History of forestry in a central Norwegian boreal forest landscape: Examples from Nordli, Nord-Trøndelag

Abstract

Analysing forest history is crucial to understanding how shifting harvesting methods have different effects on forest landscape structure. Two main harvesting regimes in a Norwegian boreal forest landscape over a period of 150 years were detected by the study. A homogeneous impact regime resulting from selective logging changed the forest structure by logging the oldest and largest trees evenly throughout the forest, resulting in a homogeneous landscape structure. However, population growth in the 19th century led to a substantial increase in traditional subsistence forestry to obtain building materials, firewood, etc. The most intensive stage of this regime started in c.1860 when farmers began selling logging contracts to companies and timber traders. Despite this being termed a homogeneous landscape impact, the actual exploitation of the forest was strongly influenced by local factors such as the location of farms, summer farms, lakes, and rivers. Clear-cutting from the 1950s has resulted in a new heterogeneous impact regime, giving a landscape structure dominated by patches of even-aged stands. This regime still predominates. The analysis is based on a study of Nordli and the Sandøla drainage basin in Nord-Trøndelag. Such studies should give a better understanding of the interaction between natural ecological conditions in and human impact on boreal forest landscapes.