Pilot project of Finland: Wastes from forestry sector

Transcription

1 Pilot study on statistics on waste management in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Pilot project of Finland: Wastes from forestry sector Final Report, April 2005 Contract number ESTAT EU Regulation on waste statistics 2150/2002/EC Statistics Finland Annika Miettinen

2 2 Contents Preface Introduction Waste statistics in Finland Environmental policy needs for waste statistics in forestry sector Description of the forestry sector in Finland Basic information of forests in Finland Forestry sector in the Finnish economy The activities of forestry sector Wastes from the forestry sector Waste generation (incl. by-products) and classification (LoW, EWCStat) Waste treatment Waste definitions and discussion Data sources and data production methods General information Use of administrative and other registers Use of activity data and waste factors Carrying out questionnaires and other surveys Noteworthy issues concerning data collection and data comparability Consequences of minimum threshold concerning enterprise size The impact of seasonal and yearly variations The connection between forestry and agriculture sectors Comparability between other EU-countries Conclusions and recommendations References Appendix 1 Comparison between the sectors of agriculture, forestry and fishing in Finland Appendix 2 The available background data related to the forestry sector Appendix 3 Forestry sector wastes and their waste codes (LoW, EWCStat) Appendix 4 Forestry sector wastes in connection to their sources Appendix 5 Forestry sector wastes and their estimation methods... 63

3 3 Preface This report includes the results and conclusions made by Finland for the EU pilot study of statistics on waste management in agriculture, forestry and fishing. The Finnish work focused on the forestry sector and it s wastes. The pilot study was made in parallel with several other European countries, although with little varied timetables. The final reports that had already been done, for example by Sweden, Norway and Netherlands, gave good comparable information when conducting the Finnish final report. This study received funding by European Commission according to the pilot study programme introduced in the Waste Statistics Regulation. The Finnish work was conducted at Statistics Finland by Senior Statistician Annika Miettinen. A good help in every part of the study was Senior Statistician Jukka Muukkonen. For the final report gave good ideas and help also Senior Statisticians Simo Vahvelainen, Marianne Kaplas and Juha Espo. The writer wish also to thank for good assistance several other officials, for example at Statistics Finland, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Plant Production Inspection Centre (KTTK) and Thule Institute. This report is a result from a pilot study. Therefore, it should be noticed that all statistical and other tables and figures presented here are not official data of Statistics Finland or other organisations mentioned in the report.

4 4 1 Introduction The objectives of this project was to develop a methodology for the production of statistics on wastes of forestry sector, and to apply and test this methodology in producing preliminary statistics in Finland for the year 2001, according to the Waste statistics regulation (No 2002/2150/EC). The forestry sector includes forestry, logging and related service activities. This sector has a significant importance for Finland, from both economic and environmental point of view. Waste generation and management in the forestry sector also differ remarkably from agriculture and fishing, and therefore it is essential to investigate the forestry sector separately. Brief comparison between the sectors of agriculture, forestry and fishing are given in the Appendix 1, in order to show the meaning of the forestry sector as a part of the NACE sections A and B, but also as an important sector to be studied by itself. Forest industries, such as Manufacture of wood and wood products and Manufacture of pulp, paper and paper products (NACE sub-sections DD and DE) are not included in this study, because in all statistical information forest industries are clearly separated from the forestry sector.

5 5 2 Waste statistics in Finland The principal data source of the waste statistics in Finland is the environmental administration monitoring register (VAHTI, The Monitoring and Environmental Loading Data System). Since 1997, waste surveys and statistics have been accomplished using the Ministry of Environment waste and hazardous waste catalogue 1 that is based on the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) 2 and List of Waste (LoW). Data on municipal waste, or in practice consumption waste, are collected from the environmental administration, monitoring registers and other sources. The Finnish Forest Industries Federation and Paperinkeräys Oy (the biggest collector and merchant of recyclable paper in Finland) compile statistics on consumption and recycling of paper and cardboard. The Finnish Environment Institute and the Environmental Register of Packaging, PYR Ltd, collect information on the quantity and reuse of packaging and management of packaging waste. Environmental administrations VAHTI register is a customer information system intended for monitoring environmental authorities customers with environmental loading subject to the environmental permit and reporting procedure. Data system of VAHTI is used to record information about wastewater of industry, water pollution control of fish farming, air and noise emissions of those subject to a permit, wastewaters of communities, landfill sites, waste amounts, contaminated soils, peatlands, and non-point source pollution. The VAHTI waste data primarily concern waste generation, transportation, collection, disposal, recovery, storage and delivery for disposal or recovery elsewhere. Waste data are entered in the VAHTI only for those plants whose environmental permit is granted by a regional environment centre or an environmental permit authority. A common feature to entrepreneurs, enterprises and establishment in the sectors of agriculture (except fur farms and fish farms), forestry and fishing is, that they are not subject to environmental permit and reporting procedure. Therefore they have no obligations to report data on their wastes to the VAHTI register. As a result of this, statistics on wastes in agriculture, forestry and fishing are not based on exact collected data on waste, but are calculated on the basis of e.g. production statistics, statistics on material inputs, and statistics on amounts of animals used in the production, and research work done on activities of agriculture, forestry and fishing. The research and statistics are made and compiled mainly by research institutes and other organisations related to administration of agriculture, forestry and fishing. 1 The Ministry of the Environment decision 1129/ European Commission Decision 94/3/EC regarding the European Waste Catalogue (EWC), replaced by European Commission Decision 2000/532/EC, Commission Decision 2001/118/EC, Commission Decision 2001/119/EC and Council Decision 2001/573/EC regarding the list of wastes.

