Ignacio Sevillano
Research Scientist
Biography
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Role: my role focuses on forecasting forest development and associated ecosystem services (carbon storage, timber production, etc.) under different management options and policy scenarios.
- Area of expertise: tree species performance in response to environmental factors and different management practices; silviculture; forest management based on data science; tree physiology & growth.
- Research interests: forest ecosystem services; climate mitigation; sustainable forest management.
Authors
Marta Vergarechea Ignacio Sevillano Arne Steffenrem A. Ahtikoski H. Holmström C. Antón-FernándezAbstract
Balancing wood production, biodiversity, and climate regulation is increasingly challenging for forest management, particularly as societal demands intensify. Despite growing interest in genetic improvement to enhance forest productivity, its implications for multiple ecosystem services (FES) remain poorly quantified. To address this gap, we assessed how genetically improved regeneration material, combined with alternative management regimes, influences FES provision in Norway. Using National Forest Inventory data, a climate-sensitive single-tree simulator, and multi-objective optimization, we projected 100-year outcomes under three strategies: no genetic gain, growth-focused improvement, and combined improvement in growth and wood quality. The strongest responses occurred when genetic improvement targeted both growth and wood quality. Under this scenario, harvest net value increased, ecological hotspot areas expanded, and larger set-aside areas were maintained while meeting national harvest demands. Carbon storage in harvested wood products also increased, whereas carbon sequestration in living biomass showed no consistent trend. Genetic gain reinforced positive interactions between bioenergy and climate regulation but left most other FES relationships broadly unchanged. Varying genetic gain levels produced only minor differences across most indicators, suggesting that long-term outcomes depend more on how improved material is integrated within a flexible management portfolio than on the exact magnitude of genetic gain. Positive responses in the structural biodiversity indicators should be interpreted cautiously, as these proxies capture only a limited subset of ecological dimensions and likely underestimate broader biodiversity trade-offs. Overall, genetically improved material represents a complementary tool for enhancing forest multifunctionality when integrated with adaptive, landscape-scale management.
Abstract
There is an increasing interest in using forests as a natural solution for enhancing terrestrial carbon dioxide removal, as part of climate smart forestry strategy to have a significant role in climate mitigation efforts. Harvest deferral is seen as one carbon farming practice to increase carbon sequestration in forests. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of harvest deferral on carbon forest sink potential of Norwegian forests in the short, medium and long-term. Here, we carried out scenario analysis for the whole Norway during the 21st century to assess the effect on carbon sequestration of delaying harvest in a certain number of forests. The scenarios represented different levels of harvest deferral through Norwegian forests. Delaying harvest would increase CO2 removals in the medium (2050) and long-term (2100), resulting in an additional uptake of approximately 6 and 34 Tg CO2, respectively, when extending rotation for 20 years in those plots with high growth increment in the last 5 years. Scenarios where harvest was delayed for a longer period showed slightly higher CO2 removals by the end of the century. While harvest deferral scenarios showed positive effects in terms of climate change mitigation potential, there are several other aspects that need to be considered, such as trade-offs and synergies with other sustainability goals, leakage, market behaviour and willingness of forest owners to get involved in these carbon farming practices.
Authors
Aksel Granhus Ulrika Jansson Asplund Tone Birkemoe Jostein Gohli Kjersti Holt Hanssen Rannveig Margrete Jacobsen Christian Wilhelm Mohr Jenni Nordén Line Nybakken Jørund Rolstad Per Kr. Rørstad Ignacio Sevillano Ken Olaf Storaunet Gunnhild SøgaardAbstract
Denne rapporten er utarbeidet på oppdrag for Miljødirektoratet og Landbruksdirektoratet. Formålet med arbeidet har vært å gi et oppdatert og helhetlig kunnskapsgrunnlag om hvordan tiltak i skogforvaltningen kan innrettes for å bidra til både økt opptak og redusert utslipp av klimagasser, samt opprettholde eller forbedre økologisk tilstand i skog. Rapporten sammenstiller eksisterende kunnskap, framskrivinger og ekspertvurderinger om hvordan tiltak kan innrettes for å oppnå best mulig effekt og redusere målkonflikter. Oppdraget har vært et samarbeid mellon Norsk institutt for bioøkonomi (NIBIO), Norsk institutt for naturforskning (NINA) og Norges miljø- og biovitenskapelige universitet (NMBU). Et utvidet sammendrag med de viktigste funn og konklusjoner er gjengitt som eget kapittel.
Division of Forest and Forest Resources
EU Climate Policy Implications for Land Use in Norway: Managing Trade-offs and Achieving Policy Coherence (ClimaLand)
The ClimaLand project will investigate trade-offs between policy goals, governance levels, and sector interests, and seek to identify how to design more coherent climate and land-use policies. An important objective is to investigate how conflicting policy goals can be handled and various considerations and land-use interests balanced.
Division of Forest and Forest Resources
A Decision Support System for emerging forest management alternatives
This project aims to develop advanced tree growth models using LiDAR-derived, high-density point cloud data to improve the simulation of forest dynamics under close-to-nature silvicultural practices. By modeling tree-level growth in structurally complex and heterogeneous stands, these models will support more accurate, spatially explicit forest simulations and inform sustainable and diversified forest management decisions.