Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

To mitigate landscape fragmentation, promote biodiversity and recreational values the Swedish forestry company Sveaskog created the concept of ecoparks. This thesis aims to evaluate if the current management system for forest planning reflects the ambition for increased nature conservation and ecosystem services. Data was collected and combined from the forestry plans of the ecoparks and compared to documented national interests of Sweden, thereby using the national interests as a proxy for potential multiple values within the ecoparks. The analysis suggests that these national interests and the multiple values and goals of the ecoparks are not effectively represented in the forest management plans, despite the ecoparks’ publicly communicated profiles emphasizing multifunctional values and land use. To address this lack of representation, a revised goal classification system was developed, based on natural disturbance dynamics in boreal forests. This framework potentially allows Sveaskog to more accurately represent the multiple values already present in its voluntary set-asides and could also be adapted for use in alternative forest management on private lands. The revised system offers a complementary, small-scale implementation pathway to enhance current forest planning with a voluntary, multifunctional perspective. In this way the revised system is a more flexible tool for alternative forest management planning and further illustrates the multiple values of forests.