How to balance forestry and biodiversity conservation – A view across Europe
Christinehof-Högestad Estate – a case from Scania in southern Sweden
A. Ekstrand
Forest manager, Christinehof-Högestad, Sweden
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< Fig. C 11.1. Attractive landscape with a mix of grazed areas and forests of Christinehof-Högestad in the background (Photo: Anders Ekstrand).
History and background
The Christinehof-Högestad Estate is situated in the very southeastern corner of the Scandinavian pen- insula. Most of Sweden belongs to the northern boreal zone, but southern Sweden is part of the
middle European temperate broadleaf zone where oak- (Quercus petraea and Q. robur) and beech- (Fagus sylvatica) dominated forests in mixture with other broadleaves are common. Two small rivers (the Fyle and the Verkeån) flow through the estate to the Baltic Sea. Around 50 % of the forests con-
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Sweden
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Table C 11.1. General information of the Christinehof-Högestad enterprise.
Forest community Lowland oak/beech and pine forests of the middle European temper- ate broadleaf zone in south Sweden
Total forest area 7000 ha
Main management system Clearcutting with considerations (according to the Swedish law, a certain amount of the volume must remain for biodiversity – in this case 6 % of the volume); Nature management for biodiversity NS (In management plans I Sweden NS stands for Nature management where the biodiversity needs human intervention (like cattle) to exist;
Compared to NO which is Nature untouched)
Total volume 200 m³/ha
Annual growth 8.5 m³/ha
Annual harvest 7.2 m³
Deadwood In Ecopark 20–40 m³/ha;
In plantation forest 5 m³/ha
Altitude 0–100 m
Ownership Private
Geology Glacial soils from sand to clay
Protected areas Christinehof Ecopark 1000 ha private protected area;
6%, respectively 420 ha of productive forest are FSC certified with a special status
Nature reserves (national) Fyledalen (853 ha); Verekeån (1131 ha)
Statement
“Continuity is key to succesfully adapt and transform forests in order to maintain multiple ecosystem services.”
sists of natural or semi-natural broadleaved forests.
The rest are plantations of Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvatica) in former heathlands, and plantations of short rotation pop- lars (hybrid Populus trichocarpa x balsamifera) and birch (Betula pendula) in former agricultural fields.
The estate has been owned by the Piper family since 1725 when it was bought by Christina Piper (fig. C 11.2). The current owner of the estate is Count Carl Piper. According to the old primogeni- ture laws, the oldest son inherited the whole estate and it could not be sold or divided. This law ends with the current owner. The next generation Anna
and Fredrik Piper are now taking part of the man- agement of the estate.
Before 1725, the estates had been passed through several noble families during the period when the province of Scania belonged to Denmark.
Then in 1658 the province was lost in war to Swe- den. Field Marshall Carl Piper (1647–1716) was cre- ated the first count of the estate in 1698. In 1690 he married Christina Piper, née Torne (1673–1752).
Carl went with King Charles XII to Russia to fight in the Great Northern War and spent his final years as a prisoner-of-war in Russia before he died in 1716.
During his absence and after his death Christina Timber/Biomass
Non-timber products
Erosion
Protection
Biodiversity Recreation
Landscape Climate Groundwater
C 11 Christinehof, Sweden
was a fantastic manager and bought and managed several industrial complexes and estates, including the Christinehof-Högestad Estate. The estate and the beautiful Baroque castle she built are named after her.
Today, the Christinehof-Högestad Estate con- sists today of ca. 13 000 ha of land, of which 7000 ha is productive forest land. This makes the estate the largest privately-owned estate in the province of Scania and the third largest privately-owned estate in Sweden. Forestry is the main economic activity, but agriculture and hunting also contribute to the estate’s revenues.
The Christinehof estate originates in one of the earliest industrial developments in northern Europe. In 1637, Jochum Beck was given a conces- sion by King Christian IV of Denmark to extract
‘alum’ (KAl[SO4]2×12H20) from a deposit of alum slate in Andrarum. Alum was used both for medical purpose but also in the process of gunpowder. It was one of the first chemical industries in Sweden.
The extraction of alum needs huge amounts of fire- wood and Jochum Beck got the right to harvest timber from all forests (ownership of land and trees) within 20 km from the alum factory. I those days oak and beech was the property of the king in
all land. The This is the origin of the land belonging to the estate. One of the oldest forest management plans in northern Europe, from the first half of the seventeenth century, was to provide a permanent flow of wood to the alum factory. So, there is a long tradition of forestry in the area. In 1725, Chris- tina Piper bought the estate and its industries.
Around 1500 m³ of firewood per boiler and year at the Alum factory, was used at full production. This means that most of the annual growth from the forests was used.
One of the more substantial questions at the time was to produce sufficient food for the grow- ing workforce for the industries. In the 1800s, as the workforce grew, a lot of forests where cut to make way for agriculture, like in many parts of Sweden; this agricultural land has often ended up as heathland.
However, the land close to the factories and the manor houses has always been maintained with old-growth oak, lime (Tilia spp.) and beech. There are some large areas that now are nature reserves or part of the private Ecopark that have had contin- uous forest cover. The slopes of the Fyle Valley had continuous beech forest, and other parts, especially around the Christinehof manor house have had Fig. C 11.2. Christinehof castle in Southern Sweden (Photo: Anders Ekstrand).
How to balance forestry and biodiversity conservation – A view across Europe
continuous presence of old-growth oaks for at least 300 years, meaning that there is a very complex biodiversity connected to old hollow oaks, includ- ing the hermit beetle (Osmoderma eremita) and several species of the click beetles (Ampedus spp.).
In total, more than 150 species from the Swedish Red List are found in the area.
Nature conservation
There are several factors that contribute to the high biodiversity of the estate.
