Bibliography
Welcome to our interactive bibliography. Here you can explore publications relating to Nature-based Solutions and their potential to address societal challenges, including climate change adaptation & mitigation, disaster risk reduction, ecosystem health, food & water security, and human wellbeing & development. For papers and other outputs directly produced by the Nature-based Solutions Initiative please visit our outputs page.
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711 publications found
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Managing Flood Risks Using Nature-Based Solutions in Nouakchott, Mauritania
Springer International Publishing (2016). Book (chapter).
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-43633-3_19Abstract
Whether or not exacerbated by climate change, flood risks are becoming more frequent in the capital city of Nouakchott in Mauritania. Flooding in Nouakchott is due to a combination of both natural factors and human activities. The extreme fragility of the barrier beach that protects the city from the sea, the accelerated exploitation and inadequate infrastructure built along the coast have made this barrier beach highly vulnerable to wave action, exposing the city to a high risk of flooding. Flooding is further exacerbated by rising groundwater levels in several neighborhoods of the city. Cartographic analysis of flood risk indicated that socio-economic impacts associated with floods could be high. In the case of sea water intrusion, up to 30 % of the city could be potentially submerged. This would directly affect nearly 300,000 people and entail high risks of casualties. Associated economic losses due to flooding could be as high as USD 7 billion (Senhoury, Ame´nagements portuaires et urbanisation accelere´e des coˆtes basses sableuses d’Afrique de l’Ouest dans un contexte de pejoration climatique, cas du littoral de Nouakchott (Mauritanie). Thesis state, University of Dakar, April 29, 2014, 157 pp, 2014). The following measures based on nature-based approaches are recommended to tackle flood risks in Nouakchott: • Restore and consolidate the barrier beach through reforestation of degraded areas; • Put in place an appropriate drainage system for rain and marine waters and a sewage sanitation system; • Optimize a solution to safeguard the harbor of Nouakchott; and • Transform wetlands created by the permanent flooding of low-lying areas in the city into urban protected areas.
Ecosystem-based disaster risk reductionInfrastructure-related approachesDisaster risk reductionArtificial Landscapes - TerrestrialCoastlineWetlandDeveloping European operational oceanography for Blue Growth, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and ecosystem-based management
Ocean Science (2016). Perspective.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00353/46430/46143.pdfAbstract
Operational approaches have been more and more widely developed and used for providing marine data and information services for different socio-economic sectors of the Blue Growth and to advance knowledge about the marine environment. The objective of operational oceanographic research is to develop and improve the efficiency, timeliness, robustness and product quality of this approach. This white paper aims to address key scientific challenges and research priorities for the development of operational oceanography in Europe for the next 5–10 years. Knowledge gaps and deficiencies are identified in relation to common scientific challenges in four EuroGOOS knowledge areas: European Ocean Observations, Modelling and Forecasting Technology, Coastal Operational Oceanography and Operational Ecology. The areas “European Ocean Observations” and “Modelling and Forecasting Technology” focus on the further advancement of the basic instruments and capacities for European operational oceanography, while “Coastal Operational Oceanography” and “Operational Ecology” aim at developing new operational approaches for the corresponding knowledge areas.
