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First version of illustrated
manuals compiled
Two manuals
were produced during the winter and spring 2007. One manual covers
survey
method and its background and logic, the second covers species
recommended for
use as indicators for biologically valuable forests in the Novgorod, Pskov, Leningrad regions and the Republic of Karelia. The manuals and method will be
evaluated and updated final versions will be prepared in 2008.
Therefore all
comments and proposals for improvement are welcome.
The manual
on survey method comprises 170 richly illustrated pages covering all
aspects of
the survey method. The main authors of the manual are Leif Andersson
and
Nadia Alexeeva together with experts from Silver Taiga Foundation,
Syktyvkar
(boreal dynamics) – Alexander Mariev and Dmitry Kutepov – and expert
from St.
Petersburg State Forest Technical Academy and St.
Petersburg State University – Vasily Neshatayev (forest type
classification).
The species
identification manual comprises 242 pages covering ca 80 species of
vascular
plants, ca 80 species of bryophytes and the same number of lichens, ca
120
fungi, 10 wood-inhabiting beetles, 20 molluscs and 1 mammal (flying
squirrel).
All the species are illustrated by one or two high class photos. Thirty-three
photographers
from Sweden, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have contributed the
photos. The authors of the species manual
were Galina Konechnaya – Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian
Academy of
Science (RAS), St. Petersburg / St. Petersburg State University
(vascular
plants), Ljubov Kurbatova – Komarov Botanical Institute of RAS
(mosses), Alexey
Potemkin – Komarov Botanical Institute of RAS (liverworts), Ekaterina
Kuznetsova and Dmitry Himelbrant – St. Petersburg State University
(lichens),
Ivan Zmitrovich – Komarov Botanical Institute of RAS (fungi,
Aphyllophorales),
Olga Morozova – Komarov Botanical Institute of RAS (fungi, Agaricales
and
Gasteromycetes), Eugene Popov - Komarov Botanical Institute of RAS
(fungi,
Ascomycetes), Vera Kotkova – Komarov Botanical Institute of RAS (fungi,
Aphyllophorales, Telephoraceae), Vera Malysheva - Komarov Botanical
Institute
of RAS (Clavarioid fungi), Leif Andersson (beetles and flying
squirrel), Rita
Zakaite
and Grita
Skujiene – University of Vilnius, Lithuania (molluscs). The
editors of
the manual were Leif Andersson and Nadia Alexeeva.
The manuals
were printed out in a limited number of copies in high quality colour
laser printer
for the project participants, authors and course participants.
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Survey manual.
Indicator species identification manual.
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Training of surveyors, survey
leaders,
foresters and biologists
During the
spring and early summer of 2007, 55 persons have been trained in survey
method
and identification of indicator species. The main course material were
the two
manuals. Two courses were given on each place in Kurgalsky-Kotelsky-Oak
Groves Near the
Village of Velkota regional nature reserves and in Vepssky Les nature
park, Leningrad region. The first courses held in
April were focused on nemoral forest types, elements and species whilst
the
courses in Vepssky Les held in June were focused on aspects in middle
boreal
zone. The course was certified by St. Petersburg State University, Faculty of Biology and Soil.
Course
leaders were the project leaders Leif Andersson and Nadia
Alexeeva, and experts from Silver
Taiga Foundation –
Dimitry Kutepov, Alexander Mariev and
Evgeni Poroshin, experts on nemoral ecology from Centre for Problems of
Ecology
and Productivity of Forests of RAS, Moscow and Institute
of Physicochemical and Biological
Problems of Soil Science of RAS, Moscow – Olga
Smirnova and Maxim Bobrovsky, expert on satellite
image analysis and
processing from NGO Transparent World, Moscow – Natalja Kuksina and
finally
species experts from Komarov Botanical Institute of RAS and
St. Petersburg State University – Galina Konechnaya,
Anna Doronina, Ljubov Kurbatova, Elena
Kushnevskaja,
Dmitry Himelbrant, Ekaterina Kuznetsova, Vera
Kotkova and Ivan Zmitrovich. Daniel Thorell (Swedish Forest Agency, Sweden) also assisted in the courses.
