A systematic meta-review: the relationship between forest structures and biodiversity in deciduous forests.
Wagenaar, Lydwin Freija LU
; Olsson, Ola
LU
; Stjernman, Martin
LU
and Smith, Henrik G.
LU
(2025)
In Forest Ecology and Management
596.
- Abstract
- Human activities in deciduous forests over the past centuries have influenced associated species. To reduce extinction risks and mitigate population declines, there is growing interest in forest conservation and restoration, including initiatives by the European Union (EU). For resulting restoration and conservation practices to succeed, it is essential to know which forest characteristics promote biodiversity conservation. This review is the first comprehensive systematic meta-review that examines the consistency of relationships between forest structures and biodiversity in temperate, deciduous forests. Our results suggest that the presence of angiosperm trees and large seed producing trees, deadwood quantity, older and larger trees, as... (More)
- Human activities in deciduous forests over the past centuries have influenced associated species. To reduce extinction risks and mitigate population declines, there is growing interest in forest conservation and restoration, including initiatives by the European Union (EU). For resulting restoration and conservation practices to succeed, it is essential to know which forest characteristics promote biodiversity conservation. This review is the first comprehensive systematic meta-review that examines the consistency of relationships between forest structures and biodiversity in temperate, deciduous forests. Our results suggest that the presence of angiosperm trees and large seed producing trees, deadwood quantity, older and larger trees, as well as tree cavities relate positively to the diversity of multiple taxonomic groups, including lichens, insects, birds, and fungi. These findings support the prioritization of deadwood and presence of old trees as key targets in restoration and conservation practices. In contrast, the connection between many other forest structures and biodiversity were more ambiguous and varied between taxonomic groups, emphasizing the need to be explicit about restoration and conservation goals when formulating targets for forest structures. Even though the relationship between forest structures and biodiversity was thoroughly studied in reviews, molluscs, reptiles, amphibians, and ground-dwelling invertebrates like spiders and ground beetles were underrepresented. Furthermore, significant knowledge gaps were identified for some potential important structures such as deadwood in the canopy, tree height, and tree biomass. The findings of this review show that while some old-growth forest structures can be used as biodiversity indicators, relationships between stand-level structures and biodiversity are difficult to generalize. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/46f22ba1-bd15-4ecc-9517-de50fbe6b952
- author
- Wagenaar, Lydwin Freija
LU
; Olsson, Ola
LU
; Stjernman, Martin
LU
and Smith, Henrik G.
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-08-21
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Forest structures, biodiversity, Restoration, Forest ecosystems
- in
- Forest Ecology and Management
- volume
- 596
- article number
- 123072
- publisher
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 1872-7042
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123072
- project
- Forest restoration and rewilding in Swedish ecoparks
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 46f22ba1-bd15-4ecc-9517-de50fbe6b952
- date added to LUP
- 2025-08-13 09:31:43
- date last changed
- 2025-08-22 13:42:00
@article{46f22ba1-bd15-4ecc-9517-de50fbe6b952,
abstract = {{Human activities in deciduous forests over the past centuries have influenced associated species. To reduce extinction risks and mitigate population declines, there is growing interest in forest conservation and restoration, including initiatives by the European Union (EU). For resulting restoration and conservation practices to succeed, it is essential to know which forest characteristics promote biodiversity conservation. This review is the first comprehensive systematic meta-review that examines the consistency of relationships between forest structures and biodiversity in temperate, deciduous forests. Our results suggest that the presence of angiosperm trees and large seed producing trees, deadwood quantity, older and larger trees, as well as tree cavities relate positively to the diversity of multiple taxonomic groups, including lichens, insects, birds, and fungi. These findings support the prioritization of deadwood and presence of old trees as key targets in restoration and conservation practices. In contrast, the connection between many other forest structures and biodiversity were more ambiguous and varied between taxonomic groups, emphasizing the need to be explicit about restoration and conservation goals when formulating targets for forest structures. Even though the relationship between forest structures and biodiversity was thoroughly studied in reviews, molluscs, reptiles, amphibians, and ground-dwelling invertebrates like spiders and ground beetles were underrepresented. Furthermore, significant knowledge gaps were identified for some potential important structures such as deadwood in the canopy, tree height, and tree biomass. The findings of this review show that while some old-growth forest structures can be used as biodiversity indicators, relationships between stand-level structures and biodiversity are difficult to generalize.}},
author = {{Wagenaar, Lydwin Freija and Olsson, Ola and Stjernman, Martin and Smith, Henrik G.}},
issn = {{1872-7042}},
keywords = {{Forest structures; biodiversity; Restoration; Forest ecosystems}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{08}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Forest Ecology and Management}},
title = {{A systematic meta-review: the relationship between forest structures and biodiversity in deciduous forests.}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/225828729/Publication.pdf}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.foreco.2025.123072}},
volume = {{596}},
year = {{2025}},
}