Effects of large-scale human land use on Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus L.) populations in Finland

The Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus L.) is often used as a focal species for landscape ecological studies: the minimum size for its lekking area is 300 ha, and the annual home range for an individual may cover 30 80 km2. In Finland, Capercaillie populations have decreased by approximately 40 85%, with the declines likely to have started in the 1940s. Although the declines have partly stabilized from the 1990s onwards, it is obvious that the negative population trend was at least partly caused by changes in human land use. The aim of this thesis was to study the connections between human land use and Capercaillie populations in Finland, using several spatial and temporal scales. First, the effect of forest age structure on Capercaillie population trends was studied in 18 forestry board districts in Finland, during 1965 1988. Second, the abundances of Capercaillie and Moose (Alces alces L.) were compared in terms of several land-use variables on a scale of 50 × 50 km grids and in five regions in Finland. Third, the effects of forest cover and fine-grain forest fragmentation on Capercaillie lekking area persistence were studied in three study locations in Finland, on 1000 and 3000 m spatial scales surrounding the leks. The analyses considering lekking areas were performed with two definitions for forest: > 60 and > 152 m3ha 1 of timber volume. The results show that patterns and processes at large spatial scales strongly influence Capercaillie in Finland. In particular, in southwestern and eastern Finland, high forest cover and low human impact were found to be beneficial for this species. Forest cover (> 60 m3ha 1 of timber) surrounding the lekking sites positively affected lekking area persistence only at the larger landscape scale (3000 m radius). The effects of older forest classes were hard to assess due to scarcity of older forests in several study areas. Young and middle-aged forest classes were common in the vicinity of areas with high Capercaillie abundances especially in northern Finland. The increase in the amount of younger forest classes did not provide a good explanation for Capercaillie population decline in 1965 1988. In addition, there was no significant connection between mature forests (> 152 m3ha 1 of timber) and lekking area persistence in Finland. It seems that in present-day Finnish landscapes, area covered with old forest is either too scarce to efficiently explain the abundance of Capercaillie and the persistence of the lekking areas, or the effect of forest age is only important when considering smaller spatial scales than the ones studied in this thesis. In conclusion, larger spatial scales should be considered for assessing the future Capercaillie management. According to the proposed multi-level planning, the first priority should be to secure the large, regional-scale forest cover, and the second priority should be to maintain fine-grained, heterogeneous structure within the separate forest patches. A management unit covering hundreds of hectares, or even tens or hundreds of square kilometers, should be covered, which requires regional-level land-use planning and co-operation between forest owners.

The effects of habitat edges and trampling intensity on vegetation in urban forests

Although changes in urban forest vegetation have been documented in previous Finnish studies, the reasons for these changes have not been studied explicitly. Especially, the consequences of forest fragmentation, i.e. the fact that forest edges receive more solar radiation, wind and air-borne nutrients than interiors have been ignored. In order to limit the change in urban forest vegetation we need to know why it occurs. Therefore, the effects of edges and recreational use of urban forests on vegetation were investigated together in this thesis to reveal the relative strengths of these effects and to provide recommendations for forest management. Data were collected in the greater Helsinki area (in the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa and Espoo, and in the municipalities of Sipoo and Tuusula) and in the Lahti region (in the city of Lahti and in the municipality of Hollola) by means of systematic and randomized vegetation and soil sampling and tree measurements. Sample plots were placed from the forest edges to the interiors to investigate the effects of forest edges, and on paths of different levels of wear and off these paths to investigate the effects of trampling. The natural vegetation of mesic and sub-xeric forest site types studied was sensitive both to the effects of the edge and to trampling. The abundances of dwarf shrubs and bryophytes decreased, while light- and nitrogen-demanding herbs and grasses - and especially Sorbus aucuparia – were favoured at the edges and next to the paths. Results indicated that typical forest site types at the edges are changing toward more nitrophilic vegetation communities. Covers of the most abundant forest species decreased considerably – even tens of percentages – from interiors to the edges indicating strong edge effects. These effects penetrated at least up to 50 m from the forest edges into the interiors, especially at south to west facing open edges. The effects of trampling were pronounced on paths and even low levels of trampling decreased the abundances of certain species considerably. The effects of trampling extended up to 8 m from path edges. Results showed that the fragmentation of urban forest remnants into small and narrow patches should be avoided in order to maintain natural forest understorey vegetation in the urban setting. Thus, urban forest fragments left within urban development should be at least 3 ha in size, and as circular as possible. Where the preservation of representative original forest interior vegetation is a management aim, closed edges with conifers can act as an effective barrier against solar radiation, wind and urban load, thereby restricting the effects of the edge. Tree volume at the edge should be at least 225-250 m3 ha-1 and the proportion of conifers (especially spruce) 80% or more of the tree species composition. Closed, spruce-dominated edges may also prevent the excessive growth of S. aucuparia saplings at urban forest edges. In addition, closed edges may guide people’s movements to the maintained paths, thus preventing the spontaneous creation of dense path networks. In urban areas the effects of edges and trampling on biodiversity may be considerable, and are important to consider when the aim of management is to prevent the development of homogeneous herb-grass dominated vegetation communities, as was observed at the investigated edges.