Ecosystem-based managementClimate change adaptationClimate change mitigationMarineCoastal flood protection by a combined nature-based and engineering approach: Modeling the effects of marsh geometry and surrounding dikes
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (2016). Original Research.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272771416300956Abstract
As ecosystem-based adaptation to global change is gaining ground, strategies to protect coastal and estuarine areas from increasing flood hazards are starting to consist of natural tidal wetland conservation and restoration in addition to conventional coastal defense structures. In this study, the capacity of tidal wetlands to locally attenuate peak water levels during storm tides is analyzed using a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model (TELEMAC-2D) for a 3000 ha intertidal marsh (SW Netherlands). Model results indicate that peak water level reduction largely varies between individual flooding events and between different locations in the marsh. Model scenarios with variable dike positions show that attenuation rates can be minimized by blockage and set up of water levels against dikes or other structures confining the marsh size. This blockage only affects peak water level attenuation across wetlands if the duration of the flood wave is long compared to the marsh size. A minimum marsh width of 6 to 10 km is required to completely avoid blockage effects for the storm tidal cases assessed in this study. If blockage does not affect flood wave propagation, variations in attenuation rates between different locations in the marsh and between tides with varying high water levels can be explained with a single relationship based on the ratio between the water volume on the marsh platform and the total water volume on the platform and in the channels. Attenuation starts to occur when this ratio exceeds 0.2-0.4 and increases from there on up to a maximum of 29 cm/km for a ratio of about 0.85. Furthermore, model scenarios with varying marsh channel depth show that marsh scale attenuation rates increase by up to 4 cm/km if the channel elevation is raised by 0.7 m on average. Conversely, marsh scale attenuation rates decrease by up to 2 cm/km for scenarios in which the channels are lowered by 0.9 m on average. The marsh platform elevation has little effect on the maximum attenuation, but it determines which tides are attenuated. In particular, only overmarsh tides that inundate the platform are attenuated, while undermarsh tides that only flood the marsh channels are not attenuated or even amplified. These findings may assist coastal communities and managers in the optimization of the coastal defense function of tidal wetlands in combination with dikes.
Ecosystem-based disaster risk reductionEcosystem-based adaptationInfrastructure-related approachesClimate change adaptationDisaster risk reductionCoastlineWetlandEcological restoration, ecosystem services, and land use: a European perspective
Ecology and Society (2016). Review.
https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol21/iss4/art47/Abstract
This special feature provides an overview on how the ecosystem service concept has been and can be incorporated into the science, practice, and policies of ecological restoration (ER) and evidence-based land-use. It includes an edited selection of eleven invited and peer-reviewed papers based on presentations given during the 9th European Conference on Ecological Restoration in 2014. The focus is on Europe, but many contributors also make appraisals and recommendations at the global scale. Based on the contributors’ papers, and our own overview of the promise of ecological restoration in the existing international treaties, coalitions, and conventions, we propose that the following actions could contribute to the positive impacts of ER on biodiversity maintenance, ecosystem functioning, progressive mainstreaming the concepts of both ER and ecosystem services, significant mitigation and offsetting of anthropogenic climate change, and lasting enhancement of both ecosystem and human health: • ER should be incorporated into land use planning, wherever needed, and the synergies and trade-offs of different land use scenarios should be assessed in terms of their impacts on ecosystem services. • The discourse of ER should be enlarged, wherever it is needed, to include multifunctional land use that simultaneously supports sustainable production systems, built environments, and the quality and quantity of diverse ecosystem services. This approach will generate ecological, social, and economic benefits in the long run. • Monitoring and evaluation of ER projects should be a continuous process involving careful selection of indicators chosen with the full range of stakeholders in mind, and a sufficiently long-term perspective to catch the progress of long-term or highly dynamic ecosystem processes. • Scientists should actively participate in policy and land management discussions in order to give their views on the potential outcomes of decisions. • Greater cooperation and exchanges are needed within the EU and globally in order to accelerate the upscaling, improvement, and mainstreaming of both large-scale ER and the science and application of the ecosystem services concept.
Ecological restorationClimate change mitigationEcosystem healthEcosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction: Experiences, Challenges, and Opportunities in the Post-2015 Development Agenda
Springer (2016). Book (chapter).
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-4-431-55078-5_8Abstract
Ecosystems, climate change, and disaster risk reduction are among the cross-cutting issues highlighted in the Rio+20 Conference. In view of the post-2015 development agenda, the chapter discusses the important role of ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction in sustaining ecosystems and building disaster-resilient communities. It describes ecosystem management strategies that link ecosystem protection and disaster risk reduction, elucidates the challenges in advancing the use of ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction and linking it to policy, and identifies opportunities for scaling up.
