Sex-specific roost selection by bats in clearfell harvested plantation forest : improved knowledge advises management

To maximize energetic savings, female bats often roost communally whilst pregnant or with non-volant dependents, whereas male bats more often roost alone; however, differences in selection of roosts by sex have not often been investigated. Better understanding of female colony locations could focus management to protect the majority of bats. New Zealand's long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) roost in exotic plantation forest, where sex-specific roost selection has not been investigated, and therefore such management is not possible. We investigated sex-specific roost selection by long-tailed bats for the first time. Roosts and paired nonroosts were characterized testing predictions that males and females select roosts that differ from non-roosts, and males and females select different roosts. Females and males chose Pinus radiata roosts that differed from non-roost trees. Results suggest each sex chose roosts that maximized energetic savings. Female bats used roosts closer to water sources, that warmed earlier in the day, which allowed maintenance of high temperatures. Males appeared to choose roosts that allowed torpor use for long periods of the day. Males may be less selective with their roost locations than females, as they roosted further from water sources. This could allow persistence of male bats in marginal habitat. As all female long-tailed bats chose roosts within 150 m of waterways, management to protect bats could be focused here. To protect bats least able to escape when roosts are harvested, harvest of forest stands selected by female bats as roost sites should be planned when bats are not heavily pregnant nor have non-volant dependents.

Species-area and species-individual relationships for tropical trees: A comparison of three 50-ha plots

1 Species-accumulation curves for woody plants were calculated in three tropical forests, based on fully mapped 50-ha plots in wet, old-growth forest in Peninsular Malaysia, in moist, old-growth forest in central Panama, and in dry, previously logged forest in southern India. A total of 610 000 stems were identified to species and mapped to < Im accuracy. Mean species number and stem number were calculated in quadrats as small as 5 m x 5 m to as large as 1000 m x 500 m, for a variety of stem sizes above 10 mm in diameter. Species-area curves were generated by plotting species number as a function of quadrat size; species-individual curves were generated from the same data, but using stem number as the independent variable rather than area. 2 Species-area curves had different forms for stems of different diameters, but species-individual curves were nearly independent of diameter class. With < 10(4) stems, species-individual curves were concave downward on log-log plots, with curves from different forests diverging, but beyond about 104 stems, the log-log curves became nearly linear, with all three sites having a similar slope. This indicates an asymptotic difference in richness between forests: the Malaysian site had 2.7 times as many species as Panama, which in turn was 3.3 times as rich as India. 3 Other details of the species-accumulation relationship were remarkably similar between the three sites. Rectangular quadrats had 5-27% more species than square quadrats of the same area, with longer and narrower quadrats increasingly diverse. Random samples of stems drawn from the entire 50 ha had 10-30% more species than square quadrats with the same number of stems. At both Pasoh and BCI, but not Mudumalai. species richness was slightly higher among intermediate-sized stems (50-100mm in diameter) than in either smaller or larger sizes, These patterns reflect aggregated distributions of individual species, plus weak density-dependent forces that tend to smooth the species abundance distribution and 'loosen' aggregations as stems grow. 4 The results provide support for the view that within each tree community, many species have their abundance and distribution guided more by random drift than deterministic interactions. The drift model predicts that the species-accumulation curve will have a declining slope on a log-log plot, reaching a slope of O.1 in about 50 ha. No other model of community structure can make such a precise prediction. 5 The results demonstrate that diversity studies based on different stem diameters can be compared by sampling identical numbers of stems. Moreover, they indicate that stem counts < 1000 in tropical forests will underestimate the percentage difference in species richness between two diverse sites. Fortunately, standard diversity indices (Fisher's sc, Shannon-Wiener) captured diversity differences in small stem samples more effectively than raw species richness, but both were sample size dependent. Two nonparametric richness estimators (Chao. jackknife) performed poorly, greatly underestimating true species richness.

Developing African mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) germplasm and its management for a sustainable forest plantation industry in northern Australia: Progress and needs.

