A1 Journal article (refereed)
Management diversity begets biodiversity in production forest landscapes (2022)

Duflot, R., Fahrig, L., & Mönkkönen, M. (2022). Management diversity begets biodiversity in production forest landscapes. Biological Conservation, 268, Article 109514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109514

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Duflot, Rémi; Fahrig, Lenore; Mönkkönen, Mikko

Journal or series: Biological Conservation

ISSN: 0006-3207

eISSN: 1873-2917

Publication year: 2022

Volume: 268

Article number: 109514

Publisher: Elsevier

Publication country: Netherlands

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109514

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Partially open access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/80201

Abstract

How to manage forest for biodiversity conservation is an ongoing debate. We argue that maximizing biodiversity in managed forest landscapes requires a diversity of forest management regimes in space and time. This will generate high levels of habitat heterogeneity at a landscape scale, which in turn will support various groups of forest species. Based on concepts from landscape ecology, we formulate five hypotheses on how management diversity, i.e. combining various management approaches can benefit overall biodiversity across a production forest landscape. First, management diversity will increase habitat diversity and, therefore, beta diversity (the habitat diversity hypothesis). Second, asynchrony in management timing will enhance long-term availability of different habitat types (the spatio-temporal heterogeneity hypothesis). Third, management to create spatial adjacency or proximity of stands with different management or successional stages will increase biodiversity by providing simultaneous access to multiple resources (the interspersion hypothesis). Fourth, heterogeneous unmanaged set-aside forests, interspersed with managed forests, are needed for complete biodiversity conservation (the natural forest hypothesis). Fifth, management diversity will create functional landscape connectivity between protected forests for multiple species through time (the temporary corridor hypothesis). Although strongly grounded in landscape and forest ecology, these five hypotheses remain largely under-investigated, and we suggest methods for how they can be tested. In the meantime, we suggest that increasing forest management diversity represents a risk-spreading approach for adaptation to global change, and therefore is likely a reasonable objective for sustainable forestry moving forward.

Keywords: silviculture; forest management; commercial forests; diversity; biodiversity; landscape ecology; forest ecology; sustainable forest management

Free keywords: Beta diversity; Biodiversity conservation; Forest dynamics; Landscape connectivity; Landscape heterogeneity

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

VIRTA submission year: 2022

JUFO rating: 2