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4.3 Biodiversity

Table 1 above gave statistics quantifying the change of the natural systems of the forest by industrial forestry. Another indicator for this change or disruption is the biodiversity crisis observed in the European boreal forests. The boreal forests are an important source of biodiversity in the world. The species included in the red data lists of the European boreal countries includes a large portion of forest-dwelling species.

Table 2. Red listed species in Fennoscandia

	Red Listed Species	Forest-dwelling Red Listed Species1	Percentage
Sweden	3501	1948	56%
Finland	1692	727	43%
Norway	3062	1405	46%

¹ It is difficult to come up with an exact number due to different
definitions of forest-dwelling species and forest dependent species,
as well as, the complexity of the natural variables necessary to
support species. This table is meant to serve as a reference point for
the reader on the proportion of forest species endangered.

Table 2 presents statistical data showing the number of forest-dwelling species on the red list of endangered species in the countries of Fennoscandia. In Norway the official red data list presented in 1998 includes 3062 species, of which 1405 (46%) are classified as forest species (Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management 1998). In Sweden there are 3501 red listed species, of which about 1948 (56%) can be said to be forest-dwelling (Artdatabanken 2000 and SSNC 2000b). In Finland there are 1692 red listed species. The large portion of them, 727 species (43%), live in the forest. Forestry practices are the primary cause for species being threatened (Committee for the Monitoring of Threatened Animals and Plants in Finland 1991).

The total number of species listed in the red data lists in Northern European Russia is presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Red listed species in Northern European Russia

	Northern European Russia1	Arkhangelsk Oblast2	Komi Republic3	Karelia Republic	Murmansk Oblast3
Total number of species
Vertebrates	530	400	248	399	350
Higher plants	1900	1300	1160	1200	1270
Number of red listed species
Vertebrates	N/a	70	24	187	30
Lichens	N/a	N/a	N/a	N/a	6
Higher plants	N/a	215	135	205	88

¹ includes Arkhangelsk Oblast, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Komi Republic,
   Karelia Republic, and Murmansk Oblast;
² includes Nenets Autonomous Okrug;
³ regions' Red Data Books are unofficial.

The figures presented in the table above do not fully represent the true situation. The numbers of endangered species are low because of insufficient knowledge of the diversity of arthropods and some groups of plants such as mosses and lichens. A good example of this is the relatively low number of species listed for Komi despite the fact that part of its area lies in the species rich Urals region.

Despite these figures for Russia, many species listed as endangered in Sweden and Finland still exist in viable population in Northern European Russia. When looking at the area as a whole, the Russian forests serve as a mainland providing a continuous supply of some old-growth forest specialist species living in the small islands of fragmented Finnish old-growth forest (Ovaskainen et al. 1999).

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