Management strategies at landscape level

Six research projects have produced knowledge about how the status of landscape and contributed proposals for sustainable management strategies. The projects have investigated mountains and forest environments, agricultural landscapes, and coastal areas in northern Bohuslän and the Stockholm archipelago.

Forests and forest landscapes cover the majority of the terrestrial surface in northern Sweden and are thus key providers of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Northern Sweden is here defined as the territory of the six northern most counties, including the entire boreal, except its southernmost fringe, and alpine regions. Generally, the forest landscape is characterized by long term and extensive land use. Industrial and systematic clearcutting forestry, which has been exercised since the middle of the 1900s, has resulted in a transformed landscape with extensive fragmentation and loss of natural and near-natural forest. Although harvesting has occurred also earlier, and for extensive areas with prominent impact, forest continuity and other forest conservation values have been maintained at areas beyond what is presently protected. Therefore, the implementation in Sweden of green infrastructure for supporting biodiversity and ecosystem services, takes place in a transformed landscape, where forestry and other forms of land use will also continue in the future. This implies that a functional green infrastructure has to be directed to conserving and strengthening the remaining natural and nearnatural forest habitats with high conservation values, and the ecological functionality associated with those.In this project we have analyzed different wall-to-wall land-cover data sources, mainly the mappings of proxy continuous cover forests, high conservation value forests, and the national land-cover data, to define the present situation with respect to location, density and connectivity of intact forests but also to assess the changes since the middle of the 1900s. We have mapped, described and analyzed the premises for green infrastructure for northern Sweden, for northwest Sweden, for the forest region above the mountain forest border, for each of the counties in northern Sweden, for the mountain, inland and coastal regions, and for a gradient from coast to mountain and from river valley to the watershed divide.

Johan Svensson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

5 000 000 SEK

Green infrastructure (GI) is a concept that has, in recent years, become established within nature conservation and is an important part of Sweden’s work within biodiversity and ecosystem services. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency defines green infrastructure as “an ecologically functional network of habitats and structures, natural areas and landscaped elements that are designed, used and managed in a way that preserves biodiversity and promotes important ecosystem services throughout the landscape”. IMAGINE has focused on how management strategies can strengthen and support the preservation of green infrastructure in the marine environment.

The need to promote an ecosystem-based approach and a landscape perspective in the management of marine ecosystems is primarily expressed in international and EU law. However, in general, the requirements laid down in international law are vaguely formulated. Moreover, the enforcement mechanisms available under EU law are lacking. While EU law provides both sharper obligations and enforcement mechanisms, there is no explicit legal requirement to preserve a marine green infrastructure or to take measure to ensure that the network of protected areas becomes coherent and representative. The Habitats Directive, however, provides strong protection of designated species and habitats through the establishment of Natura 2000 areas and Member States can be obliged to take connectivity measures also outside protected areas, if this is necessary for the conservation of the species and habitats within a Natura 2000-site. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive moreover requires that the programmes of measures specify measures needed to ensure a coherent and representative network of marine protection areas, but there is no clear definition of those concepts. All in all, the directives provide little guidance on how to include a landscape perspective in practice. National law allows for the protection of green infrastructure, including the establishment of protected areas, however, even in this case there is no requirement to apply an ecosystem approach or a landscape perspective in the decision-making. Environmental quality standards for good ecological status and environmental status, which also applies outside protected areas, are important tools for protecting green infrastructure. However, there is a risk of a lack of application of the standards in relation to activities that are not subject to a permit requirement under the Environmental Code. It is therefore important that the standards are applied to other decisions under the Code, but also under other legislative acts (such as fishery legislation) and that cumulative effects are taken into account

Antonia Nyström Sandman, AquaBiota Water Research

5 000 000 SEK

The research program has investigated questions about landscape planning of forests to promote biodiversity and varied forestry. An overall conclusion is that landscape planning promotes the achievement of the Swedish Parliament’s environmental objective “Living forests”.The programme studied three Swedish forest landscapes. 16 species, listed in the EU nature conservation directives, were used as indicators. Landscape data were collected from landowner forestry planning and from available GIS layers. The Zonation program identified the areas that best matched the species requirements and the areas were then sorted by priority. Subsequently, different forest management options were identified for the respective areas, taking into account habitat connectivity. The example shows how a planning basis can be produced.

