Monimetsä – Analysis of forest use in relation to safeguarding sinks and protecting biodiversity

The Panel’s previous studies have not examined the impacts of conserving biodiversity on the targeting of felling and the carbon sinks in managed forest land. At the provided level of logging, strict conservation will lead to pressure for felling being targeted in a smaller forest area than before, which may be assumed to reduce the carbon sink. On the other hand, the protected areas act as carbon sinks, which will reinforce the sink. The selection of conservation areas will also have an effect: If some of the areas for conservation are established on forest land where felling has been performed, the costs will be lowered and the young forest may offer a better starting point for climate change adaptation.

The project simultaneously looks at questions related to forest carbon sinks and the conservation of biodiversity. The project will provide answers to the question of how forest carbon sinks will develop under the strict conservation of old forests when the levels of felling are allowed to vary. At the same time, structural characteristics are used to analyse how the biodiversity of commercial forests will develop as the pressure for felling increases. A separate analysis looks at how the size of the carbon sink and the amount of logging can be regulated using the minimum diameter and age for final felling. The analysis also offers a starting point for examining other control methods concerning felling. The aim for the project is to compile together the modelling results that look at various changes in biodiversity and carbon sinks with a view to various background results from commercial forestry.

Project results estimated to be complete: 2025
Panel member responsible: Professor Emeritus Markku Ollikainen (project started during the previous term)
Involved in the project: The University of Helsinki and the Finnish Nature Panel