Temperature-40°C to 20°C, average summer temperature is 10°CPrecipitation300 to 900 millimeters of rain per yearVegetationConiferous-evergreen trees (trees that produce cones and needles; some needles remain on the trees all year long)LocationCanada, Europe, Asia, and the United StatesOtherConiferous forest regions have cold, long, snowy winters, and warm, humid summers; well-defined seasons, at least four to six frost-free monthsExample: Beaverlodge, Alberta, CanadaTemperature graph:

Click to enlargePrecipitation graph:

Click to enlargeLocation map:

Click to enlargeDescriptionBetween the tundra to the north and the deciduous forest to the south lies the large area of coniferous forest. One type of coniferous forest, the northern boreal forest, is found in 50° to 60°N latitudes. Another type, temperate coniferous forests, grows in lower latitudes of North America, Europe, and Asia, in the high elevations of mountains.Coniferous forests consist mostly of conifers, trees that grow needles instead of leaves, and cones instead of flowers. Conifers tend to be evergreen, that is, they bear needles all year long. These adaptations help conifers survive in areas that are very cold or dry. Some of the more common conifers are spruces, pines, and firs.Precipitation in coniferous forests varies from 300 to 900 mm annually, with some temperate coniferous forests receiving up to 2,000 mm. The amount of precipitation depends on the forest location. In the northern boreal forests, the winters are long, cold and dry, while the short summers are moderately warm and moist. In the lower latitudes, precipitation is more evenly distributed throughout the year.

Inch in a Pinch

"Hi! I'm Inch in a Pinch and this month we are going to explore a truly breath-taking habitat area - the Coniferous Forest. This habitat is also known by the names - Boreal and Taiga. We will use all three names interchangeably as we explore this habitat area. Coniferous forests cover approximately 15% of the Earth's land surface! It is the largest terrestrial (land) habitat on Earth. Our guide through this ever green wonderland will be Wise, Worried Owl. I don't get to see this friend much anymore. He's been busy trying to drum up support for his "Save CF" campaign. Let's give him a listen. Maybe there's something we can do to help him."

Wise, Worried Owl

"Thanks, Inch! I want everyone to know that it's almost too late to save me and my home! I want people to do something before we're gone forever! I'm so glad you are interested in learning about the Coniferous forest habitat. That's the first step in saving it. Let's get started. Boy, do I have a lot to show you! Read through the next section carefully. Please make sure you understand all the stuff that's there. We'll move on to plants and animals when you're finished. Take your time, I'll wait."

Where are the Coniferous Forests located?

The Earth's large forests of conifers extend mostly over the Northern Hemisphere, across North America, Europe and Asia. Coniferous forests are located south of the Tundra, but north of the Temperate Deciduous forests and Temperate Grasslands.

Description

Coniferous forests often cover mountainsides. Trees are tall and narrow, so snow will slide off the branches without breaking them. The trees grow close together for protection from the wind. They also have thick bark, which resists damage from low-heat summer fires.

Coniferous Forest Landscape

Trees that produce their seeds in cones, such as pine or fir trees, dominate the Coniferous forest. Hardy deciduous trees like birch are also mixed in. These trees often have shallow roots that spread out widely to take advantage of the moisture in the upper levels of the ground, which only thaws occasionally. The roots are also shallow because of the poor soil and rocky conditions.

Trees in the Coniferous forest primarily possess pine needles instead of broad leaves. Needles are an important adaptation to the extreme conditions present in the climate of the Boreal forest. Pine needles contain very little sap, so freezing is not much of a problem. Being dark in color they absorb what little light falls on their surfaces.

Spruce Needles

The waxy, pine needles, combined with low bacterial activity in the cold subarctic climate combine to produce a thick mat of undecayed litter on the forest floor. Since nutrients are not released, the soil remains poor and acid.

Large Coniferous forests often have thousands of small lakes and swampy areas, which have poor drainage due to the depressions, left behind by glaciers.

Lake in the Tiaga

Coniferous forests are cold and covered with snow for most of the year - usually from October

to May.

There are two types of Coniferous forests:1. Open, lichen woodland, which has trees,spaced far apart with lichen growing between them.2. Closed forests, which have trees very close together and a shaded, moss-covered forest floor.

Most precipitation in the Coniferous forest arrives as rain in summer. The average yearly precipitation is 12 to 33 inches.

The Taiga in North America stretches across central Alaska, the bulk of Canada and the northern reach of the lower 48 states. White spruce, black spruce, balsam fir and tamarack dominate this forest. There are streams and

rivers, and wet spots such as lakes, ponds and bogs.

In southern Canada the Taiga mingles with the temperate deciduous forest in some places. In northern Canada, the Taiga gradually tapers off, and the Arctic Tundra begins. The Siberian Taiga in Russia and Asia often has

taller trees.

The Coniferous forest, located along the northern California coast, contains the largest life-form on Earth! The giant Sequoia trees are also the longest-

lived life form on Earth. Some of these trees are 3,000 years old and counting!

 

 

World's Largest Living Life-form 

Some coniferous trees depend on fire as a catalyst for seed-release. The Lodgepole Pine tree is an example of this kind of tree. The seeds develop in the pinecones, but unlike other conifers whose pinecones ripen and open to release the seeds, the Lodgepole's cones never ripen. The heat from naturally occurring fires force the Lodgepole Pine tree's serotinous cones to burst open, thus releasing the tree's seeds.

this habitat absoluty beautiful? The Boreal habitat is home to some very important strands in the life on this planet. If you'll click on the buttons below, you can see some pictures of the plants animals found in the Coniferous forest. Oh, there's some very interesting information you can about each featured species. There are also links to find out more facts about the plants and animals. Take plenty of time to check these sites out. We'll continue our tour when you're finished. I'll be right here when you get back. Have fun!"

