IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute

Here, we hypothesize that the biological, structural and functional attributes of tropical forests respond to water-related climatic and soil nutrient-related factors.

Thus, we quantified 27 forest attributes and 20 environmental factors across 189 plots of Sri Lankan tropical forests. Our results suggest that environmental conditions were characterized by both water-related and temperature-related factors, and as such, both coarse-textured and compacted-structured soils determined soil conditions.

Forest conditions were characterized by high species-functional diversity, structural complexity and aboveground biomass-related functions. We found strong positive effects of water-related climatic factors followed by temperature-related climatic factors but negligible positive to negative effects of textured-related and nutrient-related soil factors on most of the biological, structural and functional attributes.

Overall the biodiversity and carbon stocks of Sri Lankan tropical forests are likely to increase with water-energy balance and improved soil conditions, and thus, studied forests could offset a substantial quantity of anthropogenic carbon emissions to achieve carbon neutrality which can have both regional and global significance if protected from anthropogenic disturbances. 

Forest plays a vital role in the global biogeochemical cycles through a high rate of carbon sequestration and harboring biodiversity. However, local species diversity is declining while also becoming increasingly homogenized across communities. Although effects of local biotic processes (e.g., species α-diversity and stand structural heterogeneity) and environmental factors on aboveground biomass (AGB) have been widely tested, there is a huge knowledge gap for the effect of regional biotic processes (i.e., taxonomic and functional β-diversity) in forests. Here, we hypothesized that regional and local environmental factors along with biotic processes jointly regulate AGB through species shifts in tropical forests.

Using piecewise structural equation modeling (pSEM), we linked climatic water availability, soil fertility, stand structural heterogeneity (either tree DBH inequality, height inequality, or stand density), species α-diversity, taxonomic or functional β-diversity (and its two components; β-turnover and β-richness), and AGB across 189 inventory plots in tropical forests of Sri Lanka. Soil fertility and climatic water availability shaped local and regional biotic processes. Stand structural heterogeneity promoted species α-diversity but declined β-diversity (but increased β-taxonomic turnover). Species α-diversity and stand structural heterogeneity promoted AGB whereas taxonomic and functional β-diversity declined (but β-taxonomic turnover increased) AGB.

The relationships of AGB with species α-diversity and β-diversity varied from significant to nonsignificant positive depending on the specific combinations of stand structural heterogeneity metrics used. This study shows that local biotic processes could increase AGB due to the local and regional niche complementarity effect whereas the regional biotic processes could restrict AGB due to the regional selection or functional redundancy effect under favorable environmental conditions. We argue that biotic homogenization, as well as drought conditions, may have strong divergent impacts on forest functions and that the impacts of tree diversity loss may greatly reduce carbon sequestration.

In this study, we used the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Models (PLS-SEMs), and other complementary analyses, on data from 189 tropical forest plots in Sri Lanka, to test the linkages amongst climate, soil, plot conditions, big-sized trees, species-functional diversity, and abiotic and biotic effects on individual biomass variability (BioVar). This study suggests that individual tree biomass variability (i.e., BioVar) should be considered for managing natural tropical forests in the context of the plant-plant interactions for species coexistence.

This report constitutes the overall documentation of the data available in the visualization tool BioMapp with regards to various industrial processes. The forest industrial processes described in the report are based on a generally accepted inventory methodology to describe the environmental impact of forest-based products and other sustainability indicators in a life cycle perspective. The system analysis tool used in the project is life cycle analysis (LCA) in the way it is applied in environmental product declarations (EPD).These inventory data are representative in the type of processes and environmental impact that are relevant to Swedish conditions. However, it has not been possible within the framework of the project to make complete industry summaries.

IVL bidrar med metodutveckling och inventering för analys av olika hållbarhetsindikatorer i projektet Mistra Digital Forest. Denna rapport beskriver det inledande arbetet i Task 3.1. Vi beskriver här en konceptuell metodik för att kunna inkludera flera hållbarhetsteman i livscykelbaserade systemanalysmetoder. En speciell utmaning kopplat till skogsprodukter är att inkludera biologisk mångfald i skogsbruk , så att åtgärder som ger upphov till förbättrat också fås med i bedömningsunderlaget.

