Landscape management in Portugal must take on a central role in responding to climate change, through an integrated approach that links forestry, fire prevention, and the strengthening of rural communities. This perspective is presented by Bruna Oliveira, a researcher at CESAM/DAO, in an opinion article published in Indústria e Ambiente magazine.
The author highlights that forest management should assume a clear climate function, contributing to emission reductions and increased carbon sequestration, while also reducing fire risk and enhancing biodiversity. This balance is considered essential to ensure the ecosystem services that support viable rural economies.
The article emphasizes the multifunctional role of Portuguese forests, which provide not only timber, cork, or biomass, but also regulatory, supporting, and cultural services. In this context, sustainable management must balance economic, social, and environmental objectives, while also valuing often less visible services.
In light of worsening climate change, Bruna Oliveira stresses the importance of active forest management capable of anticipating risks such as wildfires, droughts, and pests. The diversification of species, structures, and land uses, as well as the creation of landscape mosaics, are identified as key strategies to increase resilience.
Reducing fire risk involves decreasing vegetation continuity and replacing more flammable areas with more resilient solutions, such as native broadleaf species or agroforestry systems. Measures such as prescribed burning, silvopastoral systems, and preventive management around homes and infrastructure are also highlighted.
Climate adaptation also requires investing in mixed and uneven-aged stands, replacing more vulnerable monospecific plantations. Natural regeneration and the selection of adapted species contribute to strengthening the stability and future productivity of forests.
The article also underlines the importance of creating diverse and ecologically connected landscapes, supported by instruments such as payments for ecosystem services, certification schemes, or tax incentives.
Among the priorities identified for the country are strengthening active management, promoting more fire-resilient landscapes, expanding mixed and agroforestry systems, and integrating environmental criteria into forest-related decisions.
The valorization of rural areas is also presented as a central element, highlighting the role of local communities in land management. Without people on the land, it will not be possible to ensure resilient landscapes or sustainable management in the long term.
The text also mentions the example of the CCforBio project, developed at CESAM/DAO of the University of Aveiro, in partnership with ICNF and Centro PINUS, which adopts a participatory approach to creating conservation corridors in forest areas and assessing the ecological, economic, and social impacts of interventions.