Consequences of bioenergy wood extraction for landscape-level availability of habitat for dead wood-dependent organisms

Abstract

Stumps and slash resulting from forest clearcutting is used as a source of low-net-carbon energy, but there are concerns about the consequences of biofuel extraction on biodiversity. Logging residues constitute potentially important habitats, since a large part of forest biodiversity is dependent on dead wood. Here we used snapshot field data from a managed forest landscape (25 000 ha) to predict landscape scale population changes of dead wood dependent organisms after extraction of stumps and slash after clearcutting. We did this by estimating habitat availability for all observed dead wood dependent beetles, macrofungi, and lichens (380 species) in the whole landscape. We found that 53% of species occurred in slash or stumps. For most species, population declines after moderate extraction (

Keywords

Saproxylic; Cryptogam; Insect; Clearcutting; Habitat requirements

Published in

Journal of Environmental Management
2017, volume: 198, number: Part 1, pages: 33-42
Publisher: ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

SLU Authors

• Hiron, Matthew

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Jonsell, Mats

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Kubart, Ariana

  • Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Thor, Göran

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Schroeder, Martin

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Dahlberg, Anders

  • Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Johansson, Victor

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Ranius, Thomas

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Global goals (SDG)

SDG7 Affordable and clean energy

UKÄ Subject classification

Forest Science
Environmental Sciences and Nature Conservation

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.04.039

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/91446