%0 Research article
%T The transformation of a Norway spruce dominated landscape since pre-industrial times in northern Sweden: the influence of modern forest management on forest structure
%A Hellberg, Erik
%A Josefsson, Torbjörn
%A Östlund, Lars
%D 2009
%J Silva Fennica
%V 43
%N 5
%R doi:10.14214/sf.173
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/173
%X Logging history and the study of reference conditions in Scandinavian  boreal forests has tended to focus on Scots pine dominated ecosystems.  This paper presents a regional study of pre-industrial forest conditions  and examines the effects of the industrial exploitation of ecosystems  dominated by Norway spruce in northern Sweden. Historical records  covering a period which preceded industrial logging in the study area  (1917–1927) were used to obtain quantitative data on forest structure  and influence of forest fires. These data were compared with a modern  data set (2003) to analyse changes due to the industrial transformation  of the forest. The early 20th century landscape was dominated by old,  multi-cohorted spruce forests and mixed coniferous forests. It was found  that fire affected both the structure and composition of the landscape.  In post-burnt areas, even-aged forests dominated by deciduous species  were the principal forest type. Between the early and modern data sets,  profound changes in tree-species composition and age structure were  documented. While the total volume of deciduous species increased  substantially, the coverage of forests dominated by deciduous species  decreased. There was also a significant increase in pine-dominated  forests and in the total volume of pine. The industrial transformation  of the studied landscapes has had profound effects on the structure of  spruce forests, but much less so on deciduous forests. The study  concludes that the present forest structure is a function of past  management regimes, and that future transformations of the landscape  will continue, thus affecting the natural variability and biodiversity  of the forests.