Sustainable landscape management in the Vilhelmina Model Forest, Sweden

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to outline current foundations for sustainable landscape management in the Vilhelmina Model Forest, northwest Sweden. A case study revealed that the remaining patches of undisturbed or less disturbed boreal forest ecosystems comprise multiple values and, thus, constitute the basis for landscape planning. By identifying these patches, it is also possible to construct a spatial planning infrastructure for implementing sustainable management and land use. A more comprehensive toolbox needs to be developed, however, including monitoring and inventory schemes for relevant biophysical and socio-economic data, better temporal resolution for cause and effect analyses, and functioning scale-flexible planning and governance instruments.

Opportunities for Integrated Landscape Planning – the Broker, the Arena, the Tool

“…The diverse values provided by forests in the Swedish northern inland have been described by, for example, Sandström C. et al (2011Sandström C. et al ( , 2016, Svensson et al (2012), and Sténs et al (2016). Historically, the municipality has been highly dependent on timber production.…”

“…As Svensson et al (2012), among others, have argued, there is a need to develop better strategies and tools that are able to balance multiple interests, and to improve infrastructure and communication routines between land use actors, decision makers and the public in Sweden (see also ). There is a clear need for networks that connect horizontal and vertical links between different partners, actors and stakeholders (Berkes et al 1998;Elbakidze et al 2010).…”

“…Spatial and temporal perspectives on multiple scales are especially important under changing premises caused by climate change, new land use policies or changing demands on natural resources since adaptation, mitigation and sustainability opportunities rely on holistic approaches (cf. Svensson et al 2012). Since the values of the forest landscape are interrelated and interacting, it is logical to promote coherent and comprehensive planning to secure and benefit the provision of multiple values for multiple purposes and objectives.…”

“…Even though sectors such as forestry, agriculture or water management are increasingly including sustainable development objectives in planning, their separate spatial, policy and strategic foci hinders sustainable landscape management (cf. Svensson et al 2012) across biophysical and jurisdictional borders (Farcy 2004).…”

Visualizing the Forest in a Boreal Forest Landscape—The Perspective of Swedish Municipal Comprehensive Planning

“…In 1958, the first application for clear cutting was submitted to the Swedish Forest Agency (SFA). Since then, stand replacement forestry followed by intensive reforestation efforts using soil scarification, planting, and sowing have been the common practice and a major industry [65,66]. Large parts of the river system of Ångermanälven within Vilhelmina municipality were affected by timber rafting (until the 1950s) and the construction of hydro power plants and reservoirs (between the early 1940s and the 1980s) [67].…”