Abstract
Changes in clearcut management over time were evaluated using aerial photographs taken between 1960 and 2010. Temporal changes were analysed in two different climatic zones in Sweden: a typical boreal forest zone (the coast of Västerbotten County), and the hemi-boreal zone of southern Sweden (represented by Kronoberg County). The study covers the periods before and after the paradigm shift in Swedish forestry caused by the equalization of the production and nature conservation objectives specified in the first paragraph of the Swedish Forestry Act. Photographs were processed to determine clearcut size and shape and to register solitary retention trees and groups of retention trees. Small but significant changes in clearcut size were detected over time. The number of retention trees increased over time, a result that was also found in other studies using different methodologies. The results demonstrate that measurable structural changes have occurred in Swedish forests over the 25 years since the paradigm shift. Results from this study also show that digital detection of green tree retention could be a future complement to field inventory and monitoring.
Highlights
Striking a balance between multiple objectives within sustainable forest management is one of the greatest challenges for forestry
The results demonstrate that measurable structural changes have occurred in Swedish forests over the 25 years since the paradigm shift
In Kronoberg county, where the forest estates and management units are smaller, the clearcut size doubled between 1960 and 1990, and the total area of clearcuts doubled between 1960 and 2010. This supports the conclusion that clearcut size correlates more strongly with ownership structure than with the introduction of regulatory instruments relating to forest management
Summary
Striking a balance between multiple objectives within sustainable forest management is one of the greatest challenges for forestry. Swedish forests have traditionally been managed to provide a multitude of ecosystem services, such as mushroom and berry picking, and recreational values (Eckerberg, 1995). Forest operations such as harvest and regeneration efforts have been optimized for wood extraction and clearcutting was the dominant forest management system in Sweden during the latter part of the last century (Lisberg Jensen, 2011). The forest is divided into smaller or larger stands in which all trees are harvested at the same time, creating gaps known as clearcuts that are subsequently filled by a regeneration of even-aged trees
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