Effects from forestry on biodiversity, carbon stocks and ecological processes in mature boreal forests (EcoForest)

Boreal forests store major parts of terrestrial carbon pools and house an extensive biodiversity, mediating various ecosystem processes, including carbon sequestration. In Norway, boreal forests have been affected by forestry for hundreds of years and only a small portion of the forests can be considered as natural forests. A high number of endangered species are associated with natural forests. In the EcoForest project, we assess the effects of stand-based forest management practices (including clear-cutting) on species richness and genetic diversity, carbon stocks and dynamics, and processes linking these. To address these effects of forestry, we compare 12 paired plots of near-natural forests, not impacted by clear-cutting, with mature stands that have been through one cycle of clear-cutting. The forests are compared with respect to forest structure, carbon sequestration, community diversity, genetic diversity and biodiversity functions. The project is an extensive collaboration between UiO, NMBU, NINA and Nibio. The research are conducted in close collaboration with partners from the forestry industry, environmental organizations and other stakeholders.

The aim of EcoForest is to provide a comprehensive overview on how forestry practices influence forest biodiversity, carbon pools and ecological processes, and we will deliver important knowledge for future sustainable forest management practices and climate mitigation strategies.

There are opportunities for several different MSc-projects affiliated to the EcoForest project within fields such as biodiversity, forest ecology, conservation biology and population genetics. Currently we are looking for candidate(s) who will either (1) study which organisms are involved in the decomposition process of plant litter and whether clear-cutting influence this process or (2) study the diversity of selected organismal groups in the two forest types using long-read DNA sequencing techniques.