The effects of selective and clear cutting of boreal forests on landscape-scale biodiversity and productivity

By combining modern palaeoecological and biogeochemical analysis methods with ecosystem modelling, forestry history, and economics we will determine and quantify the impact of selective cutting, transitional, and clear-cutting-based forest management in Swedish boreal forest since the Middle Ages on vegetation composition, plant biodiversity, surface water nutrient loading, and biomass and timber production. The long time-frame of our analysis allows us to compare different management practices across Sweden in a way that would not be possible by only studying the forestry management systems of today.