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Updated: Sep 20, 2025

Development of an Individual-Tree Basal Area Increment Model using a Linear Mixed-Effects Approach
Published on: July 3, 2020
Short-term effects of continuous cover forestry on forest biomass production and biodiversity: Applying single-tree
Adam Ekholm1, Petter Axelsson2, Joakim Hjältén2
1Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, 901 83, Umeå, Sweden. adam.ekholm@slu.se.
Abstract:
The rotation forestry system provides high biomass production, but could also have a negative impact on species sensitive to disturbance. Continuous cover forestry (CCF) could contribute to solving these conflicting goals, but its feasibility in nutrient limited boreal forests is yet unresolved. In a unique experiment, we simultaneously assessed the short-term effect of single-tree selection on both biomass production and biodiversity (vascular plants, bryophytes, wood-inhabiting fungi), and tested fertilization as a way to mediate growth-biodiversity trade-offs. We found that unharvested stands and stands subjected to single-tree selection had a similar species assemblage of vascular plants, bryophytes, and wood-inhabiting fungi. Fertilization increased growth by 37% and induced shifts in two understory species (favoring the grass Avenella flexuosa and disfavoring the bryophyte Hylocomium splendens). We conclude that single-tree selection may become a useful tool to enhance biodiversity in managed forests.
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