By 2045 at the latest, Sweden climate goal is that there we will not contribute with any net emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and this requires that we also must be able to build climate-neutral buildings in the future. Malmö wants to be a forerunner, and in the initiative local roadmap Malmö 2030 (LFM30) aims to be climate neutral already by 2030. The built environment today accounts for about one fifth of Sweden's total climate impact. In order to achieve climate-neutral buildings, 'genuine' negative emissions are important, i.e. measures that actually reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the air and not just avoid emissions.

One way we already now can create negative climate emissions directly in the construction phase is to work with biogenic carbon sinks. We can do this, for example, by using bio-based materials such as biochar that are used, for example, in concrete or in a plant bed or in the soil as a pure sink. Other options include building with wood or other renewable materials. In this report, we develope supporting data so that the orders of magnitude of these sinks can be assessed. We have done this by developing a methodological approach based on accounting LCA that is compatible with the methodology already applied in LFM30 to calculate the significance of the wood built into a building (Erlandsson 2020). According to this methodological approach, the carbon balance of the forest is analyzed at the landscape level. For planted plants, therefore, by analogy, the carbon that is stored on average during the analysis period in the plantings made including the supplement from biochar is calculated. For individual urban trees, the methodology has been developed to take into account that the trees grow, creating a biogenic carbon sink, which extends over the 50 years of the analysis period.

The methodology means that what is tied into each analysis period can be credited to the project's climate budget. In this way, no double accounting occurs while the benefit of preserving large trees in the built environment is strengthened.The report contains key figures and examples to enable a more uniform calculation so that the person who will make calculations in the future, in the absence of specific supporting data, can make the same assumption. We have also given a calculation example that shows that an apartment building made of solid wood that meets the target limit values set in LFM30 can, by planning plants and including biochar in the plant beds, already today – with products that can be bought – achieve a climate-neutral building. In this case, the climate impact of the construction phase is fully compensated by negative emissions in the form of biogenic carbon sinks.

Klimatforskningen talar sitt tydliga språk: Desnabba klimatförändringar vi redan idag upplever,innebär nya utmaningar men också möjlighetertill omställning av hur vi utvecklar och förvaltarvår byggda miljö. Med denna vägledning villvi rusta bostadsföretag för denna framtid, därklimatanpassning av bostadsbeståndet inte är ettalternativ utan en nödvändighet.Det ligger ett stort arbete bakom denna vägledningmen mycket arbete återstår och vägledningengör inte anspråk på att vara något heltäckandeuppslagsverk, utan förhoppningsvis snarare ettinspirerande och kortfattat första insteg i hur vikan komma igång med konkreta åtgärder.

Arbetet har varit en process av nära samarbetemellan människor och organisationer medolika perspektiv och kompetenser. Projektet harsamfinansierats av Stiftelsen Institutet för VattenochLuftvårdsforskning (SIVL) och SverigesAllmännytta. Vi har också haft förmånen att hamed oss fem allmännyttiga bostadsbolag, MKB,Nybo, Mimer, Vätterhem och Östersundshem, pådenna resa, som bidragit med sitt engagemanggenom bland annat fallstudier, diskussioner ochdelande av tidigare erfarenheter. Företagensdeltagande har lett till att den teoretiska grundsom presenteras i vägledningen är förankrad i denverklighet och de utmaningar som de ställs inför.Det har även inneburit att generell kunskap om klimatanpassningsarbetet kunnat exemplifieras och presenteras på ett sätt som går att känna igensig i.Då det är bråttom att agera och frågorna omklimatanpassning av vår byggda miljö ärkomplex har projektet tidigt valt att prioriterade två extremväderhändelser som vi redan nuser drabbar bostäder och boende i allt störreomfattning; skyfall och värmeböljor. Vi har också valt att fokusera på multifunktionella ochnaturbaserade lösningar som bostadsbolagen kanintegrera i sin ordinarie verksamhet.

