Keeping pace with forestry: Multi-scale conservation in a changing production forest matrix

Abstract

The multi-scale approach to conserving forest biodiversity has been used in Sweden since the 1980s, a period defined by increased reserve area and conservation actions within production forests. However, two thousand forest-associated species remain on Sweden's red-list, and Sweden's 2020 goals for sustainable forests are not being met. We argue that ongoing changes in the production forest matrix require more consideration, and that multiscale conservation must be adapted to, and integrated with, production forest development. To make this case, we summarize trends in habitat provision by Sweden's protected and production forests, and the variety of ways silviculture can affect biodiversity. We discuss how different forestry trajectories affect the type and extent of conservation approaches needed to secure biodiversity, and suggest leverage points for aiding the adoption of diversified silviculture. Sweden's long-term experience with multi-scale conservation and intensive forestry provides insights for other countries trying to conserve species within production landscapes.

Combining Climate Change Mitigation Scenarios with Current Forest Owner Behavior: A Scenario Study from a Region in Southern Sweden

“…In addition, the benefits associated with increasing the biomass supply need to be weighed against negative effects on other ecosystem services, such as biodiversity [6,79]. Concerning the latter, the Swedish approach to biodiversity conservation is highly dependent on the habitat quality of the production forests [80]. Further intensification in the managed forests can therefore be expected to have negative effects on the conservation status of many forest dependent species.…”

Dynamics of biodiversity-rich deciduous trees and microhabitats in boreal forests

“…In relation to land sparing and sharing, it appears appropriate and realistic to mix these two approaches in the context of European boreal forests, albeit that the role of land sharing is emphasized (Felton et al 2020). Two models that could be considered suitable in European boreal forests are the Canadian TRIAD model (see Côté et al 2010) and the Scandinavian ASIO-model (see Angelstam 1998).…”

“…Herein, it should also be noted that, less than a decade ago, approximately 75% of the forests within protected areas in Finland showed signs of forest management and were in need of restoration efforts, such as increasing deadwood quantities and diversifying tree age distribution (Similä et al 2012). What complicates both approaches, however, is that forestry has continued to intensify in the region, despite the increasing conservation efforts described above (Felton et al 2020).…”

“…deadwood) that are considered valuable for biodiversity? In general, a multi-scale conservation approach is deemed appropriate (Lindenmayer et al 2006;Felton et al 2020), largely because different species have different requirements from their environment (Lindenmayer and Franklin 2002). Small-scale structural elements have garnered increasing importance for nature conservation in recent years (Winter and Möller 2008;Michel and Winter 2009;Larrieu et al 2018) and have even been shown to be more important than larger scale elements in some cases (e.g.…”

The Potential of Production Forests for Sustaining Lichen Diversity: A Perspective on Sustainable Forest Management

“…A critical gap in knowledge about maintaining forest biodiversity along with other forest use is how to allocate conservation efforts between production forests and set-asides of different type and size [6][7][8]. This gap remains partly rooted in incomplete knowledge on most forest organisms and their responses to management practices [9], which weakens conservation arguments in stakeholder processes and, specifically, makes these dependent on approaches to the precautionary principle [10].…”