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In Sweden, an estimated 0.3–0.6 million hectares (1.2–2.4% of the entire Swedish forest area) of forests are voluntary set-asides for nature conservation management (NCM). Even though these areas are crucial in Swedish biodiversity conservation, no analysis has yet been carried out of their conservation values and spatial distribution. The aim of this study was to comprehensively describe areas intended for NCM in Sweden. Based on existing habitat descriptions, six NCM area categories were defined. The occurrence of each category was determined through GIS analysis of a spatially explicit dataset containing information on 26,953 stands (136,672 ha) set aside for NCM. Of the analysed area, 86% met the criteria of at least one category. The most common category was “Old coniferous forests”, which was found to be abundant in northern Sweden, and often the only category met in stands. Out of the remaining five categories, four were more frequent in southern Sweden. In the southern regions, stands often met the criteria of two or three categories simultaneously. This mapping is a resource for further research and development of policies and strategies aimed at increasing the extent and improving the quality of nature conservation management.

Competition for woody biomass between material and energy uses is expected to further increase in the future, due to the limited availability of forest resources and increasing demand of wood for material and bioenergy. Currently, methodological approaches for modeling wood production and delivery costs from forest to industrial gates are missing. This study combines forest engineering, geographically explicit information, environmental constraints and economics in a bottom-up approach to assess cost–supply curves. The estimates are based on a multitude of wood supply systems that were assigned according to geographically explicit forestry characteristics. For each harvesting and transportation system, efficiencies were modeled according to harvesting sites and main delivery hubs. The cost–supply curves for roundwood and logging residues as estimates for current time and for the future (2030) show that there are large regional differences in the potential to increase extraction in the EU28. In most EU Member States, the costs of logging residues extraction increase exponentially already for low levels of mobilization, while extraction of roundwood can be increased to a larger extent within reasonable costs (30–40 $/m3). The large differences between countries in their harvest potential highlight the importance of spatially explicit analyses.

Reindeer husbandry and commercial forestry seek to co-exist in the forests of Northern Sweden. As interwoven as the two industries are, conflicts have arisen. Forest practices have reduced the distribution of lichen, the main winter diet for reindeer. Forest practices have also increased forest density, compromising the animals’ ability to pass through forested areas on their migration routes. In an attempt to reduce impacts on reindeer husbandry, we present a spatially explicit harvest scheduling model that includes reindeer corridors with user-defined spatial characteristics. We illustrate the model in a case study and explore the relationship between timber revenues and the selection and maintenance of reindeer corridors. The corridors are not only to include sufficient lichen habitat, but they are also supposed to ensure access for reindeer by connecting lichen areas with linkages that allow unobstructed travel. Since harvest scheduling occurs over a planning horizon, the spatial configuration of corridors can change from one time period to the next in order to accommodate harvesting activities. Our results suggest that maintaining reindeer corridors in harvest scheduling can be done at minimal cost. Also, we conclude that including corridor constraints in the harvest scheduling model is critical to guarantee connectivity of reindeer pastures.