Ecosystem-based disaster risk reductionDisaster risk reductionEcosystem healthHuman well-being & developmentRanking coastal flood protection designs from engineered to nature-based
Ecological Engineering (2016). Original Research.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925857415302731Abstract
Compared to traditional hard engineering, nature-based flood protection can be more cost effective, use up less raw materials, increase system adaptability and present opportunities to improve ecosystem functioning. However, high flood safety standards cause the need to combine nature-based structures with traditional civil engineered structures. This increases complexity assessing when and how ecological and engineering objectives of such flood protection systems are achieved. This study classifies the degree to which coastal designs are nature based using criteria for ecosystem-based management (EBM). For the engineering criterion the distinction between main and supporting structures is introduced. To evaluate the ecological criterion five design concepts have been introduced, ranging from completely engineered to completely nature-based. The method results in an EBM-ranking of the coast, showing where a particular flood protection design stands on the range between completely engineered (low EBM-rank) and nature-based (high EBM-rank). It thus facilitates comparison of different flood protection systems. The method was the applied on the North-Sea coast of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. The results show that combinations of civil-engineered and nature-based structures are widely applied. However, due to the overall low contribution to flood protection by the nature-based structures, about 85% of the coast is dominated by engineered structures. The majority of these stretches is located in relatively sheltered areas. Improving the flood protection capacity of the nature-based structures in these areas is hard to achieve. Therefore, application of more nature-based design concepts on the main structures is the most promising way to improve the EBM-rank of many flood protection systems.
Ecosystem-based disaster risk reductionEcosystem-based managementClimate change adaptationDisaster risk reductionCoastlineMarineWetlandThe bioenergy potential of Natura 2000-a synergy between climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (2016). Original Research.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.1425/fullAbstract
Climate change and biodiversity loss are two of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. To date, actions proposed by the international community to address these problems have largely been conducted in a piecemeal fashion. Conservation biologists advocate for low-intensity management in temperate protected areas to maintain and restore biodiversity. Low-input, high-diversity biomass from such areas has been proposed as a promising alternative bioenergy feedstock. Here, we show that there is a vast unexploited biomass-for-bioenergy potential present in Natura 2000, the European nature conservation network. Spanning 7.5 million hectares (ha), non-forest ecosystems within Natura 2000 have a biomass production of 17.9 teragrams (Tg) of dry matter annually. The conversion of this biomass to bioenergy will not lead to the displacement of food production systems, thereby avoiding 12.5 Tg of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse-gas emissions and circumventing between 1.2 and 2.8 million ha of indirect land-use change. The use of conservation biomass as bioenergy feedstock clearly offers the opportunity to reconcile biodiversity goals and climate-change mitigation.
Area-based approachesEcosystem-based mitigationClimate change mitigationEcosystem healthGrasslandWetlandNature-Based Approaches in Coastal Flood Risk Management: Physical Restrictions and Engineering Challenges
Springer International Publishing (2016). Book (chapter).
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-43633-3_8Abstract
Ecosystem destruction not only incurs large costs for restoration but also increases hydraulic forces on existing flood defence infrastructure. This realisation has made the inclusion of ecosystems and their services into flood defence schemes a rapidly growing field. However, these new solutions require different design, construction and management methods. A close collaboration between engineers, ecologists and experts in public administration is essential for adequate designs. In addition, a mutual understanding of the basic principles of each other’s field of expertise is paramount. This chapter presents some simple approaches for the integration of ecosystem-based measures into coastal engineering projects, which may be of use to experts from a range of fields. Further, it stresses the importance of ecological processes which determine the persistence and health of coastal ecosystems, a point which is rarely emphasised in coastal engineering. The main aim of this chapter is to highlight the role of ecosystem properties for flood defence to stimulate the coastal engineering community in adopting an ecosystem view. In the near future the hope is that greater awareness of ecosystem processes will lead to more sustainable and climate-robust designs. For this, engineers, ecologists and social scientists involved in coastal defence projects need to develop a common language, share the same design concepts and be willing to share the responsibility for these innovative designs.
Ecosystem-based disaster risk reductionClimate change adaptationDisaster risk reductionCoastlineCost benefit analysis for ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction interventions: A review of best practices and existing studies
Springer International Publishing (2016). Book (chapter).
