Supplementary_material_2 – Supplemental material for Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe

Supplemental material, Supplementary_material_2 for Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe by Normunds Stivrins, Tuomas Aakala, Liisa Ilvonen, Leena Pasanen, Timo Kuuluvainen, Harri Vasander, Mariusz Gałka, Helena R Disbrey, Janis Liepins, Lasse Holmström and Heikki Seppä in The Holocene

Supplementary_material_1 – Supplemental material for Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe

Supplemental material, Supplementary_material_1 for Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe by Normunds Stivrins, Tuomas Aakala, Liisa Ilvonen, Leena Pasanen, Timo Kuuluvainen, Harri Vasander, Mariusz Gałka, Helena R Disbrey, Janis Liepins, Lasse Holmström and Heikki Seppä in The Holocene

Supplementary_material_2 – Supplemental material for Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe

Supplemental material, Supplementary_material_2 for Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe by Normunds Stivrins, Tuomas Aakala, Liisa Ilvonen, Leena Pasanen, Timo Kuuluvainen, Harri Vasander, Mariusz Gałka, Helena R Disbrey, Janis Liepins, Lasse Holmström and Heikki Seppä in The Holocene

Multiscale variation in drought controlled historical forest fire activity in the boreal forests of eastern Fennoscandia

Forest fires are a key disturbance in boreal forests, and characteristics of fire regimes are among the most important factors explaining the variation in forest structure and species composition. The occurrence of fire is connected with climate, but earlier, mostly local-scale studies in the northern European boreal forests have provided little insight into fire-climate relationship before the modern fire suppression period. Here, we compiled annually resolved fire history, temperature, and precipitation reconstructions from eastern Fennoscandia from the mid-16th century to the end of the 19th century, a period of strong human influence on fires. We used synchrony of fires over the network…

Supplementary_material_1 – Supplemental material for Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe

Supplemental material, Supplementary_material_1 for Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe by Normunds Stivrins, Tuomas Aakala, Liisa Ilvonen, Leena Pasanen, Timo Kuuluvainen, Harri Vasander, Mariusz Gałka, Helena R Disbrey, Janis Liepins, Lasse Holmström and Heikki Seppä in The Holocene

Local forest continuity – important for species-rich Micarea lichen communities, but less so for decomposers

Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe

Fire is a major disturbance agent in the boreal forest, influencing many current and future ecosystem conditions and services. Surprisingly few studies have attempted to improve the accuracy of fire-event reconstructions even though the estimates of the occurrence of past fires may be biased, influencing the reliability of the models employing those data (e.g. C stock, cycle). This study aimed to demonstrate how three types of fire proxies – fire scars from tree rings, sedimentary charcoal and, for the first time in this context, fungal spores of Neurospora – can be integrated to achieve a better understanding of past fire dynamics. By studying charcoal and Neurospora from sediment cores f…

Effects of local forest continuity on the diversity of fungi on standing dead pines

Human-induced fragmentation affects forest continuity, i.e. availability of a suitable habitat for the target species over a time period. The dependence of wood-inhabiting fungi on landscape level continuity has been well demonstrated, but the importance of local continuity has remained controversial. In this study, we explored the effects of local forest continuity (microhabitat and stand level) on the diversity of wood-inhabiting fungi on standing dead trunks of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). We studied species richness and community composition of decomposers and Micarea lichens on 70 trunks in 14 forests in central Finland that differed in their state of continuity. We used dendrochr…

Red List of Ecosystems: assessing the quality of boreal forests in Finland

IUCN recently published guidelines for Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) risk assessment [1]. The RLE criteria include consideration of changes in an area and the geographic distribution of ecosystems but also of changes in the biotic and abiotic ecological quality of ecosystems. In widely distributed ecosystems, such as boreal forests in Finland, ecological quality is often more important than the spatial extent of an area in assessing threat status. Therefore, it is important to find quantitative variables that are good surrogates for the overall quality of an ecosystem. In the RLE assessment of Finland, we divided boreal forests into 40 ecosystem types. Of these, forests with mineral soils (1…

Global-scale assessment of forest management impacts on biodiversity patterns

Integrating biodiversity conservation into forest management has been highlighted as one of the means for halting and reversing the recent biodiversity loss. This integration requires that we understand the mechanistic linkage between anthropogenic disturbances and biodiversity patterns, and it is fundamental for implementing ecological management actions, such as impact mitigation and offsetting by restoration. The empirical evidence on forest management impacts on biodiversity has been accumulated mostly locally, but the response of biodiversity patterns to anthropogenic disturbances remains poorly known. Furthermore, there is no consensus about how diversity patterns of local communities…

Local forest continuity – important for species-rich Micarea lichen communities, but less so for decomposers

Fragmentation has a negative effect on forest continuity, i.e. availability of a suitable habitat for the target species over a time period (1). The dependence of wood-inhabiting fungi on landscape level continuity is well acknowledged, but the role of local continuity has remained unclear. We explored the effects of local forest continuity (microhabitat and stand level) on the diversity of fungi inhabiting standing dead trunks of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Specifically, we studied the species richness and community composition of decomposers and Micarea lichens. The study included 70 trunks in 14 forests in central Finland with varying state of continuity. We assessed the detailed h…

Environmental drivers of canopy gap geometry: a meta-analysis of gap disturbance regimes across forest biomes

Forest degradation and related biodiversity loss require urgent improvement of forest management practices. Ecological forestry, including emulation of natural disturbances and retention management is considered a promising candidate for a management strategy aiming for reducing logging impact on biodiversity processes underpinning ecosystem services. However, properties of natural disturbances and their consequences on forest ecosystems show immense variations across different forest biomes. Therefore, understanding region-specific properties of natural disturbances (e.g. canopy gap formations) is fundamental to implement the appropriate emulation practices. Moreover, recent climate change…