Intensifying forestry in NW Russia?

Inspired by Fennoscandian forestry, current Russian forest policy advocates intensification to reach higher sustained yields of wood as a base of economic growth. This requires knowledge about the consequences of regional forest histories, about the biological opportunities for tree growth, and about society. Focusing on a regional logging frontier in the Komi Republic in NW Russia we studied the history of wood use in terms of landscape changes, actors and their ideology. Past wood mining resulted in large areas of unmanaged young and middle-aged forests dominated by birch and aspen, and remnants of remotely located older spruce forests. To understand if biological conditions in NW Russia limit tree growth, we compared tree growth rates of young Scots pine and Norway spruce trees at different site types and latitudes in NW Russia and Sweden. While there was no difference in growth rate of young Scots pine between countries, Norway spruce grew more slowly in NW Russia. However, it was difficult to find young spruce trees growing freely without competition. Spatial planning is needed to segregate intensified wood production and forest management that also benefits rural development and biodiversity conservation. Ultimately, to succeed with intensification in the context of sustainable forest management also economy and society must be studied