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-43633-3_3Abstract
Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) is underutilised in assessing Ecosystem- based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) interventions, the protocols used are not always rigourous and the analytical framework is unclear. However, CBAs which follow best practices could be extremely beneficial and helpful to policy makers in establishing priorities for Eco-DRR interventions. A robust and systematic economic analytical approach might be useful, if not necessary, to justify large upfront investments and promote the implementation of this type of risk reduction intervention at an even broader scale. Identifying a common core of best practices for CBA applied to Eco-DRR would also increase comparability between studies, reproducibility of assessments, and facilitate much needed external review. The purpose of this chapter is to (i) outline the fundamental principles and best practices of rigourous cost-benefit analysis (CBA) applied to ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and (Eco-DRR) interventions; (ii) review existing studies; and – based on this review of past work – (iii) outline the possible areas of improvement to strengthen future CBAs of Eco-DRR projects.
Ecosystem-based disaster risk reductionEcosystem-based adaptationDisaster risk reductionHuman well-being & developmentA landscape vulnerability framework for identifying integrated conservation and adaptation pathways to climate change: the case of Madagascar’s spiny forest
Landscape Ecology (2016). Methodological Article.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10980-015-0269-2Abstract
Context: Integrated conservation decision-making frameworks that help to design or adjust practices that are cognisant of environmental change and adaptation are urgently needed. Objective: We demonstrate how a landscape vulnerability framework combining sensitivity, adaptive capacity, and exposure to climate change framed along two main axes of concern can help to identify potential strategies for conservation and adaptation decision-making, using a landscape in Madagascar’s spiny forest as a case-study. Methods: To apply such a vulnerability landscape assessment, we inferred the sensitivity of habitats using temporal and spatial botanical data-sets, including the use of fossil pollen data and vegetation surveys. For understanding adaptive capacity, we analysed existing spatial maps (reflecting anthropogenic stressors) showing the degree of habitat connectivity, matrix quality and protected area coverage for the different habitats in the landscape. Lastly, for understanding exposures, we used climate change predictions in Madagascar, together with a digital elevation model. Results: The fossil pollen data showed how sensitive arid-adapted species were to past climate changes, especially the conditions between 1000 and 500 cal yr BP. The spatial analysis then helped locate habitats on the two-dimensional axes of concern integrating sensitivity, adaptive capacity and climate change exposure. By identifying resistant, resilient, susceptible, and sensitive habitats to climate change in the landscape under study, we identify very different approaches to integrate conservation and adaptation strategies in contrasting habitats. Conclusion: This framework, illustrated through a case study, provides easy guidance for identifying potential integrated conservation and adaptation strategies, taking into account aspects of climate vulnerability and conservation capacity.
Area-based approachesEcosystem-based adaptationClimate change adaptationEcosystem healthArtificial Landscapes - TerrestrialDesertForestNature-based flood protection: using vegetated foreshores for reducing coastal risk
E3S Web of Conferences 7 (2016). Original Research.
https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/abs/2016/02/e3sconf_flood2016_13014/e3sconf_flood2016_13014.htmlAbstract
Vegetated foreshores such as salt marshes, mangrove forests and reed fields can reduce wave loads on coastal dikes due to depth-induced wave breaking and wave attenuation by vegetation. Here we present field measurements of wave propagation over salt marshes during severe storm conditions, a modelling approach to describe the effect of vegetated foreshores on wave loads on the dike, and a probabilistic model to quantify the effect of vegetated foreshores on failure probabilities of the dike due to wave overtopping.
