New post-doc aims to map biodiversity

Biodiversity is on the political agenda, and the topic is increasingly important for companies. Stora Enso is currently funding a post-doctoral project at SLU to investigate how biodiversity is connected to the characteristics of the forest and the landscape. The research is being carried out within Mistra Digital Forest, and in the long term the results can be used to produce maps of species diversity in Swedish forests. 

Tree species, the age of the forest as well as both standing and lying dead trees are all significant for biodiversity. For example, dead wood is crucial for over 40 per cent of forest species on the Red List, the list that reflects the conservation status of species. So far, information on these types of biodiversity indicators has been gathered through field surveys, but digital technology now makes it easier to survey large areas and to increase knowledge about this topic.   

- Currently we can basically estimate the biodiversity in a limited area. For nature conservation to be as effective and as good as it can be, we need increased understanding of how local factors, as well as the environment and habitat in a greater area, play a role says Eva Lindberg, senior lecturer at the Department of Forest Resource Management at SLU. 

Testing the usefulness of both national and high-resolution laser data

Stora Enso is seeking to increase knowledge about its forests, and is funding a postdoc at SLU in order to develop methods for mapping biodiversity using high-resolution data. The research is supervised by Eva Lindberg within Mistra Digital Forest. In previous projects in the programme, she has developed methods for analysing biodiversity using remote sensing data, and similar methods are used in this project. 

- We will be using two different data sources. Firstly, very detailed data that we have collected with airborne laser scanning in a limited area in Stora Enso's stock. We will compare this with field inventories from the same area in order to find biodiversity indicators, says Eva Lindberg and then continues: 

- But collecting high-resolution data is expensive. So we will also be trying to use the national laser data that already exists to see if we can find relevant biodiversity indicators there, despite the lower level of detail.  

Opening up for mapping biodiversity in Sweden's forests

National laser data are freely available to everyone, and one long-term goal is to take the know how from this project further in order to map biodiversity in Sweden's forests, for example within Mistra Digital Forest.  

Stora Enso owns 1.4 million hectares of land in Sweden, making it one of the country's largest forest owners: 

- We can already map timber volume and tree height using remote sensing. It has been all the more difficult to map the natural surroundings, it is a far greater challenge and we have to dare to try new approaches. If substrates such as old trees, windfalls and other dead wood can be mapped with remote sensing data, it could be a very valuable support in forest planning both at strategic and at operational level, says Erik Willén, Manager Precision Forestry at Stora Enso.