Long-term spatio-temporal dynamics and historical continuity of European aspen (Populus tremula L.) stands in the Koli National Park, eastern Finland

Vehmas, Mikko; Kouki, Jari; Eerikäinen, Kalle

doi:10.1093/forestry/cpn044

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…This pattern may be because only large aspen patches are able to continuously provide habitat availability during forest succession (e.g. Vehmas et al 2009). As the same amount of wood produce more individuals of target species in larger patches, efforts to create and maintain aspen dead wood should be directed towards creating a few larger patches of living and dead aspen trees rather than many small patches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonisation of ephemeral forest habitats by specialised species: beetles and bugs associated with recently dead aspen wood

2011

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23The most appropriate strategy for preserving fragmented populations depends on a species' 24 ability to colonise distant habitat patches. Insects associated with early decay stages of dead 25 wood are expected to have a high capacity to colonise new habitat patches. To study the 26 dispersal ranges of beetles (Coleoptera) and flat bugs (Hemiptera: Aradidae) dependent on 27 recently dead aspen (Populus tremula) wood in Finland, we set out 58 piles of recently cut 28 aspen logs at various distances up to 1.6 km from forests that contained a high density of old 29 aspen trees. We captured insects by trunk window-traps, and counted beetles' exit holes. 30Habitat connectivity was measured in terms of the amount of suitable aspen-wood in the 31 surrounding environment, with the closest dead wood items up-weighted by a negative-32 exponential function. 33The log-piles attracted many saproxylic insects including four red-listed aspen-34 specialist species. The exposure of log-piles to the sun, and high levels of habitat 35 connectivity increased the species richness of aspen-specialists, whereas bark peeling by 36 moose decreased richness. The spatial scale at which species richness had its strongest habitat by re-locating logs may be useful at localities with a rich and specialised fauna but 42 which have too low rate of formation of dead wood by natural processes. Introduction 48Many organisms associated with dead wood are thought to be threatened as a result of 49 habitat loss and fragmentation (Berg et al. 1995; Nieto and Alexander 2010). The most 50 effective conservation strategy for preserving this fauna and flora depends to some extent on 51 species' dispersal ranges. For species with a limited dispersal range, it is important that 52 conservation efforts are directed within, or close to, sites where the target species are present 53 (Huxel and Hastings 1999), while to protect species that are able to colonise over long 54 3 distances, efforts can be directed at more distant sites where restoration efforts may be less 55 expensive and where they may improve habitat quality quickly (Ranius and Kindvall 2006). should be promoted in forest landscapes for enhancing biodiversity (Gustafsson et al. 2010). 80The efficiency of such conservation measures depends on the ability of aspen-associated 81 species to colonize patches. Several beetle species that specialise on dead aspen wood occur 82 in a larger proportion of items of dead wood where these are present in large aspen stands 83 than in smaller stands (Sahlin and Schroeder 2010 We set out 58 piles of aspen logs in a way that generated a high variability in habitat 114 connectivity among log-piles. They were set out along six forest roads, starting from was approximately 0.6 m 3 , which corresponds to a medium-sized aspen-tree. 131All experimental aspen logs were sourced from managed forests outside the study area. (Table 1). Aspen specialists were defined as species for which we estimate that > and then we observed that this bark stripping took p...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colonisation of ephemeral forest habitats by specialised species: beetles and bugs associated with recently dead aspen wood

2011

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“…The analysis was based on diameter distribution, spatial pattern of aspen trees and reliability figures of forest attribute estimates of stand level inventory. Our unique data included mapped aspen trees Table 3 Correlation and the improvement in the RMSE of V (%) due to the use of ALS auxiliary information in PPS sampling in three spruce dominated forest stands where local aspen populations have survived during the past 100 years (Vehmas et al 2009b). These stands also represent favourable growing environments of aspen.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a study by Vehmas et al (2009b), the historical continuity of aspen was studied based on inventory registers, and some areas where large aspens have survived from 1910 were found within the current Koli NP. Three of the largest of these stands were selected for this study (Figures 1 and 2).…”