 

"Gosh, there are some reallyawesome plants and animals that live in this habitat area, aren't there?! There are a lot of things that are happening in the Coniferous forest that could lead to its destruction. By destruction, I mean "Kapuuut!" Gone forever! Next, you'll find a list of some of the things that are threatening the Tiaga and its inhabitats with extinction. Please take some time and read through the list. It's important to know what the problems are before we can come up with some solutions. If you have any questions, please email our Research Department!"

Research Department

Threats to the Coniferous Forests

Clearcut logging is the biggest threat to the Coniferous forest! Replanting after logging leads to single-species conifer monocultures - not conducive to species biodiversity. Clearcutting accelerates soil erosion, degrades wildlife habitat and leads to the loss of biodiversity. Land is being cleared for ski slopes, landfills, housing, new roads, etc.

Trees being cleared for a ski resort

In Canada, one acre of forest is cut every 12.9 seconds!

Since the mid-1800s, about 320 billion tons of carbon have been pumped into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of the world's forests, increasing the concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by about 25 percent. It is estimated that a doubling of CO2 in the atmosphere will increase the Earth's temperature by about 5 degrees Farenheit (3 degrees Celcius) by the end of the next century - perhaps twice this amount in the north!

Over the years, the rain in many areas of the world has become more acid. These pollutants come from coal burning, power plants and other factories. The trees die and stand like gray skeletons against the sky due to acid rain.

Effects of acid rain

High-intensity hunting and trapping has reduced many populations of fur-bearing animals.

Mining operations are a threat to the Coniferous forests because of the chemicals used in mining and the silt released by mining.

Road construction destroys the forest and also acts as a barrier to wildlife. Roads isolate populations of species from feeding grounds, natural migration routes and limits breeding between larger groups thus limiting the gene

pool and creating non-viable subgroups within the species.

As the Earth's population continues to increase and people continue to move out of the city and into the suburbs, more and more Boreal forests will be lost to urbanization.

The possibility of extensive oil exploration, drilling, and piping looms like a dark cloud on the Coniferous forests' horizon.

Alaska Pipeline

Air pollution from cars, wood burning, factories and other sources is a big problem for the Taiga.

is that a list of scary things or what?! People, the Coniferous forests of the world need your help! heart hurts when I think about how many trees are lost every day to clearcut logging! There are you can do to stop the destruction of my home. Don't just read the list below; start doing the mentioned here. Do it today!! Please!!" 

Things You Can Do To Help

1. Clearcutting should be banned in all Coniferous forests and replaced with eco-forestry methods, including selective logging, which preserve biodiversity. Logging practices throughout The Boreal forests must be overhauled to ensure that wildlife habitats, species and genetic diversity is maintained. Vote into office those candidates who will support this legislature!2. Significantly decreasing our use of fossil fuels and conserving our forests "carbon sinks" are essential if rapid global warming is to be slowed. Fossil fuels are used in home heating systems. Try doing the following to cut down on your consumption: 

Set your thermostat at 68 degrees during the colder months in your area and leave it there!

If you feel cold, put on a sweater or change into warmer clothes. Do not turn up the thermostat!

Make sure your furnace filters are changed regularly! Clean your furnace before starting it up for the winter months!

3. Activists from a variety of groups are trying to convince Alaska to cancel plans to start a large-scale road building project. By not building the roads, we will save the habitat and make it difficult for hunters to hunt where the animal populations were previously untouched. Send letters, email, and faxes to your government representatives voicing your opposition to road building in the Tongas forest in Alaska. 

4. Help lessen the demand for paper products and you lessen the need for logging the Coniferous forests. Try doing the following:

Reuse brown paper bags. Use them to line waste baskets and trash cans! Recycle newspapers! Every Sunday, more than 500,000 trees are used to produce

88% of newspapers that are never recycled! Better yet, discontinue home delivery and read the news online!

Send e-cards instead of paper cards to everyone you know who has Internet access!

5. Exhaust from cars is a major source of acid rain. Drive your car less! Join a car pool or ride the bus!6. With global warming, summers are getting hotter and dryer. The dry conditions are highly conducive to forest fires. Those forest fires that start as a result of a naturally occurring event (lightning, spontaneous combustion, etc.) can be beneficial. Manmade fires are not. Be careful when camping. Drown all campfires, stir them and drown again. Never

throw cigarettes out of car windows! 7. Reduce your use of wood products. Begin doing the following and be sure to start today!

Instead of buying new furniture, recover or refinish what you have, or buy used furniture and recover or refinish it.Never buy wood cut from old growth forests! Look for the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) label. It signifies that the wood came from trees grown in well-managed, independently certified forests!

8. Make it your business to know about any proposed drilling, mining, or logging operations for Coniferous forest areas - read newspapers, search the web, watch television programs, attend town meetings. If everyone, worldwide, takes responsibility for their own area, these destructive operations can be held in check!  

9. Instead of moving to the suburbs to build a new home, look for an already built home in town and consider remodeling it. This will save wildlife habitat and the wildlife that lives there.