6 6 The highest amounts of wastes generated in agriculture and forestry are manure and felling residues. Although the felling residues as ancillary biomass of forestry are not defined or considered waste in many EU-countries, they are at present included in the waste statistics by Statistics Finland. Manure generated in agriculture is also recorded as waste by Statistics Finland, as well as straw which is used in the agriculture as an absorptive material in manure treatment. The magnitude of these wastes with respect to other types of waste is illustrated in Table 1. Table 1. Generation and treatment of waste in Finland year Economic activity Total 1000 tonnes of which recovered 1000 tonnes Recycling Energy recovery Other treatment 1000 tonnes Landfilled 1000 tonnes Waste from production 3 Agriculture Forestry n.a n.a. - Mining and n.a. - n.a. n.a. quarring Manufacturing Energy supply Construction n.a. - n.a. n.a. Municipal waste Domestic waste Other solid municipal waste Municipal sewage sludge 6 Total n.a n.a. n.a. Of which: Hazardous waste Packaging waste Sources: Statistics Finland, Finnish Environment Institute, Ministry of the Environment, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT), Thule Institute. 3 Without municipal waste. 4 Manure, wet weight. 5 Logging waste, fresh weight. 6 Calculated as dry matter. 7 Without recycled packaging.

7 7 3 Environmental policy needs for waste statistics in forestry sector Both internationally and nationally, there are at present only a few environmental policy needs and recommendations that guide the waste statistics for forestry sector in Finland. Legally only the EU regulation on waste statistics (No 2150/2002/EC) include a need for reporting of forestry sector wastes. The reporting is required collectively for the whole section NACE A (incl. agriculture, forestry and hunting). Statistics shall be provided for the total amount of generated waste and treated waste, divided into different recycling and disposal operations. Generated and treated waste has to be presented according to the EWCStat waste codes. Although there are no other legal needs for waste statistics on forestry sector wastes, there are some recommendations and policy discussions concerning this in Finland. Most of the needs concerns the felling residues, which are generated huge amounts annually in Finland. The same issue can be important in those other EU countries, where forestry is widely operated. On open question is, whether felling residues should be counted as waste or as byproduct? And should the actions related to felling residues be counted as waste treatment, or as material use, or something else? In the recommendations and discussions related to felling residues it has been shown, that felling residues causes economical and environmental impacts and needs in the Finnish society. One economical need related to felling residues is it s utilization as fuel in energy production. At present the utilization is quite small, but the objective is to multiply this material use in coming years according to the action plan for renewable energy sources 8 and the national forest programme 9. The state gives some funding to forest owners for energy wood harvesting and chipping. The environmental needs related to felling residues include the recreational use of forests, the use of forests as grazing land for reindeer and the use of forests as growing area for coming tree generations. Felling residues can weaken the possibilities of recreational use of forests, it decreases the growth of mushrooms and berries and makes it difficult to move on foot in forests. Felling residues can also decrease the growth of lichen and weaken reindeers possibilities to graze in the forests (lichen, mushrooms). Felling residues can also decrease or increase the growing circumstances of coming tree generations. Too much felling residues left on the area increases shadowness for seedlings, but too little felling residues impoverish the soil. Some other needs for estimation of the forestry sector wastes can be found as well, for example in the studies and developments related to the environmental indicators and material flow accounts. 8 Action plan for renewable energy sources Ministry of Trade and Industry. 9 National Forest Programme Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

8 8 4 Description of the forestry sector in Finland 4.1 Basic information of forests in Finland Forest land area Finland is a highly forested country. The land area of Finland totals 30,5 million hectares, and of this 26,3 million hectares (86,3 %) are classified as forestry land and 20,3 million hectares (66,7 %) as forest land (table 2). Finland has the largest proportion of forest land area of the total land area in the EU countries (table 3). Finland s forest land area has increased by 1,6 million hectares since the 1960s as a result of afforestation of agricultural lands and peatlands, as well as of intensive forest improvement efforts. Finland is located in the northern boreal coniferous zone, taiga. In the taiga, the number of forest-forming dominant tree species is small. The most common tree species are pine, spruce and birch. Table 2. Classification of the forestry land in Finland. (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute). Type of land Land area (1000 ha) Share of Finland s total land area (%) Forestry land ,3 Of which: Forest land ,7 Scrub land ,2 Other ,4 *Forestry land can be classified into forest land, scrub land and other land according to the annual increment of trees growing per hectare. On forest land this is 1,0 m³/ha/year or more, on scrub land 0,1 m³/ha/year or more and on other land less than this. *Statistics on land areas are based on the results of the 9th forest inventory in southern Finland (inventoried ) and 8th inventory in northern Finland (inventoried ).

