Anna-Liisa Ylisirniö

Use of decision analysis interviews to support the sustainable use of the forests in Finnish Upper Lapland

Controversy between alternative uses of forests in Finnish Upper Lapland has been going on for decades, and in recent years it has been escalated to a serious conflict. The core of the conflict is the adverse impacts of forestry on old forests which are important grazing areas for reindeer and which are regarded as intact nature and wilderness areas. This paper describes the experiences of applying multi-criteria decision analysis interview approach on this conflict. The approach provides tools for structuring the problem and preferences of the stakeholders as well as for analyzing the effects of different alternatives in a common framework. We focus on the practical experiences gained from the application of this approach in this context. Multi-criteria decision analysis was found to be a useful approach to evaluate the economic, ecological and cultural aspects of this intense conflict. The obtained experiences also support the view that the approach works best when tightly integrated into the planning process.

Ecological efficiency of voluntary conservation of boreal-forest biodiversity.

Current networks of protected areas are biased in many countries toward landscapes of low productivity. Voluntary conservation incentives have been suggested as a socially acceptable way to supplement existing networks with more productive, privately owned areas of high priority for nature conservation. The limited resources committed to nature conservation demand cost-efficiency. Efficiency, however, depends not only on costs incurred to society from alternative ways of maintaining biodiversity but also on ecological values that can be captured. We examined the ecological efficiency of the new market-based voluntary program to preserve forest habitats on private land in southwestern Finland. We compared sites that have become protected (10-year contracts) in the program with managed forests, with sites that have been negotiated for protection for which no contract has been signed, and with the most ecologically valuable privately owned sites in the region that have not been offered for protection by forest owners. We surveyed sites for the amount of dead wood, wood-decomposing fungi, and epiphytic lichens to evaluate their ecological quality. Contracted sites had more features important for overall biodiversity than managed forests and negotiated sites with no contract. These results indicate that procedures used during site selection and negotiations were appropriate and not opportunistic. The contracted sites were also as valuable in ecological terms as the best, still-unprotected, privately owned forests in the region that have not been offered for protection. We conclude that voluntary conservation programs have the potential to yield ecologically valuable sites for protection if the site-selection procedures are appropriate. Reliance on completely voluntary programs, however, may entail uncertainties and inadequacies, for example, in terms of spatial configuration and persistence of the ecological values. Thus, such programs may often need to be supplemented with alternative methods such as land purchase to achieve an ecologically effective network of protected sites.

Quantifying the Indicator Power of an Indicator Species

Biodiversity indicator species are needed for classifying biotopes and sites for conservation, and a number of methods have been developed for determining indicator species for this purpose. Nevertheless, in addition to site classification, there is sometimes a need to define an indicator species that indicates the occurrence of another species. For example, when a species of interest (target species) is difficult to detect or identify, a reliable indicator species can function as a tool that saves time and money. We derived a method that provides a quantitative measure of the indicator power (IP) of an indicator species for the target species or any species assemblage. We calculated the measure of IP from a presence-absence matrix that covered several sites. The method provided a list of indicator species, the presence of which reliably indicated the presence of another species (e.g., a threatened or rare species in a given area). The IP of the species was highest when the number of shared occurrences between the indicator species and the target species was high and, simultaneously, when the indicator species and the target species occurred separately in only a few cases. The IP was also positively influenced by the number of sites with no occurrences of either the indicator or the target species. Our method can also be used to quantify different types of species occurrence indications. We refer to these types as presence-presence, presence-absence, absence-presence, and absence-absence indications. To clarify the use of the method, we examined the situation with red-listed polypores in White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) habitats in Fennoscandia and found some suitable indicator species. Our method provides a new, objective way to evaluate the IP of an indicator species.

Spatial distribution of dead wood and the occurrence of five saproxylic fungi in old-growth timberline spruce forests in northern Finland

Abstract Adequate understanding of the factors that determine the establishment and survival of dead-wood-dependent species in natural forests is a prerequisite to the successful maintenance of these species in managed forests. This study investigated the factors affecting the occurrence of five wood-inhabiting polypores in old-growth timberline spruce forests in northern Finland, including the substrate availability and the spatial arrangement of large-diameter logs. The volume of coarse woody debris (CWD) varied significantly between the sites (range 15–30 m3 ha−1), large-diameter logs comprising on average 35% of the total CWD volume. However, the within-site variation in CWD volume was 10–15 times larger than the between-site variation. The spatial distribution of large-diameter logs was aggregated or initially aggregated on four sites and random on one site, creating local patches of high CWD volume. An individual target species occurred on average on 8% of all large-diameter logs, and on 11% of optimal logs (as determined by the decay stage). The characteristics of the logs and stand variables explained partly the occurrence of the target species; furthermore, the mortality pattern of trees (stem breakage versus uprooting) and the presence of primary decomposers also significantly affected the occurrence of the target species. The results indicate that besides substrate availability and quality, local habitat factors and species interactions also play a role in the occurrence of wood-inhabiting fungi in boreal timberline forests.