"These are really good ideas! They are not the easiest things to do. The people of this world always seem to want to take the easy way out. I'm afraid there is no easy way out for the Coniferous forests of the world or for their inhabitants. I'm also worried that you will wait too long before doing the things that will help. We have to make some pretty tough choices and we have to make them soon or we're going to lose this incredible wildlife habitat. Please help! Every little bit you do helps save our planet!!" 

a huge family and, of course, some of them live in this habitat area. I talk with them often and too, are very concerned about their home. Can you please help save their home? If we lose the Coniferous forests not only those who live there will feel the consequences, everyone, worldwide, will know the consequences, also! If we work together on this, it won't seem like tough job. What do you say? Let's get started and help my friend, Wise, Worried Owl, with his

"Save the CF" campaign. Please take a moment and check out the coloringpicture WW Owl has provided. See you next month!"

 The northern coniferous forest biome occupies a vast area below the tundra, extending completely across Canada and into interior Alaska. The biome is also referred to as theboreal forest or taiga. 

Compared to the arctic tundra, the climate of the boreal forest is characterized by a longer and warmer growing season.

 

 

Precipitation averages 20 inches per year, but ranges from 40 inches in the eastern regions to 10 inches in interior Alaska. Available soil moisture is high as a result of cool temperature and low evapotranspiration rates. Mineral soils are generally thin and poorly drained. Large expanses of land are covered with thick deposits of peat and organic soils, ranging in depth from several feet to nearly a hundred. These soils have very high moisture holding capacities and are often completely saturated.

A broad belt of forest-tundra transition lies along the northern edges of the boreal forest. Here, forest trees are interspersed with tundra plants, the former occupying more stable soils not subject to movement or heaving due to cyclic freezes and thaws.

The diversity of tree species in the boreal forest is quite low, with black spruce (Picea mariana), larch or tamarack (Larix laricina), and white spruce (P. glauca) the most common species. The former two species generally occupy wet sites with poorly drained mineral or organic soils, while white spruce is the climatic climax species on sites that are drier and higher in nutrient content. Balsam fir (Abies balsamea) is a dominant tree species in the eastern half of the biome.

This species is very tolerant of understory conditions (more so than the spruces which are also relatively tolerant) and competes well with tolerant hardwoods. Balsam fir is, however, susceptible to injury by insects, fungi, fire, and ice. Like the above species, it is also shallow-rooted and subject to wind throw. 

 

Red spruce replaces white spruce as a dominant south of the St. Lawrence Valley and into the northern Appalachians. Still further south in the high Appalachians, Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) replaces balsam fir and forms a high altitude association with red spruce as far south as the Carolinas and Tennessee. In the northwestern part of the biome, balsam fir is replaced by subalpine fir (A. lasiocarpa), in association with white spruce. 

 Much of the northern coniferous forest biome is covered with lakes, which eventually fill with mineral and organic matter to form bogs. A successionof plant communities is associated with the change in substrate and microenvironment. Thus, floating and submerged aquatic plants occupy the shallow waters near the shore, slowly accumulating wind-blown soil and decaying organic matter. This initial stage is replaced by invading sedges and grasses and in turn by shrubs, including Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum), leather leaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), sweet gale (Myrica gale), alder (Alnus spp.), and various species of blueberry (Vaccinium spp.). Tamarack, with a high tolerance for wet, cold, highly acid and highly organic substrates, is the first tree species to invade bogs. It is gradually replaced by black spruce, the edaphic

climax on wet, boggy sites in the biome. 

Surrounding the Great Lakes in both the U.S. and Canada is the white pine-red pine association, which is included in both the northern coniferous forest and temperate deciduous forest biomes (northern hardwoods association) by various authors. The original extensive stands of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) that once covered this area have largely been destroyed by improper logging practices and white pine blister rust; most of these stands have been replaced by northern hardwooods or jack pine (P. banksiana). Eastern white pine can be considered an edaphic climax species or a sub-climax species of long duration (300-500 years). It reaches its maximum development on sandy loam soils. Moist sites in the Lake States often supported pure stands of white pine, while drier sites were more often occupied by mixed stands of red pine (P. resinosa) and jack pine, with jack pine occupying the most extreme of dry sandy sites. On heavier (i.e., clayey) soils, none of the pines were able to compete favorably with the northern hardwoods.

 

 

 

Jack pine, with its serotinous cone habit, is a prime example of a "fire species," commonly occurring in pure stands on recently burned areas. On all but the driest of these sites, jack pine is replaced by white and red pine. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera), and paper birch (Betula papyrifera), are all short-lived, intolerant pioneer species which quickly invade the richer or moister sites that have been denuded by fire

or logging. All are good invaders with their large crops of lightweight, wind-dispersed seeds; the aspens and poplars are further enhanced in this regard by their prolific sprouting ability. In the northernmost part of the biome, black spruce (also with serotinous cones) replaces jack pine as the fire-related invader species. 

Coniferous forests are made up mainly of cone-bearing or coniferous trees, such as spruces, hemlocks, pines and firs. The leaves of these trees are either small and needle-like or scale-like and most stay green all year around (evergreen). All are softwoods able to survive cold termperatures and acidic soil.

Coniferous forests are found mainly in the northern hemisphere, although some are found in the southern hemisphere.

The northern coniferous forests are called taiga or boreal forests. They cover vast areas of North America from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and range across northern Europe, Scandinavia, Russia and across Asia through Siberia and Mongolia to northern China and northern Japan.

Short summers and long wintersConiferous trees thrive where summers are short and cool and winters long and harsh, with heavy snowfall that can last as long as 6 months. The needle-like leaves have a waxy outer coat which prevents water loss in freezing weather and the branches are soft and flexible and usually point downwards, so that snow slides off them. Larches are one example of a coniferous tree found in some of the coldest regions. Unusually for coniferous trees they are deciduous, that is they shed their leaves in winter.

