Action

Restore wood pastures (e.g. introducing grazing)

How is the evidence assessed?
  • Effectiveness
    65%
  • Certainty
    25%
  • Harms
    0%

Study locations

Key messages

  • One replicated paired study in Sweden found that partial harvesting in abandoned wood pastures increased tree seedling density, survival and growth.

 

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

  1. A replicated, paired sites, study in 2002–2005 in 25 abandoned wood pastures in southern Sweden (1) found that abandoned oak Quercus spp. wood pastures, subject to partial harvesting had higher oak seedling density, survival and growth than unharvested abandoned wood pastures. Oak seedling density (harvested: 11,600; unharvested: 3,900 seedlings/ha), survival (harvested: 66%; unharvested: 44%) and growth (harvested: +2.8 cm; unharvested: -0.8 cm) were higher in harvested compared to unharvested plots. In each of 25 sites (all former wood pastures, abandoned 50–80 years earlier), two 1 ha plots were established. In one of the two plots 26% of the tree basal area was removed during 2002–2003 (all large oaks were retained), whereas the other plot was left unharvested. The number, survival (based on 15 plots) and growth (based on 13 plots) of oak seedlings was recorded using two 100 m transects/plot, containing four subplots (1 × 5 m or 1 × 10 m) each.

    Study and other actions tested
Please cite as:

Agra, H., Schowanek, S., Carmel, Y., Smith, R.K. & Ne’eman, G. (2020) Forest Conservation. Pages 323-366 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

 

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

Forest Conservation

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Forest Conservation
Forest Conservation

Forest Conservation - Published 2016

Forest synopsis

What Works 2021 cover

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