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In this article, we discuss cooperative networks for forest conservation from the viewpoint of deliberation. We ask how deliberative processes are produced and what predicts deliberation in the cooperative networks for forest conservation that have been established for policy implementation as a part of the Finnish forest biodiversity programme METSO. We base our argument on both qualitative and quantitative material. In the qualitative study, we present two cooperative networks for forest biodiversity conservation in Finland. The results show that clear leadership, active and determined work for common goals and openness to actively engage new actors assist in creating deliberative processes in cooperative networks. In the quantitative study, we explore the perceptions of implementers of METSO programme about the prerequisites for achievement in deliberation. The results of a quantitative study support those of a qualitative one: involving new forest owner groups and including conservation-biological knowledge were connected to perceived achievement. Based on the findings, we argue that in order to become as deliberative and empowering a programme as it has potential for, METSO needs to expose its actions to a broader public, critique and debate, involve new collaborators actively and support integration of various types of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal conservation contracts are used to protect biodiversity in privately owned lands worldwide. We examine how stand characteristics and habitat requirements of target species affect the contract length in a boreal forest context. We develop an integrated optimization model and apply the model with data on endangered species occurring in spruce forests in Finland. The results suggest that a cost-effective conservation policy for protecting privately owned forest land involves both short- and long-term contracts between landowners and environmental agencies. The higher the conservation objective, the more intensively long-term contracts should be assigned. Managed stands should be assigned short-term contracts. Regarding unmanaged stands both short- and long‐term contracts should be used. However, species habitat requirements affect the results and thus the conservation policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper estimates and compares the costs incurred to a private landowner from establishing and managing 25-m wide biodiversity zones on field and forest margins in southern Finland. Crop and timber prices being at their long-term averages, current agricultural support paid and the real discount rate 3%, the average annual net costs per hectare of field and forest biodiversity zones were €30 ha−1 and €108 ha−1, respectively, the field zones being the less costly alternative in 95% of cases. This result is mainly due to the poor productivity of field cultivation relative to timber production under boreal climate conditions. In addition to soil quality, the initial stand structure affects the costs of both biodiversity zone types. It is less costly for a landowner to establish biodiversity zones in forests where no final felling is imminent but which already contain some tree volume. In field biodiversity zones, costs are slightly lower on fields where forest shading is great. Uneven-aged management practiced in forest biodiversity zones was found to lead to a 3–32% reduction in the net present value of forest land compared to conventional forest management. An increase in the real discount rate increases the relative efficiency of forest biodiversity zones. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Green-tree retention is a relatively new forestry application, which aims at decreasing the negative effects of clear-cut logging on forest biodiversity. In this study, the value of retained aspens in maintaining diverse assemblages of wood-decaying fungi (polypores; Basidiomycota) on clearcuts was investigated, after the retention trees had died, fallen and started to decay. A total of 110 fallen aspen trunks were investigated on clear-cuts and within old-growth forests in eastern Finland, southern boreal zone; and 499 records of polypores belonging to 46 species were made. The intermediately decayed trunks on a clear-cut area hosted more species and more red-listed species than did trunks within forests. Most of the polypore species with more than two records were found in both habitats. These results suggest that many aspen-associated polypores are able to live and reproduce in sun-exposed habitats, if the quality and quantity of dead wood fulfill the species-specific requirements. This unexpected result, however, may be partly due to the exceptionally great abundance of aspen in the study area. Furthermore, in the long term, the local benefits of fallen retention trees can be limited, unless the local continuity of large aspens, both living and dead, is ensured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate processes through which organizations engaged in natural resource management pursue conservation innovations—that is, create capabilities that allow them to produce new goods and services or produce goods and services in ways that reduce environmental degradation. Through an accounting of organizational competencies, we conduct an exploratory analysis of investments Finnish forest management service providers—public agencies, private firms, and civil society actors—have made to address demand for biodiversity conservation. From the perspective of theory and method, our pilot study points to opportunities to test, and perhaps advance, hypothesized tendencies toward environmental improvement through assessment of material practices and organizational strategies. This materialist approach is applicable to analysis at the level of organizations, sectors and territories. From an empirical perspective, the research highlights the contemporary coevolution of incentives and patterns of organizational behavior in Finnish forestry in response to social demand for biodiversity conservation and multifunctional landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]