Habitat thresholds for focal species at multiple scales and forest biodiversity conservation — dead wood as an example

We present an example of how systematic studies of habitat loss thresholds at multiple scales can be used for assessing the functionality of habitat networks. The different steps are: (1) carefully select a suite of species representing each land cover type; (2) use quantitative targets based on the requirements of the focal species at multiple scales; (3) make regional gap analysis for the different land cover types; (4) use habitat modelling to build spatially explicit maps describing the probability that existing habitat patches really contribute to the functional connectivity of that theme in the landscape. The latter is important, since gap analyses alone neglect aspects like the quality, size, duration and configuration of land cover patches, and therefore overestimate the amount of functional habitats. The presence of thresholds at different scales suggests that the conservation management should be planned in a spatially explicit way.