Finland - living in and off the forests Ari Vanamo Degree Programme in Forestry Tampere University of Applied Sciences
What is a forest? A forest (also called a wood, woodland, wold, weald or holt) is an area with a high density of trees (Wikipedia) FRA 2000, Main report (FAO) A tree: a perennial woody plant. has many secondary branches a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance A minimum height varying from 3 m to 6 m Siikaneva, Ruovesi
World s forests Finland Source:UNEP-WCMC 2000
Largest forest areas ( F-7 countries ) 1. Russia 851 392 000 ha 2. Brazil 543 905 000 ha 3. Canada 244 571 000 ha 4. United States 225 993 000 ha 5. China 163 480 000 ha 6. Democratic Republic of the Congo 135 207 000 ha 7. Indonesia 104 986 000 ha Total F-7 2 269 534 000 ha Total world 3 500 000 000 ha 1ha is about 1,5 soccer fields!
Largest forest cover (% of land area) Country Forest area (1000 ha) % of land area 1. Guyana 18 577 94 2. Suriname 14 721 94 3. French Guiana 7 990 91 4. Belize 1 962 86 5. Solomon Islands 2 389 85 6. Papua New Guinea 45 286 82 7. Brunei Darussalam 434 82 8. Guinea-Bissau 2 309 82 9. Republic of Korea 7 626 77 10. Vanuatu 900 74 11. Gabon 17 859 69 12. Japan 25 146 67 13. Finland 20 029 66 14. Brazil 551 139 65 Source: FAO 2000
Boreal forests (taiga) Forests in Europe Temperate forests Mediterranean forests Source: European Environment Agency
Siberia, Russia Boreal forest Finland
Boreal forest zone Very extensive biome > 900 million hectares (9 million km 2 ) 30 % of world s forests, 75 % of coniferous forests Located in Alaska (USA), Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden and Norway To the north limited by tundra vegetation, to the south by temperate forests or steppes
Finnish Forests In Finland boreal forests are found in latitudes which in other regions mainly have treeless vegetation (tundra) Source: http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/ 70th parallel north 60th parallel north
Forest Tree Species Balance Birch 16% Spruce 33% Other deciduous 3% Pine 48% Source: Statistical Yearbook of Forestry, Finnish Forest Research Institute
Pellerwoinen, thus consenting, Sows with diligence the island, Seeds upon the lands he scatters, Seeds in every swamp and lowland, Forest seeds upon the loose earth, On the firm soil sows the acorns, Fir-trees sows he on the mountains, Pine-trees also on the hill-tops, Many shrubs in every valley, Birches sows he in the marshes, In the loose soil sows the alders, In the lowlands sows the lindens, In the moist earth sows the willow, Mountain-ash in virgin places, On the banks of streams the hawthorn, Junipers in hilly regions; This the work of Pellerwoinen, Slender Sampsa, in his childhood. The poem The Kalevala, Second verse Translated by John Martin Crawford,
Finnish Forests Spruce and mixed forests on more fertile sites Pine forests on less fertile sites
Silver birch, (Betula pendula) Curly birch (Betula pendula var. Carelica) Curly birch
Other tree species Trembling aspen (Populus tremula) Rowan tree (Sorbus aucuparia
Black alder, (Alnus glutinosa)
Bird cherry (Prunus padus)
Peatlands cover 30 % of the land area in Finland
Forest biodiversity UPM Forest life
Commercial use of forests in Finland
A long history of forest use in Finland Eero Järnefelt 1893
A long history of forest use in Finland Source: Päätalo-instituutin kuva-arkisto
Forestry today
Forests grow more than they are used
Wood flow from forest to mill in Finland 2011 (mill.m 3 ) Annual surplus >30 million m 3
Year 1 Year 4 Year 15 Year 90 Year 30 Year 60 Simplified life cycle of a managed pine forest
Harvesting 2 % of total forest area harvested annually 56 % thinnings 43 % regeneration cuttings > 95 % harvested by machines Source: Metinfo, Finnish Forest Research Inst.
Video Final felling
2 years after final felling
Forest regeneration
7 years after final felling
Young stand management
Thinning 30-40% of standing tree volume removed 1-3 times in one forest stand before final cutting Photo: Jori Uusitalo
The aim is to increase the use of small wood and cutting residues for bioenergy up to 8-12 mill m3 by 2015 Bioenergy
Forest Ownership of the area (total 20 million ha)
Private Forest Owners 300 000 600 000 forest owners The average forest holding is 44 hectares Forest is inherited or bought from family members Forest industries bought timber from these families in 2003 for 1,54 thousand million Euros Source: www.forest.fi
Private Forest Owners Female Male Entepreneurs Farmers Pensioners Paid employees Living in the countryside Living in towns or cities Source: Hänninen et al. 2002
11.3.2009 SOURCE: National Board of Customs
Forest Sector s Share of Employment in Finnish Regions Source: Metsäteho oy 2005
Everyman s rights Public access to all forests on foot, skis, bicycle or on a horseback Right to camp temporarily in a forest Right to pick wild berries and mushrooms Right to swim and move with a boat in the sea, lakes and rivers
Participation in forest-related pursuits in Finland in 2000 Source:Sievänen T. (ed.): Outdoor Recreation 2000. Finnish Forest Research Institute 2001.www.forest.fi
Volumes and values of forest products 2004 Source:Statistical Yearbook of Forestry 2005, Finnish Forest Research Institute. www.forest.fi
Forest and nature protection 1885 8.2 3412 13.0 173 0.8 246 0.9 2058 9.0 3658 13.9 823 3.6 1115 4.2 Final felling every 70 to 120 years 2881 12.6 4773 18.2 Source:Statistics Finland 2009
Strictly protected forests, % of area of productive forest land Final felling every 70 to 120 years Source:Source: COST E4-study, Ministry of Environment 2002, www.forest.fi
Natura 2000 areas in Finland Source: Metsähallitus
Habitats and amounts of threatened species Source:Suomen lajien uhanalaisuus 2000. Ministry of Environment, 2001. www.forest.fi
Useful links to Finnish forestry http://www.forest.fi/ forest.fi is a gateway to Finnish forests and forest sector. These pages are supported by the Finnish Forest Association. http://english.forestindustries.fi/ Information and statistics about Finnish forestry and forest industry. Supported by the Finnish Forest Industries Federation. http://www.metla.fi/ Information about forestry research. Finnish Forest Research Institute. http://www.ffcs-finland.org/ Information about the forest certification system in Finland.