Dead wood brings life to the forest

To maintain biodiversity in managed boreal pine forests, strategic restoration can be done by actively recreating the variety of dead wood.

Insect traps on dead wood pine flames that were created in connection with the felling in 2012. Photo: Albin Larsson Ekström

Active measures are needed to reduce the negative effects on forest ecosystems that come with intensive management. The boreal pine forest is one such ecosystem where decades of firefighting and intensive forest management have had a negative effect on biodiversity. These forests, which were once shaped by natural disturbances such as forest fires, have now become unnaturally uniform and the lack of decaying wood contributes to a decline of species that depend on natural disturbances.

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Can effective restoration create better conditions for species that are dependent on dead wood? The long-term forest experiment Effaråsen provides some answers. The article below is a summary of the study Deadwood manipulation and type determine assemblage composition of saproxylic beetles and fungi after a decade

Restoration of dead wood

The study has investigated how deadwood structures created in different ways affect biodiversity, with a focus on two important groups: wood-dwelling fungi and beetles. These organisms play crucial roles in, for example, the decomposition of dead wood and thus the nutrients from the trees can be reused in the forest.

Restoration of dead wood

The study has investigated how deadwood structures created in different ways affect biodiversity, with a focus on two important groups: wood-dwelling fungi and beetles. These organisms play crucial roles in, for example, the decomposition of wood and thus the nutrients from the trees can be reused in the forest.

What happens when the forest is restored?

The study found that fungi and beetles respond differently to restoration efforts and prefer different types of dead wood.

Beetles thrived best in standing dead trees, which provides the warmth and conditions they need to develop.
Fungi preferred lying dead wood, which retains the moisture required for their growth and decomposition processes.
Both fungi and beetles had unique species compositions depending on whether the wood was standing or lying down, underscoring the importance of maintaining a variety of dead wood in restored forests.
Burnt wood housed more similar communities of fungi and beetles compared to unburned wood, suggesting that controlled fires can create favorable conditions for both groups.

In this study, there were no clear results that indicate that the different levels of consideration with different amounts of left living trees had any significant impact on the two groups of organisms. This means that for the species that depend on dead wood, the preservation and creation of different structures of dead wood is key to restoring biodiversity.

What does this mean for biodiversity conservation?

Natural pine forests are shaped by recurring disturbances such as fires and storms, which create open, sunlit conditions and a variety of dead wood. Species that naturally live in pine forests are adapted to these conditions and can recover as long as their habitats are restored and preserved.

To promote biodiversity in pine forests, conservation efforts should focus on:

To provide a mix of standing and lying dead wood to support different species.
Using controlled fires to create stable habitats for fungi and beetles.
To ensure long-term restoration efforts by taking necessary considerations such as preserving restored areas and structures in the landscape.

Source Skogsforsk