In order to resolve deficiencies in current forest management, landscape planning should be integrated into the legal system. Judicial landscape planning can serve as a preventive model, which the European Commission has recommended in order to overcome conflicts between species protection and forestry as well as to improve predictability. The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) in the United States shows how issues of adaptability, knowledge base and participation in such planning can be addressed. The NFMA may in several aspects serve as a guide in a Swedish legislative work with landscape planning.Legally binding plans, with restrictions on land use, will entitle forest owners the right to compensation, under certain preconditions. It is possible to support a landscape plan through a fund where forest owners pay a certain fee, and where the funds are used to compensate forest owners who take greater responsibility for conservation. The greater the area of the plan and the fund, the easier it can be to create such horizontal justice. A simulation of the financial effects of a fee-fund system in three forest landscape areas shows that a fee-fund system generally has relatively good opportunities to function as a self-financed policy alternative. However, self-financing is not an end in itself, but a matter of vertical justice.

A survey of private forest owners revealed a group (about 70%) who is totally against all restrictions on their current freedom, and to recurring key biotope inventories. The second group (approx. 30%) is more positive towards increased government intervention, especially if decisions are taken in consultation with the forest owners. This group is also positive for recurring key biotope inventories. The survey indicates the importance of forest owners’ participation in the landscape planning.

Gabriel Michanek, Uppsala university

5 000 000 SEK

One of the most complex and acute challenges of contemporary land use planning concerns multiple and increasingly competing claims over land and natural resources. This project builds on ongoing interdisciplinary research efforts and close collaboration with public authorities and stakeholders. It addresses the methodological challenges in assessing the cumulative impacts of multiple pressures on landscape functionality. It also investigates the insufficiencies in the current governance institutions to generate a landscape perspective, navigate competing claims and reduce the conflict level between landscape users.

The main research questions are:

1. What are the most promising approaches to generate a landscape perspective and account for cumulative impacts?
2. How can these approaches be embedded in the environmental planning and permit processes to aid civil servants and stakeholders reduce conflicts and build more trust for diverging forms of knowledge?

The project team is composed of colleagues from Vilhelmina norra and Sirges reindeer herding communities, the Swedish Sami Association, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Stockholm University, and Dalarna University.

Rasmus Larsen, Stockholm Environment Institute

5 000 000 SEK

The VALKMAN project has developed a value and knowledge-based model for managing future landscapes. The model includes methods for:

• Estimating the availability of so-called ecosystem values.
• Developing contrasting scenarios for forest landscape development.
• Involving stakeholders in the planning process for the future forest management.

The result can be used by, e.g., county boards and the Forest Agency in advisory processes related to green infrastructure that affect many different interests and many different stakeholders, and in collaboration processes between forestry and other land use-based industries (e.g., reindeer husbandry) and other users of the forest.

The Swedish forest landscape is used by a number of different stakeholders, and the pressure on what the forest should deliver economically, ecologically and socially is increasing. In addition to forestry, e.g., mining, wind turbines and reindeer husbandry also affect the landscape and its ecosystem services. Since many of these services are in conflict with each other, the effect of different land uses needs to be clarified. The research project has investigated different forest management scenarios and the future significance of the scenarios for timber production, biodiversity and for a number of indicators for different ecosystem services. To formulate a good management strategy, it is not enough to provide only information about possible consequences of land use. If future conflicts are to be reduced, the preferences and values of different stakeholders should also be taken into account. Sustainable management of the landscape requires collaboration processes that are based both on actual knowledge of the landscape and on the needs of different stakeholders. The research project has thus also investigated how such needs can be considered in the design. The aim of the project has been to improve decisionmaking and management of forest landscapes by bringing together estimates of ecosystem values, multi-criteria decision analysis and scenario analysis in a collaborative process. With this as a basis, a general management model for long-term planning for different ecosystem values has been developed.

Tomas Lämås, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

3 500 000 SEK

Regional differences in land-use history and site conditions have long-term effects on woodland flora and fauna and can inform land managers about suitable conservation targets, e.g. whether to favor forest specialists or species depending on semi-open conditions and traditional mowing and livestock grazing. Small ancient woodlands often are refugia for a valuable flora and fauna of forest specialist species. They also function as stepping stones for dispersal and establishment of typical forest species in agricultural landscapes, and should be given high priority in nature conservation. We suggest that establishment of a larger number of small woodlands (1–5 ha) in agricultural landscapes at varying distances to source populations is more beneficial for forest species than planting few large forests. To restore typical forest herb layers in post-agricultural stands, establishment of oak or aspen stands is preferable as they create more suitable light and soil conditions compared to other tree species, such as birch or beech

Jörg Brunet, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

2 700 000 SEK