Management of semi-natural grasslands for butterfly and moth communities

This work focuses on the factors affecting species richness, abundance and species composition of butterflies and moths in Finnish semi-natural grasslands, with a special interest in the effects of grazing management. In addition, an aim was set at evaluating the effectiveness of the support for livestock grazing in semi-natural grasslands, which is included in the Finnish agri-environment scheme. In the first field study, butterfly and moth communities in resumed semi-natural pastures were com-pared to old, annually grazed and abandoned previous pastures. Butterfly and moth species compo-sition in restored pastures resembled the compositions observed in old pastures after circa five years of resumed cattle grazing, but diversity of butterflies and moths in resumed pastures remained at a lower level compared with old pastures. None of the butterfly and moth species typical of old pas-tures had become more abundant in restored pastures compared with abandoned pastures. There-fore, it appears that restoration of butterfly and moth communities inhabiting semi-natural grass-lands requires a longer time that was available for monitoring in this study. In the second study, it was shown that local habitat quality has the largest impact on the occurrence and abundance of butterflies and moths compared to the effects of grassland patch area and connec-tivity of the regional grassland network. This emphasizes the importance of current and historical management of semi-natural grasslands on butterfly and moth communities. A positive effect of habitat connectivity was observed on total abundance of the declining butterflies and moths, sug-gesting that these species have strongest populations in well-connected habitat networks. Highest species richness and peak abundance of most individual species of butterflies and moths were generally observed in taller grassland vegetation compared with vascular plants, suggesting a preference towards less intensive management in insects. These differences between plants and their insect herbivores may be understood in the light of both (1) the higher structural diversity of tall vegetation and (2) weaker tolerance of disturbances by herbivorous insects due to their higher trophic level compared to plants. The ecological requirements of all species and species groups inhabiting semi-natural grasslands are probably never met at single restricted sites. Therefore, regional implementation of management to create differently managed areas is imperative for the conservation of different species and species groups dependent on semi-natural grasslands. With limited resources it might be reasonable to focus much of the management efforts in the densest networks of suitable habitat to minimise the risk of extinction of the declining species.

Survival in the Rainforest : Change and Resilience among the Punan Vuhang of Eastern Sarawak, Malaysia

This dissertation concerns the Punan Vuhang, former hunter-gatherers who are now part-time farmers living in an area of remote rainforest in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. It covers two themes: first, examining their methods of securing a livelihood in the rainforest, and second looking at their adaptation to a settled life and agriculture, and their response to rapid and large-scale commercial logging. This study engages the long-running debates among anthropologists and ecologists on whether recent hunting-gathering societies were able to survive in the tropical rainforest without dependence on farming societies for food resources. In the search for evidence, the study poses three questions: What food resources were available to rainforest hunter-gatherers? How did they hunt and gather these foods? How did they cope with periodic food shortages? In fashioning a life in the rainforest, the Punan Vuhang survived resource scarcity by developing adaptive strategies through intensive use of their knowledge of the forest and its resources. They also adopted social practices such as sharing and reciprocity, and resource tenure to sustain themselves without recourse to external sources of food. In the 1960s, the Punan Vuhang settled down in response to external influences arising in part from the Indonesian-Malaysian Confrontation. This, in turn, initiated a series of processes with political, economic and religious implications. However, elements of the traditional economy have remained resilient as the people continue to hunt, fish and gather, and are able to farm on an individual basis, unlike neighboring shifting cultivators who need to cooperate with each other. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Punan Vuhang face a new challenge arising from the issue of rights in the context of the state and national law and large-scale commercial logging in their forest habitat. The future seems bleak as they face the social problems of alcoholism, declining leadership, and dependence on cash income and commodities from the market.