Plant Communities of Fennoscandian Subarctic Mountain Ecosystems 60 Years After Human Disturbance

ABSTRACT We studied the vegetation cover of 60-year-old military sites in the subarctic mountain area in northwestern Finnish Lapland, comparing the vegetation of observation posts in the barren mountain and camps in the mountain birch zone to the undisturbed control sites. These kinds of old disturbance areas give us valuable information about resilience and recovery of vegetation in a fragile subarctic environment and allow us to follow up and predict changes under changing climate. Vegetation of the disturbed sites had not recovered to the initial condition in 60 years; the recovery was slower in the mountain birch zone where the intensity of disturbance had been higher. The coverage of dwarf shrubs, especially Empetrum hermafroditum and Vaccinium myrtillus, was lower at the military sites as compared to the controls; instead, increased coverage of some graminoids was observed in the observation posts and the transition zones of camps. At the most disturbed patches, cryptogams were still prevailing. The results confirm the observations of earlier studies that rather than ecological recovery, the long-term development of vegetation in disturbance areas in high latitudes shows a shift to functionally different plant communities.

Retention patches maintain diversity of epiphytic and epixylic indicator lichens more effectively than solitary trees

ABSTRACT The effectiveness of retention trees and patches in preserving diversity of nine epiphytic and epixylic old-growth forest lichens was studied in north boreal spruce forests in Finland. We compared (1) 7–8-year-old retention cuts, with at least 5–10 living or dead retention trees per hectare, (2) 10–12-year-old clear-cuts, with some scattered living and dead retention trees on the sites, (3) old-growth spruce forests, and (4) 7-8-year-old retention patches (0.06–0.45 ha) representing the original tree species composition of old-growth forests. The occurrence of indicator lichens was studied on 150 deciduous trees and snags in each forest category. The species richness was significantly higher in old-growth forests than in the clear-cuts and retention cuts, but did not differ between old-growth forests and retention patches. Only three species were found in clear-cuts and two in retention cuts. Foliose cyanolichens Leptogium saturninum and Nephroma bellum thrived on solitary retention trees, whereas humidity-requiring pin lichens from the genus Chaenotheca were found only in old-growth forests and retention patches. Our results suggest that the ability of epiphytic and epixylic species to survive on retained trees depends on several factors: (1) substrate quality (tree species, tree type and diameter of a tree), (2) environmental factors (e.g. humidity, slope exposition), and (3) morphological and physiological characteristics of species. Besides of substrate trees, the retained conifers (esp. spruce) seem to be important in retention patches to provide the shading necessary to maintain humidity.

Conflicting Discourses in Tourism Development

Kilpisjarvi is the northernmost village in western Finnish Lapland, located in the middle of the highest mountains of Finland. The region has been reindeer herding area of Sami people for centuries but has also attracted skiers and hikers since 1930s. During the last few decades, tourism has increased strongly in the area, comprising now about 1,400 beds. We studied the discourses of tourism development and their underlying values by interviewing permanent dwellers and Norwegian cottage owners. Six different discourses were distinguished: (1) nature and scenery, (2) economy, (3) transformation as a place, (4) reindeer herding, (5) planning and administration, and (6) possibilities to influence decision-making. The first discourse stressed that tourism development and building should adapt to fragile nature, while economic discourse stressed tourism as the most important means of livelihood in the village. Contradictory values and identities of the place were expressed among the respondents, some seeing the beauty and close-knit community to be lost and others seeing the transformation positive. Reindeer herding contradicted tourism strongest, having both areal and cultural conflict. Governance was seen as an important tool in steering development, but many respondents considered that it was taking into account only economic aspects. Many villagers saw their influence in decision-making weak. We conclude that it is important to include the social implications and the diversity of local discourses in tourism development and land use planning. Transparent and genuine participatory planning would promote sustainability and allow decisions and development which would satisfy larger parts of local population than presently.

Monitavoitearviointi Ylä-Lapin metsien kestävän käytön mahdollisuuksista

Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin Ylä-Lapin metsien käytön vaihtoehtoja osallistuvan monitavoitearvioinnin avulla. Eri sidosryhmien arvostukset tuotiin mukaan arviointimalliin henkilökohtaisilla tietokoneavusteisilla päätösanalyysihaastatteluilla. Tavoitteena oli selvittää eri tahojen näkemyksiä vaihtoehtojen mieluisuudesta. Tutkimuksessa muodostettiin viisi erilaista metsien käsittelyvaihtoehtoa, joissa hakkuukertymät vaihtelivat välillä 300 000 m3/v ja 30 000 m3/v. Vaihtoehtoja arvioitiin kuuden kriteerin avulla: 1) bruttotulovaikutukset paikallistaloudessa 2) työllistävyys 3) saamelainen poronhoitokulttuuri 4) paikallinen luonnon virkistyskäyttö 5) luonnon monimuotoisuus ja 6) yhteisymmärrys ja sopeutuminen. Tulosten perusteella voitiin tunnistaa kolme eri ryhmää. Kaksi ensimmäistä ryhmää pitivät parhaimpana vaihtoehtona nykyisen luonnonvarasuunnitelman mukaista hakkuutasoa. Nämä ryhmät poikkesivat toisistaan siten, että ensimmäinen ryhmä asetti toiselle sijalle nykyistä luonnonvarasuunnitelmaa laajemmat hakkuut kun taas toinen ryhmä piti toiseksi parhaana vaihtoehtona tätä suppeampia hakkuita. Kolmas ryhmä piti mieluisimpana vaihtoehtoa, jossa yli 140-vuotiaita metsiä ei hakata lainkaan. Arviointi nosti esille myös vaikutusarvioita koskevia näkemyseroja. Suurimmat erot koskivat saamelainen poronhoitokulttuuri ja porotalouden työllisyys -kriteereitä. Nämä ovat avainkysymyksiä, joista tulisi löytää yhteistä tietopohjaa kiistojen ratkaisemiseksi.