Puronvarsimetsien suojavyöhykkeiden vaikutus kasvi- ja kääpälajistoon, pienilmastoon ja tuulenkaatoihin

Windthrow in streamside key habitats: Effects of buffer strip width and selective logging

Abstract Streamside forests are preserved from clear-cut logging in production forests and protected with uncut buffer strips in many countries. However, buffer strips often remain narrow due to economic reasons and, therefore, provide weak protection against adverse edge effects of clear-cuts and are vulnerable to windthrow. Selective logging of buffer strips is sometimes allowed to reduce their costs, but the decreased tree density may expose the buffer to higher occurrence of windthrow. We used a replicated two-factor experiment to assess the effects of buffer width (15 m or 30 m) and selective logging (0% or 30% of the basal area removed) on the risk of windthrow in boreal streamside fo…