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Background: Livestock grazing and 'overabundance' of large wild herbivores in forested areas have long been perceived as conflicting with the aims of both silviculture and forest conservation; however, certain kinds of herbivory can help to maintain habitat values in forest ecosystems. Management of mammalian herbivory in protected forests can, therefore, be a critical tool for biodiversity conservation. The primary aim of this systematic review was to examine how forest vegetation and invertebrates are affected by manipulation of the grazing/browsing pressure by livestock or wild ungulates. The ultimate purpose was to investigate whether such manipulation is useful for conserving or restoring biodiversity in forest set-asides. Methods: We considered studies of manipulated ungulate herbivory in forests anywhere within the boreal and temperate zones, not only in protected areas but also in production forest. Non-intervention or alternative levels of intervention were used as comparators. Relevant outcomes included abundance, diversity and composition of plants and invertebrates, tree regeneration, and performance of focal/target species. Studies were mainly selected from a recent systematic map of the evidence on biodiversity effects of forest management relevant to protected areas. Additional studies were identified through updated searches online and in bibliographies of existing reviews. Relevant studies were critically appraised, and studies with low or unclear validity were excluded from the review. Quantitative outcomes were extracted from 103 articles, and summary effect sizes were derived by meta-analysis. Results: Most of the 144 studies included in the review had been conducted in North America, Europe or Australia/ New Zealand. The intervention most commonly studied was experimental exclusion (or enclosure) of wild and/or domestic ungulates by fencing. Other studies examined culling of wild ungulates or compared forests long grazed by livestock to ungrazed forests. Effects on vegetation and invertebrates were reported in 135 and 23 of the studies, respectively. We found negative responses to herbivory in the abundance of understorey vegetation as a whole, woody understorey and bryophytes, and also in the species richness of woody understorey vegetation, whereas the richness of forbs and bryophytes responded positively. Several effects depended on ungulate origins: Understorey abundance responded negatively to livestock and to ungulates introduced into the wild, but not to native ones. In contrast, understorey species richness responded positively to livestock but not to wild ungulates. The duration and intensity of herbivory had few significant effects on vegetation-exceptions included woody understorey abundance

2006. Assemblages of woodinhabiting fungi along the gradients of succession and naturalness in boreal pinedominated forests in Fennoscandia. Ecography 29: 75 Á/83. In boreal forests, the level of naturalness and the stage of succession explain most of the variation in forest structure within a particular forest type. Thus, these two factors should also have a major effect on species assemblages in forests, at least on species groups associated with wood. The present study is the first attempt to analyze empirically the simultaneous effects of forest succession and naturalness on woodinhabiting fungi, a taxonomic group of special ecological importance. The study area was situated in eastern Finland, middle boreal zone. A total of 41 study plots were established in Pinus sylvestris forests representing three levels of forest naturalness: natural, seminatural and intensively managed forests. Five stages of succession were distinguished according to the age of the dominating tree layer (B/10, 40, 70, 110, and /150 yr old), except in managed forests where only four stages were available. A total of 5328 records of 195 species of fungi were made. The first, open stage of succession was clearly the most species-rich period of succession in all levels of forest naturalness. In natural and seminatural forests, the first stage of succession was also very distinctive in its fungal composition, and thus of special value in protecting biodiversity in boreal forests. In the succession following the first stage, the level of naturalness had more effect on assemblages of fungi than did the stage of succession. Intensive forest management affects threatened species particularly. In conclusion, natural young stages of succession should also be included in the network of boreal forest reserves. K. Junninen