The demonstrated wide adaptability, substantial yield potential and proven timber quality of African mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) from plantings of the late 1960s and early 1970s in northern Australia have led to a resurgence of interest in this high-value species. New plantations or trials have been established in several regions since the early 1990s -in four regions in north Queensland, two in the Northern Territory and one in Western Australia. Overall, more than 1500 ha had been planted by early 2007, and the national annual planting from 2007-2008 as currently planned will exceed 2400 ha. Proceedings of two workshops have summarised information available on the species in northern Australia, and suggested research and development (R&D) needs and directions. After an unsustained first phase of domestication of K. senegalensis in the late 1960s to the early 1970s, a second phase began in northern Australia in 2001 focused on conservation and tree improvement that is expected to provide improved planting stock by 2010. Work on other aspects of domestication is also described in this paper: the current estate and plans for extension; site suitability, soils and nutrition; silviculture and management; productivity; pests and diseases; and log and wood properties of a sample of superior trees from two mature plantations of unselected material near Darwin. Some constraints on sustainable plantation development in all these fields are identified and R&D needs proposed. A sustained R&D effort will require a strategic coordinated approach, cooperative implementation and extra funding. Large gains in plantation profitability can be expected to flow from such inputs.

Sustainable native forest management. Case studies in managing private native forest in southeast Queensland.

The introduction describes productive forest in Queensland and summaries the principles of native forest management that achieve optimum productivity. Case study 1 deals with thinning an even-aged regrowth forest. It shows how thinning the stand actively manages the future composition and structure to improve productivity in the best stems and increase the commercial value of the next harvest. Case study 2 describes restoring productivity in a high-graded spotted gum - ironbark forest. It shows that defective and non-saleable trees should be removed so they do not repress the future stand; and that regeneration should be thinned, retaining the best trees in adequate growing space. Case study 3 discusses on-farm value adding for hardwood forests. It shows how long-term viability and maximum productivity and returns depend on the best management practices and knowing how to obtain the best returns from a range of forest products. Case study 4 examines integrated harvesting in a eucalypt forest. It shows how integrating the harvest enables the full range of timber products are harvested and sold for their maximum value while reducing the amount of waste.

Wood properties and processing outcomes for plantation grown African mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) trees from Clare, Queensland (18 and 20 year-old trees) and Katherine, Northern Territory (14 year-old trees).

