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Appendix I:
Definitions Used for Old-growth Forest

Russian Definition Used for Old-growth Forest

"Old-growth forests are forests originated through natural successions, unaffected by destructive human impact over a significant period of time and having the area sufficient for self-maintenance in the absence of catastrophic disturbances."

The following human-induced impacts were considered as significant in this study:

• clearcutting (including land clearance for agricultural purposes) or highly intensive selective logging;
• large scale human-induced fires;
• land reclamation in forests or other human-induced changes of hydrological regime;
• chemical tapping of coniferous forests;
• intensive and regular application of chemicals such as pesticides, herbicide, fertilizers, etc.;
• severe industrial pollution;
• intensive grazing in the forests that resulted in degradation of forest understory and the grass cover;
• and intensive recreation in the forests that resulted in degradation of forest understory and the grass cover, etc.

Under a significant period of time we understand the time sufficient for restoring the forest ecosystem characteristics corresponding to those of the primeval forests for a particular forest type under particular climate and soil conditions.

Fennoscandian Definition Used for Old-growth Forest

"Old-growth forests are characterized by stands originating through natural successions with a significant contribution of old trees and dead wood, often with a multi-layered tree structure. These forest contain globally, regionally or nationally significant concentrations of biodiversity values (e.g., endemism, endangered or threatened species, endangered or threatened ecosystems, refugia), or are large landscape level forests, where viable populations of most if not all naturally occurring species exist in natural patterns of distribution and abundance."

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