Biodiversity, carbon storage and dynamics of old northern ... - BPAN.fi

Summary
Forests are key terrestrial ecosystems in the global climate system, representing
major components of the carbon cycle. The Nordic countries
have extensive forests with large and growing tree biomass that captures
substantial amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO 2).
Nordic forests also play a key role for biodiversity, containing a wide
range of complex ecosystems which are habitats for more than half of all
known native species and almost half of all threatened species in Finland,
Norway, and Sweden. Forests also provide important recreational
opportunities for people in the Nordic countries and supply the basis for
the economically important forest sector.
Aims of the report
In this report we give a scientifically based overview of the role of old
forests in the carbon cycle and how carbon uptake may represent cobenefits
for the well-documented value of old forests for biodiversity.
The role of old forests as components of the carbon cycle is much less
studied than its role for biodiversity. Here, we synthesize recent findings
on the carbon balance of old forests in the Nordic countries. By “old forests”
we understand forests considerably older than their harvestable
age, containing many trees approaching their natural life span.
Forest development and human influence
Nordic forests have developed after the last ice age as climate warmed
and new species immigrated. Humans have used forests for a wide range
of resources up through the ages, influencing forest structure and ecosystem
functions. The human transformation of Nordic forests has been
particularly strong in the lowlands as populations increased during the
last 300 years, and in the interior and the north as modern industrial
forestry developed from the end of the 1800s. Since the 1950s, management
of whole forest stands, with clear-cutting, planting, and intensive
silviculture, has been extensively applied and has been very successful
in producing large amounts of harvestable timber while also
increasing the growing stock substantially. This kind of forest management
has also changed the forest landscape profoundly.
Biodiversity, carbon storage and dynamics old northern forests 9