Genom ökad kunskap om risker och åtgärder,systematiskt arbete, bättre samverkan samt störreförståelse för ekonomiska aspekter kommer ocksåförståelsen för behovet av åtgärder öka, vilket kanskynda på anpassningsarbetet. Vår förhoppningär att vägledningen kommer spridas för att andrabolag, både allmännyttiga och övriga, ska kunnaanvända den.Det har varit vår ambition att skapa en vägledningsom är lättillgänglig, praktisk och som möterbostadsbolagen i de utmaningar de står inför,både nu och i framtiden.

IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute has on the behalf of Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, conducted a review of how Swedish companies work with biodiversity. The purpose of the review was to gain knowledge and identify good examples on how companies can develop their strategic work on biodiversity, and how they can follow up and measure their impacts on biodiversity. An important part of the review has also been to highlight obstacles and success factors for companies’ biodiversity work. The review aims to inspire more companies to work with and follow up biodiversity, and to highlight actions that the business sector can take in order to achieve Sweden’s environmental quality objectives.

Even though this review only includes interviews with nine companies, the results clearly indicate a complexity of measuring and following up companies’ impacts on biodiversity. 

The interviewed companies continuously emphasise the importance of analysing and addressing the impacts on biodiversity throughout the whole value chain. Companies can also use the knowledge, processes and lessons-learned from their climate-related actions to establish strategic work with biodiversity and to create a follow-up framework. Although it is important that biodiversity is discussed alongside climate change as a dual challenge, it is important to be careful with the differences between these two areas.

Data capturing multiple axes of tree size and shape, such as a tree's stem diameter, height and crown size, underpin a wide range of ecological research—from developing and testing theory on forest structure and dynamics, to estimating forest carbon stocks and their uncertainties, and integrating remote sensing imagery into forest monitoring programmes. However, these data can be surprisingly hard to come by, particularly for certain regions of the world and for specific taxonomic groups, posing a real barrier to progress in these fields.

To overcome this challenge, we developed the Tallo database, a collection of 498,838 georeferenced and taxonomically standardized records of individual trees for which stem diameter, height and/or crown radius have been measured. These data were collected at 61,856 globally distributed sites, spanning all major forested and non-forested biomes. The majority of trees in the database are identified to species (88%), and collectively Tallo includes data for 5163 species distributed across 1453 genera and 187 plant families. The database is publicly archived under a CC-BY 4.0 licence and can be access from: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6637599.

To demonstrate its value, here we present three case studies that highlight how the Tallo database can be used to address a range of theoretical and applied questions in ecology—from testing the predictions of metabolic scaling theory, to exploring the limits of tree allometric plasticity along environmental gradients and modelling global variation in maximum attainable tree height. In doing so, we provide a key resource for field ecologists, remote sensing researchers and the modelling community working together to better understand the role that trees play in regulating the terrestrial carbon cycle.

The biogenic and fossil climate impacts that results from forestry were estimated within the productive forests that are owned by the forest company Sveaskog, in different parts of Sweden. These results were compared with the results from corresponding calculations made for all productive forests that are present in the same parts of Sweden. The calculations showed a biogenic uptake of CO2 to the forest ecosystems in the productive forests owned by Sveaskog in all parts of Sweden. The estimated area based net uptake of CO2 was higher for the productive forests owned by Sveaskog, compared the estimated values for all productive forests present for all different parts of Sweden, except south Norrland. The estimated, area based emissions of fossil GHG were somewhat lower in the productive forests of Sveaskog, as compared to the corresponding estimates for all productive forests in the different parts of Sweden, except for south Norrland.

This report is part of the Nordic Sustainable Construction project, which falls under the Nordic Sustainable Construction program launched by the Nordic Ministers for Construction and Housing and funded by Nordic Innovation. 

Here we present findings from an analysis of carbon stocks and carbon sinks of individual trees of different species within urban areas in Göteborg, Umeå and Malmö. The estimates are for total tree biomass, including below ground biomass. The original data were collected through the “i-Tree Sweden” project and are sampled during the year 2018. Values for tree growth and tree carbon sinks were calculated using the software application “i-Tree Eco v6”. 