Ecosystem-based disaster risk reductionClimate change adaptationDisaster risk reductionCoastlineOperationalizing ecosystem-based adaptation: harnessing ecosystem services to buffer communities against climate change
Ecology and Society (2016). Review.
https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol21/iss1/art31/Abstract
Ecosystem-based approaches for climate change adaptation are promoted at international, national, and local levels by both scholars and practitioners. However, local planning practices that support these approaches are scattered, and measures are neither systematically implemented nor comprehensively reviewed. Against this background, this paper advances the operationalization of ecosystem-based adaptation by improving our knowledge of how ecosystem-based approaches can be considered in local planning (operational governance level). We review current research on ecosystem services in urban areas and examine four Swedish coastal municipalities to identify the key characteristics of both implemented and planned measures that support ecosystem-based adaptation. The results show that many of the measures that have been implemented focus on biodiversity rather than climate change adaptation, which is an important factor in only around half of all measures. Furthermore, existing measures are limited in their focus regarding the ecological structures and the ecosystem services they support, and the hazards and risk factors they address. We conclude that a more comprehensive approach to sustainable ecosystem-based adaptation planning and its systematic mainstreaming is required. Our framework for the analysis of ecosystem-based adaptation measures proved to be useful in identifying how ecosystem-related matters are addressed in current practice and strategic planning, and in providing knowledge on how ecosystem-based adaptation can further be considered in urban planning practice. Such a systematic analysis framework can reveal the ecological structures, related ecosystem services, and risk-reducing approaches that are missing and why. This informs the discussion about why specific measures are not considered and provides pathways for alternate measures/designs, related operations, and policy processes at different scales that can foster sustainable adaptation and transformation in municipal governance and planning.
Ecosystem-based adaptationClimate change adaptationArtificial Landscapes - TerrestrialQuantifying flood mitigation services: The economic value of Otter Creek wetlands and floodplains to Middlebury, VT
Ecological Economics (2016). Original Research.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S092180091630595XAbstract
Functioning ecosystems can buffer communities from many negative impacts of a changing climate. Flooding, in particular, is one of the most damaging natural disasters globally and is projected to increase in many regions. However, estimating the value of “green infrastructure” in mitigating downstream floods remains a challenge. We estimate the economic value of flood mitigation by the Otter Creek floodplains and wetlands to Middlebury, VT, for Tropical Storm Irene and nine other floods. We used first principles to simulate hydrographs for scenarios with and without flood mitigation by upstream wetlands and floodplains. We then mapped flood extents for each scenario and calculated monetary damages to inundated structures. Our analysis indicates damage reductions of 84–95% for Tropical Storm Irene and 54–78% averaged across all 10 events. We estimate that the annual value of flood mitigation services provided to Middlebury, VT, exceeds $126,000 and may be as high as $450,000. Economic impacts of this magnitude stress the importance of floodplain and wetland conservation, warrant the consideration of ecosystem services in land use decisions, and make a compelling case for the role of green infrastructure in building resilience to climate change.
Ecosystem-based disaster risk reductionInfrastructure-related approachesClimate change adaptationDisaster risk reductionWetlandCarbon sequestration and biodiversity following 18 years of active tropical forest restoration
Forest Ecology and Management (2016). Original Research.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112716301906Abstract
Vast areas of degraded tropical forest, combined with increasing interest in mitigating climate change and conserving biodiversity, demonstrate the potential value of restoring tropical forest. However, there is a lack of long-term studies assessing active management for restoration. Here we investigate Above-Ground Biomass (AGB), forest structure, and biodiversity, before degradation (in old-growth forest), after degradation (in abandoned agricultural savanna grassland), and within a forest that is actively being restored in Kibale National Park, Uganda. In 1995 degraded land in Kibale was protected from fire and replanted with native seedlings (39 species) at a density of 400 seedlings ha−1. Sixty-five plots (50 m × 10 m) were established in restoration areas in 2005 and 50 of these were re-measured in 2013, allowing changes to be assessed over 18 years. Degraded plots have an Above Ground Biomass (AGB) of 5.1 Mg dry mass ha−1, of which 80% is grass. By 2005 AGB of trees ⩾10 cm DBH was 9.5 Mg ha−1, increasing to 40.6 Mg ha−1 by 2013, accumulating at a rate of 3.9 Mg ha−1 year−1. A total of 153 planted individuals ha−1 (38%) remained by 2013, contributing 28.9 Mg ha−1 (70%) of total AGB. Eighteen years after restoration, AGB in the plots was 12% of old-growth (419 Mg ha−1). If current accumulation rates continue restoration forest would reach old-growth AGB in a further 96 years. Biodiversity of degraded plots prior to restoration was low with no tree species and 2 seedling species per sample plot (0.05 ha). By 2005 restoration areas had an average of 3 tree and 3 seedling species per sample plot, increasing to 5 tree and 9 seedling species per plot in 2013. However, biodiversity was still significantly lower than old-growth forest, at 8 tree and 16 seedling species in an equivalent area. The results suggest that forest restoration is beneficial for AGB accumulation with planted stems storing the majority of AGB. Changes in biodiversity appear slower; possibly due to low stem turnover. Overall this restoration treatment is an effective means of restoring degraded land in the area, as can be seen from the lack of regeneration in degraded plots, which remain low-AGB and diversity, largely due to the impacts of fire and competition with grasses.
