Do small protected habitat patches within boreal production forests provide value for biodiversity conservation?
Forest harvesting is the main factor of habitat degradation and biodiversity loss in forests of the boreal zone. Areas set aside from forestry are not effective enough to mitigate harmful effects, and therefore small-scale habitats with high biodiversity values have been protected also within production forests. In addition to their direct value as habitats for species, the small patches may contain more deadwood or green retention trees than the surrounding landscape. Both green retention trees and deadwood have been shown to be important for maintaining biodiversity in boreal forests. To synthesize the knowledge regarding the value of small habitat patches left within production landscapes for biodiversity conservation a systematic review was planned.
Research question
A stakeholder meeting was held 7.11.2018. There the research questions were defined and other aspects of the planned review discussed. The primary research question is ‘Do small protected habitat patches within boreal production forests provide value for biodiversity conservation?’ Woodland key habitats and small-scale habitats protected by voluntary conservation action are included as small protected habitat patches.
The review team has written a systematic review protocol that was published at the Environmental Evidence on 6.8.2019. The protocol is available here.
Review team
Matti Häkkilä, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Sini Savilaakso, Metsäteho Oy; Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland
Anna Johansson, Metsäteho Oy, Finland
Anne Uusitalo, Helsinki University Library, Finland
Terhi Sandgren, Helsinki University Library, Finland
Mikko Mönkkönen, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Pasi Puttonen, Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland
The review is funded by the Finnish Forest Foundation.
