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ForES Project​

Forestry provides timber, but also supports biodiversity and supplies other public benefits, including carbon capture to tackle climate change. To enable a sustainable supply of multiple benefits from Irish forests, this project will co-develop decision-support tools for foresters. A Natural Capital Accounting approach will be used, which will allow quantification of forestry stocks, and flows of benefits, at specific forest sites. By assessing the quantity, quality and location of forest stocks, flows of commercial timber production, carbon sequestration, water retention, biodiversity and recreation will be determined. This will be modelled under different land management scenarios to provide managers will the information they need to fulfil multiple objectives at both site and estate level. This is the first project to combine Natural Capital Accounting with Bayesian Belief Network modelling of ecosystem service supply to support a structured decision-making approach in an Irish context.

Forests provide timber but also support biodiversity and other public benefits. We map specific forest sites using a Natural Capital Accounting approach to quantify forestry stocks and the various flows of benefits.

By assessing the quantity, quality and location of forest stocks, we can determine the flows of commercial timber production and other benefits such as carbon sequestration, water retention, biodiversity and recreation.

Looking at different land management scenarios, we can co-develop tools for foresters to support robust and transparent management decision-making to enhance sustainability.

Introduction to the Natural Capital Approach

Why Coillte is co-creating a sustainable forestry tool

Accounting for Forest Ecosystem Services through Natural Capital Accounting

Structured decision making in ForES project

Bayesian Belief Network Modelling (BBN)

Natural Capital Accounting tools in ForES

Decision Support Tool in ForES

ForES PROJECT TEAM

Prof Jane Stout

VP for Biodiversity & Climate Action, Provost's Office & Professor in Botany, Trinity College Dublin

Jane is an internationally renowned expert on pollinator and pollination ecology, and a prominent voice for biodiversity and its value. Her research seeks to understand how land management practices, including agriculture and urbanisation, affect ecological processes and the benefits of nature for humans. Jane works across disciplines, and with a broad range of stakeholders in public and private organisations to improve environmental policy and practice. She leads a large team of researchers in the Plant-Animal Interactions Research group in Botany, in the School of Natural Sciences in Trinity. She is co-founder & former Chair of the Board of Natural Capital Ireland, and co-founder & deputy Chair of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan.

Contact: jane.stout@tcd.ie

ForES (Q4 2021 - Q1 2026) is a collaboration between natural scientists in Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin, together with practitioners in Coillte.

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Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Research Funding Programme.

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