Coniferous trees such as cypresses, cedars and redwoods are found in warmer regions.

Life on the forest floorEven evergreen trees eventually shed their leaves and grow new ones. The needles fall to the forest floor and form a thick springy mat. Thread-like fungi help to break down or decompose the fallen needles. These fungi provide nutrients from the decomposed needles back to the roots of the trees. But because pine needles do not decompose easily, the soils are poor and acid.

These forests grow under widely differing conditions of climate and soil - from the tropics to the subarctic, and from heavy clays to poor sands. However, coniferous trees are especially conditioned to the winter climate. The trees of the taiga grow at the highest latitude of any forest. The most common are spruce, pine and firs.

Reach for the sky!Cypresses, cedars and redwoods grow upright; the tallest of them can reach 20m in height. The trees are usually pyramid-shaped. Short, lateral branches grow quite close

together but they are so flexible that the snow simply slides off. The leaves are small, hard and evergreen.

Little light penetrates the thick canopy of trees to reach the forest floor. Because of this gloom, only ferns and a few herbaceous plants grow here. Mosses, liverworts and lichens are also found on the forest floor and grow on tree trunks and branches. There are few flowering plants.

Temperate coniferous forestFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A temperate coniferous forest ecosystem in Petroglyphs Provincial Park, Ontario

Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome found in temperate regions of the world with

warm summers and cool winters and adequate rainfall to sustain aforest. In most temperate coniferous

forests, evergreen conifers predominate, while some are a mix of conifers and broadleaf evergreen trees

and/or broadleafdeciduous trees. Temperate evergreen forests are common in the coastal areas of regions

that have mild winters and heavy rainfall, or inland in drier climates ormountain areas. Many species of

trees inhabit these forests including cedar, cypress, douglas-

fir, fir, juniper, kauri, pine, podocarpus, spruce, redwood and yew. The understory also contains a wide

variety of herbaceous and shrub species.

A pine forest is an example of a temperate coniferous forest

Structurally, these forests are rather simple, generally consisting of two layers: an overstory and

understory. Some forests may support an intermediate layer of shrubs. Pine forests support an herbaceous

understory that is generally dominated bygrasses and herbaceous perennials, and are often subject to

ecologically important wildfires.

Carpathian montane conifer forest,Slovakia

Temperate rain forests occur only in seven regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of

the Pacific Northwest, the Valdivian temperate rain forests of southwestern South America, the rain forests

of New Zealand andTasmania, northwest Europe (small pockets in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Iceland and a

somewhat larger area in Norway), southern Japan, and the eastern Black Sea-Caspian Sea region

of Turkey and Georgia to northern Iran. The moist conditions of temperate rain forests generally support an

understory of mosses, ferns and some shrubs. Temperate rain forests can be temperate coniferous forests

or temperate broadleaf and mixed forests.

The temperate coniferous rain forests sustain the highest levels of biomass in any terrestrial ecosystem

and are notable for trees of massive proportions, including Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron

gigantea), Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens),Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Sitka

Spruce (Picea sitchensis), Alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides) and Kauri(Agathis australis). These forests are

quite rare, occurring in small areas of North America, southwestern South America and northern New

Zealand. TheKlamath-Siskiyou forests of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon is known for its

rich variety of plant and animal species, including many endemic species.

[edit]See also

Environment portal

Ecology portal

Earth sciences portal

Sustainable development portal

Cedar hemlock douglas-fir forest

Encyclopedia of Conifers

[edit]External links

Wikimedia Commons has

media related to: Coniferous

forests

Temperate forest

WWF - Temperate Coniferous Forest Ecoregions

Temperate Coniferous Forest of Northwest California

Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Conifers

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V

T

E

Biomes and Ecozones

Terrestrialbiomes

Polar/montaneTundra · Taiga, Boreal forests · Montane grasslands and shrublands

TemperateConiferous forests · Broadleaf and mixed forests · Grasslands, savannas, and shrublands

(Sub)tropicalConiferous forests · Moist broadleaf forests · Dry broadleaf forests · Grasslands, savannas, and shrublands

DryMediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub · Deserts and xeric shrublands

WetFlooded grasslands and savannas · Riparian · Wetland

Aquaticbiomes

Pond · Littoral · Intertidal zone · Mangrove forest · Kelp forest · Coral reef · Neritic zone · Continental shelf · Pelagic zone · Benthic zone

Other biomes Endolithic zone

Ecozones Afrotropic · Antarctic · Australasia · Indomalaya · Nearctic · Neotropic · Oceania · Palearctic

Forest biological diversity conservation as an element of sustainable forest management - policy

and practice in Poland

K. Rykowski

Kazimierz Rykowski is Professor ofForestry and Head of the ForestEcology and EnvironmentalProtection Department, ForestResearch Institute,Warsaw, Poland.

In the past decade, the conservation of biological diversity has been emphasized in Polish forest law and practice, as one of the key concerns

of sustainable forest management.

The transition process in Central and Eastern European countries, with its many political, economic, social and institutional changes, extends also to the forest sector. Countries are establishing new forest practices, regulations and amendments to policies in line with international agreements, recommendations and strategies that followed the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992 - in particular Agenda 21, the "Forest Principles", the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) and Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF), the follow-up to the Ministerial Conferences on the Protection of Forests in Europe (held in Strasbourg, France in 1990; Helsinki, Finland in 1993; and Lisbon, Portugal in 1998) and the European Union forestry strategy. Accordingly, the conservation of forest biological diversity has become a prominent concern, not only as a challenge for nature conservation, but as one of the key components of sustainable forest management.

