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Intro -- Preface -- Summary -- 1. Background and objectives -- 1.1 Background and knowledge gaps -- 1.2 Objectives -- 2. Approach and methods -- 3. Nordic forests -- 3.1 Natural dynamics of Nordic forests -- 3.2 Past and present human impacts on Nordic forests -- 3.3 Ecological factors and variation in forest types -- 4. Main determinants of forest biodiversity -- 4.1 Intact forest ecosystems and critical properties for biodiversity -- 4.2 Forest types or habitats of particular conservation value -- 5. Forest carbon pools and fluxes -- 5.1 Definitions of ecosystem carbon accumulation -- 5.2 Methods for studying forest carbon accumulation -- 5.3 Driving factors of forest biomass growth -- 5.4 Driving factors of soil organic matter pools -- 5.5 The role of northern forests in the global carbon cycle -- 5.6 Effects of forest management on forest carbon sequestration -- 5.7 Old forests - carbon sources or carbon sinks? -- 6. Old forest conservation: relevance for biodiversity and climate change mitigation -- 6.1 Forest carbon stocks and sequestration -- 6.2 Forest biodiversity and the carbon cycle -- 6.3 Albedo and other biophysical climate impacts of forest management -- 6.4 Gaps in knowledge -- 6.5 Implications for forest policy and management -- References -- 7. Sammendrag -- 8. Yhteenveto -- 9. Appendix -- 9.1 Abbreviations and acronyms -- 9.2 Tree species and their scientific names.

This paper summarises discussions in a workshop entitled "exploring uncertainties in biodiversity science, policy and management". It draws together experiences gained by scientists and scholars when encountering and coping with different types of uncertainty in their work in the field of biodiversity protection. The discussion covers all main phases of scientific work: field work and data analysis; methodologies; setting goals for research projects, taking simultaneously into account the agency of scientists conducting the work; developing communication with policy-makers and society at large; and giving arguments for the societal relevance of the issues. The paper concludes with a plea for collaborative learning that would build upon close cooperation among specialists who have developed expertise in different fields in research, management and politics.

This paper summarises discussions in a workshop entitled "exploring uncertainties in biodiversity science, policy and management". It draws together experiences gained by scientists and scholars when encountering and coping with different types of uncertainty in their work in the field of biodiversity protection. The discussion covers all main phases of scientific work: field work and data analysis; methodologies; setting goals for research projects, taking simultaneously into account the agency of scientists conducting the work; developing communication with policy-makers and society at large; and giving arguments for the societal relevance of the issues. The paper concludes with a plea for collaborative learning that would build upon close cooperation among specialists who have developed expertise in different fields in research, management and politics.

This paper summarises discussions in a workshop entitled "exploring uncertainties in biodiversity science, policy and management". It draws together experiences gained by scientists and scholars when encountering and coping with different types of uncertainty in their work in the field of biodiversity protection. The discussion covers all main phases of scientific work: field work and data analysis; methodologies; setting goals for research projects, taking simultaneously into account the agency of scientists conducting the work; developing communication with policy-makers and society at large; and giving arguments for the societal relevance of the issues. The paper concludes with a plea for collaborative learning that would build upon close cooperation among specialists who have developed expertise in different fields in research, management and politics. Copyright Yrjö Haila et al.

The magnitude and urgency of the biodiversity crisis is widely recognized within scientific and political organizations. However, a lack of integrated measures for biodiversity has greatly constrained the national and international response to the biodiversity crisis. Thus, integrated biodiversity indexes will greatly facilitate information transfer from science toward other areas of human society. The Nature Index framework samples scientific information on biodiversity from a variety of sources, synthesizes this information, and then transmits it in a simplified form to environmental managers, policymakers, and the public. The Nature Index optimizes information use by incorporating expert judgment, monitoring-based estimates, and model-based estimates. The index relies on a network of scientific experts, each of whom is responsible for one or more biodiversity indicators. The resulting set of indicators is supposed to represent the best available knowledge on the state of biodiversity and ecosystems in any given area. The value of each indicator is scaled relative to a reference state, i.e., a predicted value assessed by each expert for a hypothetical undisturbed or sustainably managed ecosystem. Scaled indicator values can be aggregated or disaggregated over different axes representing spatiotemporal dimensions or thematic groups. A range of scaling models can be applied to allow for different ways of interpreting the reference states, e.g., optimal situations or minimum sustainable levels. Statistical testing for differences in space or time can be implemented using Monte-Carlo simulations. This study presents the Nature Index framework and details its implementation in Norway. The results suggest that the framework is a functional, efficient, and pragmatic approach for gathering and synthesizing scientific knowledge on the state of biodiversity in any marine or terrestrial ecosystem and has general applicability worldwide.