Conference Proceedings - Sustainable Forest Management Network ...

SESSION III: SUMMARY OF COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION
“HOW CAN MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVELY RESTORE/RECREATE/ MAINTAIN IMPORTANT
FEATURES REQUIRED TO CONSERVE BIODIVERSITY?”
THE BREAK-OUT GROUPS AND SUBSEQUENT DISCUSSIONS IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF POSSIBLE
synthesis projects and research opportunities associated with the question of “how can management
effectively restore/recreate/maintain biodiversity.” These are summarized in the section below, along
with others identified through the presentations and discussions that followed each presentation. Many
of these ideas build on suggestions from the previous session. A remaining task for BorNet is to prioritise
these research and synthesis possibilities into a list of projects that may be accomplished in the following
phase of BorNet.
Through the discussions in this session of the workshop, it became clear that although scientists
have a lot of information about how management can effectively restore/recreate/maintain biodiversity,
a key challenge is the lack of an effective means to transfer this knowledge to the operational community.
As the political and ownership contexts are different across the member countries of BorNet, solutions
for this issue will be necessary on a national and regional scale, and are not an issue that can be
directly addressed by BorNet.
What we know
• We have a good understanding of stand level concerns regarding maintaining key habitat elements.
• We know a lot about methods for maintaining/restoring biodiversity.
Knowledge gaps and research needs
More information on the basic habitat requirements of many species, including arthropods,
is needed.
More information on the relative effectiveness of different methods for maintaining/
restoring biodiversity is needed.
Can the natural disturbance template be used to define appropriate rates and patterns of
forest harvesting to guide how management can maintain biodiversity on a landscape scale?
Can an index of biodiversity be developed at the broad and mid scales that uses structural
and compositional vegetation classifications of boreal forests to represent important
elements of biodiversity?
We need to examine current disturbances and trends across the boreal, and study how
biodiversity is affected by these disturbances.
We need to characterize successional pathways occurring in boreal forests and examine how
they are affected by the array of disturbances that is present.
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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS • BorNet International Conference on Biodiversity Conservation in Boreal Forests