From Roots to Algorithms: Rethinking Forests in a Changing Economy

Sunandani Chandel
7 days ago
5 min read

Insights from a World Forestry Day webinar by the BES Forest Ecology SIG

Report written by Sunandani Chandel (co-chair, Forest Ecology Special Interest Group)

The webinar “From Roots to Algorithms: Valuing Forests in a Changing Economy” provided a timely platform to examine how forests are increasingly understood not only as ecological systems, but also as integral to agroforestry landscapes, urban tree systems, and emerging financial frameworks. Organised by the British Ecological Society (BES) Forest Ecology Special Interest Group on 21 March 2026 to mark World Forestry Day, under the Food and Agriculture Organization’s theme “Forests and Economies,” the event brought together experts from diverse disciplines.

The session explored how forest ecological principles are being applied across sectors to inform real-world decision-making, from regenerative land-use systems and urban green infrastructure to the assessment of nature-related financial risks. By connecting science, practice, and policy, the webinar highlighted the growing importance of interdisciplinary approaches in positioning forests and tree-based systems at the centre of sustainable and resilient economies.

Thematic Areas and Talks

The webinar was structured around three key thematic areas, each illustrating how forest science connects to regenerative landscapes, urban systems, and economic frameworks.

“Agroforestry Living Labs for Regenerative Landscapes”

Speaker: Giuseppe Scarascia-Mugnozza (European Forest Institute (EFI); Chief Scientist, Circular Bioeconomy Alliance)

This session presented agroforestry as a regenerative land-use strategy that reconnects trees and agriculture to enhance productivity and ecosystem resilience. Agroforestry was positioned as an application of forest ecological principles in managed landscapes, where tree–crop interactions mimic structural and functional characteristics of forest systems.

Drawing on living lab experiments in southern Italy, the speaker demonstrated how integrating cotton with Mediterranean tree species such as pomegranate, fig, carob, mulberry and other tree crops can improve system performance. Initial results showed a 30–40% increase in land equivalent ratio (LER) compared to monocropping, alongside improvements in soil water retention, plant performance, and carbon storage. These systems are supported by advanced monitoring approaches, including LiDAR and thermal sensing, enabling detailed assessment of water use, carbon dynamics, and ecosystem functioning.

A key takeaway was that agroforestry systems require careful, context-specific design, balancing ecological suitability with economic value for farmers. By extending forest-based interactions into agricultural systems, such approaches can enhance resilience while contributing to climate mitigation and sustainable land management.

“Learning the Land Digitally”

Speaker: Isabella Bhoan(Head of Landscape Europe & APAC at WW+P)

Shifting from regenerative landscapes to urban systems, the session explored how digital tools can support the planning and management of urban forests and tree-based green infrastructure, integrating ecological processes into urban design. Framing cities as systems under increasing environmental pressure, the speaker emphasized the need to move beyond mechanistic planning toward adaptive, nature-based approaches grounded in ecological understanding.

Introducing Landscape Information Modeling (LIM), the presentation demonstrated how digital framework, building on tools such as GIS and digital twins, can model ecological processes including microclimate regulation, water movement, and species-specific ecosystem services. In this context, urban tree systems were treated as functional extensions of forest ecosystems, delivering measurable ecological benefits.

A case study from Hereford Station in the UK illustrated this approach, where a previously hard-surfaced site was redesigned using data-driven planting strategies. The model projected significant outcomes, including over 105,000 litres of annual runoff reduction, around 1,000 kg of CO₂ sequestration, improved air quality, and cooling and wind reduction effects.

A key insight was the importance of species selection, with native and site-adapted trees delivering greater ecological performance. Overall, the session highlighted how urban forests can be designed and managed as measurable ecological systems, positioning trees as critical infrastructure in climate-resilient cities.

“Assessing the Materiality of Nature-Related Financial Risks”

Speaker: Jimena Alvarez(Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford)

Extending the discussion into economic systems, the talk highlighted the growing importance of integrating nature-related risks into financial decision making. Forests, in particular, underpin essential ecosystem services, supply chains, and climate regulation, making their degradation a significant source of economic and financial risk.

Drawing on global assessments, the speaker noted that nature decline is driven not only by climate change but also by land-use change, resource exploitation, invasive alien species, and pollution closely linked to deforestation and forest degradation. A key focus was on nature-related financial risks - physical, transition, and systemic and how these risks propagate through supply chains and financial markets, potentially leading to GDP losses and financial instability, as illustrated through a UK case study.

Importantly, institutions such as the European Central Bank and the Banque de France are already advancing this agenda by integrating environmental risks into financial supervision and risk management frameworks. These efforts signal a broader shift toward aligning financial systems with nature-positive pathways.

Overall, the session underscored the urgent need for policy reform, improved financial disclosure, and stronger international collaboration to redirect capital toward nature-positive pathways. While the framework addresses nature-related risks broadly, its implications are particularly significant for forests, given their central role in carbon storage, biodiversity, and ecosystem stability. This highlights the importance of integrating forest-related risks into financial decision-making, as forest degradation can have cascading impacts on economic resilience, supply chains, and forest-dependent livelihoods.

Key Learnings and Messages

Agroforestry as Applied Forest Ecology

Agroforestry systems demonstrate how forest structure and function can be translated into managed landscapes, improving productivity, carbon storage, and soil–water dynamics while enhancing resilience.

Urban Forests as Functional Ecological Systems

Urban tree systems can be designed and managed as extensions of forest ecosystems, where tools like digital modelling enable the quantification of ecosystem services such as microclimate regulation, runoff reduction, and carbon sequestration.

Forest Degradation as a Material Financial Risk

Nature-related financial risk frameworks highlight that forest loss and degradation—through impacts on carbon storage, biodiversity, and supply chains—pose significant risks to economic stability, underscoring the need to integrate forest-related risks into financial decision-making.

Integrating Forest Ecology into Decision-Making Across Diverse Sectors

Across agroforestry, urban planning, and finance, the webinar showed that forest ecological principles are critical for informing sustainable land management, infrastructure design, and economic systems.

Discussion and Engagement

The webinar fostered active engagement among participants, with discussions focusing on challenges such as optimizing tree–crop combinations, scaling digital tools for managing urban forests, and integrating ecological data including forest-related metrics into financial systems. These exchanges highlighted both the opportunities and complexities involved in translating forest ecological knowledge into practice.

Conclusion

The webinar underscored the evolving role of forest ecology in addressing global environmental and economic challenges. By connecting regenerative land-use practices, urban forest design, and financial frameworks, it demonstrated how forests and tree-based systems can be positioned at the centre of sustainable and resilient economies. As pressures on climate, biodiversity, and land systems intensify, integrating forest ecological principles across sectors will be essential not only for sustaining ecosystems, but for shaping future-ready economies that are both resilient and nature-positive.

The session also underscored the importance of platforms like the Forest Ecology SIG in facilitating interdisciplinary conversations, bridging science, practice, and policy.