Biodiversity recovery is slow following clear-cut harvest of boreal forests

Boreal forests are important reservoirs of biodiversity, carbon and timber stocks. However, timber harvest can alter biodiversity in these forests without clear evidence on the duration needed for biotic groups to recover. Resilience of boreal forest biodiversity to clear-cut harvest was examined with a meta-analysis of 190 datasets from boreal and hemi-boreal forests of Europe/Russia and North America for arthropods, birds, small mammals, lichens, bryophytes and vascular plants. We modelled similarity of community composition between harvested and unharvested stands versus years post harvest. In approximately half of cases, predicted times for recovery to pre-harvest composition were ≤30 years. In other cases, recovery took much longer or had not occurred within the timeframe of our data; for example, in conifer forest: >100 years (bryophytes), >55 years (small mammals), ~95 years (lichens) and ~85 years (vascular plants). Saproxylic beetles showed no resilience within the 16 (conifer forest) or 29 (mixed forest) years post harvest for which we had data. Recovery generally took longer in conifer and mixed than in broadleaf forests, which always showed either resistance (bryophytes, vascular plants) or resilience with recovery within 12–25 years. Conserving biodiversity in boreal forests will require extended rotations, management for ‘old forest’ structural elements and areas protected from harvesting. Clear-cut timber harvest in boreal forests impacts local biodiversity; however, it is still unclear how quickly biotic groups rebound from such disturbances. This meta-analysis determines the resilience of biotic groups to clear-cut harvest across boreal forests of Europe/Russia and North America.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Sustainability
Published
2026-06-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-026-01868-x
Primary Topic
Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Biodiversity recovery is slow following clear-cut harvest of boreal forests

Jari Kouki, Joakim Hjältén, Mats Dynesius, Mathieu Bouchard et al.
Nature Sustainability
Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
article

Biodiversity recovery is slow following clear-cut harvest of boreal forests

Jari Kouki, Joakim Hjältén, Mats Dynesius, Mathieu Bouchard, Ilkka Vanha‐Majamaa, Matti Koivula, Kristoffer Hylander, Linhao Wu, Anne C.S. McIntosh, Peter B. Reich, Asko Lõhmus, Erin M. Bayne, Therese Johansson, Э. З. Баишева, Samuel F. Bartels, Timothy T. Work, Anders Nielsen, Selena Schut, S. Ellen Macdonald, Jaime Pinzón, Jeff Battigelli, Pavel Shirokikh, Manuela Panzacchi, Brendan Casey, Seung-Il Lee, I. Tanya Handa, Lisa Venier, Sonya Odsen, Yves Bergeron, Ekaterina Shorohova
article en

Abstract

Boreal forests are important reservoirs of biodiversity, carbon and timber stocks. However, timber harvest can alter biodiversity in these forests without clear evidence on the duration needed for biotic groups to recover. Resilience of boreal forest biodiversity to clear-cut harvest was examined with a meta-analysis of 190 datasets from boreal and hemi-boreal forests of Europe/Russia and North America for arthropods, birds, small mammals, lichens, bryophytes and vascular plants. We modelled similarity of community composition between harvested and unharvested stands versus years post harvest. In approximately half of cases, predicted times for recovery to pre-harvest composition were ≤30 years. In other cases, recovery took much longer or had not occurred within the timeframe of our data; for example, in conifer forest: >100 years (bryophytes), >55 years (small mammals), ~95 years (lichens) and ~85 years (vascular plants). Saproxylic beetles showed no resilience within the 16 (conifer forest) or 29 (mixed forest) years post harvest for which we had data. Recovery generally took longer in conifer and mixed than in broadleaf forests, which always showed either resistance (bryophytes, vascular plants) or resilience with recovery within 12–25 years. Conserving biodiversity in boreal forests will require extended rotations, management for ‘old forest’ structural elements and areas protected from harvesting. Clear-cut timber harvest in boreal forests impacts local biodiversity; however, it is still unclear how quickly biotic groups rebound from such disturbances. This meta-analysis determines the resilience of biotic groups to clear-cut harvest across boreal forests of Europe/Russia and North America.

Nature Sustainability
Canadian Forest Service (CA), Natural Resources Canada (CA), University of Minnesota (US), Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (US), University of Northern British Columbia (CA), University of Alberta (CA), Université du Québec à Montréal (CA), Stockholm University (SE), University of Eastern Finland (FI), Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (CA), Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (CA), University of Michigan (US), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE), Natural Resources Institute Finland (FI), Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (CA), Ufa Institute of Chemistry (RU), RED Consulting (Norway) (NO), Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NO), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NO), Université Laval (CA), University of Tartu (EE), Western Sydney University (AU), Lakehead University (CA)
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
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