Khaya senegalensis, African mahogany, a high-value hardwood, was introduced in the Northern Territory (NT) in the 1950s; included in various trials there and at Weipa, Q in the 1960s-1970s; planted on ex mine sites at Weipa (160 ha) until 1985; revived in farm plantings in Queensland and in trials in the NT in the 1990s; adopted for large-scale, annual planting in the Douglas-Daly region, NT from 2006 and is to have the planted area in the NT extended to at least 20,000 ha. The recent serious interest from plantation growers, including Forest Enterprises Australia Ltd (FEA), has seen the establishment of some large scale commercial plantations. FEA initiated the current study to process relatively young plantation stands from both Northern Territory and Queensland plantations to investigate the sawn wood and veneer recovery and quality from trees ranging from 14 years (NT – 36 trees) to 18-20 years (North Queensland – 31 trees). Field measures of tree size and straightness were complemented with log end splitting assessment and cross-sectional disc sample collection for laboratory wood properties measurements including colour and shrinkage. End-splitting scores assessed on sawn logs were relatively low compared to fast grown plantation eucalypts and did not impact processing negatively. Heartwood proportion in individual trees ranged from 50% up to 92 % of butt cross-sectional disc area for the visually-assessed dark coloured central heartwood and lighter coloured transition wood combined. Dark central heartwood proportion was positively related to tree size (R2 = 0.57). Chemical tests failed to assist in determining heartwood – sapwood boundary. Mean basic density of whole disc samples was 658 kg/m3 and ranged among trees from 603 to 712 kg/m3. When freshly sawn, the heartwood of African mahogany was orange-red to red. Transition wood appeared to be pinkish and the sapwood was a pale yellow colour. Once air dried the heartwood colour generally darkens to pinkish-brown or orange-brown and the effect of prolonged time and sun exposure is to darken and change the heartwood to a red-brown colour. A portable colour measurement spectrophotometer was used to objectively assess colour variation in CIE L*, a* and b* values over time with drying and exposure to sunlight. Capacity to predict standard colour values accurately after varying periods of direct sunlight exposure using results obtained on initial air-dried surfaces decreased with increasing time to sun exposure. The predictions are more accurate for L* values which represent brightness than for variation in the a* values (red spectrum). Selection of superior breeding trees for colour is likely to be based on dried samples exposed to sunlight to reliably highlight wood colour differences. A generally low ratio between tangential and radial shrinkages was found, which was reflected in a low incidence of board distortion (particularly cupping) during drying. A preliminary experiment was carried out to investigate the quality of NIR models to predict shrinkage and density. NIR spectra correlated reasonably well with radial shrinkage and air dried density. When calibration models were applied to their validation sets, radial shrinkage was predicted to an accuracy of 76% with Standard Error of Prediction of 0.21%. There was also a strong predictive power for wood density. These are encouraging results suggesting that NIR spectroscopy has good potential to be used as a non-destructive method to predict shrinkage and wood density using 12mm diameter increment core samples. Average green off saw recovery was 49.5% (range 40 to 69%) for Burdekin Agricultural College (BAC) logs and 41.9% (range 20 to 61%) for Katherine (NT) logs. These figures are about 10% higher than compared to 30-year-old Khaya study by Armstrong et al. (2007) however they are inflated as the green boards were not docked to remove wane prior to being tallied. Of the recovered sawn, dried and dressed volume from the BAC logs, based on the cambial face of boards, 27% could potentially be used for select grade, 40% for medium feature grade and 26% for high feature grades. The heart faces had a slightly higher recovery of select (30%) and medium feature (43%) grade boards with a reduction in the volume of high feature (22%) and reject (6%) grade boards. Distribution of board grades for the NT site aged 14 years followed very similar trends to those of the BAC site boards with an average (between facial and cambial face) 27% could potentially be used for select grade, 42% for medium feature grade, 26% for high feature grade and 5% reject. Relatively to some other subtropical eucalypts, there was a low incidence of borer attack. The major grade limiting defects for both medium and high feature grade boards recovered from the BAC site were knots and wane. The presence of large knots may reflect both management practices and the nature of the genetic material at the site. This stand was not managed for timber production with a very late pruning implemented at about age 12 years. The large amount of wane affected boards is indicative of logs with a large taper and the presence of significant sweep. Wane, knots and skip were the major grade limiting defects for the NT site reflecting considerable amounts of sweep with large taper as might be expected in younger trees. The green veneer recovered from billets of seven Khaya trees rotary peeled on a spindleless lathe produced a recovery of 83% of green billet volume. Dried veneer recovery ranged from 40 to 74 % per billet with an average of 64%. All of the recovered grades were suitable for use in structural ply in accordance to AS/NZ 2269: 2008. The majority of veneer sheets recovered from all billets was C grade (27%) with 20% making D grade and 13% B grade. Total dry sliced veneer recovery from the logs of the two largest logs from each location was estimated to be 41.1%. Very positive results have been recorded in this small scale study. The amount of colour development observed and the very reasonable recoveries of both sawn and veneer products, with a good representation of higher grades in the product distribution, is encouraging. The prospects for significant improvement in these results from well managed and productive stands grown for high quality timber should be high. Additionally, the study has shown the utility of non-destructive evaluation techniques for use in tree improvement programs to improve the quality of future plantations. A few trees combined several of the traits desired of individuals for a first breeding population. Fortunately, the two most promising trees (32, 19) had already been selected for breeding on external traits, and grafts of them are established in the seed orchard.

