%0 Research article
%T Differences in stand characteristics between brook-side key habitats and managed forests in southern Finland
%A Siitonen, Juha
%A Hottola, Jenni
%A Immonen, Auli
%D 2009
%J Silva Fennica
%V 43
%N 1
%R doi:10.14214/sf.216
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/216
%X Preservation of small habitat patches termed as “woodland key habitats”  or “especially important habitats” in the Finnish Forest Act has become  an integral part of biodiversity-oriented forest management. Forest Act  habitats belong to particular habitat types defined in the act, and they  are supposed to have natural-like stand characteristics. However, very  little is known about the actual stand structure in the designated  habitats. Our aim was to compare stand characteristics between  brook-side key habitats and comparable managed forests as controls.  Seven study areas were selected from four regions across southern  Finland. Within each study area ten key habitats and ten controls (140  stands) were randomly selected. Living and dead trees and cut stumps  were measured in each stand within a 0.2 ha plot. The average degree of  previous cutting was significantly lower whereas the volume of dead  wood, volume of deciduous trees, and stand diversity were each  significantly higher in key habitats than controls. The average volume  of dead wood was 11.7 m<sup>3</sup> ha<sup>–1</sup> in key habitats and 6.5 m<sup>3</sup> ha<sup>–1</sup> in controls. However, there was considerable variation among individual  stands, and a large part of key habitats could not be distinguished  from randomly selected control stands with respect to stand  characteristics. The preservation of natural brook channels with their  immediate surroundings is undoubtedly important for maintaining aquatic  and semiaquatic biodiversity. Nevertheless, when complementing the  forest conservation network in the future, main emphasis in selecting  potentially valuable stands should be placed on important structural  features such as dead wood and old trees.