species contribute differently to the total carbon capture of a forest. To optimise CO2 capture, in addition to species selection, it is also important to consider trait differences (e.g. wood density), growth patterns, and the environmental conditions of the site, (3) underplanting measures support the improvement of forest resources and structural complexity in the upcoming 30 years, (4) improving forest resilience to fire by intensifying forest management might not benefit development of forest resources, however it will make forests less prone to disturbance, (5) the 483 802 hectare of forest restoration area may costs around 1.45 billion Euro (at average hectare costs of 3 000 Euro; see Spanish workplan v2.0).