Monday, April 28, 2025

Balancing nature restoration and land use: a path to sustainable growth in the EU

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

Can nature restoration and economic productivity go hand in hand? A new study finds that the EU’s ambitious Nature Restoration Regulation (NRR) is essential to achieving biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation targets and that it could be implemented without compromising the supply of agricultural and forest products.

Ensuring that biodiversity conservation actions are integrated with land management strategies is key for long-term sustainability. Doing so can ensure that ecosystems continue to provide essential services such as pollination, water purification, and carbon storage, all of which support agriculture and forestry production. If biodiversity is neglected in favor of short-term economic gains, ecosystem degradation can lead to soil erosion, loss of natural pest control, and reduced resilience to climate change, ultimately harming both nature and livelihoods.

By using an integrated spatial planning approach, the authors of the new study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution show that strategic restoration efforts can yield significant biodiversity and climate benefits while ensuring continued food and timber production across Europe.

“We wanted to explore whether nature restoration goals and economic needs are inherently at odds. Our findings suggest that, with careful planning, restoration can indeed lead to a win-win scenario for biodiversity and sustainable production,” explains lead author Melissa Chapman, an alumna of the IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program and winner of the 2022 IIASA Peccei Award, who is now an incoming assistant professor at ETH Zürich. “What started as a small summer project turned into a multi-year collaborative effort due to evolving policy discussions. As a result, the analysis is more comprehensive and policy-relevant,” she says.

Without the implementation of the NRR, biodiversity losses in Europe are expected to continue or worsen, making restoration efforts critical for mitigating these declines. The study provides scientific insights into how land use can be allocated efficiently to meet conservation, restoration, and production goals under different economic and policy scenarios. This research is particularly relevant and timely as EU Member States prepare their National Restoration Plans to fulfill the NRR’s goal of restoring 20% of land and water by 2030.

“There is large diversity with which cropland, pasture, or forest can be managed, and how that impacts biodiversity, climate, and economic activities. This challenges our understanding of the many trade-offs associated with future EU land management, but this diversity can also be an opportunity to identify win-win solutions,” says David Leclère, a study coauthor and senior research scholar in the IIASA Integrated Biosphere Future Research Group.

“Our approach enables the simultaneous consideration and planning of multiple actions and sectors, minimizing potential conflicts and more strategically utilizing each sector's contribution to food and timber provision, nature conservation, and climate mitigation,” adds study coauthor Martin Jung, a senior research scholar in the IIASA Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation Research Group.

As EU Member States draft their National Restoration Plans, they will outline key areas, species, and habitats targeted by restoration measures and determine baseline levels and targets levels of restoration indicators as well as implementation mechanisms.

“This work, and similar studies done at national scales, can help shape Nature Restoration Plans. It can help to identify which areas to focus on for restoration and conservation, estimate how these efforts can simultaneously fight climate change, and look at how the plans might affect industries like farming or forestry, which in turns helps to determine what kind of financial or other support the relevant sectors might need,” concludes Piero Visconti, who conceived the study and leads the Biodiversity, Ecology, and Conservation Research Group at IIASA.

Reference
Chapman, M., Jung, M., Leclere, D., Boettiger, C., Augustynczik, A.L.D., Gusti, M., Ringwald, L., and Visconti, P. (2025). Meeting EU biodiversity targets under future land-use demands. Nature Ecology & Evolution DOI: 10.1038/s41559-025-02671-1

About IIASA:
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an international scientific institute that conducts research into the critical issues of global environmental, economic, technological, and social change that we face in the twenty-first century. Our findings provide valuable options to policymakers to shape the future of our changing world. IIASA is independent and funded by prestigious research funding agencies in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. www.iiasa.ac.at

Journal

Nature Ecology & Evolution

DOI

10.1038/s41559-025-02671-1

Article Title

Meeting EU biodiversity targets under future land-use demands.

