Socio-ecological knowledge increases support for selective logging after forest fire in Sweden
Droste, Nils LU
; Danley, Brian
; Doerr, Stefan H.
; Fridén, Alexia
; Kelly, Julia
LU
; Santín, Cristina
; Rütting, Louise
and Kljun, Natascha
LU
(2026)
In Fire Ecology
22(1).
- Abstract
Background: Given the increased likelihood of wildfires in boreal forests due to climate change, the feasibility of current and alternative post-fire forest management strategies needs to be better understood. We assess the acceptability of post-fire management options through a survey experiment aimed at both forest owners and other forest users in Gävleborg county in Sweden—a region that experienced severe fires in 2018.
Results: We find that more than 90% of the 2217 respondents preferred selective felling of fire-affected trees or no cutting over clear-cutting—a pattern that holds for both owners and non-owners. To analyze the role of knowledge and information, we provided a random subset of 621 respondents... (More)
Background: Given the increased likelihood of wildfires in boreal forests due to climate change, the feasibility of current and alternative post-fire forest management strategies needs to be better understood. We assess the acceptability of post-fire management options through a survey experiment aimed at both forest owners and other forest users in Gävleborg county in Sweden—a region that experienced severe fires in 2018.
Results: We find that more than 90% of the 2217 respondents preferred selective felling of fire-affected trees or no cutting over clear-cutting—a pattern that holds for both owners and non-owners. To analyze the role of knowledge and information, we provided a random subset of 621 respondents with additional information about the socio-ecological outcomes (carbon sequestration, biodiversity impacts and economic costs) of post-fire management options. The informational treatment increased the likelihood of choosing less intensive forest management such as selective felling by 24% [95% CI: 10, 38]. Financial compensation for less intensive logging is generally supported among respondents.
Conclusions: Our results indicate that a policy-led change in the current clear-cutting regime toward less intensive post-fire forest management in Sweden would be societally preferable. They also show that informing owners and the public about the socio-ecological outcomes of different options is important for increasing acceptance of post-fire forest management that is beneficial for biodiversity and carbon sequestration.
(Less)
- author
- Droste, Nils
LU
; Danley, Brian
; Doerr, Stefan H.
; Fridén, Alexia
; Kelly, Julia
LU
; Santín, Cristina
; Rütting, Louise
and Kljun, Natascha
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-12
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Ecological effectiveness, Post-fire forest management, Social acceptability
- in
- Fire Ecology
- volume
- 22
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 142
- publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media B.V.
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105051105164
- DOI
- 10.1186/s42408-026-00559-4
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2026.
- id
- 107e9a7d-c42e-4339-beac-32dc0c563f6d
- date added to LUP
- 2026-10-08 00:28:50
- date last changed
- 2026-10-08 09:17:30
@article{107e9a7d-c42e-4339-beac-32dc0c563f6d,
abstract = {{<p><sup>Background: Given the increased likelihood of wildfires in boreal forests due to climate change, the feasibility of current and alternative post-fire forest management strategies needs to be better understood. We assess the acceptability of post-fire management options through a survey experiment aimed at both forest owners and other forest users in Gävleborg county in Sweden—a region that experienced severe fires in 2018. </sup></p><p><sup>Results: We find that more than 90% of the 2217 respondents preferred selective felling of fire-affected trees or no cutting over clear-cutting—a pattern that holds for both owners and non-owners. To analyze the role of knowledge and information, we provided a random subset of 621 respondents with additional information about the socio-ecological outcomes (carbon sequestration, biodiversity impacts and economic costs) of post-fire management options. The informational treatment increased the likelihood of choosing less intensive forest management such as selective felling by 24% [95% CI: 10, 38]. Financial compensation for less intensive logging is generally supported among respondents. </sup></p><p><sup>Conclusions: Our results indicate that a policy-led change in the current clear-cutting regime toward less intensive post-fire forest management in Sweden would be societally preferable. They also show that informing owners and the public about the socio-ecological outcomes of different options is important for increasing acceptance of post-fire forest management that is beneficial for biodiversity and carbon sequestration.</sup></p>}},
author = {{Droste, Nils and Danley, Brian and Doerr, Stefan H. and Fridén, Alexia and Kelly, Julia and Santín, Cristina and Rütting, Louise and Kljun, Natascha}},
keywords = {{Ecological effectiveness; Post-fire forest management; Social acceptability}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
publisher = {{Springer Science and Business Media B.V.}},
series = {{Fire Ecology}},
title = {{Socio-ecological knowledge increases support for selective logging after forest fire in Sweden}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s42408-026-00559-4}},
doi = {{10.1186/s42408-026-00559-4}},
volume = {{22}},
year = {{2026}},
}