What was behind the bark? : An assessment of decay among urban Tilia, Betula and Acer trees felled as hazardous in the Helsinki City area

Old trees growing in urban environments are often felled due to symptoms of mechanical defects that could be hazardous to people and property. The decisions concerning these removals are justified by risk assessments carried out by tree care professionals. The major motivation for this study was to determine the most common profiles of potential hazard characteristics for the three most common urban tree genera in Helsinki City: Tilia, Betula and Acer, and in this way improve management practices and protection of old amenity trees. For this research, material from approximately 250 urban trees was collected in cooperation with the City of Helsinki Public Works Department during 2001 - 2004. From the total number of trees sampled, approximately 70% were defined as hazardous. The tree species had characteristic features as potential hazard profiles. For Tilia trees, hollowed heartwood with low fungal activity and advanced decay caused by Ganoderma lipsiense were the two most common profiles. In Betula spp., the primary reason for tree removal was usually lowered amenity value in terms of decline of the crown. Internal cracks, most often due to weak fork formation, were common causes of potential failure in Acer spp. Decay caused by Rigidoporus populinus often increased the risk of stem breakage in these Acer trees. Of the decay fungi observed, G. lipsiense was most often the reason for the increased risk of stem collapse. Other fungi that also caused extensive decay were R. populinus, Inonotus obliquus, Kretzschmaria deusta and Phellinus igniarius. The most common decay fungi in terms of incidence were Pholiota spp., but decay caused by these species did not have a high potential for causing stem breakage, because it rarely extended to the cambium. The various evaluations used in the study suggested contradictions in felling decisions based on trees displaying different stages of decay. For protection of old urban trees, it is crucial to develop monitoring methods so that tree care professionals could better analyse the rate of decay progression towards the sapwood and separate those trees with decreasing amounts of sound wood from those with decay that is restricted to the heartwood area.

Diversity and abundance of fungivorous thrips (Thysanoptera) associated with leaf-litter and bark across forest types and two tree genera in subtropical Australia

Leaf-litter thrips were much more common and diverse in dry sclerophyll forest than in wetter forest types in subtropical southeast Queensland, Australia. In dry sclerophyll forest, the species composition of thrips in leaf-litter was strongly differentiated from the thrips fauna associated with bark of the trees Eucalyptus major and Acacia melanoxylon (4 of 34 species in common). The species composition of bark-dwelling thrips was similar across the two tree species and also across two eucalypts with different bark types, Eucalyptus major (flaky) and Eucalyptus siderophloia (rough). The diversity of thrips from the leaf-litter was not differentiated across all of these tree species. Virtually all thrips collected were Phlaeothripidae, subfamilies Idolothripinae and Phlaeothripinae. Idolothripinae were associated almost exclusively with leaf-litter, but Phlaeothripinae were in leaf-litter and bark. The association of fungal-feeding thrips with dry sclerophyll forest raises questions about their ecological requirements and the role they play in nutrient cycling. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Effect of rodents on seed fate of five hornbill-dispersed tree species in a tropical forest in north-east India

Hornbills are important dispersers of a wide range of tree species. Many of these species bear fruits with large, lipid-rich seeds that could attract terrestrial rodents. Rodents have multiple effects on seed fates, many of which remain poorly understood in the Palaeotropics. The role of terrestrial rodents was investigated by tracking seed fate of five horn bill-dispersed tree species in a tropical forest in north-cast India. Seeds were marked inside and outside of exclosures below 6-12 parent fruiting trees (undispersed seed rain) and six hornbill nest trees (a post-dispersal site). Rodent visitors and seed removal ere monitored using camera traps. Our findings suggest that several rodent species. especially two species of porcupine were major on-site seed predators. Scatter-hoarding was rare (1.4%). Seeds at hornbill nest trees had lower survival compared with parent fruiting trees, indicating that clumped dispersal by hornbills may not necessarily improve seed survival. Seed survival in the presence and absence of rodents varied with tree species. Some species (e.g. Polyalthia simiarum) showed no difference, others (e.g. Dysoxylum binectariferum) experienced up to a 64%. decrease in survival in the presence of rodents. The differing magnitude of seed predation by rodents can have significant consequences at the seed establishment stage.