Inom forskningsprogrammet Mistra Digital Forest (MDF) utvecklas metoder för att med ett hållbarhetsperspektiv beskriva och visualisera alternativa, framtida scenarier för produktion och användning av skogsråvara, för dagens och framtidens skogsbruk. Utveckling av metodik för att tillämpa indikatorer för hållbarhet för svensk skoglig sektor utgör en viktig verksamhet. I denna rapport redovisas argument för behovet av en nationell samverkan mellan intressenter i det svenska samhället vad gäller metodik för bedömningar och målsättningar för hållbarhet för framtida utveckling inom svensk skoglig sektor.

Vi föreslår att det nationella skogsprogrammet, med ett tilläggsuppdrag och utformat med inspiration från andra framgångsrika arenor, till exempel Luftkonventionen, och lett av en oberoende nationell samordnare, skulle kunna härbärgera en nationell arena för dialoger kring samverkan om utveckling av beräkningsmetoder samt definitioner av indikatorer för hållbarhet för svensk skoglig sektor, med en bred förankring i det svenska samhället.

Rapporten har tagits fram inom forskningsprogrammet Mistra Digital Forest som leds av Skogsindustrierna. IVL deltar i programmet, i samarbete med SLU och Skogforsk, med att beskriva alternativa, framtida scenarier för produktion och användning av skogsråvara, för dagens och framtidens skogsbruk, i ett hållbarhetsperspektiv, främst baserat på visualiseringsverktyget BioMapp Framtagning av metodik för att beräkna hållbarhetsindikatorer för svensk skoglig sektor utgör en viktig verksamhet.

Metoder har tagits fram för att beräkna fyra olika typer av hållbarhetsindikatorer:

1. Påverkan på biologisk mångfald                                                                            2. Påverkan på klimat, uppdelat på fossilt och biogent ursprung                                  3. Sociala aspekter, såsom skogens rekreationsvärden                                                  4. Ekonomiska aspekter, såsom antal arbetstillfällen, skogsbrukarens ekonomiska intäkter, samt nationalekonomiska aspekter.

Dessa vitt skilda hållbarhetsindikatorer behöver kunna jämföras och vägas mot varandra. Metodik beskrivs för att överföra indikatorerna till en jämförbar, relativ skala, baserat på referensscenarier. Indikatorerna behöver också kunna knytas till storleken på arealen som används för produktion av skogsråvara samt hur mycket skogsråvara som produceras på denna areal.

Tropical forests play a main role in the global carbon cycle due to their higher exchange capacity of carbon dioxide with the atmosphere than any other forest type on the Earth. In this study, we aimed to explore the relative importance of foremost species and topmost trees in shaping forest structure, diversity and biomass in natural tropical forests. We hypothesized that topmost trees promote but foremost species decline tropical forest structure, diversity and biomass in a changing environment (i.e. the ‘tree overtopping hypothesis’). We formulated three questions to address the proposed hypothesis: (1) Are forest structure, diversity and biomass affected by both foremost species and topmost trees, and what is the magnitude and direction of each relative effect? (2) Are foremost species and topmost trees influenced similarly by multiple environmental factors? (3) How do foremost species and topmost trees mediate the feedbacks of forest structure, diversity and biomass to environmental factors? Using 189 plots data from Sri Lanka, we quantified 16 environmental (9 climate and 7 soil) factors, two indices of the topmost trees (i.e. top 1% large-diameter, and tall-stature) and their combination, four indices of foremost species (i.e. top 1% species' importance value index or each of its three components including either relative basal area, relative frequency or relative density), rarefied species richness, and stand density. We used structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypothesis. Strong positive effects of topmost trees whereas negative to negligible positive effects of foremost species shaped tropical forest structure, diversity and biomass through opposing mechanisms, i.e., the promoting part of big trees and suppressing part of dominant species, respectively. Moreover, forest structure promoted biomass directly and indirectly via forest diversity. Environmental factors (i.e. high climatic water and low soil fertility) increased forest structure, diversity and biomass indirectly via topmost trees but decreased via foremost species. The main novelty or contribution of this study determines that the adverse effects of few foremost (i.e. dominant or abundant) species shaped forest structure, diversity and biomass in tropical forests when simultaneously considered the positive effects of topmost trees. Hence, encouraging topmost trees while managing foremost species might necessarily increase complementarity resource-use within a forest community, leading to positive forest diversity – structure – biomass relationships. We argue that both topmost trees and foremost species might have important influences on forest carbon stock in the context of global climate change.

