Saproxylic beetles on aspen in commercial forests:: a simulation approach to species richness

European aspen is important in boreal forests because of its rich fauna and flora. In Finnish commercial forests, however, aspen stems-especially large ones-are rare. Alternatives to aspen in managed forests were studied with a decision-support system where biodiversity was assessed according to the number of beetle species. The results showed that large aspen stems maintain the richness of beetle species in a forest. Such stems appear in commercial forests if green-retention trees remain after regeneration cutting. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.