ABSTRACT
Forests of boreal Fennoscandia (Finland, Sweden and Norway) have probably been under the most long-lasting and profound human influence within the circumboreal zone. During the past centuries, forest uses have taken many forms. As a consequence, in many areas natural forests were already removed or significantly modified, long before modern forestry commenced. However, some northern and high-altitude regions still contain significant proportions of pristine forests. In Fennoscandia, because of the long traditions of taxonomic and faunistic studies initiated by Carl von Linné and his students, the forest biota and its changes over time in response to human activities are perhaps better known than anywhere else (e.g. Esseen et al., 1997; Rassi et al., 2010). This has also made it possible to evaluate the long-term effects of forestry on species and their habitats, as well as on whole ecosystems (Auvinen et al., 2007; Raunio et al., 2008).