Forests cover about 29 percent of the area of Poland and together with agricultural land dominate the landscape, creating a favourable habitat for native flora and fauna. The level of human transformation of forests in Poland is variable, but the area of natural and semi-natural forests is still significant.

Naturally regenerated Pinus sylvestris in Poland - country of pine 

- E. DMYTERKO

This article presents the main principles of forest biological diversity conservation in Polish forest policy and practice, focusing primarily on conservation in production forests. It first reviews the underlying causes of the loss of forest biological diversity in Central and Eastern Europe and some of the theoretical principles of biodiversity guiding the establishment of forest management and conservation goals.

UNDERLYING CAUSES OF THE LOSS OF FOREST BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Much of the loss of forest biological diversity in Central and Eastern Europe can be attributed to an emphasis on rapid economic growth. Contributing factors include air, water and soil pollution; industrial and agricultural development and urbanization, which has resulted in fragmentation of forest cover; and perhaps most important, intensive forest management practices focused mainly on wood production. This focus resulted in substitution of mixed and broadleaved forests (the natural forest communities of the Central European lowlands) by high-production coniferous monocultures. The shift from natural mixed forests to single-species plantations, together with intensive practices such as large-scale clear-cutting, rigorous removal of dead trees and harvesting before

maturity, has had a negative impact on forest biological diversity. Biological diversity has also decreased through substitution of natural succession with artificial regeneration and intraspecies competition with artificial selection.

The "normal forest" model introduced in the nineteenth century in Europe substituted random exploitation with "rational" management of forest resources, and engendered an obligation to regenerate deforested areas. This model has protected Europe from loss of forest cover and allowed the trend of increasing forest cover to continue to the present. Yet while it avoided quantitative changes, it introduced qualitative ones. By transforming the existing natural, multilayered forest into a series of uniform tree stands, the normal forest model severely interfered with the structural biological complexity and species diversity of natural forest ecosystems, as well as their natural heterogeneity and spatial and temporal variability.

Nevertheless, the forests in Central and Eastern Europe continue to contain some of the most valuable and well represented components of European wild flora and fauna. The forests are also a focus of nature protection legislation in the region (Rykowski, Matuszewski and Lenart, 1999).

A dead tree in a managed stand, which increases forest biodiversity - in Poland, removal of dead trees as part of intensive production-oriented management has had a negative impact on forest biological diversity 

- E. DMYTERKO

SOME THEORETICAL ASSUMPTIONS AND UNRESOLVED QUESTIONS

Human beings are the only users of nature that consciously manipulate it. By regulating mechanisms of primary production (through means such as silviculture and forest management), humans regulate the development of ecosystems and influence the abundance of life forms, within the limits of existing ecological conditions.

The idea that "diversity creates diversity" is only partly true. A lack of reference to time and spatial scales, of accurate indices and especially of a reference level for desired or optimum diversity creates some doubts concerning the concept of biological diversity as the leading philosophy of nature protection. Diversity within one category of plants, animals or micro-organisms may limit diversity in another; the increase of local diversity may cause a decrease in landscape diversity between ecosystems across a broader region; an increase of species diversity may cause a decrease in ecosystem diversity; an increase of intraspecific genetic diversity may reduce the number of species; etc.

Changes in biological diversity on individual trophic levels vary in importance and determine different, often contradictory, processes and states in the ecosystem. Declining systems may present high diversity of heterotrophs, while non-declining systems may be limited to only several species of producers. A low biological diversity may be a sign of vigorous growth processes (young ecosystems, early stages of succession), i.e. a positive phenomenon; while a high biological diversity, e.g. of micro-organisms, may signify a predominance of decay processes or decline in the system, i.e. a negative phenomenon.

Whether diversity has positive or negative impacts on sustainability of ecosystems is an old and unresolved question in ecology. System sustainability is not so much a function of diversity, but rather of complexity; in other words it is a function not only of the number of elements, but above all of the number of internal links between these elements. Systems with low species diversity may be as sustainable as systems with abundant species if they have a high inner complexity. It is thus debatable whether high biological diversity is a valid indicator of a desirable state for each forest type in each climatic zone.

Non-forest associations such as arable land, meadows, orchards, ponds, gardens and human settlements appeared after the forest receded. They represent the hand of humanity in shaping biological diversity. Forest would return to those sites if human activity and interference ceased for a long enough period. In this case spontaneous natural succession would make nature more uniform in the temperate climatic zone, i.e. would lead to a decrease in biological diversity on the landscape level. Diversity on the landscape level consists of the coexistence of complex and simple systems.

Thus "artificial" forest ecosystems should not necessarily be classified in a negative way. The management of such communities, which may include introduced species, fulfils an important role in the structure and maintenance of diversity. Communities that are artificial at the moment of their creation are from then on subject to natural processes. Suitable management of those processes may lead to comparability of those forests with certain natural ecosystems. The biological richness might diminish if human activity were to stop.

The strategy for conserving the biological diversity of forests should be part of an overall system of nature protection, which is part of a continuum in the relationship between people and nature. Today, this continuum starts from protected primary forests and strict reserves and continues through productive and managed forests, to fibre plantations and plantations using genetically improved species and clonal production. There are differences in the ecological, economic and social values of the forests along the continuum; forest biological diversity will never be maintained solely by a growing network of protected areas. The existing nature protection system which appeared in the nineteenth century, based on delimitation of protected areas from production systems and on abandoning economic activities within them, is not always efficient (with protection sometimes existing only on paper) and is insufficient today. This system sharply divided nature into two categories: nature under legal protection and areas that lack such protection. Today forestry has an operational tool at its disposal - sustainable forest management - to maintain and develop forest biological diversity in all forests, including but not limited to forest protected areas.

