Where to restore: Connectivity forest for spatial prioritization in forest landscape restoration

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Forestry

Background:

• Forest loss and fragmentation threaten global biodiversity and ecosystem functions.
• Restoration efforts are vital for improving landscape intactness and connectivity.
• Prioritizing restoration areas is a significant challenge in forest management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define and identify connectivity forests (CFs) as a tool for prioritizing restoration areas.
• To assess the potential of CFs to support landscape-scale connectivity and green infrastructure (GI) functionality.
• To demonstrate a practical approach for integrating CFs into restoration planning at various ambition levels.

Main Methods:

• Defined connectivity forests (CFs) as forests outside high conservation value forests (HCVFs) crucial for connectivity.
• Mapped approximately 130,500 ha of CFs within a 1.3 million-ha boreal Swedish watershed.
• Integrated CFs with varying probabilities of high conservation value forest (HCVF) status to illustrate planning scenarios.

Main Results:

• Identified CFs covering an area twice the size of current HCVFs in the study region.
• Demonstrated the potential for tiered restoration planning by incorporating CFs with decreasing HCVF probabilities.
• Pinpointed specific restoration hotspots to guide localized restoration initiatives.

Conclusions:

• The connectivity forest (CF) approach offers an efficient method for spatial targeting of restoration efforts.
• This strategy is particularly relevant for forest regions balancing conservation with sustainable forestry.
• Implementing CF identification aids in meeting national and international biodiversity and environmental objectives.