9 9 Table 3. Forest land area in some European countries and EU, in (Sources: The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000, FAO). Country Forest land area (1000 ha) Forest land s share of the total land area (%) Austria ,5 Belgium ,1 Denmark ,4 Finland ,5 France ,3 Germany ,0 Greece ,0 Ireland 580 8,4 Italy ,4 Luxembourg 86 33,3 the Netherlands 314 9,3 Portugal ,7 Spain ,0 Sweden ,0 United Kingdom ,7 EU total (year 2000) ,5 Estonia ,7 Latvia ,9 Norway ,5 Slovenia ,4 * Forest land area is defined in this table as area of forest, where any legal, economic, or specific environmental restrictions do not have a significant impact on the supply of wood. Forest resources The total volume of the growing stock of Finland s forests is currently 2049 million m³. The volume has increased since the late 1960s, as the annual increment of the growing stock has regularly exceeded fellings and natural drain. The increase has taken place thanks to forest improvement and silviculture. Two-thirds of the growing stock are in Southern Finland. The mean volume of the growing stock on Finland s forest land is 98 m³/ha. The mean volume changes between m³/ha depending on, in which part of the country the forest lies. The growing season in Finland is 80 days in average. The prevalent tree species in Finland are pine (Scots pine), spruce (Norway spruce) and birch (Silver and Downy birch). Pine covers almost half of the forest land area (47,5 %), spruce one-third (33,6) and other trees the rest (18,9 %). Multiple-use forestry includes a variety of resources, products and services in addition to wood. These are for example: hunting forest game, collecting of wild berries, mushrooms and lichen, reindeer husbandry and recreation. Most of the recreational use of nature in Finland takes place in a forest environment. The socalled everyman s right enables for everyone to ramble freely in the Finnish forests, pick berries and mushrooms, regardless of who owns the land.

10 10 Table 4. Forest resources in Finland. (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute). Type of resource Total (mill.m³) Growing stock Pine 973 Spruce 688 Broadleaves (mainly birch) 388 Annual increment of the growing stock 82,9 Pine 37,0 Spruce 26,7 Broadleaves 19,2 Growing stock drain 69,9 Pine 28,3 Spruce 28,0 Broadleaves 13,6 Volume increase of growing stock per 13,0 year (=annual increment - drain) *Statistics on growing stock are based on the results of the 9th forest inventory in southern Finland (inventoried ) and 8th inventory in northern Finland (inventoried ). *Statistics on growing stock drain refer to year *Annual increment of the growing stock is the average increment during the last five growing periods preceding the inventory moment. Forest ownership Over half of the forestry 10 land area in Finland is owned by private persons (53,5 %). The number of privately owned forest holdings was in the beginning of year The state owns one-third (33,6 %) of the forestry land and the rest are owned by forest companies (7,8 %) and others holders (foundations etc., 5,1 %). Also private holders own most of the growing stock (67,8 %) of forests and it s annual increment. The state owns 18,1 %, the companies 8,6 % and other holders 5,5 % of the growing stock in Finnish forests. Table 5. Forest ownership in Finland. (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute). Ownership category Forest land Forestry land (mill.ha) (mill.ha) (%) Private 12,3 14,0 53,4 State 5,1 8,9 33,8 Companies 1,8 2,1 7,8 Other 1,1 1,3 5,1 Total 20,3 26,3 100,0 *Statistics are based on the results of the 9th forest inventory in southern Finland (inventoried ) and 8th inventory in northern Finland (inventoried ). 10 Forestry land area includes all forested land area.

11 11 Forestry sector management Finnish forest policy is based on sustainable forestry and the multiple use of forests. The use of forests is regulated to ensure the welfare of both nature and people and the economic sustainability of the forests. Forestry has been controlled in Finland by legislation since 1880s. All the main forestry laws were renewed last time in 1990s. The most important law for directing silviculture is the Forest Act. It defines the national standards of silviculture. The Forest Act prohibits the forest destruction. It obligates, for example, to plant or seed the area after regeneration felling. It also obligates to take care of the diversity of nature during any forestry work. The forest laws also directs the state s subsidies for the forest management. State subsidises private forest owners for activities to safeguard the continuous growth and health of Finnish forests. Forestry in Finland is also directed for the last few decades by different Forest Programs. The newest is the National Forest Programme 2010, which was made in It directs the Finnish forest politics to year In the making is also Regional Forest Programs, which directs silviculture on specific regions around the country. Forest certification is also under way to Finnish forestry sector. Present the Finnish Forest Certification System (FFCS) covers 21,9 million hectares of forestry land. The system defines even more specific guidelines for silviculture than the Forest Act. The base for forest politics in Finland lies mainly on the extensive background data of Finland s forests. The forest data is mainly produced by the national forest inventories (NFI), which are made regularly by the Finnish Forest Research Institute. Finland has been a pioneer in this field, forest inventories has been made since 1920s. Present is underway the 9th inventory. The inventory data is gathered regionally from around the country. Nowadays the gathering methods involve for example field surveying and utilising the GIS-technique. Forestry and logging activities in brief The activities of forestry and logging are called silviculture. Silviculture is carried out in Finland by forest stands. The activities are planned such as they would be alike the natural evolution processes of forests. In silviculture each action is aimed to a specific aged forest stand. The primarily aim is to produce well grown timber wood. Another aim is to promote the domestic tree species.