Global and EU governance for sustainable forest management with special reference to capacity building in Ethiopia and Southern Sudan

The purpose of this study was to produce information on and practical recommendations for informed decision-making on and capacity building for sustainable forest management (SFM) and good forest governance. This was done within the overall global framework for sustainable development with special emphasis on the EU and African frameworks and on Southern Sudan and Ethiopia in particular. The case studies on Southern Sudan and Ethiopia focused on local, national and regional issues. Moreover, this study attempted to provide both theoretical and practical new insight. The aim was to build an overall theoretical framework and to study its key contents and main implications for SFM and good forest governance at all administration levels, for providing new tools for capacity building in natural resources management. The theoretical framework and research approach were based on the original research problem and the general and specific aims of the study. The key elements of the framework encompass sustainable development, global and EU governance, sustainable forest management (SFM), good forest governance, as well as international and EU law. The selected research approach comprised matrix-based assessment of international, regional (EU and Africa) and national (Southern Sudan and Ethiopia) policy and legal documents. The specific case study on Southern Sudan also involved interviews and group discussions with local community members and government officials. As a whole, this study attempted to link the global, regional, national and local levels in forest-sector development and especially to analyse how the international policy development in environmental and forestry issues is reflected in field-level progress towards SFM and good forest governance, for the specific cases of Southern Sudan and Ethiopia. The results on Southern Sudan focused on the existing situation and perceived needs in capacity building for SFM and good forest governance at all administration levels. Specifically, the results of the case study on Southern Sudan presented the current situation in selected villages in the northern parts of Renk County in Upper Nile State, and the implications of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and of the new forest policy framework for capacity building actions. The results on Ethiopia focused on training, extension, research, education and new curriculum development within higher education institutions and particularly at the Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources (WGCF-NR), which administratively lies under Hawassa University. The results suggest that, for both cases studies, informed decision-making on and capacity building for SFM and good forest governance require comprehensive, long-term, cross-sectoral, coherent and consistent approaches within the dynamic and evolving overall global framework, including its multiple inter-linked levels. The specific priority development and focus areas comprised the establishment of SFM and good forest governance in accordance with the overall sustainable development priorities and with more focus on the international trade in forest products that are derived from sustainable and legal sources with an emphasis on effective forest law enforcement and governance at all levels. In Upper Nile State in Southern Sudan there were positive development signals such as the will of the local people to plant more multipurpose trees on farmlands and range lands as well as the recognition of the importance of forests and trees for sustainable rural development where food security is a key element. In addition, it was evident that the local communities studied in Southern Sudan also wanted to establish good governance systems through partnerships with all actors and through increased local responsibilities. The results also suggest that the implementation of MEAs at the local level in Southern Sudan requires mutually supportive and coherent approaches within the agreements as well as significantly more resources and financial and technical assistance for capacity building, training and extension. Finally, the findings confirm the importance of full utilization of the existing local governance and management systems and their traditional and customary knowledge and practices, and of new development partnerships with full participation of all stakeholders. The planned new forest law for Southern Sudan, based on an already existing new forest policy, is expected to recognize the roles of local-level actors, and it would thus obviously facilitate the achieving of sustainable forest management.

A new method for modulating the activity of parvalbumin-positive neurons and cerebellar Purkinje cells in vivo

