Presence and Abundance of Red‐Listed Plant Species in Swedish Forests

Abstract

Abstract: This study was performed to obtain information on the presence and abundance of red‐listed vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens of forests in an objective and systematic way and on a large scale. Species were searched for in line transects in three areas in southern Sweden, representing a total of 1350 km 2. I investigated 135 ha of production forests and, for comparison, 35 so‐called “woodland key habitats” (WKHs) covering 63 ha. It is estimated that there are 70,000 WKHs in Sweden presumed to be important sites for red‐listed species. I found 22% of the forest vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens on the national red list, indicating that most such species are very rare. The red‐listed bryophytes and lichens were considerably more common than the vascular plants. Due to a relatively high abundance of a few red‐listed species, the average number of records for the three species groups together was 0.9–2.4/ha in the production forest. Extrapolated to the whole hemiboreal region of Sweden, there could be several million occurrences of red‐listed plant species within the managed forests. The red‐listed species were to a high degree associated with deciduous trees and dead wood and occurred mainly in mature forests. Woodland key habitats had more red‐listed species, more species in high categories of threat, and significantly more records per hectare than production forests. Because WKHs constitute only 1% of the productive forest land in Sweden, they cannot alone safeguard the future of red‐listed species. The great importance of managed forests, which make up more than 95% of the productive forest land in Sweden, must be acknowledged. Combined conservation planning is recommended, with attention being given to both WKHs and production forests.