12 12 Below a brief summary of the volume of silviculture activities in Finland is presented. In the chapter (4.3) and in Appendix 2 the activities are described in more detail. A good 20 million hectares of the Finnish forestry land is available for forestry and logging activities. The area treated annually by logging (intermediate-, regeneration- and other fellings) in Finland is appr hectares. In addition to this, forestry activities such as preparation of regeneration areas, artificial seeding and planting, tending of seedling stands and improvement of young stands and other kind of forestry treatment take place in appr hectares per year. In 92 forest tree nurseries circa 150 million seedlings are produced per year, and delivered for planting. Artificial regeneration is also done by seeding circa kg of seeds in forests per year. In Finnish forests operates annually appr wood harvesters, 1600 forwarders (=forest tractors), 1000 farm tractors and many thousand chain saws. The timber is moved from forests to factories by circa 1400 timber lorries and many smaller transportation vehicles. The number of employees in the forestry sector is , although it has decreased by more than 60 percent since the beginning of the 1980s, mainly due to mechanisation in wood harvesting. Besides this, thousands of private forest owners do silviculture work in their forests. Table 6. Statistics on forestry and logging in Finland, in (Sources: Finnish Forest Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Thule Institute). Year Forestry Logging Preparati on of regeneration areas Planting and seeding Other treatment (pruning, forest fertilisation) Fellings total Intermediate fellings Regeneration fellings Tending of seedling stands and improvement of young stands Other fellings Biomass of timber Biomass of felling residues 1000 hectares 1000 hectares Million tonnes ,8 117,0 213,2 25,1 610,2 395,2 206,7 8,3 51,4 23, ,3 125,9 238,8 23,7 524,1 359,6 153,3 4,2 49,7 22, ,8 121,2 228,5 32,9 590,7 389,9 189,2 11,6 50,4 22, ,7 118,8 232,1 28,1 568,3 372,8 184,3 11,1 51,1 22,9

13 Forestry sector in the Finnish economy Forestry sector in the Finnish NACE-classification According to the Finnish application of NACE 2002, Category 02.0, Forestry, logging and related service activities consist of: Forestry and logging: Forestry operation of forest tree nurseries seed production of forest trees preparation of regeneration areas (clearing, soil preparation, prescribed burning) natural and artificial regeneration of forests (planting and seeding) afforestation of arable land tending of seedling stands pruning, forest fertilisation, preventing of forest damages Logging felling of timber and production of wood in the rough (such as pitprops, split poles, pickets or fuel wood) production of Christmas trees transportation of logs within the forest (short-distance haulage) Other forestry and logging conserving of forests (e.g. management of nature protection areas) gathering of wild growing forest materials (mosses, lichen, cork etc., excluding berries and mushrooms) Forestry and logging related service activities: Forestry and logging related service activities operation of forestry and logging related public organisations planning and general promotion of forestry and logging training and education of forest owners assistance in wood sales Forestry sector s role in the Finnish economy Forestry sector s (Forestry, logging and related service activities) share in the total GDP in Finland year 2002 was 2,1 %. Although the share of the forestry sector of the total national economy has decreased during the past few decades in Finland, it still performs a vital role in the Finnish economy. The forestry sector is the main producer of raw material for the sectors of Manufacture of wood and wood products (1.1 % of GDP, year 2002) and Manufacture of pulp, paper and paper products (3,7 % of GDP, year 2002).

14 14 According to the data from 2001, Finland ranks third in the world with regard to the value of exports of all forest-related products, representing approximately 8 % of the world total value. The two largest exporters were Canada and USA. Finland has a leading position as an exporter of printing and writing paper, its share being 18 % of the global market. (FAOSTAT Forestry data). Due to the importance of the forestry sector to the whole national economy, the sector is also recorded at very detailed level in the classification of economic activities. Table 7. Finnish forestry sector enterprises and their descriptions, year (Source: Business Register by Statistics Finland). Industry (SIC 1995) A 02 Forestry, logging and related service activities Enterprises Personnel Turnover Wages and salaries Wages and salaries/ paid employee 1000 Turnover/ enterprise Turnover/ person ,5 660,5 184,2 The labour force of forestry sector According to the Labour Force Survey by Statistics Finland, in year 2003 the total labour force in the forestry sector (forestry, logging and related service activities) totalled persons. It s share of the total labour force in Finland was 0,9 %. The labour force in the forestry sector can be divided into categories depending on the employment status (table 8). Also a categorization can be made according to the type of work (table 9). The Labour Force Survey by Statistics Finland is a monthly sampling-survey, were the information considering the economic activity s employment, working hours, unemployment and the structure of labour is gathered by phone interviews. The employee s economic activity sector is determined in the survey by the establishment were the employee s job is located. The Business Register by Statistics Finland (table 7) does not cover all of the activity related to forestry and logging. That is the reason why the employee number of this register is different compared to the Labour Force Survey. The employees not recognised in the Business Registers can be workers whose head business is farming, earth construction, long-distance forest haulage etc, but who are working part of the year also in forestry and logging activities.

