Select issue
Silva Fennica 1926-1997
1990-1997
1980-1989
1970-1979
1960-1969
1950-1959
1940-1949
1926-1939
Acta Forestalia Fennica
1992-1999
1984-1991
1974-1983
1968-1973
1953-1968
1933-1952
1913-1932
Articles by Erik Hellberg
Category : Research article
article id 173,
category
Research article
(2009).
The transformation of a Norway spruce dominated landscape since pre-industrial times in northern Sweden: the influence of modern forest management on forest structure.
Silva Fennica
vol.
43
no.
5
article id 173.
https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.173
Abstract |
View details
|
Full text in PDF |
Author Info
Logging history and the study of reference conditions in Scandinavian boreal forests has tended to focus on Scots pine dominated ecosystems. This paper presents a regional study of pre-industrial forest conditions and examines the effects of the industrial exploitation of ecosystems dominated by Norway spruce in northern Sweden. Historical records covering a period which preceded industrial logging in the study area (1917–1927) were used to obtain quantitative data on forest structure and influence of forest fires. These data were compared with a modern data set (2003) to analyse changes due to the industrial transformation of the forest. The early 20th century landscape was dominated by old, multi-cohorted spruce forests and mixed coniferous forests. It was found that fire affected both the structure and composition of the landscape. In post-burnt areas, even-aged forests dominated by deciduous species were the principal forest type. Between the early and modern data sets, profound changes in tree-species composition and age structure were documented. While the total volume of deciduous species increased substantially, the coverage of forests dominated by deciduous species decreased. There was also a significant increase in pine-dominated forests and in the total volume of pine. The industrial transformation of the studied landscapes has had profound effects on the structure of spruce forests, but much less so on deciduous forests. The study concludes that the present forest structure is a function of past management regimes, and that future transformations of the landscape will continue, thus affecting the natural variability and biodiversity of the forests.
- Hellberg, Tunstigen 10, SE-831 43 Östersund, Sweden E-mail: eh@nn.se
-
Josefsson,
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Ecology and Management, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden
E-mail:
torbjorn.josefsson@svek.slu.se
- Östlund, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Ecology and Management, SE-901 83 Umeå, Sweden E-mail: lo@nn.se
Click this link to register to Silva Fennica.
If you are a registered user, log in to save your selected articles for later access.
Your selected articles
Silva Fennica ·
Finnish Society of Forest Science
