Abstract
The populations of many boreal forest species have declined dramatically in landscapes dominated by forestry. Anthropogenic climate change may further reduce their abundance. The long-term survival of these forestry-sensitive species is affected by factors in the forest landscapes, but also by the properties of the species themselves. In this project I will assess the colonization ability of forestry-sensitive species. During climate change, high colonizing ability is essential to be able to establish new populations in sites that have become climatically suitable compensating for the loss in sites that have become unsuitable. Colonization is also crucial to cope with forest fragmentation and the shifting mosaic of a landscape dominated by forestry. The groups included represents a high proportion of all species negatively affected by forestry: fungi, lichens, liverworts, and mosses. Colonizing ability of forestry-sensitive species in these groups will be inferred from their patterns of occupancy on young forested islands in a land uplift archipelago. Species occurring on young, small and isolated islands will have better chances to survive in the long term despite all the challenges. In contrast, species occurring only on the mainland and on old, non-isolated and large islands may need active help to disperse and establish new populations. Departing from these results I will test a number of hypotheses about how characters of species promote colonizing ability.
Sweden