15 15 Table 8. Persons employed in the forestry sector , by employment status. (Source: Statistics Finland) persons Wage and salary earners Self-employed Year Wage Salaried and unpaid Total earners employers family workers Table 9. Persons employed in the forestry sector , by type of work. (Source: Statistics Finland, Finnish Forest Research Institute) persons Year Salaried Manual Harvesting Forest Silvicultural Total employees felling work haulage works

16 The activities of forestry sector Forestry (02 011) In this chapter the most common activities of forestry sector and the related data from recent years are described. The activities are classified in groups according to their NACE-codes. Also some reference to the produced waste types are given. A summary of the available basic data related to these activities are shown in Appendix 2. Seed production of forest trees Seeds for forest tree nurseries and artificial seeding in forests are gathered from specific seed-orchards (breeded seeds), specific seed production stands and from normal forest areas. The state owned Forest and Park Service owns appr. 90 % of the seed-orchards in Finland. They are mostly located in northern Finland. Forestry Development Centre Tapio is the biggest seed-orchard owner in southern Finland. There are also 923 specific seed-production stands around the country. Their total area is 5120 hectares, and they concentrate to produce mainly seeds of spruce and broadleaf trees. Some of the seeds of forest trees are also gathered from normal forest areas. The cones (incl. seeds) are usually gathered from trees during felling operations. The total amount of seeds used in Finland for artificial forest tree seeding is annually appr kilograms. Of this is circa kilograms used in seeding in forests and kilograms in nurseries. Most of the seeds (pine, spruce) that are used for artificial seeding in northern Finland originate from normal forest areas. Most of the seeds used in forest tree nurseries originate from seed-orchards. Table 10. Amounts of seed used for artificial seeding in (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute, KTTK, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry). kg Year Seeds used in Seeds used in Total forests nurseries

17 17 Table 11. Amounts of seed used in forest tree nurseries in (Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry). kg Year Pine Spruce Birch Other species Total (Silver+Downy) *Of which: 72 % from seed-orchards, 28 % from seed-production stands (year 2003) Forest tree seeds are also stored large amounts to ensure their sufficiency during bad seed-production years. This is done especially in northern Finland, where good seed-production years exist seldom, even only every 20 years. Seeds should be stored in a dry and cool place to ensure their germination capacity. The water content of seeds should stay at 5-6 % and the storage temperature should be under +5 Celsius. The most common package type nowadays for seed storage is a plastic bottle (polyeten), which can be sealed to be waterproof. Also other packaging materials are used. Waste types that are generated in seed production of forest trees are mainly bioorganic waste and packaging waste. In smaller amounts also machine related waste, chemical waste and household waste are produced. Operation of forest tree nurseries The production of forest tree seedlings in Finland is controlled by the Plant Production Inspection Centre (KTTK). According to the Act on Trade in Forest Reproductive Material (241/2002), forest reproductive material (seedlings) can be produced, marketed and imported only by such deliverers who are signed in the deliverer-register, maintained by the KTTK. The deliverer of forest reproductive material must keep account on the amounts of seedlings he has produced, purchased and marketed. In Finland there were totally 92 forest tree producer companies in year 2003 (source: KTTK). These companies can be categorized in two groups by the size of the company: big producers (production area 5000 m²) and small local producers (production area < 5000 m²). In addition to this, members of 4H-clubs (clubs for youngsters) can produce and market seedlings in small amounts. Approximately 90 % of all forest tree seedlings are produced by big producers nurseries. These big producers own several nurseries and seedling storehouses around the country. The rest of the seedlings are produced by small local producers. Seedlings are also imported, mainly from Sweden. Growing methods of seedlings have developed and diversified in the past years. Nowadays seedlings can be grown to more specified needs. Nurseries produce dozens of different products, which can be classified to different types and species of seedlings. Currently the main seedling type is the container seedling (96,2 % of seedlings in 2003), and the less used type is the bare-rooted seedling (3,8 % of seedlings in 2003). The container seedlings are produced usually in fertilised soil or peat soil, either outdoors or in greenhouses. The containers can be of different

