An economic evaluation of strategies for transforming even-aged into near-natural forestry in a conifer-dominated forest in Denmark

Schemes for transformation of even-aged monoculture forest management regimes into near-natural regimes are currently applied throughout the Atlantic region of Europe. This is mainly due to poor ecological stability, low economic performance, and decrease in biodiversity in existing forests. In this study, we analysed the simultaneous transformation of adjacent even-aged stands (a forest division) into mixed conifer/broadleaved stands. The case area is found in a conifer-dominated Danish forest and consists primarily of Norway spruce, European beech, Douglas fir and Sitka spruce. An economic evaluation of several transformation strategies was carried out by simulation. An area based combined Markov chain and Dynamic yield table model was used. Analyses were conducted under risk of wind throw.