Veneer based composite hollow utility poles manufactured from hardwood plantation thinned trees

Australia’s utility pole network is aging and approaching its end of life. It is estimated that 70% of the 5 million poles currently in-service nationally were installed within the 20 years following the end of World War II and require replacement or remedial maintenance. Additionally, an estimated 21,700 high-durability new poles are required each year to support the expansion of the energy network. Utility poles were traditionally cut from native forest hardwood species. However, due to agreements which progressively phase out logging of native forests around Australia, finding new sources for utility poles presents a challenge. This paper presents the development of veneer based composite hardwood hollow utility poles manufactured from mid-rotation Gympie messmate (Eucalyptus cloeziana) plantation thinned trees (also referred to as “thinning”), as an alternative to solid hardwood poles. The incentives behind the project and benefits of the proposed products are introduced in the paper. Small diameter poles, of nominal 115 mm internal diameter and 15 mm wall-thickness, were manufactured in two half-poles butt jointed together, using 9 hardwood veneers per half-pole. The poles were tested in bending and shear, and experimental test results are presented. The mechanical performance of the hollow poles is discussed and compared to hardwood poles sourced from mature trees and of similar size. Additionally, the required dimensions of the proposed hollow pole to replace actual solid poles are estimated. Results show that the proposed product represents a viable technical solution to the current shortage of utility poles. Future research and different options for improving the current concept are proposed in order to provide a more reliable and cost effective product for structural and architectural applications in general.

Spatial variation of climate and the impact of disturbances on local climate and forest recovery in northern Finland

The structure and function of northern ecosystems are strongly influenced by climate change and variability and by human-induced disturbances. The projected global change is likely to have a pronounced effect on the distribution and productivity of different species, generating large changes in the equilibrium at the tree-line. In turn, movement of the tree-line and the redistribution of species produce feedback to both the local and the regional climate. This research was initiated with the objective of examining the influence of natural conditions on the small-scale spatial variation of climate in Finnish Lapland, and to study the interaction and feedback mechanisms in the climate-disturbances-vegetation system near the climatological border of boreal forest. The high (1 km) resolution spatial variation of climate parameters over northern Finland was determined by applying the Kriging interpolation method that takes into account the effect of external forcing variables, i.e., geographical coordinates, elevation, sea and lake coverage. Of all the natural factors shaping the climate, the geographical position, local topography and altitude proved to be the determining ones. Spatial analyses of temperature- and precipitation-derived parameters based on a 30-year dataset (1971-2000) provide a detailed description of the local climate. Maps of the mean, maximum and minimum temperatures, the frost-free period and the growing season indicate that the most favourable thermal conditions exist in the south-western part of Lapland, around large water bodies and in the Kemijoki basin, while the coldest regions are in highland and fell Lapland. The distribution of precipitation is predominantly longitudinally dependent but with the definite influence of local features. The impact of human-induced disturbances, i.e., forest fires, on local climate and its implication for forest recovery near the northern timberline was evaluated in the Tuntsa area of eastern Lapland, damaged by a widespread forest fire in 1960 and suffering repeatedly-failed vegetation recovery since that. Direct measurements of the local climate and simulated heat and water fluxes indicated the development of a more severe climate and physical conditions on the fire-disturbed site. Removal of the original, predominantly Norway spruce and downy birch vegetation and its substitution by tundra vegetation has generated increased wind velocity and reduced snow accumulation, associated with a large variation in soil temperature and moisture and deep soil frost. The changed structural parameters of the canopy have determined changes in energy fluxes by reducing the latter over the tundra vegetation. The altered surface and soil conditions, as well as the evolved severe local climate, have negatively affected seedling growth and survival, leading to more unfavourable conditions for the reproduction of boreal vegetation and thereby causing deviations in the regional position of the timberline. However it should be noted that other factors, such as an inadequate seed source or seedbed, the poor quality of the soil and the intensive logging of damaged trees could also exacerbate the poor tree regeneration. In spite of the failed forest recovery at Tunsta, the position and composition of the timberline and tree-line in Finnish Lapland may also benefit from present and future changes in climate. The already-observed and the projected increase in temperature, the prolonged growing season, as well as changes in the precipitation regime foster tree growth and new regeneration, resulting in an advance of the timberline and tree-line northward and upward. This shift in the distribution of vegetation might be decelerated or even halted by local topoclimatic conditions and by the expected increase in the frequency of disturbances.