Neurons can be divided into various classes according to their location, morphology, neurochemical identity and electrical properties. They form complex interconnected networks with precise roles for each cell type. GABAergic neurons expressing the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (Pv) are mainly interneurons, which serve a coordinating function. Pv-cells modulate the activity of principal cells with high temporal precision. Abnormalities of Pv-interneuron activity in cortical areas have been linked to neuropsychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia. Cerebellar Purkinje cells are known to be central to motor learning. They are the sole output from the layered cerebellar cortex to deep cerebellar nuclei. There are still many open questions about the precise role of Pv-neurons and Purkinje cells, many of which could be answered if one could achieve rapid, reversible cell-type specific modulation of the activity of these neurons and observe the subsequent changes at the whole-animal level. The aim of these studies was to develop a novel method for the modulation of Pv-neurons and Purkinje cells in vivo and to use this method to investigate the significance of inhibition in these neuronal types with a variety of behavioral experiments in addition to tissue autoradiography, electrophysiology and immunohistochemistry. The GABA(A) receptor γ2 subunit was ablated from Pv-neurons and Purkinje cells in four separate mouse lines. Pv-Δγ2 mice had wide-ranging behavioral alterations and increased GABA-insensitive binding indicative of an altered GABA(A) receptor composition, particularly in midbrain areas. PC-Δγ2 mice experienced little or no motor impairment despite the lack of inhibition in Purkinje cells. In Pv-Δγ2-partial rescue mice, a reversal of motor and cognitive deficits was observed in addition to restoration of the wild-type γ2F77 subunit to the reticular nucleus of thalamus and the cerebellar molecular layer. In PC-Δγ2-swap mice, zolpidem sensitivity was restored to Purkinje cells and the administration of systemic zolpidem evoked a transient motor impairment. On the basis of these results, it is concluded that this new method of cell-type specific modulation is a feasible way to modulate the activity of selected neuronal types. The importance of Purkinje cells to motor control supports previous studies, and the crucial involvement of Pv-neurons in a range of behavioral modalities is confirmed.

Microbiological characterisation of soils : Evaluation of some critical steps in data collection and experimental design

The study of soil microbiota and their activities is central to the understanding of many ecosystem processes such as decomposition and nutrient cycling. The collection of microbiological data from soils generally involves several sequential steps of sampling, pretreatment and laboratory measurements. The reliability of results is dependent on reliable methods in every step. The aim of this thesis was to critically evaluate some central methods and procedures used in soil microbiological studies in order to increase our understanding of the factors that affect the measurement results and to provide guidance and new approaches for the design of experiments. The thesis focuses on four major themes: 1) soil microbiological heterogeneity and sampling, 2) storage of soil samples, 3) DNA extraction from soil, and 4) quantification of specific microbial groups by the most-probable-number (MPN) procedure. Soil heterogeneity and sampling are discussed as a single theme because knowledge on spatial (horizontal and vertical) and temporal variation is crucial when designing sampling procedures. Comparison of adjacent forest, meadow and cropped field plots showed that land use has a strong impact on the degree of horizontal variation of soil enzyme activities and bacterial community structure. However, regardless of the land use, the variation of microbiological characteristics appeared not to have predictable spatial structure at 0.5-10 m. Temporal and soil depth-related patterns were studied in relation to plant growth in cropped soil. The results showed that most enzyme activities and microbial biomass have a clear decreasing trend in the top 40 cm soil profile and a temporal pattern during the growing season. A new procedure for sampling of soil microbiological characteristics based on stratified sampling and pre-characterisation of samples was developed. A practical example demonstrated the potential of the new procedure to reduce the analysis efforts involved in laborious microbiological measurements without loss of precision. The investigation of storage of soil samples revealed that freezing (-20 °C) of small sample aliquots retains the activity of hydrolytic enzymes and the structure of the bacterial community in different soil matrices relatively well whereas air-drying cannot be recommended as a storage method for soil microbiological properties due to large reductions in activity. Freezing below -70 °C was the preferred method of storage for samples with high organic matter content. Comparison of different direct DNA extraction methods showed that the cell lysis treatment has a strong impact on the molecular size of DNA obtained and on the bacterial community structure detected. An improved MPN method for the enumeration of soil naphthalene degraders was introduced as an alternative to more complex MPN protocols or the DNA-based quantification approach. The main advantage of the new method is the simple protocol and the possibility to analyse a large number of samples and replicates simultaneously.

Tree mortality, fire scar formation and regeneration 8 years after low-intensity fire in managed Pinus sylvestris stands