We propose a conceptual approach to assessing biodiversity impacts of forest wood production with a focus on Nordic managed forests at the landscape level.

The suggested method for the specification of business-as-usual or environmental quality objectives baselines encourages forest owners to choose forest management options with properties that are more favorable to biodiversity over time.

Using a BAU baseline approach similar to that used for international climate reporting is a simple but novel approach that makes use of approaches that have already been established.

IVL Svenska Miljöinstitutet har under perioden 2017 till 2021 deltagit i ett Vinnova-finansierat projekt i Malmö, Blue Green City Lab, som är en testbädd för blågröna lösningar. Projektet har bland annat syftat till att utvärdera både etablerade och ännu inte beprövade metoder av naturbaserade lösningar. Testbädden har inte haft en särskild fysisk infrastruktur som bas, utan de blågröna lösningar som ingått i testbädden har varit förlagda hos verkliga behovsägare på olika platser i Malmö stad. Målsättningen har varit att utveckla en testbädd för hållbara blågröna lösningar som kan attrahera tillräcklig finansiering för att kunna klara sig utan stödfinansiering.

I denna rapport sammanfattar vi några av de utvärderingar och lärdomar som IVL gjort inom ramen för testbäddsprojektet. Projektet Blue Green City Lab har gett ökad kunskap och nya erfarenheter kring hydrologiska parametrar samt utvärdering av ekosystemtjänster och biologisk mångfald i olika system, platser och stadsmiljöer. Det gäller specifikt användning och utvärdering av verktyg för ekosystemtjänstanalys, utvärdering av vattenförbrukning i växtväggar samt dynamiska dagvattenmodeller. Projektet har gett upphov till nya insikter kring vilka aspekter som behöver följas upp och förbättras för att blågröna lösningar ska utgöra användbara verktyg för att hantera de negativa effekterna av ett förändrat klimat.

Approaches for evaluating integrated sustainability impacts in forest management enable the harmonization of environmental, social, and economic considerations. Here, we presenta methodological framework for quantifying and balancing impacts on widely different aspects of sustainability of different future scenarios for forestry in managed forests in Sweden. The method includes indicators for impacts on climate change, biodiversity, and social and economic values. The indicators were normalized to a standardized scale using reference scenarios and target values.

The proposed method was applied for three different future scenarios for forestry over a 100-year period in two different counties in southern and northern Sweden, respectively. The results show the importance of evaluating indicator performance in forestry across diverse regions of the country and tailoring assessments of individual forest owners to their specific local conditions. Long-term assessments are also crucial due to the varying impacts of indicators over time. The methodologyrequires continuous refinement and can be used as a basis for disclosing the environmental performance of a product based on forest raw materials. It also facilitates the assessment of sustainability in alternative future forestry scenarios and is adaptable to other countries with comparable forestry and forest characteristics.

Denna förstudie ger en överblick över den miljöpåverkan som förväntas ske från utbyggnad av elnät och olika energilagringstekniker i ett framtida energisystem. Rapporten beskriver miljöpåverkan för olika delar av livscykeln, dvs. utvinning av råvaror, tillverkning, anläggning, drift och underhåll samt kvittblivning inklusive återanvändning och återvinning.

Rapporten, som är framtagen inom Mistra Digital Forest, visar hur visualiseringsverktyget BioMapp kan användas för att analysera påverkan på olika aspekter av hållbarhet från tänkbara alternativa användningar av skogsråvara längs hela värdekedjan, från skog till produkt.

BioMapp kan förse beslutsfattare med de underlag de behöver för att fatta faktabaserade beslut, för ökad hållbarhet inom svensk skoglig sektor. Rapporten visar exempel på den typ av resultat som kan genereras med BioMapp.