Fauna community trends during early restoration of alluvial open forest/woodland ecosystems on former agricultural land

Vertebrate fauna was studied over 10 years following revegetation of a Eucalyptus tereticornis ecosystem on former agricultural land. We compared four vegetation types: remnant forest, plantings of a mix of native tree species on cleared land, natural regeneration of partially cleared land after livestock removal, and cleared pasture land with scattered paddock trees managed for livestock production. Pasture differed significantly from remnant in both bird and nonbird fauna. Although 10 years of ecosystem restoration is relatively short term in the restoration process, in this time bird assemblages in plantings and natural regeneration had diverged significantly from pasture, but still differed significantly from remnant. After 10 years, 70 and 66% of the total vertebrate species found in remnant had been recorded in plantings and natural regeneration, respectively. Although the fauna assemblages within plantings and natural regeneration were tracking toward those of remnant, significant differences in fauna between plantings and natural regeneration indicated community development along different restoration pathways. Because natural regeneration contained more mature trees (dbh > 30 cm), native shrub species, and coarse woody debris than plantings from the beginning of the study, these features possibly encouraged different fauna to the revegetation areas from the outset. The ability of plantings and natural regeneration to transition to the remnant state will be governed by a number of factors that were significant in the analyses, including shrub cover, herbaceous biomass, tree hollows, time since fire, and landscape condition. Both active and passive restoration produced significant change from the cleared state in the short term.

Communities of wood-inhabiting fungi : Ecological requirements and responses to forest management and fragmentation

Despite much research on forest biodiversity in Fennoscandia, the exact mechanisms of species declines in dead-wood dependent fungi are still poorly understood. In particular, there is only limited information on why certain fungal species have responded negatively to habitat loss and fragmentation, while others have not. Understanding the mechanisms behind species declines would be essential for the design and development of ecologically effective and scientifically informed conservation measures, and management practices that would promote biodiversity in production forests. In this thesis I study the ecology of polypores and their responses to forest management, with a particular focus on why some species have declined more than others. The data considered in the thesis comprise altogether 98,318 dead-wood objects, with 43,085 observations of 174 fungal species. Out of these, 1,964 observations represent 58 red-listed species. The data were collected from 496 sites, including woodland key habitats, clear-cuts with retention trees, mature managed forests, and natural or natural-like forests in southern Finland and Russian Karelia. I show that the most relevant way of measuring resource availability can differ to a great extent between species seemingly sharing the same resources. It is thus critical to measure the availability of resources in a way that takes into account the ecological requirements of the species. The results show that connectivity at the local, landscape and regional scales is important especially for the highly specialized species, many of which are also red-listed. Habitat loss and fragmentation affect not only species diversity but also the relative abundances of the species and, consequently, species interactions and fungal successional pathways. Changes in species distributions and abundances are likely to affect the food chains in which wood-inhabiting fungi are involved, and thus the functioning of the whole forest ecosystem. The findings of my thesis highlight the importance of protecting well-connected, large and high-quality forest areas to maintain forest biodiversity. Small habitat patches distributed across the landscape are likely to contribute only marginally to protection of red-listed species, especially if habitat quality is not substantially higher than in ordinary managed forest, as is the case with woodland key habitats. Key habitats might supplement the forest protection network if they were delineated larger and if harvesting of individual trees was prohibited in them. Taking the landscape perspective into account in the design and development of conservation measures is critical while striving to halt the decline of forest biodiversity in an ecologically effective manner.