Nature reserves
Along the rivers there are two large nature reserves:
(1) Fyledalen (the valley along the Fyle River;
853 ha) is entirely within the estate; and (2) Verkeå
Reserve (the valley along the Verkeån River;
1131 ha) is mostly within the estate. Smaller reserves like the Högestad Bog (79 ha), Ållskog (189 ha) and Vitemölla (20 ha) are also formally protected areas. With respect to the formally pro- tected areas, the estate has been compensated financially from the Swedish state for the loss of income from forestry.
Christinehof Ecopark
On top of this, the Christinehof Ecopark (ca.
1000 ha) is an entirely private project connected to the cultural and natural heritage of the Christine- hof manor house. It is financed by the family, but there is some additional income from tourism. Old- growth trees and deadwood is preserved. Lichens and insects associated with oak are common (fig. C 11.3). Research is conducted in the Ecopark where different projects collect and analyse about habitat and species. A variety of infrastructure is set up in the park and serves as a good example of a collaboration between science and practice (fig.
C 11.4).
Wetlands
When drainage channels in agricultural land have not been maintained, the land is now converted back into wetlands. In one area (Borsta kärr) in the Ecopark, land that had held one generation of Nor- way spruce (Picea abies) has been converted back into wetland. This means that fauna and flora con- nected to wetlands, frogs, birds, and plants are common. The water quality in the two rivers is excellent and trout (Salmo trutta) and salmon (Salmo salar) are common (fig. C 11.5).
Biodiversity
There is a long list of rare species present in the Christinehof-Högestad Estate. The birdlife is espe- cially rich and there are several breeding pairs of golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) (fig. C 11.6). Red kite (Milvus milvus), the Eurasian buzzard (Buteo buteo) and the European honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus) are especially common. At the start of the migra- tion in August up to 16 species of raptors have been observed in one day. Most Swedish frog species and
Fig. C 11.3. Old oak serving as a valuable habitat tree (Photo: Anders Ekstrand).
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Fig. C 11.4. Insect study platform in the Ecopark Christinehof. An infrastructure serving for scientific studies (Photo:
Anders Ekstrand).
Fig. C 11.5. Water quality in the river streams has improved since drained land was transformed back into wetland.
Valuable fish (Salmo trutta and Salmo salar) have reacted with increasing populations (Photo: Anders Ekstrand).
How to balance forestry and biodiversity conservation – A view across Europe
most Swedish bat species are present. The area is also home to many red-listed insects and lichens.
Recreation
The forests are open to public, and there are car parks and hiking trails through the area, often in cooperation with local authorities and Non-gov- ernmental-organisations (NGOs). You are allowed to pick wild berries and mushrooms.
Hunting
The nominate race of red deer (Cervus elaphus) described by Carl von Linnaeus in the eighteenth century was preserved on this estate after poaching had made it almost extinct in other parts of Swe- den. There are very high populations of red deer, fallow deer (Dama dama), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), and also some moose (Alces alces), although the area is at the southern limit of the range for this species. Hunting might be much more important from an economic point of view in the future.
Economy
As a base for forestry there is a forest management plan with stands of single tree species or sometimes
mixed forests. The normal system of regeneration for Norway spruce is clearcutting and planting, and for beech and Scots pine natural regeneration with seed trees. All tree species, without Norway spruce must be fenced to prevent browsing by deer, that reaches high numbers and creates problems for the regeneration.
The forest area is slowly increasing, and the annual growth is bigger than the annual cut. In the planted areas, for each tree cut there are at least 3–5 new ones planted. In the naturally regenerated areas there is even more regeneration.
For the moment, Norway spruce is the most important tree species from an economic point of view, since large plantations were established on heathland and agricultural land 50–70 years ago.
On more fertile soils, monocultures of Norway spruce were planted, and on sandy soils Scots pine was established. These are areas where there is rel- atively low biodiversity since there have been long periods where these areas did not have tree cover.
There is a long-term goal to regenerate a semi-nat- ural forest of oak and some beech–aiming at more than 50 % broadleaved species in the productive forest and therefore substitute unnatural Norway spruce forests to a certain degree. This will take Fig. C 11.6. White tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), a frequent breeder in the forests of Christinehof-Högestad (Photo: Anders Ekstrand).
C 11 Christinehof, Sweden
some time because all broadleaved species must be fenced to protect against browsing by game while young. During the transformation period some aspen, poplars and hybrid larch (Larix decidua x kaempferi) will be used as quick growing crops to give an even annual return.
About 45 000–55 000 m³ are cut every year, and the annual turnover is around € 2 500 000 and the net profit is around € 1 000 000. Between 5 and 7 people are employed full-time in forestry, and most clearcuttings are made using local contractors.
The most value is produced from the oak tim- ber. The highest volumes of timber are from beech (for export) and spruce (for local sawmills). Pulp- wood for paper and textile are stable products, and wood for bioenergy is a growing market.
All forests are certified according to Swedish rules for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certifica- tion).
Strengths and weaknesses
Stable ownership has meant that consistent forest management has been possible. The estate has long-term and well-educated staff. These factors guarantee continuity on all levels. Close connec- tions to the local communities are important and promote local identification with the forest man- agement. The area is popular among tourists and the number of visitors is steadily increasing. This is a good development since it means that activities in nature are gaining importance in society, how- ever, high levels of tourism might to disturbances and overuse of the area.
Most areas (especially oak stands and wetlands) need active management – e.g. in order to achieve good regeneration in oak stands, grazing by cattle is required at appropriate times to create suitable conditions for acorns to germinate and oak seed- lings to grow. This maintains biodiversity values that are depending on such management approaches.
The future for the estate looks positive; a pro- cess to ecologically restore areas used for agricul- ture has begun, and the next generation of owners are taking part in the leadership and management of the area.
