Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Biodiversity, disturbances, ecosystem function and management of European forests

Bengtsson, Jan ; Nilsson, Sven LU ; Franc, A and Menozzi, P (2000) In Trends in Ecology & Evolution 132(1). p.39-50
Abstract
We review the effects of human impact on biodiversity of European forests in the light of recent views on disturbances and succession in ecosystems, and discuss recent ideas on how biodiversity affects ecosystem functions such as productivity and ecosystem stability. With this as a background we discuss how to better manage European forests for both production and biodiversity. We argue that the next generation of forestry practices need to understand and mimic natural disturbance dynamics much better than the present ones. Of particular importance is the fact that most species in European forests have evolved in forests that were to a large extent influenced by large grazers, first by megaherbivores and later, in historic times, by... (More)
We review the effects of human impact on biodiversity of European forests in the light of recent views on disturbances and succession in ecosystems, and discuss recent ideas on how biodiversity affects ecosystem functions such as productivity and ecosystem stability. With this as a background we discuss how to better manage European forests for both production and biodiversity. We argue that the next generation of forestry practices need to understand and mimic natural disturbance dynamics much better than the present ones. Of particular importance is the fact that most species in European forests have evolved in forests that were to a large extent influenced by large grazers, first by megaherbivores and later, in historic times, by domestic animals. We highlight several areas where new knowledge and management tools are urgently needed: (i) How do species survive and adapt to the natural disturbance regimes in different regions and forest types? (ii) How can new and imaginative forest management practices be devised that take natural disturbance regimes into account? (iii) How does forest biodiversity affect ecosystem function and stability in a changing world, in particular in the light of predicted climate changes? (iv) How are ecological processes at different levels and scales related to diversity, and how do different management practices affect biodiversity? (v) How can efficient agroforestry methods be developed to preserve biodiversity? (vi) What is the role of humans and human behaviour for sustainable management of ecosystems? (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Trends in Ecology & Evolution
volume
132
issue
1
pages
39 - 50
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:0034659310
ISSN
1872-8383
DOI
10.1016/S0378-1127(00)00378-9
project
SUFOR
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d5f16101-a08d-419b-875b-30fcf56a956a (old id 146003)
alternative location
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(00)00378-9
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 11:46:02
date last changed
2022-04-20 21:19:46
@article{d5f16101-a08d-419b-875b-30fcf56a956a,
  abstract     = {{We review the effects of human impact on biodiversity of European forests in the light of recent views on disturbances and succession in ecosystems, and discuss recent ideas on how biodiversity affects ecosystem functions such as productivity and ecosystem stability. With this as a background we discuss how to better manage European forests for both production and biodiversity. We argue that the next generation of forestry practices need to understand and mimic natural disturbance dynamics much better than the present ones. Of particular importance is the fact that most species in European forests have evolved in forests that were to a large extent influenced by large grazers, first by megaherbivores and later, in historic times, by domestic animals. We highlight several areas where new knowledge and management tools are urgently needed: (i) How do species survive and adapt to the natural disturbance regimes in different regions and forest types? (ii) How can new and imaginative forest management practices be devised that take natural disturbance regimes into account? (iii) How does forest biodiversity affect ecosystem function and stability in a changing world, in particular in the light of predicted climate changes? (iv) How are ecological processes at different levels and scales related to diversity, and how do different management practices affect biodiversity? (v) How can efficient agroforestry methods be developed to preserve biodiversity? (vi) What is the role of humans and human behaviour for sustainable management of ecosystems? (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.}},
  author       = {{Bengtsson, Jan and Nilsson, Sven and Franc, A and Menozzi, P}},
  issn         = {{1872-8383}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{39--50}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Trends in Ecology & Evolution}},
  title        = {{Biodiversity, disturbances, ecosystem function and management of European forests}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(00)00378-9}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/S0378-1127(00)00378-9}},
  volume       = {{132}},
  year         = {{2000}},
}