18 18 material, for example hard plastic, laminate plastic or peat. The bare-rooted seedlings are grown in soil outdoors. The growing time of a seed to a seedling at a nursery varies between couple of months to four years depending on the kind of the seedling. Many nurseries are technologically well equipped and automated, their plastic greenhouses are built with watering, ventilation and warming systems. The newest technology enables short-day-manipulation and interference light for seedlings. Nevertheless the seasons and weather conditions affect the growth of the seedlings. Seedlings are stored over winter either outside under snow or inside in cooled storehouses. The number of forest tree nurseries in Finland have decreased in the past years. At the same time new seedling delivering stations and terminals have been found around the country. The delivering distances of seedlings to regeneration areas have nevertheless increased. Seedlings are delivered from nurseries to regeneration areas usually by the Forest Management Associations. The packaging method depends on the type and species of the seedling, the transportation method and distance, and the possible intermediate storage. Packaging materials are usually plastic bags or boxes, paperbags and cardboard boxes. Table 12. Information related to operation of forest tree nurseries, in year (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute, KTTK ). Number of forest reproductive material producers (nursery owners): Big producers 22 Small local producers 70 Total 92 producers Amount of seed used in nurseries for seeding (kg): Pine 537 Spruce Silver birch 32 Other 37 Total kg Number of seedlings delivered for planting from nurseries (mill. seedlings): Pine 56,7 Spruce 91,8 Birch (Silver and Downy) 6,3 Other 2,1 Total 156,9 mill. seedlings *Of which: container seedlings 96,2 %, bare-rooted seedlings 3,8 %. *Of which: big producers 89,7 %, small local producers 10,3 %. *In addition, 10,1 million seedlings were imported from EU-countries.

19 19 Table 13. Number of seedlings delivered for planting from nurseries, in (Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, KTTK ). million seedlings Year Pine Spruce Birch Other species Total (Silver+Downy) ,2 81,5 12,3 3,0 153, ,7 91,0 9,9 2,2 157, ,6 90,4 6,8 2,0 153, ,7 91,8 6,3 2,1 156,9 *Figures do not include imported seedlings (year 2003: 10,0 mill.seedlings). Waste types that are produced by forest tree nurseries are diverse, but mainly bioorganic and packaging waste. Also common waste types are: machine related waste, household waste, chemical agent related waste and other waste (nursery equipment, etc.). Preparation of regeneration areas Preparation of regeneration areas can be done by clearing, soil preparating or prescibed burning the area. Clearing of the regeneration area means that the small-sized tree stand which is not meeting the standards of timber wood, is cut down. Clearing can be done before or after the regeneration felling. The aim of soil preparation is to improve the circumstances (temperature, humidity and nutrient) for planting, seeding and growing the plants. The soil preparation will also decrease the damages for seedlings caused by pest insects and moles. Soil preparation is usually done by big forest machines or agriculture tractors. There are four different soil preparation methods. In prescribed burning are all the felling residues, culltrees and the top layer of humus burned down. The aim is to improve the circumstances of soil s temperature, acidity and nutrient content. It can also change the surface vegetation for the advantage of seedlings. Table 14. Area prepared for regeneration, in (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute). Area treated, 1000 hectares Year Clearing Soil Prescribed Total preparation burning ,0 119,5 2,3 191, ,4 129,4 0,5 197, ,2 122,6 2,0 190, ,1 131,3 1,3 202,7 The main waste type produced during preparation of regeneration areas is bioorganic waste. This means felling residues from clearing. Other waste production is smaller. Some amounts of machine related waste, chemical agent related waste and household waste are produced.

20 20 Planting and seeding Regeneration of forests can be done by planting or seeding. The main tree species that are artificially regenerated in Finland are pine and spruce. Planting fits as the regeneration method for all kinds of trees on all kinds of habitats. Seeding can be done naturally or artificially. In natural regeneration the seed trees, which are left after felling for that purpose on the area, are doing the seeding. Artificial seeding is nowadays generally done as machine seeding. Seeding is usually the way for regenerating pine on low-nutrient soil. Supplementary planting and seeding means that the too scarce seedling stand is increased by planting or seeding. Afforestation of arable land means that the arable land is regenerated to forest by planting or seeding. This is done only on appr hectares per year in Finland. Table 15. Artificial regeneration, in (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute) hectares Year Planting Seeding Total ,3 33,7 117, ,2 35,7 125, ,0 33,2 121, ,5 (72,8 %) 32,2 (27,1 %) 118,8 (100,0 %) Figure 1. Artificial regeneration by tree species, in (Finnish Forest Research Institute) hectares Other Spruce Pine Year

21 21 Table 16. Amount of seedlings used for planting in forests, in (Finnish Forest Research Institute). million pcs Year Total , , , ,1 Table 17. Amount of seeds used for seeding in forests, in (Finnish Forest Research Institute). kg Year Total The waste type that is mainly produced in planting and seeding is packaging waste. Other waste types that are generated are bio-organic waste and machine related waste. In smaller amounts are also household waste, chemical agent related waste and other waste generated. Tending of seedling stands and improvement of young stands Tending of seedling stands means clearing and thinning the stand. The objective of this action is to control the density of the stand and the composition between tree species. Tending will ensure the right growth of the stand towards good timber wood. If tending of seedling stands have not been done on time, the action of improvement of young stands will do the job. The objective is the same, clearing and thinning the stand to ensure the right growth of the stand towards good timber wood. Table 18. Tending of seedling stands and improvement of young stands, in (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute). Area treated, 1000 hectares Year Tending of Improvement of Total seedling stands young stands ,2 90,0 213, ,0 91,8 238, ,4 92,1 228, ,6 94,5 232,1

