Additional file 3. Full set of criteria for inclusion/exclusion of articles
Included
Forests (habitats with a tree layer) in Köppen-Geiger climate zones Cfb, Cfc, Csb and D (as defined by Peel et al. 2007).
Stands dominated by ponderosa pine(Pinus ponderosa), even if located outside the climate zones listed above. / Excluded
Habitats where the forest canopy cover usually is less than 10%.
Severely polluted or disturbed sites (e.g. landfills and former mining or peat-cutting sites).
Interventions
Included
Partial harvesting (characterised e.g. as single- or group-selection harvesting, gap felling, patch cutting, selective or diameter-limit harvesting, green-tree retention or initial stage of shelterwood harvesting), if at least 25% of the volume or basal area of living and dead trees was retained and if average gap sizes did not exceed 0.5 ha.
Thinning (precommercial, commercial or made for conservation purposes).
Removal of understorey or ground-layer vegetation.
Removal or addition of litter or humus.
Prescribed burning.
Creation of dead wood (e.g. through girdling or felling of trees).
Addition of dead wood (from elsewhere).
Underplanting of trees and (re)introduction of native non-tree species.
Livestock grazing and traditional mowing, coppicing and pollarding (continued, resumed or initiated).
Exclusion or other deliberate manipulation of wild cervids and similar grazers/browsers.
Control of exotic and/or invasive species.
Hydrological restoration (e.g. blocking of drainage ditches).
Liming and use of herbicides, if the primary goal was conservation. / Excluded
Clearcutting (even if up to 25% of the timber volume or basal area was retained in patches or buffer zones).
Burning or planting on clearcut areas.
Habitat fragmentation.
Afforestation and reafforestation, e.g. forest (re)growth on abandoned farmland or tree encroachment on tundra or heathland.
Wildfire.
Salvage logging after wildfire, windstorm or pest attack.
Removal of dead wood.
‘Release’ of young conifers through removal of deciduous trees.
Introduction of exotic species.
Short-rotation coppicing on arable land.
Fertilisation.
Restrictions of public access.
Creation of artificial habitats.
Climate change (natural or anthropogenic).
Silvicultural systems (e.g. uneven-aged or ‘near-natural’ forestry), if no data is available on specific interventions.
Comparators
Included
Non-intervention (untreated stands or trees).
Alternative levels of partial harvesting, thinning, grazing etc. (even if no untreated control is included).
Alternative gap sizes in partially harvested stands (even if no data is available from areas outside gaps).
Alternative types of forest stands where dead wood was created or added (even if the same intervention was made in all stands).
Alternative types of created or added dead wood.
Naturally occurring dead wood (if compared to created or added dead wood). / Excluded
Untreated stands whose age or species composition differs entirely from that of the treated stands.
Outcomes
Included
Abundance (including biomass, cover, frequency etc.) of single species or taxonomic or functional groups of terrestrial organisms.
Species richness, diversity index and composition of taxonomic or functional groups of terrestrial organisms.
Performance and population viability of target species.
Tree mortality.
Abundance and diversity of dead wood.
Vertical and horizontal stand structure.
Occurrence of tree microhabitats (e.g. cavities).
Species abundance, diversity etc. in the soil seed bank. / Excluded
Effects on regeneration (e.g. seedling/sapling survival) and growth of commercially used tree species, unless the intervention wasspecifically intended to conserve/restore diversity.
Changes of forest structure as immediate effects of thinning or partial harvesting.
Survival or performance of underplanted/introduced species (unless related to some other intervention than the introduction itself).
Edge effects.
Habitat selection of single species (unless clearly linked to relevant interventions).
Genetic structure or diversity of single species.
Effects on soil bacteria.
Effects on seed dispersal.
Study types
Included
Field studies (experimental or not). / Excluded
Simulation studies.
Reviews (secondary data sources).
Policy discussions and recommendations.