Section: Study Area and Field Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sum characteristics were converted to per-hectare levels, and D g M was calculated for the three stands (Table 1). In addition, total stand volume and basal area were taken from the existing stand register data and updated into aspen measurement date (see Vehmas et al 2009b).…”

Section: Study Area and Field Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although aspen is a typical species in post-disturbance, early successional stages, recent studies have indicated that aspen can maintain its populations in natural oldgrowth coniferous forests for up to several hundred years, even though they may slowly decline in abundance (Lilja et al 2006;Vehmas et al 2009b). In particular, old and large-sized aspen trees, which are most valuable for biodiversity, are mostly found in mature and old-growth mixed forests where they grow in small groups or as scattered individuals (Tikka 1954;Syrjänen et al 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Inventory of aspen trees in spruce dominated stands in conservation area

et al. 2015

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Background: The occurrence of aspen trees increases the conservation value of mature conifer dominated forests. Aspens typically occur as scattered individuals among major tree species, and therefore the inventory of aspens is challenging. Methods: We characterized aspen populations in a boreal nature reserve using diameter distribution, spatial pattern, and forest attributes: volume, number of aspens, number of large aspen stems and basal area median diameter. The data were collected from three separate forest stands in Koli National Park, eastern Finland. At each site, we measured breast height diameter and coordinates of each aspen. The comparison of inventory methods of aspens within the three stands was based on simulations with mapped field data. We mimicked stand level inventory by locating varying numbers of fixed area circular plots both systematically and randomly within the stands. Additionally, we also tested if the use of airborne laser scanning (ALS) data as auxiliary information would improve the accuracy of the stand level inventory by applying the probability proportional to size sampling to assist the selection of field plot locations. Results:The results showed that aspens were always clustered, and the diameter distributions indicated different stand structures in the three investigated forest stands. The reliability of the volume and number of large aspen trees varied from relative root mean square error figures above 50% with fewer sample plots (5-10) to values of 25%-50% with 10 or more sample plots. Stand level inventory estimates were also able to detect spatial pattern and the shape of the diameter distribution. In addition, ALS-based auxiliary information could be useful in guiding the inventories, but caution should be used when applying the ALS-supported inventory technique. Conclusions: This study characterized European aspen populations for the purposes of monitoring and management of boreal conservation areas. Our results suggest that if the number of sample plots is adequate, i.e. 10 or more stand level inventory will provide accurate enough forest attributes estimates in conservation areas (minimum accuracy requirement of RMSE% is 20%-50%). Even for the more ecologically valuable attributes, such as diameter distribution, spatial pattern and large aspens, the estimates are acceptable for conservation purposes.

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Embracing the Complexity and the Richness of Boreal Old-Growth Forests: A Further Step Toward Their Ecosystem Management

Martin

Shorohova

Fenton

2023

Advances in Global Change Research

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Boreal old-growth forests are specific and often undervalued ecosystems, as they present few of the structural attributes that usually define old forests in the collective culture. Yet, these ecosystems are characterized by exceptional naturalness, integrity, complexity, resilience, as well as structural and functional diversity. They therefore serve as biodiversity hot spots and provide crucial ecosystem services. However, these forests are under significant threat from human activities, causing a rapid and large-scale reduction in their surface area and integrity. The multiple values associated with boreal old-growth forests should be therefore better acknowledged and understood to ensure the sustainable management of boreal landscapes.

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Long-term spatio-temporal dynamics and historical continuity of European aspen (Populus tremula L.) stands in the Koli National Park, eastern Finland

Cited by 20 publications

References 11 publications

Colonisation of ephemeral forest habitats by specialised species: beetles and bugs associated with recently dead aspen wood

Colonisation of ephemeral forest habitats by specialised species: beetles and bugs associated with recently dead aspen wood

Inventory of aspen trees in spruce dominated stands in conservation area

Embracing the Complexity and the Richness of Boreal Old-Growth Forests: A Further Step Toward Their Ecosystem Management

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