Important Plant Areas (IPAs) are the most important sites for wild plants and their habitats recognised under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). 1771 IPAs have been identified in 16 countries within Europe and signatory governments have committed to protecting them. Forest habitats and species are central to the IPA network but poor for- estry practices are the single most widespread threat affecting almost half (47%) of sites. Old growth or ‘virgin’ forests are key habitats for a large number of plant, fungi, moss and lichen species. These ecosystems have developed over decades and centuries and cannot be recreated at will. They still do not have sufficient recognition, protection and appropriate management across Europe. Forests provide essential ecosystem services including: • Carbon capture and storage • Prevention of erosion • Soil stabilisation • Prevention of flooding Conservation and restoration of old growth and native forest types, such as alluvial forests, could provide cost-effective flood control measures and benefit European biodiversity. Afforestation projects and increased forest cover are often hailed as essential for improved ecosystem services and mitigation actions for climate change. However they pose a serious threat to Europe’s plant diversity if they are implemented with imported alien species or at the expense of other plant-rich habitats such as grassland, heath or peatland. All afforestation strategies should have effective biodiversity and environ- mental impact assessments. Forestry policy in Europe There is currently no unified forestry policy across the EU or pan- Europe. There are, however, national forestry strategies and an EU Forest Action Plan (2007-2011). Forest Europe (formerly the Ministerial Conference for the Protection of Forests in Europe) is a pan-European governmental forum for sustainable forest protection and management. Important Plant Areas & Forestry
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Important Plant Areas (IPAs) are the most important sites for wild plants and their habitats recognised under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). 1771 IPAs have been identified in 16 countries within Europe and signatory governments have committed to protecting them. Forest habitats and species are central to the IPA network but poor for-estry practices are the single most widespread threat affecting almost half (47%) of sites. Old growth or ‘virgin’ forests are key habitats for a large number of plant, fungi, moss and lichen species. These ecosystems have developed over decades and centuries and cannot be recreated at will. They still do not have sufficient recognition, protection and appropriate management across Europe. Forests provide essential ecosystem services including:
• Carbon capture and storage • Prevention of erosion • Soil stabilisation • Prevention of flooding Conservation and restoration of old growth and native forest types, such as alluvial forests, could provide cost-effective flood control measures and benefit European biodiversity. Afforestation projects and increased forest cover are often hailed as essential for improved ecosystem services and mitigation actions for climate change. However they pose a serious threat to Europe’s plant diversity if they are implemented with imported alien species or at the expense of other plant-rich habitats such as grassland, heath or peatland. All afforestation strategies should have effective biodiversity and environ-mental impact assessments. Forestry policy in Europe There is currently no unified forestry policy across the EU or pan-Europe. There are, however, national forestry strategies and an EU Forest Action Plan (2007-2011). Forest Europe (formerly the Ministerial Conference for the Protection of Forests in Europe) is a pan-European governmental forum for sustainable forest protection and management.
Important Plant Areas & Forestry
Conservation issues and threats to forests There are many different types of forest in Europe, based on their species composition and their ecological conditions. These range from the rare alluvial, wetland forests, to the lower plant and fungi rich boreal and Atlantic forests, to the Central European broad leaf and conifer forests, to the mountain, coastal and island forests of Southern Europe with their many endemic and glacial relict species. Each faces different pressures and require a different conservation approach. The declining genetic diversity of European tree species is also of conservation and production concern. Unsustainable or intensified forest management, and deforestation, both legal and illegal are a continuing issue for plant diversity in some parts of Europe. Afforestation, either planned or as the result of land abandonment, is also a potential threat to certain plant-rich habitats such as grasslands, heaths and peatlands. Old growth, undisturbed or ‘virgin’ forests are key habitats for a wide range of plant, fungi, moss and lichen species, many of which are adapted only to these ecosystems. The complex ecosystems develop over a long time period and cannot be recreated easily if they are destroyed. There are very few of these forest areas remaining and they should be targeted for the highest levels of protection, con-servation and restoration (where possible).
Key Statistics on IPAs & Forests in Europe • 44% of Europe is covered by forest—a quarter of the world’s total
(Forest Europe 2010). • 80% of European Forests are located in the Russian Federation
which contains the largest area of natural or old growth forest (c.32%) (MCPFE, 2007).
• The EU Habitats Directive lists 73 forest habitats that should be
conserved. • Under the EU Habitats Directive, 63% of forest habitats were in un-
favourable conservation status, with 21% favourable; 52% of species that prefer forest ecosystems are in unfavourable conservation status, 15% are favourable (EEA 2009).
• Threatened forest habitats are found in 619 IPAs covering c. 1.9
million ha. • 507 IPAs (47%) are threatened by poor forestry practices: intensified
forest management (294 IPAs, 70 at a high level), afforestation (197, 35 at a high level); deforestation (198, 51 at a high level).
Detailed information available for 1247 IPAs. Factsheets on IPAs are freely available online at www.plantlife-ipa.org/reports.asp
Case study: Abernethy Forest One of the last fragments of the old Caledonian Scots pine forest of Scotland. It is being managed and re-stored by the RSPB to in-crease the extent and con-nectivity of the Scots pine forest, and to improve the conservation status of its birds, plants, fungi, animals, and insects. It also acts as a focus for research on man-agement and conservation techniques.
Laricifomes officianalis This extremely rare fungi is included on the list of 33 threatened fungi species in Europe, proposed for inclusion in the Bern Convention. It grows only on very old larch trees and is found mainly in the sub-alpine forests of southern Europe or the Russian taiga. It is particu-larly vulnerable to logging of sub-alpine forest, for example for skiing infrastructure. It is only recorded at 1 IPA in Romania.
Green shield-moss Buxbaumia viridis This moss is widespread across Europe but declining, rare or threatened in most countries. It is mainly restricted to well-decayed wood in damp shel-tered woodland. It is particularly vulnerable to destruction of old growth forests or forestry management which remove dead and decaying wood. In its recent assessment under the EU Habitats Directive it was found to be in unfavourable conservation status in all but the Boreal biogeographic region.
Case study: Danube Flood Plain Forest Alluvial forest is one of the most threatened forest types in Europe, despite the vital hydro-logical and ecological role that they play. The aim of this project coordinated by BROZ was to preserve and restore the last remnants of natural floodplain forest, and its swamps and pools, along the Slovak Danube. 325 hectares were bought or leased close to the city of Bratislava to carry out active restoration of the wetland forests, and to act as a training and awareness-raising programme.
Sources of information • Plantlife International, 2010, IPA online database www.plantlife-ipa.org/reports.asp • www.plantlife.org.uk A range of information on IPAs, IPA methodology & plant conservation. • European Commission (EC), 2010, Green paper. On Forest Protection & Information in the EU: Preparing
forests for climate change. • European Environment Agency (EEA), 2010, Ten Messages for 2010: Forest Ecosystems. • European Environment Agency (EEA), 2009, Progress towards the European 2010 biodiversity target. EEA
Report No. 4/2009. • European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) www.euforgen.org/ • Food & Agriculture Association (FAO), 2010, Global Forest Resource Assessment 2010 www.fao.org/forestry/fra/fra2010/en/ • Forest Europe (formerly the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE)
www.foresteurope.org • European Forest Data Centre efdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ • Veen, P. et al, 2010, Virgin forests in Romania and Bulgaria: results of two national inventory projects and
their implications for protection. Biodiversity and Conservation.
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Detailed information is available for 1247 IPAs. Fact-sheets on individual IPAs are freely available online at: www.plantlife-ipa.org/reports.asp