The real challenge for the future is to establish a system of conservation for all of nature that is integrated with the social and economic activity of humankind, taking into account local and regional conditions as well as the rights and interests of local communities. It should be in compliance with global agreements regarding the conservation and use of nature, which call for a need for harmonization of economic development with environmental protection (World Conservation Strategy [IUCN, UNEP and WWF, 1980]), protection of the environment as an integral part of development processes (Rio Declaration on Environment and Development [UNCED, 1992]) and the necessity for linking the conservation of biological diversity with the use of its elements (CBD, 2001). It is not possible to separate nature from people. The state of nature is not indicated by the number or extent of protected areas, but by the wisdom of the management methods and the sustainability of the use of natural resources.

POLAND'S STRATEGY FOR FOREST BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Forest biological diversity is directly and indirectly connected to all of the main forestry activities: from genetics and seed management, through different stages of forest tree breeding, cultivation, management and protection (against pests, diseases, fire, etc.), to harvesting and use. The influence of these activities on biological diversity is not usually seen until after a significant time delay, and they affect all levels of biodiversity: genetic, species, ecosystem and landscape. In the past decade, Polish forest law and practice have greatly stressed the necessity for biological diversity conservation that takes into account all of these levels of diversity.

The principles of forest stability, expansion, protection and sustainable use are the foundation of the main forestry programmes and policies: the Programme of Conservation of Forest Gene Resources and Selection Breeding of Forest Trees in Poland for the Years 1991-2010 (1991), the Polish Policy of Comprehensive Protection of Forest Resources (1997), the National Policy on Forests (1997) and the Strategy of Forest Biological Diversity Protection. They also underpin Poland's special initiatives for forest biodiversity conservation, the Promotional Forest Complexes and Nature Protection Plans (discussed below), as well as policy implementation activities such as the Programme for the Increase of Country Forest Cover (1995).

The National Policy on Forests (1997) addresses the conservation of forest biological diversity by specifying the following goals:

increase forest cover from the present 28 percent to 30 percent by 2020 and to 33 percent by the middle of the twenty-first century;

attain a spatially optimal structure of forests in the landscape through establishment of ecological corridors, biological structuring of forest edges and development of interconnections with other elements of the natural environment;

increase the proportion of broad-leaved species from 22 to 33 percent by 2050 and that of multispecies forest stands to 48 percent, and introduce a broadleaf understorey into approximately 1 million hectares of pine stands;

increase to 25 percent the area covered by forest stands more than 80 years old; restore and rehabilitate destroyed or degraded forest ecosystems; enhance and conserve biological diversity through the processes of silviculture

and management.

"Artificial" forest ecosystems should not necessarily be classified in a negative way - although this planted pine stand may have less biodiversity than natural

forest, it does not replace forest, but rather a less biodiverse agricultural system; its management fulfils an important role in the structure and

maintenance of diversity 

- K. RYKOWSKI

Genetic diversity

The size of the gene pool of forest tree species is an important issue in conservation because it determines not only the species' useful characteristics, but also their ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions - and thus their long-term survival. A strategy for conservation of the genetic diversity of all species in the forest ecosystem is being developed in parallel with the present policy of selection of stands for seed collection.

The Programme of Conservation of Forest Gene Resources and Selection Breeding of Forest Trees in Poland for the Years 1991-2010 defined specific targets for increasing the area of in situ conservation stands (seed stands, clonal seed orchards, seedling seed orchards, progeny trials and plus trees), all of which are under legal protection.

Ex situ conservation is preferred when forest gene resources are threatened with extinction or depletion mainly because of environmental changes. It encompasses:

establishing ex situ progeny trials; establishing ex situ seed orchards; establishing ex situ conservation stands; long-term storage of seeds, vegetative tissue or pollen; vegetative propagation.

Ex situ conservation is facilitated by a technical infrastructure network comprising 21 seed extraction plants and ten germplasm storage facilities.

The Forest Gene Bank at Kostrzyca, the first in the region, established by Poland's State Forests (with financial assistance from the Global Environment Facility [GEF]), has a special role in the ex situ conservation strategy. The bank collects gene resources from all selected seed stands, from plus trees and from the oldest trees in Poland (those more than 200 years old), as well as from selected threatened shrubs and ground cover in forest plant communities and, in particular, threatened gene resources from the Sudety Mountains and all Polish national parks.

Species diversity

At the species level, Polish forest conservation efforts focus on the potential vegetation cover of a given site, in particular those organisms for which the forest is an essential habitat and those colonizing transition zones between the forest and adjacent communities (fields, meadows, water bodies, etc.). The strategy pays special attention to the conservation of indigenous wild species of forest flora and fauna. It recognizes that native tree species are the foundation of the species composition of forest tree stands; however, it treats "domesticated" (introduced) species as a possible enriching element and an extension of biological diversity. This is especially important in the light of likely global climate changes, which may cause changes in the natural distribution ranges of trees and thus in the concept of "indigenousness" or "naturalness".

Other elements of the strategy of forest species diversity conservation include the following:

adjusting species composition to the biotope;

differentiating light, moisture and thermal conditions, varying the age and spatial (vertical and horizontal) structure of stands and introducing and assisting the establishment of understoreys to create a mosaic of ecological niches - of particular importance in monospecific and even-aged coniferous stands;

shaping and maintaining a mosaic of stands at different developmental stages, especially in the case of single-species stands;

leaving biomass produced in the forest, especially wood in various forms, on site (in quantities permitted by phytosanitary requirements and economic considerations);

limiting clear-cutting to the minimum dictated by regeneration needs and limiting any single clear-cut area, if possible, to a maximum of 0.5 ha (was previously 4 ha);

using harvesting technologies and silvicultural practices that resemble, if possible, natural disturbances (such as canopy gaps caused by wind, fire, snow, disease, insect pests, etc.).

