Ieva Jaunslaviete

Latvijas Valsts mežzinātnes institūts "Silava"

Forest plantations, which have a simplified structure and composition, are becoming more frequent, raising concerns regarding their contribution to biological diversity in highly managed landscapes. The biological value of a stand has been related to stand age, although stand properties, which are often intercorrelated with it, yet are manageable,...

The projected northwards shift in the distribution suggests an expansion of European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) into the Baltics and an increase of its commercial potential there. Furthermore, recent studies have shown good long-term survival of underplanted, yet non-rereleased beech under the presumedly limiting climate of the eastern part of Latv...

While numerous studies have focused on analyzing various aspects of the carbon (C) budget in forests, there appears to be a lack of comprehensive assessments specifically addressing the impact of stem rot on the C budget of broadleaf tree species, especially in old-growth forests where stem rot is prevalent. One of the main challenges in accurately...

Intensifying forest management and a reduction in the rotation period necessitates the development of intensive biodiversity conservation strategies, such as the triad concept, which aims at ensuring habitat connectivity. Such an approach depends on the relationships between biodiversity components and manageable stand characteristics. Mostly, the...

Birch (Betula pendula Roth, Betula pubescens Ehrh.) and European aspen (Populus tremula L.) stands dominate the deciduous forests of Northern Europe. Due to increasing forest protections, more deciduous stands will reach the old-growth stage. Thus, data on the carbon storage potential in such areas are essential. We aimed to establish a benchmark f...

For the last three decades, the area of old-growth forest stands in Europe has continued to increase as has their importance in achieving forest-related policy goals. This has triggered an increase in research interest in old-growth forests, both from climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection perspectives. However, carbon stock in old-g...

The introduction of species is a tool of climate-smart management to reduce environmental risks on forest productivity, which, however, requires information regarding the climatic sensitivity of trees. The main advantages of successful introductions are improved productivity and low susceptibility to pests and diseases. The latter, however, can be...

Organic soils store a large amount of carbon stock, but they are also a large source of greenhouse gas emissions in a forest. Results of previous studies do not provide whole-country representative data of carbon stock in drained fertile organic soil forests in Europe, as the effects of stand age and dominant tree species are significant. Moreover,...

European aspen deadwood is extensively studied as a habitat for saproxylic species, while less is known of its dynamics and role in carbon sequestration. We studied unmanaged mature (41–60 years), moderately overmature (61–80 years), overmature (81–100 years), and old-growth (101–140 years) and managed mature and moderately overmature aspen stands...

Assessments of carbon storage capacity in different ecosystems is essential to guide the decisions on effective climate change mitigation. In Latvia, 22% of the total forest area are located on peat soils and among them 9%, i.e. 352,650 ha, are classified as naturally wet peatland forests according to the National forest inventory (NFI). Old-growth...

Strong wind is the major natural disturbance in European forests, that periodically causes tremendous damages to forestry. Yet, factors that affect the probability of wind damage for birch ( Roth and Ehrh.), the most common deciduous tree species in hemiboreal forests, are studied scarcely. This study aimed to assess the effects of several tree- an...

Importance of unmanaged forests for biodiversity aspects in unquestionable, while their role in climate change mitigation is still unclear due to the large heterogeneity of these forests in different bioclimatic regions; therefore, requiring data of biomass distribution for their inclusion in national and regional carbon reporting systems. The aim...

The increasing frequency and severity of natural disturbances (e.g., storms and insect outbreaks) due to climate change are expected to reduce the abundance of Norway spruce stands in the European forests. Under such conditions, the assessment of status quo on focusing on survival of Norway spruce stands are essential for the agility of forest mana...

Carbon sequestration is crucial to mitigate climate changes,therefore it is important to have accurate estimates of carbon pools in the forest. So far, data on carbon pools in old-growth forests are very scarce, therefore aim of the study was to assess the carbon pools in old-growth Scots pine stands on organic soil and carbon concentration in dead...

As one of the most abundant tree species in the hemiboreal zone, birch is important from both commercial and biodiversity perspectives. While old-growth deciduous stands are important for biodiversity conservation with an emphasis on deadwood availability, the role that deadwood in these stands plays in carbon sequestration remains unclear. We stud...

Old-growth forests are widely recognised for the benefits they provide for biodiversity; however, a more comprehensive understanding of their role in climate change mitigation must still be established to find the optimal balance between different forest ecosystem services at a national or regional scale. Very few studies have assessed carbon pools...