Epsilon Open Archive

Abstract

Forests play an important role in providing ecosystem services that support the ecological integrity of an area and also supply social benefits for humans. Many of the essential ecological and social benefits derived from forest are underpinned by its biodiversity. This thesis explores how biodiversity values of forest in urban and rural settings are expressed and how these values could be implemented in biodiversity-orientated forest management and planning.

Theoretical development work focusing on the application of biotope mapping methods resulted in a modified biotope mapping model integrating vegetation structure as a tool for collecting biodiversity values. The model was validated in a process beginning with a literature study on forest biodiversity indicators in order to test the rationality of vegetation structural parameters included in the model. Two case studies, carried out in an urban and a rural setting, respectively, were then used to validate the function of the modified mapping model in covering different aspects of biodiversity values (birds, mammals and vascular plants in the urban setting; bryophytes, lichens and vascular plants in the rural setting).

The results showed that the modified biotope mapping model, where temporal and spatial vegetation structural parameters are integrated, can be applied to collect biodiversity-orientated information, which can support decision making on forest landscape planning and policy.