Environmental Services Provided from Riparian Forests in the Nordic Countries

Per Gundersen; Ari Laurén; Leena Finér; Eva Ring; Harri Koivusalo; Magne Sætersdal; Jan-Olov Weslien; Bjarni D. Sigurdsson; Lars Högbom; Jukka Laine; Karin Irene Hansen

doi:10.1007/s13280-010-0073-9

Environmental Services Provided from Riparian Forests in the Nordic Countries

Per Gundersen, Ari Laurén, Leena Finér, Eva Ring, Harri Koivusalo, Magne Sætersdal, Jan-Olov Weslien, Bjarni D. Sigurdsson, Lars Högbom, Jukka Laine, Karin Irene Hansen

55 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Riparian forests (RF) growing along streams, rivers and lakes comprise more than 2% of the forest area in the Nordic countries (considering a 10 m wide zone from the water body). They have special ecological functions in the landscape. They receive water and nutrients from the upslope areas, are important habitats for biodiversity, have large soil carbon stores, but may emit more greenhouse gases (GHG) than the uplands. In this article, we present a review of the environmental services related to water protection, terrestrial biodiversity, carbon storage and greenhouse gas dynamics provided by RF in the Nordic countries. We discuss the benefits and trade-offs when leaving the RF as a buffer against the impacts from upland forest management, in particular the impacts of clear cutting. Forest buffers are effective in protecting water quality and aquatic life, and have positive effects on terrestrial biodiversity, particularly when broader than 40 m, whereas the effect on the greenhouse gas exchange is unclear.

Original language	English
Journal	Ambio
Volume	39
Issue number	8
Pages (from-to)	555-566
Number of pages	12
ISSN	0044-7447
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-010-0073-9
Publication status	Published - Dec 2010

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title = "Environmental Services Provided from Riparian Forests in the Nordic Countries",

abstract = "Riparian forests (RF) growing along streams, rivers and lakes comprise more than 2% of the forest area in the Nordic countries (considering a 10 m wide zone from the water body). They have special ecological functions in the landscape. They receive water and nutrients from the upslope areas, are important habitats for biodiversity, have large soil carbon stores, but may emit more greenhouse gases (GHG) than the uplands. In this article, we present a review of the environmental services related to water protection, terrestrial biodiversity, carbon storage and greenhouse gas dynamics provided by RF in the Nordic countries. We discuss the benefits and trade-offs when leaving the RF as a buffer against the impacts from upland forest management, in particular the impacts of clear cutting. Forest buffers are effective in protecting water quality and aquatic life, and have positive effects on terrestrial biodiversity, particularly when broader than 40 m, whereas the effect on the greenhouse gas exchange is unclear.",

author = "Per Gundersen and Ari Laur{\'e}n and Leena Fin{\'e}r and Eva Ring and Harri Koivusalo and Magne S{\ae}tersdal and Jan-Olov Weslien and Sigurdsson, {Bjarni D.} and Lars H{\"o}gbom and Jukka Laine and Hansen, {Karin Irene}",

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language = "English",

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T1 - Environmental Services Provided from Riparian Forests in the Nordic Countries

AU - Gundersen, Per

AU - Laurén, Ari

AU - Finér, Leena

AU - Ring, Eva

AU - Koivusalo, Harri

AU - Sætersdal, Magne

AU - Weslien, Jan-Olov

AU - Sigurdsson, Bjarni D.

AU - Högbom, Lars

AU - Laine, Jukka

AU - Hansen, Karin Irene

PY - 2010/12

Y1 - 2010/12

N2 - Riparian forests (RF) growing along streams, rivers and lakes comprise more than 2% of the forest area in the Nordic countries (considering a 10 m wide zone from the water body). They have special ecological functions in the landscape. They receive water and nutrients from the upslope areas, are important habitats for biodiversity, have large soil carbon stores, but may emit more greenhouse gases (GHG) than the uplands. In this article, we present a review of the environmental services related to water protection, terrestrial biodiversity, carbon storage and greenhouse gas dynamics provided by RF in the Nordic countries. We discuss the benefits and trade-offs when leaving the RF as a buffer against the impacts from upland forest management, in particular the impacts of clear cutting. Forest buffers are effective in protecting water quality and aquatic life, and have positive effects on terrestrial biodiversity, particularly when broader than 40 m, whereas the effect on the greenhouse gas exchange is unclear.

AB - Riparian forests (RF) growing along streams, rivers and lakes comprise more than 2% of the forest area in the Nordic countries (considering a 10 m wide zone from the water body). They have special ecological functions in the landscape. They receive water and nutrients from the upslope areas, are important habitats for biodiversity, have large soil carbon stores, but may emit more greenhouse gases (GHG) than the uplands. In this article, we present a review of the environmental services related to water protection, terrestrial biodiversity, carbon storage and greenhouse gas dynamics provided by RF in the Nordic countries. We discuss the benefits and trade-offs when leaving the RF as a buffer against the impacts from upland forest management, in particular the impacts of clear cutting. Forest buffers are effective in protecting water quality and aquatic life, and have positive effects on terrestrial biodiversity, particularly when broader than 40 m, whereas the effect on the greenhouse gas exchange is unclear.

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DO - 10.1007/s13280-010-0073-9

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SP - 555

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JO - Ambio

JF - Ambio

IS - 8

ER -

Environmental Services Provided from Riparian Forests in the Nordic Countries

Abstract

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