Abstract
Here we present a framework for identifying areas with high dead wood potential (DWP) for conservation planning needs. The amount and quality of dead wood and dying trees are some of the most important factors for biodiversity in forests. As they are easy to recognize on site, it is widely used as a surrogate marker for ecological quality of forests. However, wall-to-wall information on dead wood is rarely available on a large scale as field data collection is expensive and local dead wood conditions change rapidly. Our method is based on the forest growth models in the Motti forest simulator, taking into account 168 combinations of tree species, site types, and vegetation zones as well as recommendations on forest management. Simulated estimates of stand-level dead wood volume and mean diameter at breast height were converted into DWP functions. The accuracy of the method was validated on two sites in southern and northeastern Finland, both consisting of managed and conserved boreal forests. Altogether, 203 field plots were measured for living and dead trees. Data on living trees were inserted into corresponding DWP functions and the resulting DWPs were compared to the measured dead wood volumes. Our results show that DWP modeling is an operable tool, yet the accuracy differs between areas. The DWP performs best in near-pristine southern forests known for their exceptionally good quality areas. In northeastern areas with a history of softer management, the differences between near-pristine and managed forests is not as clear. While accurate wall-to-wall dead wood inventory is not available, we recommend using DWP method together with other spatial datasets when assessing biodiversity values of forests.
Highlights
Land use, including forestry, is the main threat to biodiversity [1,2]
The variables for dead wood potential (DWP) modeling were chosen for the following reasons: forest site types describe the capability of wood production were chosen for the following reasons: forest site types describe the capability of wood production on a site based on soil fertility (e.g., Cajander [37])
Dead wood and DWP volumes of different tree species occurring in the same field plot were summed for the comparison
Summary
Land use, including forestry, is the main threat to biodiversity [1,2]. Forestry causes biodiversity loss as it fundamentally changes the ecosystem functioning and induces habitat loss and degradation.One of the most severe changes is the decline in the amount and quality of dead wood and dying trees, Forests 2020, 11, 913; doi:10.3390/f11090913 www.mdpi.com/journal/forestsForests 2020, 11, 913 which are a crucial part of the life cycle of forests and one of the most important factors for biodiversity in them [3,4,5,6].Finland, situated in Fennoscandia in northern Europe, is one of the most forested countries in the world, with forests covering 75% (22.8 million hectares) of the land area [7]. The main causes for this are the same for both groups: (1) reduction in the amount of dead wood, (2) reduction in old-growth forests and individual old trees, and (3) changes in tree species composition. These threats are interconnected as they usually occur simultaneously [8,9,10]. This decline in ecological condition results mainly from the intensive forest management during the last centuries, which has caused an alarming shortage of natural forests outside protected areas [11,12]
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