Fire is an important driver of the boreal forest ecosystem, and a useful tool for the restoration of degraded forests. However, we lack knowledge on the ecological processes initiated by prescribed fires, and whether they bring about the desired restoration effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of low-intensity experimental prescribed fires on four ecological processes in young commercial Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) stands eight years after the burning. The processes of interest were tree mortality, dead wood creation, regeneration and fire scar formation. These were inventoried in twelve study plots, which were 30 m x 30 m in size. The plots belonged to two different stand age classes: 30-35 years or 45 years old at the time of burning. The study was partly a follow-up of study plots researched by Sidoroff et al. (2007) one year after burning in 2003. Tree mortality increased from 183 stems ha-1 in 2003 to 259 stems ha-1 in 2010, corresponding to 15 % and 21 % of stem number respectively. Most mortality was experienced in the stands of the younger age class, in smaller diameter classes and among species other than Scots pine. By 2010, the average mortality of Scots pine per plot was 18%, but varied greatly ranging from 0% to 63% of stem number. Delayed mortality, i.e. mortality that occurred between 2 and 8 years after fire, seemed to become more important with increasing diameter. The input of dead wood also varied greatly between plots, from none to 72 m3 ha-1, averaging at 12 m3 ha-1. The amount of fire scarred trees per plot ranged from none to 20 %. Four out of twelve plots (43 %) did not have any fire scars. Scars were on average small: 95% of scars were less than 4 cm in width, and 75% less than 40 cm in length. Owing to the light nature of the fire, the remaining overstorey and thick organic layer, regeneration was poor overall. The abundance of pine and other seedlings indicated a viable seed source existed, but the seedlings failed to establish under dense canopy. The number of saplings ranged from 0 to 12 333 stems ha-1. The results of this study indicate that a low intensity fire does not necessarily initiate the ecological processes of tree mortality, dead wood creation and regeneration in the desired scale. Fire scars, which form the basis of fire dating in fire history studies, did not form in all cases.

The potential of microbial ecological indicators to guide ecosophisticated management of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils

Soil is an unrenewable natural resource under increasing anthropogenic pressure. One of the main threats to soils, compromising their ability to provide us with the goods and ecosystem services we expect, is pollution. Oil hydrocarbons are the most common soil contaminants, and they disturb not just the biota but also the physicochemical properties of soils. Indigenous soil micro-organisms respond rapidly to changes in the soil ecosystem, and are chronically in direct contact with the hydrophobic pollutants on the soil surfaces. Soil microbial variables could thus serve as an intrinsically relevant indicator of soil quality, to be used in the ecological risk assessment of contaminated and remediated soils. Two contrasting studies were designed to investigate soil microbial ecological responses to hydrocarbons, together with parallel changes in soil physicochemical and ecotoxicological properties. The aim was to identify quantitative or qualitative microbiological variables that would be practicable and broadly applicable for the assessment of the quality and restoration of oil-polluted soil. Soil bacteria commonly react on hydrocarbons as a beneficial substrate, which lead to a positive response in the classical microbiological soil quality indicators; negative impacts were accurately reflected only after severe contamination. Hydrocarbon contaminants become less bioavailable due to weathering processes, and their potentially toxic effects decrease faster than the total concentration. Indigenous hydrocarbon degrader bacteria, naturally present in any terrestrial environment, use specific mechanisms to improve access to the hydrocarbon molecules adsorbed on soil surfaces. Thus when contaminants are unavailable even to the specialised degraders, they should pose no hazard to other biota either. Change in the ratio of hydrocarbon degrader numbers to total microbes was detected to predictably indicate pollutant effects and bioavailability. Also bacterial diversity, a qualitative community characteristic, decreased as a response to hydrocarbons. Stabilisation of community evenness, and community structure that reflected clean reference soil, indicated community recovery. If long-term temporal monitoring is difficult and appropriate clean reference soil unavailable, such comparison could possibly be based on DNA-based community analysis, reflecting past+present, and RNA-based community analysis, showing exclusively present conditions. Microbial ecological indicators cannot replace chemical oil analyses, but they are theoretically relevant and operationally practicable additional tools for ecological risk assessment. As such, they can guide ecologically informed and sustainable ecosophisticated management of oil-contaminated lands.

