Close-to-nature forestry aims to emulate natural processes in forest management, a concept particularly relevant in boreal forests, where large-scale disturbances such as wildfires and insect outbreaks have played a crucial role in shaping ecosystems over time. From this perspective, modern forestry practices often constitute a far smaller disturbance than those occurring naturally.
Forest ecologist and researcher Dan Binkley, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability at Colorado State University, has studied how these dramatic events have shaped boreal ecosystems—and what implications they may have for current and future forest management practices. The results of Dan Binkley’s research are presented in the article Assmann review: spatial ecology of rotational and continuous cover forestry in boreal landscapes published in the European Journal of Forest Research, January 6, 2025.
In our film, Dan Binkley himself explains how boreal forests have been shaped by natural disturbances and what close-to-nature forestry might look like in practice. The film addresses the same topics covered in the article and provides a brief introduction to the research that can give an increased understanding of the processes that have shaped today’s boreal forest landscape.
See also the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry’s report, based on Dan Binkley’s research, which outlines the fundamental ways large disturbances affect boreal forests. For those interested in exploring the topic further, there is also a recorded lecture in which Dan Binkley and other experts discuss these issues.
