What is the impact of active management on biodiversity in boreal and temperate forests set aside for conservation or restoration? A systematic map

Abstract

Background:The biodiversity of forests set aside from forestry is often considered best preserved by non-intervention. In many protected forests, however, remaining biodiversity values are legacies of past disturbances, e.g. recurring fires, grazing or small-scale felling. These forests may need active management to keep the characteristics that were the reason for setting them aside. Such management can be particularly relevant where lost ecological values need to be restored. In this review, we identified studies on a variety of interventions that could be useful for conserving or restoring any aspect of forest biodiversity in boreal and temperate regions. Since the review is based on Swedish initiatives, we have focused on forest types that are represented in Sweden, but such forests exist in many parts of the world. The wide scope of the review means that the set of studies is quite heterogeneous. As a first step towards a more complete synthesis, therefore, we have compiled a systematic map. Such a map gives an overview of the evidence base by providing a database with descriptions of relevant studies, but it does not synthesise reported results.Methods: Searches for literature were made using online publication databases, search engines, specialist websites and literature reviews. Search terms were developed in English, Finnish, French, German, Russian and Swedish. We searched not only for studies of interventions in actual forest set-asides, but also for appropriate evidence from commercially managed forests, since some practices applied there may be useful for conservation or restoration purposes too. Identified articles were screened for relevance using criteria set out in an a priori protocol. Descriptions of included studies are available in an Excel file, and also in an interactive GIS application that can be accessed at an external website.Results: Our searches identified nearly 17,000 articles. The 798 articles that remained after screening for relevance described 812 individual studies. Almost two-thirds of the included studies were conducted in North America, whereas most of the rest were performed in Europe. Of the European studies, 58 % were conducted in Finland or Sweden. The interventions most commonly studied were partial harvesting, prescribed burning, thinning, and grazing or exclusion from grazing. The outcomes most frequently reported were effects of interventions on trees, other vascular plants, dead wood, vertical stand structure and birds. Outcome metrics included e.g. abundance, richness of species (or genera), diversity indices, and community composition based on ordinations. Conclusions:This systematic map identifies a wealth of evidence on the impact of active management practices that could be utilised to conserve or restore biodiversity in forest set-asides. As such it should be of value to e.g.

A methodology for systematic mapping in environmental sciences

“…[48] or a more complex interactive world map which also enables the reader to select studies from sub-topics of interest and access study meta-data e.g. [50,51]. This can easily be undertaken using online tools, such as Google Maps, if all study lines in an Excel database have latitude and longitude associated with them.…”

“…Systematic maps may be of potential interest to a wide range of stakeholders, including policy makers, practitioners, non-governmental organisations, levy boards, scientists and research funding bodies e.g. [26,[45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52].…”

What are the impacts of manipulating grazing and browsing by ungulates on plants and invertebrates in temperate and boreal forests? A systematic review protocol

“…At the request of Swedish stakeholders, who wished to get an overview of the scientific support for various ways of managing protected forests, we recently published a systematic map focused on the effects of active management on biodiversity in forests set aside for conservation or restoration [19]. A systematic map does not synthesise reported results but rather provides a summary of the evidence base, and it can therefore be seen as a first step towards more complete reviews of selected subtopics.…”

“…Most of the evidence on which this systematic review will be based is included in the recently completed systematic map of biodiversity impacts of active management in forest set-asides [19]. Of the 812 studies in the map, 149 reported on how plants or invertebrates were affected by manipulation of grazing or browsing.…”

Is it possible and necessary to control European spruce bark beetle Ips typographus (L.) outbreak in the Białowieża Forest?

“…Today, unlike in the past, the renewal process is usually impossible especially in the areas under strict protection favourable for natural succession with strong fragmentation loss of continuity and lack of essential disturbances, for example, fires. In this particular situation the only solution for survival for many species and habitats in europe is to reintroduce the active conservation methods (Bernes et al 2015;Sebek et al 2015).…”