| ABSTRACT | Forests will adapt autonomously to climate change expected to be experienced in the Mediterranean region, as they have been doing for millennia through shifts in vegetation composition and structure. Nevertheless, there is need to understand and influence the direction and timing of this adaptation, in order to effectively mitigate its environmental and socio-economic consequences. Although adaptation of forests to climate change is regularly debated at the academic level, there is still uncertainty on which concrete measures to adopt on the ground on specific sites and no or little knowledge has been transferred to forest and protected area managers across the Mediterranean.
WWF-Turkey is coordinating a 4-year long project in partnership with the Turkish General Directorate of Forestry and Nature Conservation Center to contribute to the long term preservation of the Mediterranean forests and their capacity of delivering ecosystem services. This project will assess the type and extent of the future impacts of climate change on black pine (Pinus nigra) and fir (Abies cilicica) on the northern Taurus Mountains within the Konya Regional Directorate of Forestry.
Based on the results, site-specific adaptation measures will be incorporated into the management plans and implemented on pilot sites. Through this project, WWF-Turkey will also hold thematic workshops and produce technical tools and materials on the topic to raise awareness, know-how and capacity among key stakeholders.
Preliminary outputs of the project include a map of current distribution of the selected two species. Expected outputs include a projected distribution of these species in 2100 and in intermediate years as well as an analysis of sites with high vulnerability of degradation due to climate change impacts. The poster to be presented at the conference will include a description of the study’s methodology, intermediate outputs, expected outputs and plans for integrating climate change into the forest management plan and implementations on the ground. |