Article Publication Date

28-Apr-2025

New study confirms beech leaf disease threatens European beech trees, too

Researchers at the Holden Arboretum and the USDA-ARS used advanced microscopy to trace how the BLD-causing nematode affects American and European beech

Holden Forests & Gardens

Nematodes invading European beech leaf tissue under electron microscope — image:
A scanning electron microscope reveals nematodes (highlighted in green) inside the spongy mesophyll of a European beech (*Fagus sylvatica*) leaf infected with beech leaf disease (BLD). Eggs are marked in red for enhanced visualization. Natural fractures in the leaf surface suggest pathways for nematode migration from within the leaf to its outer surface. New research confirms that European beech is susceptible to BLD, raising concerns about global forest health.
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Credit: Colbert-Pitts et al. 2025 Plant Pathology © British Society for Plant Pathology

KIRTLAND, OHIO — A new study from Holden Forests & Gardens and a team at USDA Agricultural Research Service confirms that beech leaf disease—a fast-spreading disease already devastating American beech across eastern North America—also affects European beech (Fagus sylvatica). The research raises concerns that the disease could spread globally, threatening the health of forests across Europe.

European beech is a cornerstone of native forests in Europe as well as a common ornamental species planted across North America. To date, beech leaf disease has not been reported in Europe.

Published in the journal Plant Pathology, the study used advanced microscopy to trace how the BLD-causing nematode, Litylenchus crenatae subsp. mccannii, alters leaf structure and function in European beech, with American beech used as a comparison. Under the microscope, the same signature symptoms—misshapen leaf biology and dense nematode populations in buds—were observed in European beech leaves and buds exposed to the invasive pest.

These findings mark the first time the full disease process has been documented in European beech, from nematode infestation in the buds to visible leaf symptoms and internal tissue damage.

“This is the first in-depth cellular-level evidence that European beech is susceptible to beech leaf disease,” says Mary Pitts, a research specialist in the David Burke Lab at HF&G and lead author of the study. “We found clear signs of infection and structural damage in both the buds and leaves, similar to what we see in American beech.”

For the study, the team collected buds and leaves from symptomatic European beech and American beech at the Holden Arboretum, as well as asymptomatic European beech from the Dawes Arboretum (Newark, Ohio), where the disease had not yet spread.

After processing the leaves and buds in the lab, the team could peer inside and view the actual nematodes as well as what the damage looks like on a microscopic level. They soaked samples in alcohol to clear out green pigments, then used a magenta stain that highlights the nematode, making them stand out clearly against the leaf tissue. The resulting imagery is striking.

They also examined cross-sections of the leaves to better understand the nematode’s effects at the cellular level. The researchers observed abnormal cell growth, disorganized stomata, and severe changes to internal leaf layers—changes that reduce the tree’s ability to breathe and photosynthesize effectively.

The team’s findings raise new concerns about the disease’s potential spread beyond North America. Researchers hope that these cellular-level insights can help tree health experts better understand how the disease weakens trees from the inside out.

“This study helps us understand how the disease works in different beech species, which is key for understanding the basic biology of this disease and potentially help managing its spread,” says Paulo Vieira, researcher with the USDA-ARS (Beltsville, MD) and senior author on the study. “We're still amazed by the cellular processes involved in this disease. While it's highly detrimental to the tree, it is undeniably interesting from a scientific perspective. It’s a reminder that plant diseases don’t respect borders. We need to be vigilant and safeguard our natural forest ecosystems.”

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Citation: Mary Colbert-Pitts, Mihail R. Kantor, Andrew Jansen, David J. Burke, & Paulo Vieira. 2025. “Cellular dynamics of beech leaf disease on Fagus sylvatica.” Plant Pathology, 0:1–18.

About Holden Forests & Gardens: Holden Forests & Gardens is made up of two of Northeast Ohio’s most important environmental and cultural institutions—the Holden Arboretum and Cleveland Botanical Garden—whose mission is to connect people with the wonder, beauty, and value of trees and plants, to inspire action for healthy communities. One of the largest public gardens in the country, HF&G has 21,000 member households and an annual attendance of nearly 350,000 for whom we strive to provide inspirational and educational visitor experiences.

Chlorophyll-depleted European beech (Fagus sylvatica) leaves stained with acid fuchsin reveal the presence of beech leaf disease (BLD)-causing nematodes (pink) in symptomatic samples (right), while asymptomatic samples (left) show no nematodes. These findings confirm that European beech is susceptible to BLD.

Credit

Colbert-Pitts et al. 2025 Plant Pathology © British Society for Plant Pathology