
Anders Ahlström
Universitetslektor

Widespread Unquantified Conversion of Old Boreal Forests to Plantations
Författare
Summary, in English
Across the boreal biome, clear-cutting of old, previously non clear-cut forests with high naturalness followed by tree planting or seeding is a major land use change. However, how much previously uncut forest has been converted to plantations remains unquantified. We combine Swedish national databases on clear-cuts and forest inventories to show that at least 19% of all clear-cuts since 2003 have occurred in old forests that were most likely not previously cut and planted or seeded. Old forests have been cut and lost at a steady rate of ∼1.4% per year for the same period, and at this rate they will disappear by the 2070s. There is further evidence that this type of unreported forest conversion is occurring across much of the world's boreal forest.
Avdelning/ar
- Institutionen för naturgeografi och ekosystemvetenskap
- BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
- MERGE: ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system
Publiceringsår
2022
Språk
Engelska
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Earth's Future
Volym
10
Issue
11
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Ämne
- Forest Science
Nyckelord
- boreal forests
- harvest
- land use
- monitoring
- natural forests
- primary forests
Aktiv
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 2328-4277