Ecological restorationEcosystem-based mitigationClimate change mitigationEcosystem healthForestDecision Tools and Approaches to Advance Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in the Twenty-First Century
Springer International Publishing (2016). Book (chapter).
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-43633-3_6Abstract
Organisations and governments around the globe are developing methodologies to cope with increasing numbers of disasters and climate change as well as implementing risk reducing measures across diverse socio-economic and environmental sectors and scales. What is often overlooked and certainly required for comprehensive planning and programming are better tools and approaches that include ecosystems in the equations. Collectively, these mechanisms can help to enhance societies’ abilities to capture the protective benefits of ecosystems for communities facing disaster and climate risks. As illustrated within this chapter, decision support tools and approaches are clearly improving rapidly. Despite these advancements, factors such as resistance to change, the cautious approach by development agencies, governance structure and overlapping jurisdictions, funding, and limited community engagement remain, in many cases, pre-requisites to successful implementation of ecosystem-based solutions. Herein we provide case studies, lessons learned and recommendations from applications of decision support tools and approaches that advance better risk assessments and implementation of ecosystem-based solutions. The case studies featured in this chapter illustrate opportunities that have been enhanced with cutting edge tools, social media and crowdsourcing, cost/benefit comparisons, and scenario planning mechanisms. Undoubtedly, due to the large areas and extent of exposure to natural hazards, ecosystems will increasingly become a critical part of societies’ overall responses to equitably solve issues of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.
Ecosystem-based disaster risk reductionEcosystem-based adaptationClimate change adaptationDisaster risk reductionCoastlineForestWetlandLocal maladaptation in a foundation tree species: Implications for restoration
Biological Conservation (2016). Original Research.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.08.036Abstract
Replanting native vegetation is a broadly accepted method for restoring degraded landscapes. Traditionally, seed used for restoration has been locally sourced to avoid introducing maladapted plants and to minimize the risk of outbreeding depression. However local adaptation is not universal and is disrupted by, for example, climate change and habitat fragmentation. We established a common garden experiment of ca. 1500 seedlings sourced from one local and two non-local provenances of Eucalyptus leucoxylon to test whether local provenancing was appropriate. The three provenances spanned an aridity gradient, with the local provenance sourced from the most mesic area. We explored the effect of provenance on four fitness proxies after 15 months, including survival, above-ground height, susceptibility to insect herbivory, and pathogen related stress. The local provenance had the highest mortality and grew least. The local provenance also suffered most from invertebrate herbivory and pathogen related stress. These results provide evidence that no advantage would be gained during the establishment of Eucalyptus leucoxylon at this site by using only the local provenance from within the range we sampled. Our results suggest that incorporating more diverse seed mixes from across the aridity gradient during the restoration of Eucalyptus leucoxylon open woodlands would provide quantifiable benefits to restoration (e.g. 6–10% greater survival, 20–25% greater plant height, 16–45% more pathogen resistance during establishment). We demonstrated these restoration gains by embedding a common garden experiments into a restoration project, and we recommend this approach be more widely adopted because it provides an effective way to facilitate adaptive management options for restoration stakeholders based on empirical evidence.
Ecological restorationClimate change adaptationEcosystem healthForest