The strategy of forest species diversity conservation also takes into account the special need to protect species threatened with extinction, according to a decree issued by the Minister of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry (1995). The decree covers 19 species of protected animals; for 15 of these, old-growth forest (over 120 years old) is the natural biotope. The decree stipulates two protection zones around breeding areas and sites of permanent occurrence of these species.

Ecosystem diversity

Forest ecosystem diversity is a function of site diversity. Therefore, examining soil and site conditions provides key information for silvicultural planning and development of biologically diversified and stable forest ecosystems. Surveys on forest typology and classification of plant associations, as well as site and stand descriptions, are important as the basis for shaping and protecting forest biological diversity at all levels. At the ecosystem level, description of forest communities (structure, species occurrence, crown density, mixtures and quality classes) is as important as knowledge of the site.

To distinguish representative forest ecosystems for conservation in Poland, it is necessary to consider the country's geo-botanical and climatic features, the occurrence of sub-Atlantic, boreal and endemic vegetation associations and the degree of naturalness of forest associations. This distinction is currently based more on natural forest associations than on forest site type. Poland distinguishes the following forest plant associations as targets for protection:

riverine, swampy and flooded forests, including riparian elm forest, riverine ash-alder forest, willow-poplar woods and alderwood swamps;

coastal forests, including pine forests of the seashore, acidophilic Pomeranian oak woods, Pomeranian mixed forests and Pomeranian beech woods;

mountain forests, including montane beech woods, montane broad-leaved forest and foothill acidophilic forest;

boreal and sub-boreal forests, including coniferous and mixed coniferous forests in the northeastern range of spruce and oak-hornbeam forests in the lowlands.

As part of the protection of selected ecologically important forest types, the annual allowable cut should be established in rotation cycles for different species according to silvicultural needs, e.g. 130 to 180 years for pine, 120 to 140 years for spruce, etc.

In the light of their role in maintaining and enriching biological diversity, the Polish biodiversity conservation strategy recommends more regular mapping of transitory zones (ecotones), linear sites and broad-leaved riparian forests along rivers and streams. Special attention must also be given to forest edges, particularly those adjacent to swamps, water bodies, meadows and agricultural belts. Forest management plans should contain rules for the maintenance of these edges through supplemental afforestation and widening of the border zone of overlapping ecosystems. In this manner, the strategy aims to protect the spatial microstructure of sites and the natural mosaics.

Landscape diversity

Conservation at the landscape level has involved the "regionalization" of forestry; the country is divided into a network of biologically diverse territorial units in a three-tiered hierarchical system:

The basic unit is the mesoregion, which is delimited based on differences in geological bedrock and natural landscape type, dominant site types and differences in the structure of natural vegetation cover.

The next higher unit is the forest province, delimited based on climatic differences, natural ranges of tree species and forest functions.

The largest unit, the natural forest region, is delimited based on differences in size of forest tracts, spatial structure of the sites and percentage of forest cover.

The main task for sustainable forest management and for conservation of forest biological diversity at the landscape level is to create operational principles of ecosystem-based landscape forestry.

Flooded forests are areas of high biological diversity and are distinguished as targets for protection in Poland 

- M. GRZYB

Management should include:

limiting artificial methods of tending the forest in favour of managing natural processes;

limiting, as much as possible, the use of biocides and mineral fertilizers in forest protection and silviculture;

enhancing forest species diversity and developing environmentally robust, resistant coniferous forests using ecological restoration measures, e.g. introducing an understorey and shrub layer, using natural fertilizers and promoting species diversity through thinning.

Special initiatives

Two special initiatives in Polish forestry have been promoted to conserve forest biological diversity: Promotional Forest Complexes (PFCs) and Nature Protection Plans (NPPs).

The concept of PFCs, in line with other model and demonstration forest initiatives, is designed to demonstrate sustainable forest management practices in an area larger than the traditional forest management unit in Poland (the Forest District) and to promote the conservation of biological diversity by wise use of forests. The implementation of PFCs began in Poland in 1994; the 11 PFCs total about 480 000 ha (approximately 7 percent of the country's forests) (see Map). They are representative of the various natural forest habitats and natural history and vary in habitat conditions, species composition of stands, structure and functions of forest ecosystems and production potential, as well as in social and economic context.

Forests under different forms of nature protection in Poland 

- R. HILDEBRAND

The detailed goals of establishing PFCs in relation to biodiversity issues are:

to identify the structure and functions of forest ecosystems and their changes; to conserve or reconstruct valuable biological features; to integrate the goals of sustainable forest management and nature conservation; to carry out research to promote the implementation of an ecosystem approach to

forest management.

The fundamental task in PFCs is to draw up new forest management plans and adjust existing ones to new obligations. PFCs also have an important educational role, with

nature trails, natural history and forest exhibits and museums that inform the public about the forest ecosystem and its multifunctionality.

