Silva Fennica : Special issues : Climate change, biodiversity and boreal forest ecosystems
Climate change, biodiversity and boreal forest ecosystems
Papers selected from the IBFRA conference held in Joensuu, Finland, 30 July–5 August, 1995
Published as Silva Fennica 30(2–3). 299 pages.
Projections concerning future population growth on the global level indicate that there will be an increase from the current 5.7 billion to 11 billion by the year 2100 (Source: World Bank). Predictions concerning the world's population growth do, however, vary from 6.4 to 17.6 billion in scenarios produced by the United Nations. Compared with the time horizons of the boreal forests, this is about the same time that it takes for a pine seedling to grow into a mature tree. With increasing numbers of people demanding higher standards of living and with increasing urbanisation taking place, it is likely that greater amounts of greenhouse gases than hitherto will be produced and these will also influence the demand for forest products. International conventions on decreasing emissions of greenhouse gases are important in the endeavour to slow down the build-up of these gases in the atmosphere. Since many greenhouse gases have relatively long lifespans in the atmosphere, the concentration of these gases will increase even if the current level of emissions is retained. Recent scenarios predict increases of 1.0–3.5 °C in the global mean surface temperature by the year 2100. The expected increase depends, for example, on which one of the emissions scenarios for energy production and consumption one is referring to. Complicated climate models have succeeded in simulating the development of the mean temperature of the earth starting from a reference year in the late 18th century. Models including the effects of greenhouse gases give overestimates of the increase in mean temperature. If the effects of aerosols are included, the simulations are closer to the measured mean temperature. Scientific knowledge about this complex and difficult atmosphere-ocean-land system has improved and simulated predictions are coming closer to the measured temperature.
The boreal zone has experienced climate changes in the past when the ice sheets retreated before the present inter-glacial period. This period created major changes in ecological communities and the distribution of species. A drastic difference in the climatic warming in the beginning of the present inter-glacial and the predicted climate change is the rate of the temperature increase, which could be in the order of ten or more times faster than the temperature increase that the boreal ecosystem have experienced so far. Succession in the boreal ecosystem is a slow process and hence rapid changes in the environment could generate complex responses by the ecosystem. It is of utmost importance to increase scientific knowledge about how the species and interaction of species in the ecosystem may respond to environmental changes. An understanding of these responses should be achieved at all hierarchical levels of ecosystems and covering long enough periods of time.
During the 1980s public concern was expressed over the future of forests and it led to universal changes in the attitude to forests. The UNCED Earth Summit conference held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and the commitment of governments to sustainable development made biodiversity of ecosystems into a basic element of sustainable management of forests. Biodiversity is coupled to the global change in complex ways, including direct, interactive and long-term impacts of human activities on ecosystems. European and international processes are in progress for promoting the implementation of the UNCED resolutions in the field of management, conservation and sustainable development of forests. The broad objectives of these processes are to develop sustainable management of forests, to enhance international research concerning forestry, and to develop appropriate criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management in order to monitor and evaluate sustainability. Although a lot of scientific research is available about species diversity and the successional development of boreal forests, research is needed for tackling the matter of development of ecosystems under changing environments, human impacts, and different management strategies.
The International Boreal Forest Research Association (IBFRA) was founded in 1991 with the mission to "promote and co-ordinate research to increase the understanding of the role of the circumpolar boreal forests in the global environment and effects of environmental change". The Second International Science Conference of IBFRA was held between 30 July and 5 August, 1995, in Joensuu, Finland, on the theme of "Climate Change, Biodiversity and Boreal Forests". IBFRA's endeavour is that research results and the synthesis of knowledge produced by its activities are presented and published in recognised scientific forums and publications. The speakers at the Joensuu Conference were invited to submit manuscripts expanding their presentations at the meeting for inclusion in a special edition of the journal Silva Fennica. The manuscripts were subject to peer review by the journal. This special edition of Silva Fennica contains nearly thirty articles from a global group of experts providing scientific, economic, and policy perspectives on climate change and biodiversity in context of boreal forests. The papers cover a wide range of topics on how boreal forests may respond to the changing environment and how the productivity and biodiversity of boreal forests may develop under various managing practices. In addition to the global perspective of boreal forests, this issue of Silva Fennica includes research results obtained in the course of the Finnish Research Programme on Climate Change (SILMU). Results of special interest are those pertaining to research focusing on the boreal forests of Russia.
We hope that this issue will be a source of new knowledge in the endeavour to outline the wide range of the potential consequences that global change may have for boreal forests. Our intention is that the research results published in this issue will serve to complement the scientific basis for the sustainable management of boreal forest resources and provide new perspectives for the development of constructive policies to improve management strategies for preserving the vitality of the boreal forests and their potential as a source of economic and social well-being. Progress in the scientific understanding of and knowledge on the boreal forests and their responses to global change will help in constructing and assessing decisions. An integral element of scientific progress is that it stimulates research to tackle challenging problems of international relevance.
Eeva Korpilahti, Editor
Seppo Kellomäki, Timo Karjalainen, Sini Niinistö, Conference Steering Committee
METLA Editorial Office – TSal –
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