title: Protected area as an indicator of ecological sustainability? A century of development in Europe's boreal forest.
abstract: Protected area (PA) is an indicator linked to policies on ecological sustainability. We analyzed area, size, and categories of PAs in the European boreal forest biome in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia from 1900 to 2010. The PA increased from 1.5 × 10(3) ha in 1909 to 2.3 × 10(7) ha in 2010. While the total PA in the boreal biome was 10.8 %, the figures ranged from 17.2 % in the northern, 7.9 % of the middle, and 8.7 % of the southern boreal sub-regions. The median size of PAs varied from 10 to 124 ha among countries. The categories of less strictly PAs increased over time. The proportion of area occupied by PAs is an important response indicator for conservation efforts. However, the use of PA as an indicator of ecological sustainability needs to consider ecosystem representation, functional connectivity and management categories.
authors.affiliation: School for Forest Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Skinnskatteberg, Sweden. marine.elbakidze@slu.se
authors.forename: Marine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elbakidze
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Angelstam
authors.forename: Nikolay
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sobolev
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Degerman
authors.forename: Kjell
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Axelsson
authors.forename: Olle
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Höjer
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wennberg
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000639:trends*; D017753:Ecosystem; D005060:Europe; D016468:Forestry; D014197:Trees