FS 3.207: Alpine Forest players facing climate change crisis

Although often perceived a prime example of a natural ecosystem, alpine forests have been an area of human-ecosystem interactions since the end of the last ice age. Wood uses, economy and the forest management sector (silviculture, conservation and recreational activities) have been largely responsible for the alpine forests’ social-ecological trajectory, and now finds itself confronted with global changes and new societal demands. Climate change affects forests worldwide, and mountain forests in particular: increased vulnerability (fires, storms, pests), changes in species composition, erosion of their protective role. The specific geographical and climatic features of mountain areas raise questions about their capability for adaptation. Moreover, forests are becoming strategic objects for decarbonising the economy and meeting climate commitments, while forest management is facing an upsurge in criticism. The aim of this session is to analyse, from an interdisciplinary perspective (social sciences and humanities), how forest management and wood sector players face these challenges, and the extent to which social-ecological trajectories become revised. Because forests, management practices, stakes, institutions governing forests, and the organisation of economic activities vary from region to region, this session intends to gather research works based on study cases, across space and time, in alpine or other mountain areas. Our session aims at understanding (i) the interplay between global changes and local stakes, and (ii) observe how forest-wood players resist to or integrate – either as a constraint or an opportunity – injunction to change.