Perspective: The enigmatic extirpation of Russian larch from Fennoscandia and its relevance to modern forestry. Klaminder, J., Klingberg, A., & Jerand, P. Forest Ecology and Management, 608:123599, May, 2026. ![Perspective: The enigmatic extirpation of Russian larch from Fennoscandia and its relevance to modern forestry [link]](https://bibbase.org/img/filetypes/link.svg "link")
Paper doi abstract bibtex For more than two centuries, Russian larch (Larix sibirica; Larix sukaczewii; Larix archangelica) was considered an alien species within Fennoscandia forestry. Findings of ancient alpine macrofossils led the Swedish Forest Agency to a policy shift where the Russian larch became recognized as part of the native flora. Despite the ongoing use of larch within Fennoscandian forestry, we lack a thorough discussion about its historic extirpation from this region and the possibility that it may happen again. In this perspective, we highlight that paleoecological studies indicate that Russian larch existed not only in alpine regions of Fennoscandia as previously suggested, but also in boreal areas of Sweden, Finland and Latvia. We identified a longitudinal trend where larch populations disappeared from western alpine habitats in Early Holocene but lingered until the last millennia in easter part of Finland. Our empirical analyses of forest experiments suggest that Russian larch has a growth advantage against Scots pine (Pinus sylverstris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) across contemporary cold Fennoscandian climates, making it unlikely that Russian larch was extirpated simply due to negative growth effects from a colder climate occurring after the Early/Mid Holocene thermal optimum. We highlight that the driver(s) behind the enigmatic extirpation of Russian larch remain unresolved but should warrant attention given the current interest for Russian larch within Fennoscandian forestry.
@article{klaminder_perspective_2026,
title = {Perspective: {The} enigmatic extirpation of {Russian} larch from {Fennoscandia} and its relevance to modern forestry},
volume = {608},
issn = {0378-1127},
shorttitle = {Perspective},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112726000976},
doi = {10.1016/j.foreco.2026.123599},
abstract = {For more than two centuries, Russian larch (Larix sibirica; Larix sukaczewii; Larix archangelica) was considered an alien species within Fennoscandia forestry. Findings of ancient alpine macrofossils led the Swedish Forest Agency to a policy shift where the Russian larch became recognized as part of the native flora. Despite the ongoing use of larch within Fennoscandian forestry, we lack a thorough discussion about its historic extirpation from this region and the possibility that it may happen again. In this perspective, we highlight that paleoecological studies indicate that Russian larch existed not only in alpine regions of Fennoscandia as previously suggested, but also in boreal areas of Sweden, Finland and Latvia. We identified a longitudinal trend where larch populations disappeared from western alpine habitats in Early Holocene but lingered until the last millennia in easter part of Finland. Our empirical analyses of forest experiments suggest that Russian larch has a growth advantage against Scots pine (Pinus sylverstris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) across contemporary cold Fennoscandian climates, making it unlikely that Russian larch was extirpated simply due to negative growth effects from a colder climate occurring after the Early/Mid Holocene thermal optimum. We highlight that the driver(s) behind the enigmatic extirpation of Russian larch remain unresolved but should warrant attention given the current interest for Russian larch within Fennoscandian forestry.},
urldate = {2026-02-20},
journal = {Forest Ecology and Management},
author = {Klaminder, Jonatan and Klingberg, Adam and Jerand, Philip},
month = may,
year = {2026},
keywords = {Finland, Norway, Silviculture, Sweden, Vegetation history},
pages = {123599},
}
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