Current issue: 60(2)

Under compilation: 60(3)

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Articles by Emma Holmström

Category : Research article

article id 26005, category Research article

Therese Strömvall Nyberg, Mikolaj Lula, Hammed Adekunle, Urban Nilsson, Göran Örlander, Emma Holmström. (2026). Forest development and financial outcomes under shelterwood and clearcut regimes in mixed stands. Silva Fennica vol. 60 no. 3 article id 26005. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.26005

Keywords: Pinus sylvestris; Picea abies; land expectation value; combination method; Drettinge method

Highlights: Shelterwood and mixed species regeneration can be a viable strategy under suitable conditions; Active management and timely overstory removal in shelterwood systems are important for financial revenue and stand development; Clearcuts consistently yielded higher financial returns than shelterwood.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

We assessed long-term outcomes of a regeneration experiment comparing clearcutting and shelterwood treatments, each with and without mechanical site preparation (MSP). The experiment was established in the early 1990s across Sweden and combined natural regeneration of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) with planting of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.; 2500 seedlings ha^–1). The first assessment showed Norway spruce dominance on southern sites and potential for mixed stands in central and northern regions. In 2022–2023, sites were re-measured to assess stand structure and productivity at mid-rotation, and the measured data were then used to parameterize Heureka decision support system (DSS) for simulations to final harvest. Southern sites developed into Norway spruce-dominated stands, with higher volume in clearcut than shelterwood treatments. Central and northern sites developed into mixed species stands, with higher volumes in shelterwood treatments in central Sweden. In northern Sweden, retained shelterwood negatively affected understory growth, highlighting the importance of active management while using shelterwood. Despite these regional differences, land expectation value (LEV) was consistently higher for clearcut treatments. Even in central Sweden, higher volumes in shelterwood treatments did not compensate for the additional costs associated with shelterwood cuttings. Our results show that establishing mixed species stands through shelterwood and planting can be viable depending on site conditions, but likely results in lower revenue than clearcutting.

Strömvall Nyberg, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 234 56 Alnarp, Sweden https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0280-6023 E-mail: therese.stromvall@slu.se
Lula, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 234 56 Alnarp, Sweden E-mail: mikolaj.lula@slu.se
Adekunle, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 234 56 Alnarp, Sweden E-mail: hammedadekunle43@yahoo.com
Nilsson, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 234 56 Alnarp, Sweden E-mail: urban.nilsson@slu.se
Örlander, Department of Forestry and Wood Technology, Linnaeus University, 351 95 Växjö, Sweden E-mail: goran.orlander@outlook.com
Holmström, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 234 56 Alnarp, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2025-1942 E-mail: emma.holmstrom@slu.se

article id 10485, category Research article

Felicia Dahlgren Lidman, Emma Holmström, Tomas Lundmark, Nils Fahlvik. (2021). Management of spontaneously regenerated mixed stands of birch and Norway spruce in Sweden. Silva Fennica vol. 55 no. 4 article id 10485. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10485

Keywords: Betula pendula; Picea abies; Betula pubescens; natural regeneration; mixed forest; land expectation value

Highlights: The absence of forest management does not always mean economic loss; With dense spontaneous regeneration of birch and Norway spruce, the first competition release can have a high impact on future stem development; Significantly different effects on stand volume production and diameter development of Norway spruce can be expected with different biomass harvest strategies.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Timber production and profitability were evaluated for spontaneously-regenerated mixtures on two formerly clearcut areas. The abandoned areas developed into birch-dominated (Betula pendula Roth and Betula pubescens Ehrh.) stands with successional ingrowth of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.). An experiment with randomized treatments within blocks was established, using three management strategies and one unthinned control, resulting in variation in optimal rotation age, merchantable volume and species composition. The management strategies were evaluated based on total production (volume) by using measured growth data 42 years after clearcutting and the modelled future stand development. The long-term effects of spontaneous regeneration and management strategies were evaluated based on land expectation value (LEV) and compared with a fifth management strategy using artificial regeneration and intense thinnings. 12 years after treatment, at a stand age of 42 years, the unthinned control had produced the highest total stem volume. At interest rates of 2% or higher, the unmanaged forest was an economically viable strategy, even compared to an intensive management strategy with a preferred merchantable timber species. Interest rates clearly impacted the profitability of the different management strategies. This study shows that when spontaneous regeneration is successful and dense, the first competition release can have a high impact on the development of future crop trees and on the species mixture.

