Forest landscape ecology and biodiversity maintenance: application to forest resources planning in spanish rural landscapes

Spanish Forestry Act enhances the development of tools for planning and monitoring forestry uses in land units beyond local forest boundaries. This requirement implies a new approach at a higher to forest ecosystem organisation level. Landscape level approach includes knowledge of composition, structure and function of different landscape elements and land uses related to a forested matrix in a region. Nowadays there are some ongoing projects from different public and private institutions aiming to settle the methodological basis and research requirements for appropriate design and monitoring of forest landscape regions. We are reporting aims and preliminary results related to one of these projects involving two characteristic forested areas in central Spain: pine forests of Burgos‐ Soria region and different forest types located in High Tajo Valley. Main topics are: • Forest landscape and area delineation criteria. • Overlook of main digital data sources for the region related to non biotic and biotic components. • Settlement of main habitat, ecosystem and landscape typologies. • Research on main grain and landscape unit size for evaluating landscape indices. Evaluation of landscape structure in relation with some frequent disturbance sources (wild fires, floods and others). • Baseline definition for monitoring diversity related to representative groups of plant and animal species. • Settlement of habitat structure for some focal species existing in the area. • Evaluation of silviculture and management in relation with biodiversity maintenance at landscape level. Methodological routines are based on GIS geo‐databases and simulation programs that includes several digital information sources and field data related to habitat distribution, species composition, silviculture, disturbances impact,… One of the outputs of this project is a methodological guide for delineation, sustainable management and monitoring the forest landscapes in Mediterranean Spain.