Silva Fennica : Special issues : Disturbance dynamics in boreal forests
Disturbance dynamics in boreal forests
Disturbance dynamics in boreal forests: Defining the ecological basis of restoration and management of biodiversity
Edited by Eeva Korpilahti and Timo Kuuluvainen
Published as Silva Fennica 36(1). 447 pages.
In forest ecosystems, disturbances are important for biodiversity because they largely determine the characteristics of the habitat mosaic, which, in turn, affect the population dynamics of all forest-dwelling species. In natural boreal forests, disturbances are caused by such factors as fires, storms, insects, pathogens, floods, and animals like moose and beaver. However, in many parts of the boreal zone human actions are at an accelerating rate replacing natural disturbances. Human modification of forest structure to meet management goals, such as production of timber, have often been successful in creating resource flow stability. Yet, in many cases, this has happened at the expense of biological diversity. Concerns about the ecological consequences of forest management combined with increased understanding of the important role of natural disturbances in forest ecosystems lead to the conclusion that to maintain native biodiversity we must apply management methods that create habitat availability sufficiently similar to that produced by natural disturbances.
Considering human activity in the forest in the framework of disturbance ecology may provide us with a new conceptual model to utilize forests on a more sustainable basis. For developing new management strategies, we need knowledge of forest disturbance and successional processes, population dynamics of forest-dwelling species, and the interaction between these two. These issues are addressed in this book’s articles, which are based on presentations held at the conference ‘Disturbance dynamics in boreal forests: restoration and management of biodiversity’ held in Kuhmo, eastern Finland, on 21–25 August 2000.
METLA Editorial Office – TSal –
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