22 22 The waste produced during tending of seedling stands and improvement of young stands is mainly bio-organic. Some machine related waste, chemical agent related waste and household waste are also generated. Pruning Pruning includes cutting dead or poorly grown branches from growing trees. The objective is to increase the number of branchless timber wood. Pruning is many times done at the same time as tending of seedling stands or improvement of young stands, and therefore it is not always counted as a separate action. Table 19 shows the area treated with pruning as a separate action. The waste produced during pruning is small, and mainly bio-organic. Some machine related waste, chemical agent related waste and household waste are also generated. Table 19. Pruning, in (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute). Area treated, 1000 hectares Year Total , , , ,2 Forest fertilisation Forest fertilisation is divided into fertilisation for growth and remedial fertilisation. The purpose of fertilisation for growth is to increase the growth of trees, giving them the nutrients needed. The purpose of remedial fertilisation is to improve the circumstances in soil and in trees. It offers different nutrients and improves the balance between them. It also decreases the acidity of the soil. Remedial fertilisation is usually carried out on low-nutrient peat soil areas. Table 20. Forest fertilisation, in (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute). Area treated, 1000 hectares Year Fertilisation Remedial Total for growth fertilisation ,2 8,8 21, n.a. n.a. 19, ,9 16,3 27, ,5 14,5 23,0

23 23 Forest fertilisation has decreased hugely since 1970s. The amounts of fertilisers used for forest fertilisation are not exactly known. Table 21 shows the amounts of specific forest fertilisers sold, but addition to these forest can be fertilised in small amounts also with some agriculture fertilisers. Table 21. Sales of forest fertilisers, in 1970/ /02 (data described here: every fifth year-every year). (Source: Kemira GrowHow Oy) kg Main plant nutrients Fertlizer year (July-June) Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium Other Total (kalium) Data every fifth year 1970/ / / / / / Data every year 1998/ / / / Forest fertilisation can be done manually or by agricultural tractor, forest tractor or other cross-country vehicle. In big fertilisation projects the fertilisation can be done by air (helicopter, airplane). The waste type that is mainly produced in forest fertilisation is packaging waste. In smaller amounts also machine related waste, chemical agent related waste and household waste are generated.

24 24 Preventing of forest damages The main damaging agents for Finnish forests are different fungi diseases, moles, frost, elks, grass/hay and nutrient problems (incl. air pollution as agent). Table 22. Occurrence of damaging agents reducing stand quality, inventoried during (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute). Damaging agent Occurence; % of forest land area in Finland Abiotic* 6,1 Human interventions 1,1 Vertebrates 1,7 Insects 0,3 Fungi 5,6 Natural competition 1,2 Unknown 8,2 Total area affected by 24,2 damage *Includes: wind, snow, frost, drought, moisture, nutrient imbalance or fire. The most vulnerable time for forest damages is the time when trees are seedlings. Arable land forestation areas are more vulnerable for damages than forest regeneration areas. All in all, forest damages and their agents are of many different nature. Because of this, also the prevention methods are diverse. Forest damages can be prevented by manual or chemical methods. Manual methods are for example; weeding hay from around the plants, using decomposable or plastic plant covers around seedlings, fence in forest tree nursery areas, carrying out appropriate forestry activities, choosing proper seedlings or seeds for regeneration, and choosing proper area for specific trees. Chemical prevention methods are for example; carrying out appropriate fertilisation or pesticide spreading on the area, or around specific trees. Waste types that are produced during prevention of forest damages are several. Packaging waste is generated from fertilisation and pesticide packages. Machine related waste and chemical agent related waste are generated from machines working in forests. Also some bio-organic waste and household waste are produced. Ditch cleaning and supplementary ditching (Forest drainage) The purpose of ditching is to improve the circumstances for forestry and tree growth on swamp areas or other wet land. Drained area for forestry totals 4,8 million hectares in Finland. The peak of firsttime ditching was in 1960s and 1970s. Nowadays first-time ditching is not done anymore in Finland.

25 25 For maintaining the tree growth on ditched areas, the ditches must be cleaned or supplementary ditched every years. In year 2003 the area treated with ditch cleaning and supplementary ditching totalled hectares. Ditching and ditch cleaning is usually done by big forest machines, agriculture tractors or earth construction machines. Table 23. Ditch cleaning and supplementary ditching in (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute). Year Total length of ditch cleaning and suppl.ditching (1000 km) Drained area (1000 hectares) ,1 74, ,9 82, ,5 80, ,9 67,5 Ditching, ditch cleaning and supplementary ditching have also side-effects on the area. Besides changing the humidity conditions on the area, they also may produce some strains on the water systems and change the greenhouse gas production. Wastes that are produced during ditch cleaning and supplementary ditching are mainly related to the machines working in forests. Machine related waste, chemical agent related waste and also some household waste are produced. Logging (02 013) Felling of timber and production of wood in the rough Fellings can be divided into three different felling actions (intermediate, regeneration and other fellings) by the objective of the felling. The meaning of intermediate felling is to cut down trees which quality and growth potential seems poor. The objective is to improve the growing circumstances for the best trees that are left on the area. Intermediate fellings can be categorized to thinnings, increment cuttings or removals of seed and shelterwood trees. The aim of regeneration felling is to cut down the timber wood and give room to a new tree generation. The intensity of the regeneration felling can range from cutting just a few trees to clear cut. Often there are left some seed trees and shelter wood trees on the area. The main objective of other fellings is not to produce timber wood, instead they are made for some other reason. The aim can be land use change of the area towards housing or agriculture, or cleaning ditch- and road alignments.