Nature Protection Plans, established through a binding regulation in 1996, have even larger practical implications in the forest biodiversity conservation strategy than PFCs. NPPs are an integral part of routine forest management plans; they concern all forests and address the operational level. The concept was conceived to protect nature in all forests, not only in protected areas. NPPs refer to the landscape level. They require the elaboration of special maps and the identification of the role and place of forests in the region; the land use structure; relations with other legal forms of nature protection (e.g. national parks, nature reserves and protected landscape areas); threats to the forests; and actions proposed for nature conservation. NPPs promote forest management practice in harmony with the principles of nature protection through measures such as:

conserving forest ecosystems in a near-natural state; restoring forest ecosystems that are currently disturbed or degraded; assessing the status of nature and planning for its protection; recommending environmentally safe technologies in forestry; limiting the width and size of clear-cuts, with seed-trees left in clumps along with

various layers of undergrowth and admixtures of trees of different ages and sizes, in an attempt to enhance the diversity, complexity and aesthetics of the forest;

preferring small nurseries within forests, under the canopy, to improve natural selection and conserve natural genetic variability;

promoting biological means of limiting pests and diseases, and enhancing the use of organic fertilizers and mycorrhization.

Of 438 Forest Districts in Poland, some 215 already have NPPs, and another 97 NPPs are in preparation.

CONCLUSIONS

One of the hottest issues discussed in international forums dealing with forest biological diversity is the establishment of new forest protected areas. The question is what is really needed: more protected areas, or better protected areas?

The most important reason to establish forest protected areas is to conserve and maintain ecological processes. The most important processes in terms of sustainability and resilience, as well as stability of high biological diversity well adapted to local conditions, include natural selection, adaptability, survival and sustainable evolution under conditions of continuous environmental changes and human intervention.

Therefore, taking into account global threats to forests (climate change, destruction of the ozone layer and human population growth), it is evident that in Central and Eastern Europe some new areas are worthy of protection for evolutionary reasons. These include areas deforested by industrial pollution, improper exploitation of resources, large forest fires or storms. Protecting these areas will provide opportunities for developing and maintaining natural, spontaneous ecological processes of succession and for learning from them; they are more important for subsequent generations of people and trees than the old-growth forest of today.

In this context, the general strategy of forest biological diversity conservation in Central and Eastern Europe could be as follows (in order of preference and urgency):

to develop, improve continuously and implement the concept of sustainable forest management, defined and monitored using criteria and indicators;

to establish new protected areas on degraded lands to initiate and enhance natural, spontaneous ecological processes of adaptation and persistence of nature and to create conditions for the sustainable evolution of nature;

to improve, if necessary, the network of forest protected areas, especially by afforestation of new areas to form corridors and ecological links between fragmented forests or buffer zones at the landscape level.

Bibliography

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). 2001. Handbook of the Convention on Biological Diversity. London, UK and Sterling, Virginia, USA, Earthscan Publications Ltd.

International Union for Conservation of Nature - World Conservation Union (IUCN), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) & World Wildlife Fund (WWF). 1980. World Conservation Strategy: living resources conservation for sustainable development. Gland, Switzerland, IUCN.

Rykowski, K., Matuszewski, G. & Lenart, E., eds. 1999. Evaluation of impact of forest management practices on biological diversity in Central Europe. Warsaw, Poland, Forest Research Institute.

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). 1992. Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. New York, USA, United 

Much of the loss of forest biological diversity in Central and Eastern Europe can be attributed to an emphasis on rapid economic growth. Contributing factors include air, water and soil pollution; industrial and agricultural development and urbanization, which has resulted in fragmentation of forest cover; and perhaps most important,intensive forest management practices focused mainly on wood production. This focus resulted in substitution of mixed and broadleaved forests (the natural forest communities of the Central European lowlands) by high-production coniferous monocultures. The shift from natural mixed forests to single-species plantations, together with intensive practices such as large-scale clear-cutting, rigorous removal of dead trees and harvesting before maturity, has had a negative impact on forest biological diversity. Biological diversity has also decreased through substitution of natural succession with artificial regeneration and intraspecies competition with artificial selection.

Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome found in temperate regions of the world with warm summers and cool winters and adequate rainfall to sustain a forest. In most temperate coniferous forests, evergreen conifers predominate, while some are a mix of conifers and broadleaf evergreen trees and/or broadleaf deciduous trees. Temperate evergreen forests are common in the coastal areas of regions that have mild winters and heavy rainfall, or inland in drier climates or mountain

areas. Many species of trees inhabit these forests including cedar, cypress, douglas-fir, fir, juniper, kauri, pine, podocarpus, spruce, redwood and yew. The understory also contains a wide variety of herbaceous and shrub species.

A pine forest is an example of a temperate coniferous forestStructurally, these forests are rather simple, generally consisting of two layers: an overstory and understory. Some forests may support an intermediate layer of shrubs. Pine forests support an herbaceous understory that is generally dominated by grasses and herbaceous perennials, and are often subject to ecologically important wildfires.

Carpathian montane conifer forest, SlovakiaTemperate rain forests occur only in seven regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, the Valdivian temperate rain forests of southwestern South America, the rain forests of New Zealand and Tasmania, northwest Europe (small pockets in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Iceland and a somewhat larger area in Norway), southern Japan, and the eastern Black Sea-Caspian Sea region of Turkey and Georgia to northern Iran. The moist conditions of temperate rain forests generally support an understory of mosses, ferns and some shrubs. Temperate rain forests can be temperate coniferous forests or temperate broadleaf and mixed forests.The temperate coniferous rain forests sustain the highest levels of biomass in any terrestrial ecosystem and are notable for trees of massive proportions, including Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron gigantea), Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis), Alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides) and Kauri (Agathis australis). These forests are quite rare, occurring in small areas of North America, southwestern South America and northern New Zealand. The Klamath-Siskiyou forests of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon is known for its rich variety of plant and animal species, including many endemic specie