Dahlgren Lidman, Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Umeå, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2474-1810 E-mail: felicia.lidman@slu.se
Holmström, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Alnarp, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2025-1942 E-mail: emma.holmstrom@slu.se
Lundmark, Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Umeå, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2271-3469 E-mail: tomas.lundmark@slu.se
Fahlvik, The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden, Ekebo, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2179-7800 E-mail: nils.fahlvik@skogforsk.se

article id 10414, category Research article

Jouni Siipilehto, Micky Allen, Urban Nilsson, Andreas Brunner, Saija Huuskonen, Soili Haikarainen, Narayanan Subramanian, Clara Antón-Fernández, Emma Holmström, Kjell Andreassen, Jari Hynynen. (2020). Stand-level mortality models for Nordic boreal forests. Silva Fennica vol. 54 no. 5 article id 10414. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10414

Keywords: Norway spruce; Scots pine; simulation; broadleaved species; logistic function; period length; plot size

Highlights: Models were developed for predicting stand-level mortality from a large representative NFI data set; The logistic function was used for modelling the probability of no mortality and the proportion of basal area in surviving trees; The models take into account the variation in prediction period length and in plot size; The models showed good fit with respect to stand density, developmental stage and species structure, and showed satisfying fit in the independent data set of unmanaged spruce stands.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

New mortality models were developed for the purpose of improving long-term growth and yield simulations in Finland, Norway, and Sweden and were based on permanent national forest inventory plots from Sweden and Norway. Mortality was modelled in two steps. The first model predicts the probability of survival, while the second model predicts the proportion of basal area in surviving trees for plots where mortality has occurred. In both models, the logistic function was used. The models incorporate the variation in prediction period length and in plot size. Validation of both models indicated unbiased mortality rates with respect to various stand characteristics such as stand density, average tree diameter, stand age, and the proportion of different tree species, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.), and broadleaves. When testing against an independent dataset of unmanaged spruce-dominated stands in Finland, the models provided unbiased prediction with respect to stand age.

Siipilehto, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural resources, P.O. Box 2, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: jouni.siipilehto@luke.fi
Allen, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Division of Forest and Forest Products, NO-1431 Ås, Norway; Larson and McGowin Inc., Mobile, AL 36607, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7824-2849 E-mail: micky.allen@nibio.no
Nilsson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, SE-23053 Alnarp, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7624-4031 E-mail: urban.nilsson@slu.se
Brunner, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, NO-1432 Ås, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1668-9714 E-mail: andreas.brunner@nmbu.no
Huuskonen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural resources, P.O. Box 2, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8630-3982 E-mail: saija.huuskonen@luke.fi
Haikarainen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural resources, P.O. Box 2, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8703-3689 E-mail: soili.haikarainen@luke.fi
Subramanian, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, SE-23053 Alnarp, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2777-3241 E-mail: narayanan.subramanian@slu.se
Antón-Fernández, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Division of Forest and Forest Products, NO-1431 Ås, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5545-3320 E-mail: clara.anton.fernandez@nibio.no
Holmström, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, SE-23053 Alnarp, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2025-1942 E-mail: emma.holmstrom@slu.se
Andreassen, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Division of Forest and Forest Products, NO-1431 Ås, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4272-3744 E-mail: kjellandreassen@gmail.com
Hynynen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Natural resources, P.O. Box 2, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: jari.hynynen@luke.fi

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