The small fir bark beetle (Cryphalus piceae) was discovered in Denmark in 2012. Since then, several local outbreaks in greenery plantations have occurred, with numerous dead Noble firs (Abies procera) reported. The aim of this study was to investigate the life cycle and behavioral patterns of C. piceae in Denmark, compared with a literature review of the general life cycle. Currently, C. piceae has

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the persistence of gender inequality in Swedish forestry education. The many strategic documents stand in contrast to the experienced inequalities depicted in the forest sector’s #MeToo movement. Both #slutavverkat and the open letter, written by female students, describe harassment and sexist behaviour. Theories about the culture of silence and bystander behaviour –

Current cultivation and breeding strategy based on selections from local and wild vegetation does not meet the hazelnut demand. This situation would benefit from the development of high-yielding cultivars with greater tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress conditions. Molecular markers are useful tools to support these breeding efforts. In the current study, EST-SSR markers were developed from RNA-sequencing

The Christmas tree industry is mainly supplied with seeds from natural stands and genetically improved germplasm from clonal seed orchards (CSOs). Chalcid wasps (Megastigmus spp.) have a negative effect on the value of seedlots by reducing the quantity of viable seeds and represent a risk for national and international seed trade. Seed radiographies, field observations and seed-dissections from 25

Choosing traits for breeding requires financial and genetic information. This study introduces a theoretically sound and empirically detailed assessment setup for analyzing two traits from the financial perspective: decay resistance and tree growth. The analysis is conducted in two stages: first (1), a stand-level optimization analysis is applied producing maximum bare land value with the presence

ABSTRACT Norway spruce (Picea abies) is a widely used Christmas tree species in the Nordic countries. Postharvest needle retention is an important characteristic for Christmas trees and compared to many fir (Abies) species, Norway spruce has poor postharvest needle retention. This trait is one of the most important qualities in choice of natural versus plastic trees. In this study, current year shoots

In temperate mountainous regions, altitudinal clines in tree size and growth habit develop from a gradual adjustment of multiple traits to tolerate harshening conditions with altitude. We perform a common garden trial with seedlings from two stands of Nothofagus pumilio: low altitude, tall forest (1200 m a.s.l) vs. high altitude, shrubby forest (1560 m a.s.l), to determine whether the contrasting growth

Tree biomass models are increasingly needed for the estimation of carbon storage and for testing and parameterizing process-based growth models, but most biomass models have been estimated using data from even-aged stands. Here we took measurements from individual Norway spruce trees grown in uneven-aged stands in Southern Finland to characterize tree structure and to estimate the biomasses of tree

In integrated pest management (IPM), the goal is to keep the impact of damaging agents below a threshold level with reduced pesticide use. The present review is focusing on IPM of fungal diseases and Phytophthora root rot in Norwegian Christmas tree plantations. Healthy transplants are of vital importance to give the production a good establishment. Sanitation of diseased material and weeds is also

The use of log construction is increasing in Finland. This development is desirable for ecological and economic reasons. However, due to changes related to the technical properties of logs and their overall popularity, introduction of novel building typologies and urbanization in general, it is unclear how the public currently experience logs as a construction material and technique. Thus, in this

Ecosystem accounting is a coherent framework for integrating measures of ecosystems and the flow of services they provide to the national accounting of economic activity. Here we focus on the accounting of cultural ecosystem services, particularly, nature-based recreation in open access conditions in Finland. The aim is to improve national capacity to proceed to ecosystem accounting by illustrating

Growth data from 15 progeny trials were analyzed to assess realized and expected genetic gains associated with improved Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) stock in southern Finland. The study materials included 257 seedlots originating from 9 wild stands and 17 seed orchards. The measurement data were collected between 22 and 30 years of age. First-generation seed orchard progenies showed a clear superiority

A new stand-level growth and yield model, consisting of component equations for stand volume, basal area, survival, and dominant stand height, was developed from a dataset of long-term trials for managed thinned and unthinned even-aged Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) forests in Norway. The developed models predict considerably faster growth rates than the existing Norwegian models. Further

Uneven-aged forest management has attained increasing popularity. It may benefit biodiversity, buffer against pests and abiotic damages, decrease runoff from clearcuts and improve recreational values. We studied how gap cuttings and single-tree selection cuttings influence browsing damage in spruce-dominated forests in south-central Finland. Overall, browsing damage was especially frequent in aspen

Nitrogen fertilization can increase above- and belowground forest growth and carbon storage in low nitrogen (N) environments. However, it may also induce changes in other parts of the ecosystem, such as altered composition and diversity of the ground vegetation. These changes may occur, for example, because of increased availability of nitrogen and light depletion due to a denser tree canopy. We studied

ABSTRACT The concept of woodland key habitats is well-established in northern Europe, denoting sites in the forest landscape with particularly high biodiversity. In Sweden, woodland key habitats have been inventoried on individual forest owner’s land by the Swedish Forest Agency since 1993. Recently, various actors have questioned the woodland key habitat concept and its policy implications. To investigate

