The Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus): an iconic focal species for knowledge-based integrative management and conservation of Baltic forests
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- 作者：Asko Lõhmus ; Meelis Leivits ; Elmārs Pēterhofs ; Rytis Zizas…
- 关键词：Conservation history ; Flagship species ; Game management ; Knowledge system ; Population decline ; Sustainable forest management
- 刊名：Biodiversity and Conservation
- 出版年：2017
- 出版时间：January 2017
- 年：2017
- 卷：26
- 期：1
- 页码：1-21
- 全文大小：
- 刊物类别：Biomedical and Life Sciences
- 刊物主题：Biodiversity; Ecology; Conservation Biology/Ecology; Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts;
- 出版者：Springer Netherlands
- ISSN：1572-9710
- 卷排序：26
文摘
Biodiversity loss was a central argument for redefining sustainable forest management in the 1990s, but threatened species remain poorly addressed in forestry governance. Management history of the Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) population in the Baltic States reveals a high potential of socially valued threatened species for developing the missing forestry–conservation interfaces. We review the history of the Baltic Capercaillie population since the 19th century, showing how its status transformed, both ecologically and socially, from a famous hunting target to the most widely protected forest species in the region. Compilation of recent national survey data confirms that at least 3450 lekking males currently survive in 961 leks; they are distributed between six large and about twenty small populations. During the 20th century, lek sizes decreased and local extirpations spread from South-Baltic mosaic lands to northern forests. As a social response, innovative management initiatives have repeatedly enabled periods of population stability and local recoveries. The most recent developments in Capercaillie conservation combine elements from the historically separated nature conservation, forestry and game-management approaches. The consistency of such social responses despite political upheavals suggests that iconic species can culturally stabilize long-term sustainable development.