Renewable Energy and Climate Policies: Studies in the Forest and Energy Sector

‪This dissertation examines the impacts of energy and climate policies on the energy and forest sectors, focusing on the case of Finland. The thesis consists of an introduction article and four separate studies. The dissertation was motivated by the climate concern and the increasing demand of renewable energy. In particular, the renewable energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets of the European Union were driving this work. In Finland, both forest and energy sectors are in key roles in achieving these targets. In fact, the separation between forest and energy sector is diminishing as the energy sector is utilizing increasing amounts of wood in energy production and as the forest sector is becoming more and more important energy producer.‬ ‪The objective of this dissertation is to find out and measure the impacts of climate and energy policies on the forest and energy sectors. In climate policy, the focus is on emissions trading, and in energy policy the dissertation focuses on the promotion of renewable forest-based energy use. The dissertation relies on empirical numerical models that are based on microeconomic theory. Numerical partial equilibrium mixed complementarity problem models were constructed to study the markets under scrutiny. The separate studies focus on co-firing of wood biomass and fossil fuels, liquid biofuel production in the pulp and paper industry, and the impacts of climate policy on the pulp and paper sector.‬ ‪The dissertation shows that the policies promoting wood-based energy may have have unexpected negative impacts. When feed-in tariff is imposed together with emissions trading, in some plants the production of renewable electricity might decrease as the emissions price increases. The dissertation also shows that in liquid biofuel production, investment subsidy may cause high direct policy costs and other negative impacts when compared to other policy instruments. The results of the dissertation also indicate that from the climate mitigation perspective, perfect competition is the favored wood market competition structure, at least if the emissions trading system is not global.‬ ‪In conclusion, this dissertation suggests that when promoting the use of wood biomass in energy production, the favored policy instruments are subsidies that promote directly the renewable energy production (i.e. production subsidy, renewables subsidy or feed-in premium). Also, the policy instrument should be designed to be dependent on the emissions price or on the substitute price. In addition, this dissertation shows that when planning policies to promote wood-based renewable energy, the goals of the policy scheme should be clear before decisions are made on the choice of the policy instruments.‬

Integrated climatic impacts of forestry and fibre-based packaging

The purpose of this study was to examine the integrated climatic impacts of forestry and the use fibre-based packaging materials. The responsible use of forest resources plays an integral role in mitigating climate change. Forests offer three generic mitigation strategies; conservation, sequestration and substitution. By conserving carbon reservoirs, increasing the carbon sequestration in the forest or substituting fossil fuel intensive materials and energy, it is possible to lower the amount of carbon in the atmosphere through the use of forest resources. The Finnish forest industry consumed some 78 million m3 of wood in 2009, while total of 2.4 million tons of different packaging materials were consumed that same year in Finland. Nearly half of the domestically consumed packaging materials were wood-based. Globally the world packaging material market is valued worth annually some €400 billion, of which the fibre-based packaging materials account for 40 %. The methodology and the theoretical framework of this study are based on a stand-level, steady-state analysis of forestry and wood yields. The forest stand data used for this study were obtained from Metla, and consisted of 14 forest stands located in Southern and Central Finland. The forest growth and wood yields were first optimized with the help of Stand Management Assistant software, and then simulated in Motti for forest carbon pools. The basic idea was to examine the climatic impacts of fibre-based packaging material production and consumption through different forest management and end-use scenarios. Economically optimal forest management practices were chosen as the baseline (1) for the study. In the alternative scenarios, the amount of fibre-based packaging material on the market decreased from the baseline. The reduced pulpwood demand (RPD) scenario (2) follows economically optimal management practices under reduced pulpwood price conditions, while the sawlog scenario (3) also changed the product mix from packaging to sawnwood products. The energy scenario (4) examines the impacts of pulpwood demand shift from packaging to energy use. The final scenario follows the silvicultural guidelines developed by the Forestry Development Centre Tapio (5). The baseline forest and forest product carbon pools and the avoided emissions from wood use were compared to those under alternative forest management regimes and end-use scenarios. The comparison of the climatic impacts between scenarios gave an insight into the sustainability of fibre-based packaging materials, and the impacts of decreased material supply and substitution. The results show that the use of wood for fibre-based packaging purposes is favorable, when considering climate change mitigation aspects of forestry and wood use. Fibre-based packaging materials efficiently displace fossil carbon emissions by substituting more energy intensive materials, and they delay biogenic carbon re-emissions to the atmosphere for several months up to years. The RPD and the sawlog scenarios both fared well in the scenario comparison. These scenarios produced relatively more sawnwood, which can displace high amounts of emissions and has high carbon storing potential due to the long lifecycle. The results indicate the possibility that win-win scenarios exist by shifting production from pulpwood to sawlogs; on some of the stands in the RPD and sawlog scenarios, both carbon pools and avoided emissions increased from the baseline simultaneously. On the opposite, the shift from packaging material to energy use caused the carbon pools and the avoided emissions to diminish from the baseline. Hence the use of virgin fibres for energy purposes, rather than forest industry feedstock biomass, should be critically judged if optional to each other. Managing the stands according to the silvicultural guidelines developed by the Forestry Development Centre Tapio provided the least climatic benefits, showing considerably lower carbon pools and avoided emissions. This seems interesting and worth noting, as the guidelines are the current basis for the forest management practices in Finland.