Modeling diameter distribution of forest stands requires suitable function(s) with the appropriate parameter estimation methods. To date, the parameters of most familiar functions in forestry have been estimated with derivative methods such as moment, percentiles, conditional maximum likelihood, etc. with little emphasis on numerical optimization. Therefore, this study compares the suitability of derivative

ABSTRACT Forest social values has been put forward as an umbrella term for a new and less material relationship between people and the forested landscape, a relationship that more recently has become a policy issue. In this case study we explore how forest-related values are conceptualised in the case of Dalasjö, in Vilhelmina, Sweden, where a recent process involving determining protection for social

ABSTRACT The impact of historical and present drivers on biodiversity, particularly species richness and abundance, in afforestation areas concerning non-native tree species is still poorly understood. A better understanding is important to ensure appropriate forest management in the face of climate change and increasing demand for wood products. Here, we have reviewed 75 biodiversity studies in Sitka

Vegetatively propagated hybrid aspen (Populus tremula × P. tremuloides) is one of the fastest growing tree species in Finland. To study clonal variation in element concentrations in wood, bark and branches, and the amount of elements bound in above-ground biomass, seven clones were selected from a field trial in Southern Finland, when the trees were 13 years old. Significant clonal differences in the

ABSTRACT Establishment of biorefineries for processing forest biomass in the Nordic region is extremely costly due to the high investment, running, and procurement costs. Procurement costs could be reduced by allowing all actors to open access to all available terminals in an area (regardless of ownership) and allowing trucks with higher gross weight. These impacts of changes were evaluated for deliveries

Increasing the forest's productivity is a global concern and there is a need to develop innovative technologies. The use of biochar (BC) in the restoration of degraded sites is mounting. Therefore, to assess the effects of rice straw biochar (BR) on soil physicochemical properties and physiology of Fokienia hodginsii, a one-year greenhouse pot experiment was conducted. The soil was mixed with BR at

Community-based energy initiatives have been regarded as a promising way to guide people toward a more sustainable future. We analysed whether the members of Finnish forest bioenergy co-operatives (FOCOs) are readier for the sustainability transition than other forest owners (n = 10 for both groups). The data were gathered using an interview about forest-related change and a survey about climate change

A study of carabid assemblages (Coleoptera, Carabidae) was performed in pine stands disturbed by windthrow (Lipusz Forest, North Poland) in 2018, i.e. one year after the disturbance, in five treatments representing different classes of disturbance severity: least disturbed stands (canopy cover of 60–80%), moderately disturbed stands (canopy cover of 20–40%) and severely disturbed stands (canopy cover

In Sweden, there is a lack of knowledge about nature conservation management (NCM) practices in voluntary set-aside forests. Estimates indicate that, for unknown reasons, only a small proportion of the NCM needed is carried out. The aims of this study are to (1) describe current practices for NCM of voluntary set-aside areas in Sweden and (2) identify factors affecting whether NCM of these areas is

This paper reports and discusses the distribution of pine mistletoe in Scots pine forests at stand and tree level in relation to some site, stand, and tree characteristics. Population characteristics (age, number and biomass) and distribution of pine mistletoe in the canopy of Scots pine trees were also evaluated. A total of 1408 trees were measured in 114 representative sample plots in the Eastern

Previous studies on cone/seed traits of conifer seed orchards have focused on genetic variation, while non-genetic variation has rarely been investigated. This study examined the variation of cone/seed traits in a red pine clonal seed orchard in 2008 and 2018. The registered cone traits included size, weight, the number of seeds-cone, number of scales-cone and number of cones-tree and seed traits included

ABSTRACT In Nordic climates, the weather allows a narrow time window during spring and summer for forest seedlings to be transplanted from indoor growth to outdoor conditions. If a new method for year-round cultivation under LED lamps is to be successfully introduced in forest nurseries, a cold storage phase for batches produced outside of the vegetation period needs to be included in the concept.

In drained forest sites, ditch cleaning (DC) may be needed to restore the drainage function of ditches and maintain favourable growing conditions. The main aims of this study were (i) to estimate the growth responses of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst) stands following DC, and (ii) to test the hypothesis that stand stocking should be less than 150 m3 ha−1 at

Shelterwood forest regeneration methods are increasingly used in northern Europe to reduce clear-cut based even-aged forest management. However, empirical knowledge about seedling performance under various shelterwood methods is still incomplete. We analysed the effects of three shelterwood methods (uniform (UNI), strip felling (STR) and group selection (GRO)) on four types of Scots pine plant stock

Trembling aspen is an important component of the boreal mixedwood forest region and is a key component of numerous ecological functions. As a result, aspen has become a target species for forest restoration after industrial disturbance; however, aspen seedling afforestation research is still in its infancy as seedling and site characteristics and their interactions which drive establishment success