Conservation thinning in secondary forest: negative but mild effect on land molluscs in closed-canopy mixed oak forest in Sweden.

Secondary succession is changing the character of many temperate forests and often leads to closed-canopy stands. In such forests set aside for conservation, habitat management alternatives need to be tested experimentally, but this is rarely done. The Swedish Oak Project compares two often debated alternatives: minimal intervention and non-traditional active management (conservation thinning) on plots of each type replicated at 25 sites.