3%
22 M ha
Regeneration felling or thinning is performed on 3 per cent of Finland’s forests each year. 89 per cent of the trees are used by the forest industry, 11 per cent are used as energy wood.
There are 22 million hectares of forest in Finland. This means 4 hectares per Finn. In Europe the average is 1.3 hectares per citizen.
they stand are a haven for birds which nest in holes, they are also used as look-out posts by birds of prey. “This is why we make high stumps in the majority of felling sites. We cut a trunk at a height of 2–4 metres and leave it in the forest, with the landowner’s consent, of course,” says Oijala. Prior to planting, the soil in the Terrimäki stand has been prepared by way of inverting. This soil preparation method, developed by Metsä Group, breaks the soil as lit- tle as possible from the spot in which a seedling is planted. The soil is prepared so that the planted seedlings will have as good and warm growing conditions as possible. When the seedlings grow fast, they will not give up space to grasses. The scarcity of grass, on the other hand, wards off pests and voles. THINNING A FOREST MAKES FOR STURDIER TREES We take to a winding gravel road and head off to a stand called Hakamäki. The forest is lush and green. There is no shortage of insects. On the ground, a spider is flexing its long legs. We can also spot a beetle. Hakamäki has already been thinned twice. Seppälä reck- ons that the next thinning will take place next year. He says that a successful thinning accelerates the growth of the trees, since it improves the growth conditions. A thinning involves the removal of trees that have lagged behind in growth and leaves the best trees in the forest to grow and become sturdy. For the forest owner, a thinning generates income. A PLANTED FOREST IS SIMILAR TO A NATURAL ONE The Pukkaharju stand is located a short drive away, in the middle of a quintessential Central Finnish scenery, in the nook of an esker. The Pukkaharju stand is the first stand on which Matti Eerola himself planted trees 30 years ago.
Even so, the Pukkaharju forest does not differ from a natural forest, in terms of the way it looks. The trees are mainly spruces, but there are also some pines. In addition, the forest is home to deciduous trees, such as birch and rowan, and even a few junipers. The tussocks are popu- lated by already ripening blueberries and lingonberries. A mixed forest has a lot of advantages. “Growing a mixed forest with enough broad-leaved trees alongside coniferous ones is a superb way to improve the soil. A forest with multiple tree species is also more resist- ant to pests than a forest with only a single tree species. In forest management, we aim for mixed forests whenever it’s right for the growth location,” says Oijala. FOREST MANAGEMENT IN THE FATHER’S FOOTPRINTS Forest work is a nice counterbalance to working life in the city. Hanna Eerola, the estate’s new owner, has a job in Helsinki, but she does a lot of remote work from her farm. As an active forest owner she is a rare exception, given that the average age of forest owners in Finland is over 60. Even so, for Hanna, it felt natural to take over responsibil- ity for the forest estate together with her brother. “There’s no single right answer in forest management. I like the fact that I can investigate various views and use them in finding my own way of managing a forest,” she says. Forest management is rewarding when you see the results and benefit from them, too. The generational change with her father has gone well. While the know-how on forest management gathered by the previous generation is valuable, there is also a lot to learn, since forest management tends to develop contin- uously. “Dad has done a great job, and a huge one at that. While I wouldn’t even dream of learning everything at once, I do want see my own hand in how my forest is managed.” •
60 per cent of Finland’s forests are owned by private forest owners. 26 per cent are owned by the state and little less than 10 per cent by forest companies. The rest, approximately five per cent, is owned by municipalities, parishes and jointly owned forests. 60%
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