Assessing forest management practices across Europe under climate scenarios: insights from the 3D–CMCC–FEM model in the OptFor–EU Project

Forest modeling is essential for understanding ecosystem dynamics, evaluating future scenarios, and supporting informed decision–making, mainly given the long–life cycles of trees. Within the 4–year project (2023–2027) “OPTimising FORest management decisions for a low–carbon, climate–resilient future in Europe” (OptFor–EU), several model types, including forest, climate, and land surface vegetation models, are used to simulate forest dynamics under climate scenarios. A primary project effort includes developing and testing new Forest Management Practices (FMPs), building on widely used management practices such as clearcut, shelterwood, and continuous forest cover using single tree harvesting. These FMPs are crucial for generating accurate forest future representation, as most European forests undergo active management (State of Europe’s forests, 2020)