A fundamental problem of sustainability is how to reduce the double complexity of ecological and social systems into simple operational terms. We highlight that the conservation concept of focal species (selected species sensitive to a set of anthropogenic threats to their habitat) links multiple issues of ecological sustainability, and their habitat models can provide a practical tool for solving these issues. A review of the literature shows that most spatial modeling of focal species focuses on vertebrates, lacks the aspect of aquatic and soil habitats, and has been slow in the uptake by actual management planning. We elaborate on a deductive modeling approach that first generalizes the main influential dimensions of habitat change (threats), which are then parameterized as habitat quality estimates for focal species. If built on theoretical understanding and properly scaled, the maps produced with such models can cost-effectively describe the dynamics of ecological qualities across forest landscapes, help set conservation priorities, and reflect on management plans and practices. The models also serve as ecological hypotheses on biodiversity and landscape function. We illustrate this approach based on recent additions to the forest reserve network in Estonia, which addressed the insufficient protection of productive forest types. For this purpose, mostly former production forests that may require restoration were set aside. We distinguished seven major habitat dimensions and their representative taxa in these forests and depicted each dimension as a practical stand-scale decision tree of habitat quality. The model outcomes implied that popular stand-structural targets of active forest restoration would recover passively in reasonable time in these areas, while a critically degraded condition (loss of old trees of characteristic species) required management beyond reserve borders. Another hidden issue revealed was that only a few stands of consistently low habitat quality concentrated in the landscape to allow cost-efficient restoration planning. We conclude that useful habitat models for sustainable forest management have to balance single-species realism with stakeholder expectations of meaningful targets and scales. Addressing such social aspects through the focal species concept could accelerate the adoption of biodiversity distribution modeling in forestry.

中文翻译：

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重点树种的生境模型可以将生态与决策结合起来，实现可持续森林管理

可持续性的根本问题是如何将生态和社会系统的双重复杂性减少为简单的操作条件。我们着重指出，重点物种（对一系列人为威胁对其生境的敏感性敏感的选定物种）的保护概念将生态可持续性的多个问题联系在一起，它们的生境模型可以为解决这些问题提供实用工具。文献综述显示，重点物种的大多数空间建模都集中在脊椎动物上，缺乏水生和土壤生境方面，并且在实际管理计划中的吸收缓慢。我们详细介绍了一种演绎建模方法，该方法首先概括了生境变化（威胁）的主要影响维度，然后将其参数化为重点物种的生境质量估计。如果建立在理论理解上并适当缩放，则使用此类模型制作的地图可以经济高效地描述整个森林景观的生态质量动态，帮助设定保护重点，并反思管理计划和实践。这些模型还可以作为关于生物多样性和景观功能的生态假设。我们基于爱沙尼亚森林保护网络的最新新增内容说明了这种方法，该方法解决了对生产性森林类型的保护不足的问题。为此，大部分可能需要恢复的原生产林都被搁置了。在这些森林中，我们区分了七个主要的栖息地维度及其代表的分类单元，并将每个维度描述为栖息地质量的实际标准规模决策树。该模型的结果表明，活跃的森林恢复的流行林分结构目标将在这些地区在合理时间内被动恢复，而严重退化的条件（特征物种的老树损失）则需要超出保护区的管理。另一个隐藏的问题是，只有少数栖息地质量一直很差的林地集中在景观中，以便进行具有成本效益的恢复计划。我们得出的结论是，用于可持续森林管理的有用栖息地模型必须在单一物种现实主义与利益相关者对有意义的目标和规模的期望之间取得平衡。通过焦点物种概念解决这些社会方面的问题，可以加速在林业中采用生物多样性分布模型。