Measuring and responding to forest degradation in Canada: an operational framework

Forest degradation resulting from human disturbance is a global concern that contributes to biodiversity loss, climate change, and reduced human health and well-being. The objective of this paper is to develop a framework for measuring and responding to forest degradation, and to identify a suite of indicators of forest change and describe their potential utility. The most significant challenges associated with measuring and responding to degradation are the lack of an agreed upon reference condition, the attribution of indicator change to specific pressures, and the integration of multiple indicators. We make seven recommendations that will improve our capacity to measure and respond to degradation including using a phased and adaptive process that integrates research with monitoring, and the integration of field-based research and remote sensing with ecosystem models to evaluate outcomes in relation to multiple policy scenarios. In addition, we recommend the use of multiple indicators to capture a wide range of forest characteristics at multiple spatial scales. We recognize that ecological and biophysical state indicators are the most informative for identifying forest degradation, but that measuring drivers, pressures, and responses are also necessary for weighing trade-offs and to support policy change as a response to degradation.