Burning for biodiversity in Taiga forests
Wildfires are occurring less frequently in Taiga forests across Sweden and Finland, leaving a variety of fire-dependent species at risk. With natural fires less common now than in the past, the team behind the Life2Taiga project plan to use prescribed burns to create biodiversity and suitable habitats for pyrophilic species, as Julia Carlsson and Per Folkesson explain.
A number of species depend on the habitats created in the immediate aftermath of a fire, while other species rely on the deadwood that results from these events. While fires have burned naturally throughout history in Taiga forests across Finland and Sweden, they tend to occur less frequently nowadays. “We do have severe wildfires annually in Sweden, but not as frequently as hundreds of years ago,” says Julia Carlsson, manager of the Life2Taiga project. This is adversely affecting biodiversity across Taiga forests, to a point where some firedependent – or pyrophilic – species are at risk of going extinct. “If we had natural fires occurring periodically then we would have a natural forest succession, with different species present. However, we lack the natural disturbance of fire nowadays, so many Taiga forests are going into an unnatural, less favourable state, with less natural biodiversity,” explains Per Folkesson, a member of the Life2Taiga project team.
Life2Taiga project
This is an issue the project aims to address by bringing back the natural disturbance of fire with prescribed burns, aiming to create biodiversity and conserve natural habitats. In a prescribed burn, a fire is started by igniting strips along a line within a clearly defined area, with rigorous safety measures in place. “We always have water hoses placed around the entire burn and we also create fire breaks. Then we ignite the fire in lines perpendicular to the wind direction,” outlines Folkesson. The intensity of a fire can be modified by changing the ignition
patterns, in line with the goal of a prescribed burn and the particular characteristics of a site. “We can change how close together these lines are, which affects the intensity of the flame,” continues Folkesson.
The plan is to conduct 215 of these prescribed burns on around 3,400 hectares of Taiga forest, with the goal of creating habitats for a variety of different firedependent species. The idea is to change the structure of Taiga forests, and ensure that there is a diverse range of tree species and ages within them. “We want forests to not be too dense, but rather more open,
with sunlit patches, creating warm microclimates on the ground and on lying stems.
We’re also looking to maintain or increase the substrates for several different species groups, including insects, fungi, plants and mosses. So we’re talking about biodiversity in many different senses,” outlines Carlsson. The prescribed burns will be conducted in forests across Sweden and Finland, many of which have not seen a fire for long periods, beyond the historic norms. “These forests are, in most cases, in Natura-2000 areas.
Some are young forests between 50-60 years old that need an initial disturbance, while others are older,” says Carlsson.
Many of the forests in Sweden shaped by forestry techniques are dominated by a single tree species, often spruce or pine, while others influenced more by natural processes may have greater diversity, with a variety of species and ages. The project team are looking to conduct prescribed burns in different locations, when the conditions
are right. “The burning season in southern Sweden lasts from the end of April to early September, it starts later in the North. It can’t be too dry in the soil or the vegetation layer, but it can’t be too moist either,” says Carlsson. Conditions can vary throughout the season, and Folkesson says this is an important consideration in deciding when to burn a forest. “Tree roots extend down into varying depths in the soil. In Sweden we may have quite thick top layers of organic soil that can burn effectively,” he outlines. “We may have very different targets in terms of how deep we want the fire to go and how hard it should burn, so how much of this top layer of organic soil we want to remove.”
There is a choice here between burning early in the season, and effectively just burning the surface, or doing it later on in the year to reach greater depths. However, it’s difficult to plan too far ahead, as the weather conditions have to be right before a burn can go ahead. “We want the right
wind direction and wind speed, while we also consider the air temperature and other parameters. We have our own weather stations measuring those different values at the burning site, while we also follow the national meteorological institute’s fire weather index,” continues Carlsson. Ideally the wind should be blowing in just one direction, and a burn will be halted or called off altogether if the wind is too variable. “We might interrupt the burning if we see
Life2Taiga
Improved and efficient restoration by controlled burning in boreal Western Taiga woodlands
Project Objectives
• Improving habitat structures of the fire-adapted natural old pine forests of Western Taiga (9010*)
• 165 Natura 2000 sites in Sweden and Finland
• Prescribed burning on 3,455 hectares
• Fire-mimicking measures on 2,864 hectares
• Create substrates for at least 40 firedependent organisms
• Provide know-how and replication possibilites among authorities, forestry companies and contractors
• Advance the technical knowledge on how to suppress wild fires
• Produce Best practice guidelines on methods, techniques and innovations, e.g. helicopter ignition
• Increase acceptance for prescribed burning as a safe and efficient nature restoration method
Project Funding
Co-funded by the European Commission LIFE fund.
Project Partners
The County Administrative Boards in Dalarna, Gotland, Gävleborg, Jämtland, Jönköping, Kalmar, Kronoberg, Norrbotten, Södermanland, Uppsala,Värmland,Västerbotten,Västernorrland, Västmanland,Västra Götaland, Örebro and Östergötland, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and Metsähallitus Parks and Wildlife Finland.
Contact Details
Julia Carlsson
Project Manager Life2Taiga
County Administrative Board in Västmanland Department of Nature Conservation 721 86 Västerås
Sweden
T: +46 10-224 90 00
E: life2taiga@lansstyrelsen.se
W: https://www.lansstyrelsen.se/ vastmanland/natur-och-landsbygd/ skyddad-natur/skotsel-av-skyddad-natur/ naturvardsbranning/life2taiga.html
Per Folkesson
Dr. Julia Carlsson is the coordinating project manager of Life2Taiga, affiliated to the County Administrative Board of Västmanland.
Per Folkesson has been working with prescribed burning for many years and is one of the regional project managers for the County Administrative Boards of Södermanland.
that the wind or humidity changes, and if it turns out that we can’t control the security, it might be that we end the burning for that day,” says Carlsson. “In some cases we might stop a burn, while in others we can compensate for changes in the wind.”
Fire mimicking
A prescribed burn is always the preferred option for the project team in terms of creating biodiversity, but in some areas it’s not feasible, for example if the topography is very challenging and it’s difficult to create borders around the burning site. In these circumstances Carlsson says fire mimicking techniques can be used to help achieve the project’s goals. “For example we might mechanically thin out the trees, try to open up spaces between them, or ringbark trees,” she outlines. The first choice is always to conduct a prescribed burn where possible, as fire-mimicking techniques need to be repeated and may not have the same lasting effects as a fire. When fires do go ahead it’s important to communicate effectively with people in the affected areas, an issue
not mistaken for wildfires. The main priority is to publicise prescribed burns and reassure the public on safety, while the project team also collaborates closely with fire rescue services, both locally and regionally. “We inform them of our burning plan in advance and when it will go ahead. We also communicate with
“We want forests to not be too dense, but rather more open. We’re also looking to maintain or increase the substrates for several different species groups, including insects, fungi, plants and mosses.”
Carlsson says has been taken into account in the project. “We send out information by post to local residents and invite them to meetings to share information,” she says. “Most forest land is owned by the state, but where it is privately-owned, we establish agreements in advance.”
Effective communication is essential to gaining the consent of the local community, heightening awareness of the purpose of prescribed burns, and ensuring that they are
the public via local radio and media,” says Carlsson. The insights gained over the course of the project will also be shared in a set of best practice guidelines, which Folkesson believes will be invaluable for forest owners required to conduct prescribed burns. “Forest owners know that they need to burn, but quite a few of them feel insecure about how to do it, so these best practice guidelines could be very useful,” he stresses.