Participants
were biologists from various NGO’s in Northwest Russia and Moscow (WWF,
Greenpeace, Transparent World, Silver Taiga Foundation, SPOK, Baltic
Fund for
Nature, Lenoblpriroda Fund), biologists from universities and scientific
institutions in St. Petersburg
and Moscow, foresters from St. Petersburg Forestry Research Institute
and St.
Petersburg State Forest Technical Academy, foresters and biologists
from a
number of protected areas in northwest Russia (Valdayski National Park,
Kenozerski National Park, Sebezhski National Park, Russki Sever
National Park,
Vepssky Les Nature Park and Kurgalsky regional nature reserve) and
consultants
in forestry and nature conservation (Green Forest Fund,
Neftegazgeodeziya Ltd).
Swedwood Karelia Ltd and Swedwood Tikhvin Ltd have
trained their specialists in the survey
method developed within the framework of the project
Swedwood
group is a daughter company to IKEA, which is the biggest buyer of sawn
wood in
the world (0.7 % of the total world production). Swedwood enterprises
in Russia have registered enterprises for deep
wood processing with an aim of furniture production. To provide wood
for own
production Swedwood leases forests in the Leningrad region and in the Republic of Karelia and purchases wood from external
suppliers. IKEA has in different ways demonstrated its intention to be
leading
in the environment sector and in the work for a sustainable use of
resources,
including forest ones. In the
late 1990-ties, the company supported
the elaboration of the national Swedish FSC-standard, which was then
the first
national standard in the world. IKEA has also financially supported
environmental
organisations in their work as well as applied and supported the
FSC-certification.
Forestry management and the chain of custody of Swedwood in the Leningrad region and the Republic of Karelia are also certified according to the
FSC standard.
One of the
demands in the FSC certification is that the company has to demonstrate
within
reasonable time the areas set aside for biodiversity.
Discussions
concerning the areas to
be left untouched for biodiversity preservation were conducted with
environmental non-governmental organizations (Greenpeace Russia, WWF Russia, regional public organization
SPOK, Petrozavodsk) and with state authorities in charge of
forest use. During these discussions, issues of investigating
territories with
potentially high biodiversity and use of scientific methods of
assessing and
mapping biologically valuable forest areas were raised.
Representatives
of Swedwood Russia applied to the management of the
Russian-Swedish project "Development
and application of survey methodologies for biologically valuable
forests south
of the taiga" for permission to use the methodology on their own leased
areas and to train the company’s specialists in the summer of 2007
within the
framework of the joint project.
As a result,
foresters from Swedwood and representatives from the leshozes where the
enterprises lease forest as well as a representative of SPOK were
trained in
the survey method developed in this project. The courses for Swedwood
were
arranged in June in Vepssky Les nature park, (the Leningrad region) and in July in Kalevala-Voinitsa
area, the Republic of Karelia. Currently Swedwood specialists, on their own,
are executing testing researches on identification of biologically
valuable
forests leased on the territories of the Republic of Karelia and the Leningrad region to assess all leased area in
the future.
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Field training in filling in the survey field
form.
The project leaders Leif Andersson and Nadia Alexeeva together with
Daniel Thorell, Swedish Forest Agency giving a field lecture.
The spring and early summer 2007 were very
favourable for the frutification of fungi. Many interesting fungi could
be demonstrated - as on the photo Sarcosoma globosum.
Lichenologist Ekaterina Kuznetsova
(Saint-Petersburg State University) is
demonstrating lichens on a spruce.
Mycologist Anna Roukalainen (Karelian
Research Center of RAS) demonstrates
wood-inhabiting fungi on a log for Swedwood and leshoz staff.
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