Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Noble broadleaf forests in Sweden occupy only a fraction of the area they covered historically. In part, they have been replaced by planted even-aged Norway spruce forests. Today, climate change poses increasing risks to Norway spruce forests in southern Sweden. In Fulltofta estate in Skåne, a conversion of spruce to broadleaf stands was noted by Brunet (2007) who studied the land-use history of Fulltofta between 1772–2004 and gave management suggestions to restore parts of the historical noble broadleaf forest in the area.
This study aims to investigate whether the conversion of spruce to broadleaf stands observed by Brunet (2007) in Fulltofta has continued. The change in tree species composition as well as the area occupied by different forest types in Fulltofta is quantified using data extracted from two forest management plans (1997 and 2023). The area of old stands and their tree species composition is also quantified to gain further insight into the impact of the forest management on forest biodiversity.
The hypothesis is that Norway spruce has decreased in Fulltofta while broadleaves have increased between 1997–2023. The main findings confirm the hypothesis, showing that both the standing volume of Norway spruce and the area of Norway spruce-dominated stands have decreased, mainly in favor of broadleaves. Additionally, this study finds that the area of old stands in Fulltofta has increased. However, the results show that the management suggestions given by Brunet have only been partially fulfilled.
The study concludes that climate change adaptation is one of the main drivers of the decrease in spruce in Fulltofta, and that the identified reduction in the area of spruce forests is faster in Fulltofta than the rest of Skåne. In addition, multiple-use forestry in Fulltofta has made the landscape more diverse and potentially improved habitat availability for at least some species dependent on broadleaf forests.