26 26 Table 24. Area treated with fellings in (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute) hectares Year Intermediate Regeneration Other Total fellings fellings fellings ,2 206,7 8,3 610, ,6 153,3 11,2 524, ,9 189,2 11,6 590, ,8 184,3 11,1 568,3 Table 25. The amount of removals from Finnish forests, in (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute). mill. m³ Year Commercial roundwood removals Total roundwood removals Growing stock drain ,90 61,50 69, ,25 59,36 67, ,16 60,27 68, ,03 61,14 69,90 *Commercial roundwood removals includes all the domestic roundwood that has been cut for commercial use and for export. *Total removals includes commercial roundwood removals and all other roundwood removals for diverse purposes (for example fuel wood). *Growing stock drain includes total removals, felling residues and natural drain of forests. Fellings are done in Finland nowadays mainly (appr.95 %) as mechanised felling by big forest machines (harvesters, forwarders, also by some agricultural tractors). The rest of the fellings are done as motor-manual felling by chain saws. Table 26. Number of forestry machines operating in commercial roundwood harvesting in Finland, in (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute). Year Harvesters Forwarders Total *No specific data is available related to the degree of usage of these machines. *In addition to these machines, are also for example agricultural tractors and chain saws operating in fellings. No specific data is available concerning those machines and the usage degree of them in felling operations. The waste produced during fellings is mainly bio-organic (felling residues). Also machine related waste, chemical agent related waste and some household waste are generated.

27 27 Production of Christmas trees Approximately 1,2 million Christmas trees are cut down annually from Finland s forests. From this amount about half is coming to market, the other half end up in homes of private forest owners. Most of the Christmas trees in Finland comes from ordinary forests, only circa trees per year are cultivated (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute). Also some Christmas trees are imported. Waste types that are generated during production of Christmas trees (cultivation) are diverse. The main generated waste types are bio-organic waste and packaging waste. Also chemical agent related waste, household waste and machine related waste are generated. Transportation of logs and other wood material within the forest The transportation of logs and other wood material within the forest is usually done by the same forest machines (harvesters, forwarders, also some agricultural tractors) that are used during fellings (see table 26). This kind of transportation ends to forest roads, where timber lorries take over and transport the wood forward. Waste types that are generated during transportation of wood material within the forest are machine related waste and in small amounts household waste. Other forestry and logging (02 019) Conserving of forests (e.g. management of nature protection areas) The main regulation and guideline for nature protection in Finland is the Act of Nature Conservation (1096/1996). Also many other acts, such as the Forest Act, include regulations related to that. European unions nature legislation (e.g. directives of habitats and birds) and Natura 2000 network is also included in the Finnish legislation. Nature protection areas in Finland are situated both on public and private areas, but mainly on state-owned lands and waters. They include diverse types of nature. The degree of protection varies between the areas. For example, some forests are protected totally and some are in restricted use (some habitats or flora species protected on the area).

28 28 Table 27. Statutory nature conservation and wilderness areas on state land, March 1, (Source: Finnish Forest Research Institute, Finnish Forest and Park Service). Type of area Land area (1000 ha) Share of Finland s total area (incl. water areas) (%) National parks 734,0 2,4 Strict nature reserves 150,7 0,5 Mire conservation areas 439,0 1,4 Protected herb-rich forest areas 1,3 0 Protected old-growth forest areas 10,1 0 Other protected areas 39,7 0,1 Wilderness areas 1379,7 4,5 Areas total 2754,3 9,0 Table 28. Areas of protected forests and forests under restricted use in Finland, in 1999 and (Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry). Year 1999 Strictly protected forests Protected forests where cautious fellings are possible Forests under restricted forestry use 2002 Strictly protected forests Protected forests where cautious fellings are possible Forests under restricted forestry use Land-area (1000 ha) Share of Finland s total land area (%) 10,4 1,0 3,3 10,8 0,4 4,3 The management of nature protection areas depends on, is the area in private or public ownership. Privately owned areas are managed by their private holders. Usually no special actions are done on the area, and so for no wastes are produced. Publicly owned areas are managed usually by the state (Forest and Park Service or Finnish Forest Research Institute) or municipality (municipality officials). The management of publicly owned nature protection areas include many different actions, for example; planning and developing the management, supervision of the areas (some popular tourist areas), guidance and education on the areas, surveying and monitoring work and concrete measures to manage natural habitats of the areas. The main waste type that is produced during management of nature protection areas is household waste from offices. Gathering of wild growing forest materials (berries and mushrooms not included) Gathering of berries and mushrooms from forests are part of agriculture sector s activities, and thereby not reviewed here. Other wild growing forest materials that might be gathered are, for example lichen and certain herbal plants, or parts of plants.