Differences in structure, diversity and ecological functions of riparian forests in production stands and nature reserves in Sweden

Riparian zones play a crucial role for aquatic ecosystems and host a large number of organisms, but in regions with intensive forestry, such as Sweden, these areas have historically received inadequate protection from operations. The legacies of past management can be seen in todays’ mature forests. We compared riparian forests in mature production stands with those in unmanaged nature reserves to describe structural, functional and diversity differences. Our findings reveal significant differences in forest structure, with production stands exhibiting larger average tree diameters but fewer stems. Tree species diversity was similar in both types of forests, but nature reserves had about double the number of individuals of most species. Further, nature reserves displayed greater structural diversity including more varied light conditions and higher volumes of large deadwood. Vascular plant diversity showed no significant difference between forest types, although community composition was different. The ground cover of <i>Sphagnum</i> sp. group was significantly higher in the nature reserves compared to production sites. The results presented here highlight the lasting impact of forestry practices on riparian ecosystems, emphasizing the need for better management to preserve their ecological functions through, for example, mimicking natural riparian forest regimes.