Saproxylic beetles on aspen in commercial forests: a simulation approach to species richness

Abstract European aspen is important in boreal forests because of its rich fauna and flora. In Finnish commercial forests, however, aspen stems—especially large ones—are rare. Alternatives to aspen in managed forests were studied with a decision-support system where biodiversity was assessed according to the number of beetle species. The results showed that large aspen stems maintain the richness of beetle species in a forest. Such stems appear in commercial forests if green-retention trees remain after regeneration cutting.