Analysis of predictors and co-driver in in five European countries – new RESONATE paper
In the study Frontiers | Forest value chain resilience from a local perspective in five European countries: analysis of predictors and co-drivers several RESONATE researcher with Sandra García Jácome (Czech University of Life Sciences) as main author highlight the growing threat climate change poses to forests, with storms, wildfires, and pest outbreaks disrupting their ecological, economic, and social functions. These disturbances shake the forest value chain (FVC), causing unpredictable shifts in timber supply.
To address this, the researchers used the Operational Resilience Framework (ORF) developed in RESONATE to assess how well FVC systems in five European regions (Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Finland, and Spain) can withstand and recover from these shocks, focusing on timber supply as a key indicator of resilience.
The researchers uncovered that regions with proactive management and strong processing capabilities (CZ, HR, ESP) adapted more effectively to disturbances, while others (DE, FIN) suffered prolonged instability due to reactive, market-driven practices. Key factors influencing resilience included wood production, harvesting systems, and management practices. Resilience thresholds were frequently breached, especially during high-volume salvage logging after crises like windstorms and bark beetle outbreaks. The findings stress that there is an urgent need for adaptive and forward-thinking strategies to safeguard forest ecosystems and the industries they support. By proposing a resilience framework based on ecological and economic sustainability, the study offers practical guidance for improving preparedness. It also paves the way for future research to explore additional resilience factors, like tree species diversity and storage capacity, while broadening the ORF’s application globally. “With these tools, forest value chains can be better equipped to face the challenges of a changing climate”, emphasizes Sandra Garcia, the main author.
García-Jácome SP, Jankovský M, Hoeben AD, Lindner M, Uzquiano S, Stern T, Nuhlíček O, Vuletić D, Marjanović H, Picos J, Peltoniemi M, Baumbach L and Lloret F (2025) Forest value chain resilience from a local perspective in five European countries: analysis of predictors and co-drivers. Front. For. Glob. Change 7:1461932. doi: 10.3389/ffgc.2024.1461932
Featured image: Sandra García Jácome
