Effects on biodiversity of forest fuel extraction, governed by processes working on a large scale

• Published in: Biomass & bioenergy Vol. 31; no. 10; pp. 726 - 732
• Main Author: Jonsell, M.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-10-2007; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Clear cuts; Coleoptera; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Forest fuel; Forest harvesting and working in forest; Forestry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Logging residues; Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking; Saproxylic; Slash; Sweden; Clear cuts; Saproxylic; Coleoptera; Forestry; Logging residues; Slash; Forest fuel; Biodiversity; Forests; Entomology; Xylophagous; Insecta; Species extinction; Process; Spatial scale; Case history; Wood waste; Clearcutting; Habitat; Extraction; Influence factor; Microhabitat; Landscape; Fauna; Production forests; Ecology; Forest logging; Perturbation; Risk analysis; Vegetal waste; Forest protection; Animal community; Arthropoda; Fuel; Large scale; Invertebrata
• ISSN: 0961-9534; 1873-2909
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2007.06.018

The question whether forest fuel extraction will affect biodiversity is ultimately a question of whether there will be species extinctions due to this practice. Quantitative predictions, i.e. about how much habitat loss various species can tolerate, therefore require knowledge about processes that work over hundreds of square kilometres and over several years. Therefore, they are almost impossible to make. Instead, qualitative recommendations about which types of habitats or wood types that have the most threatened fauna and flora can be made based on information about landscape history and microhabitat associations of red-listed species. For Sweden a general conclusion for forest fuel extraction based mainly on saproxylic beetles is that coniferous wood can be harvested as forest fuel to a rather large extent, whereas deciduous tree species, and especially southern deciduous species and aspen, should be retained to a larger degree.