Sustainable forest management : ecologically sound and socially accepted

This dissertation explored the ecological dimension of ecologically sustainable forest management in boreal forests, and factors of the socio-cultural dimension that affect how the concept of ecologically sustainable forest management is defined. My approach was problem-oriented and generalistic-holistic. I examined associations between the abundances of wildlife groups (grouse, large predators, small predators, ungulates) and Siberian flying squirrels, and their co-occurrence with tree structural characteristics at the regional level. The trade-offs between ecological, social and economic sustainability in forestry were explored at the regional scale. I identified a potential 'shopping basket' of regional indicators for ecologically sustainable forest management, combining the relative abundance of Siberian flying squirrels, a wildlife richness index (WRI) for grouse, diversity indices of saw-timber trees, tree age classes and the proportion of old-growth (> 120 yr) forests. I suggest that the close association between forestry activity, the proportion of young forests (< 40 yr) and a WRI for small predators can be considered as potential 'alarm bells' for regions in which the creation of trade-offs (negative relationships) between economic and ecological components of sustainable forestry is ongoing. Explorative analyses revealed negative relationships between forestry activity and a WRI of 16 game species, the WRI for grouse and tree age diversity. Socially sustainable communities compete less intensively with ecological components of forests than communities where forestry is important. Interestingly, forest ownership types (farmers, other private forest owners, the forestry industry, the State) correlated significantly with the co-occurrence of flying squirrels, grouse and diverse forest structural characteristics rather than, for instance, with the total number of protection areas, suggesting that private forest ownership can lead to increased ecological sustainability. I examined forest actors’ argumentation to identify characteristics that affect the interpretation of ecologically sustainable forest management. Four argumentation frame types were constructed: information, work, experience and own position based. These differed in terms of their emphasis on external experts or own experiences. The closer ecologically sustainable forest management is to the forest actor’s daily life, the more profiled policy tools (counselling, learning through experiences) are needed to guide management behaviour to become more ecologically sound. I illustrated that forest actors interpret, use and understand information through meaningful framing. I analysed the extent to which ecological research information has been perceived in the Forestry Development Centre TAPIO’s recommendations and revised PEFC Finland criteria. We noticed that the political value for decaying wood was much lower in PEFC Finland critera (4 m3) than could be expected as a socially acceptable level (9 m3) or ecologically sound (10-20 m3). I consider it important for scientists to join political discourses and become involved in policy making concerning sustainable forest management to learn to present their results in a way that is reasonable from the user’s perspective.

The ecology of the mountain hare (Lepus timidus L.) in managed boreal forests: habitat associations at different forest scales

Aims of this thesis This study is part of a larger hare project in Finland, which provides answers to basic ecological questions regarding the mountain hare. This study of the ecology of the mountain hare focuses in particular on different levels of managed boreal forest. The feeding habits and intensity of mountain hares in winter are explored, and the connections between mountain hares versus the forest structure are also studied (e.g. habitat use and the importance of different forest layers for hares). The use of the environment by hares at the landscape level was examined (forest patch structures), and the home ranges of mountain hares were studied. Finally, the productivity and survival rate of mountain hare populations were also studied (discussion e.g. predator effects on hare populations). Conclusions Feeding intensity seemed to be highest in the spring-winter, when home ranges were also largest. Favourable food species are covered by snow in winter and the mobility of hares is highest during late winter. A shortage of suitable food species may be problematic for hares, especially during the winter period. In this study mountain hares preferred a dense shrub layer at local level and deciduous and mixed tree forest over coniferous forest at the landscape level. Food and shelter are vital for hares and the preference for particular habitats may also affect the population dynamics of the mountain hare. It would be possible to improve the quality of food and shelter or at least prevent the most negative habitat changes through forest management. At a local level it is also possible to add supplementary food for hares through the winter period. The intensive clearing of young sapling stands and especially the removal of deciduous shrubs and trees reduces the quality of habitats for the mountain hare. Mountain hares primarily live in forest habitat and it is possible that changes in the forest structure play a crucial role in mountain hare habitat preference. Ecological knowledge of the mountain hare is vital to create habitat structure more suitable for the species. More deciduous trees should be saved in managing forests and the mechanical clearing of the shrub layer should be done carefully.