The Swedish boreal forests are limited by nitrogen (N) availability. While biological N2 fixation by cyanobacteria hosted by pleurocarpous feather mosses are important sources of N input to natural boreal forest ecosystems, little is known about the patterns of N2 fixation in silvicultural systems. This study investigates the biological N2 fixation rates of two boreal feather moss species (Pleurozium schreberi and Hylocomium splendens) along a chronosequence from clear-cut to mature forest, as well as the vegetation characteristics along the chronosequence. Measurements and samples were collected from 32 forest sites that were classified into four age classes (clear-cut, pre-commercially thinned, thinned and mature forest). The sites were located near the city of Arvidsjaur in northern Sweden.

Hylocomium splendens (Glittering wood-moss) is a common species in the Nordic countries and can be found in many different types of boreal forests. It usually forms dense moss carpets on the forest floor. The shoots grow in segments and new segments form annually on the previous years growth. The size of the segments is probably regulated in a high extent by local micro environmental conditions. Previous experiments suggest increased growth of H.