New Collaboration Initiation Project between Germany and South Korea on Hydro-ecological basis and future projections for re- and afforestation efforts under climate change.
Researchers based in South Korea and Germany met in Bonn.
Nine colleagues from and affiliated with ZEF, Germany, and six colleagues from the Agroforestry Systems and Ecology Lab, Korea University, South Korea, held a workshop at ZEF in hybrid mode on April 21-22, 2022.
Under the coordination of Dr. Navneet Kumar, senior researcher at ZEF, they have been working on the topic of Hydro-ecological basis and future projections for re- and afforestation efforts under climate change. The workshop was part of a new Collaboration Initiation Project between Germany and South Korea. The hybrid event included presentations and discussions focused on land degradation, afforestation and reforestation scenarios and their impact on water balance components considering climate change.
The bilateral research project aims at
- Conducting an exchange between scientists from Germany and South Korea with relevant expertise in (agro)forestry, hydrological modeling, remote sensing and GIS as well as land degradation and climate change analysis in various geographical regions and
- Achieving an improved understanding of impacts of Afforestation and reforestation activities on regional water balances,
- Providing interdisciplinary analyses for Afforestation and reforestation projections under climate change.
The workshop at ZEF was part of an initiative to form an international, interdisciplinary working group consisting of experts in agroforestry, water resources management, climate change, land degradation, remote sensing and geospatial technologies for analyzing past experiences and informing future Afforestation and reforestation efforts in the changing climate environment.
The main cooperation partners for the project are ZEF (University of Bonn) and the Agroforestry Systems and Ecology Lab, Korea University, South Korea. It is mainly funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea.
Duration of the Project
01.01.2022 – 31.12.2022
Project’s Special Issues in Journals:
Implications of Climate Change on the Sustainable Management of the Water–Forest Nexus http://www.mdpi.com/journal/water/special_issues/Water_Forest_Nexus
Sustainable Innovations in Natural Resources Management Using Earth Observation Data and Geospatial Technologies
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/Earth_Geospatial_Technologies
Background: The project is part of the Afforestation and reforestation projects implemented through United Nations Conventions and national initiatives worldwide for combating land degradation and contributing to climate change mitigation, while generating products of commercial value. Published studies have revealed a growing number of cases where, next to generating clear benefits, Afforestation and reforestation resulted in negative hydrological outcomes, including critical declines in groundwater tables, depletion of soil water, and reduced annual runoff and water yields. These adverse hydrological effects pose considerable trade-offs against the benefits of Afforestation and reforestation and therewith reduce their appeal. This applies in particular to future projections of water precarity due to climate change. Thus, we need an integrated approach that allows us to align the Afforestation and reforestation interventions with water availability in landscapes while considering the impacts of climate change. This approach also requires the use of spatially distributed decision-support tools. If we would proceed on this basis and in this way, we are able to advise hydrologically feasible Afforestation and reforestation planning processes and strengthen efforts to make Afforestation and reforestation more sustainable.
