The aim of my research is to provide evidence to forest planners and policy makers on the effects of alternative woodland management and expansion strategies on the delivery of a range of key ecosystem services, using the public forest estate in Lochaber as a case study.
The lifespan of woodlands and length of commercial forest rotations are long enough that trees planted today are growing into an uncertain future. As a result, forest planners and policy makers are having to make management decisions to increase the resilience of forests to climate change. These management decisions will affect the provision of ecosystem services. Scenario modelling provides the opportunity to test the effect of these decisions on ecosystem service delivery for a range of different socio-economic and climate futures. I will be using spatial modelling to explore and compare the potential synergies and trade-offs in ecosystem services from Leanachan forest under a range of scenarios.