Finland is the most densely forested country in the European Union. Forests cover 22 million hectares which represents 3/4 of the total land area. Finland belongs to the boreal coniferous forest zone. The most common tree species are Scots pine (47%), Norway spruce (34%) and birch (about 17%).
The total volume of the growing stock in Finnish forests amounts to 2 024 mill. m3 over bark. Since the late 1960s, the volume and increment of the growing stock have continuously risen. Today the annual increment is 81 mill. m3, whereas the annual drain is 69 mill. m3.
Forest Ownership inFinland
Private persons - ordinary Finnish citizens - own 61 % of all forest land. The number of private forest holdings of at least one hectare is about 440,000. The number of individual private forest owners is estimated at nearly 900,000, which means that one out of every five Finns is a forest owner.
Finnish forestry is commonly termed family forestry: small-scale forestry run by ordinary families, and passed on as a legacy from one generation to the next.
Family Forestry in Finland
The structure of family forest ownership is changing due to the age structure of rural population, urbanisation and inheritance. The proportion of farmer-forest owners has decreased, while the number of wage and salary earners and pensioners has increased. In 1970 farmers were still the biggest group to own private forest (76%) when today they share is only about 22%.
Nowadays non-farmers own 78 % of the family forests and pensioners are the biggest forest-owner group. The number of women among forest owners is also growing. Despite of the changes, most forest owners still live in the countryside. The average age of forest owners is 57 years.
Profitability of family forestry
Average size of private forest holdings in Finland is 31,5 hectares. In southern Finland the holdings are smaller (27 ha) compared to the sizes in northern Finland (65 ha). For many forest owners forest earnings play an important part (an average forest holding under sustainable management may return an annual timber-sales income of about EUR 3,600).
The profitability of wood production can be described using either stumpage price or the net income of private forests. Assessed with these indicators, the profitability of private forests varies both regionally and temporally.
In 2000s the gross stumpage revenues obtained annually from the sales of roundwood in family forests have been about EUR 1.4-1,5 billion. In family forests, the per hectare net earnings in 1970–2000 before direct taxes and external capital costs were an average of EUR 80 (at 2000 prices). In eastern Finland, the net income of wood production was clearly higher than elsewhere. In northern Finland the net income was only one third of the average figure for the whole country.
Family forest owners objectives/values
Forest management in Finland is practised with future generations in mind. Due to the large number of forest owners with varying goals the multiple-use of Finnish forests is well presented.
According to surveys almost half (48%) of the family forest owners are so called multiobjective owners, the other groups prioritising recreation (21%), self-employment (18%) and financial security (13%). However, the right to conduct viable forestry is among the objectives emphasised by most of the forest owners.
Forest Management in Finland
Finnish forestry is based on the management of native tree species. The management of forests seeks to respect their natural growth and mimic the natural cycle of boreal forests. The objective is to secure the production of high-quality timber, and to preserve the biological diversity of the forest as well as the preconditions for the multiple use of forests.
The forests are managed a stand at a time, i.e. felling or management work is directed at a part of the forest with a homogenous tree stand. The average size of a compartment is less than two hectares. The regeneration age of a forest stand varies between 60 and 120 years, depending on the tree species and the composition of the site.
The forest owner decides how to manage his or her own forests within the framework provided by the law, e.g. regeneration of forests after cutting is prescribed by the law. The forest owners have their own Forest Management Associations which advice on forest management and provide assistance in selling wood. Regional forestry authorities together with the environmental authorities control the compliance with the laws.
More than EUR 215 million was invested in silvicultural and forest-improvement works in 2003. Family forest owners invested nearly EUR 166 million in their forests, about three quarters of this is financed by the forest owners themselves and the rest is covered by state subsidies. The state supports those forestry investments which would not profit an individual forest owner, but are desirable from the point of view if national economics and forest policy objectives.
Wood Production
Commercial round wood fellings amounted to 55 mill. m3 in 2003. Non-industrial private forestry produces about 80% of the domestic raw wood bought by the industry. In practice the forest owners make about 100 000 -150 000 wood deals every year, the average size being 450 m3. .
Non-wood Production
Non-wood forest products include berries, mushrooms, game, reindeer and other natural products, such as lichen and herbs. Forests are also important carbon sinks, and offer floor for ecotourism and recreation
There are about 300 000 registered hunter in Finland. The overall value of bag in hunting was estimated to be EUR 73 mill. in 2002. The most important game species in Finland is the moose.
The amount of commercial wild berries and mushrooms collected from the forests in 2002 was 5 mill. kg and their value totalled EUR 6 mill. However, larger amounts are picked to directs household use.
The value of lichen exports amounted to EUR 1.5 mill.
Reindeer husbandry is practised in Northern Finland. The annual production of reindeer meat amounts to 2 - 3 million kilos. The winter herd is estimated to 197 000 reindeers.
Outdoor recreation is an integral part of the Finnish life. The traditional Everyman's Right guarantees free access to forests and offers good opportunities for people to go hiking, skiing and pick wild berries and mushrooms.
The forests in Finland are estimated to contain nearly 2,600 million tonnes of CO2. As the annual increment of stock has exceeded the drain since the 1970s, the forests have functioned as carbon sinks..
Biodiversity
The biodiversity of forest nature is safeguarded:
1. by ensuring the biodiversity of commercially managed forests, and
2. by ensuring a sufficiently extensive network of conservation areas.
Since the 1990s, maintaining and protecting biodiversity of forests has been an integral part of sustainable forest management. Today, biodiversity is taken into account in a number of ways in the everyday management of our forests. The means to maintain and enhance biodiversity in production forests include e.g. protection of so called key habitats, using of prescribed burning in site preparation, favouring mixed stands when possible, leaving retention trees and decaying wood in forests.
MTK has produced its own Biodiversity Action Plan for Private Forests, in which practical recommendations for maintenance of biodiversity at the stand level are given.
In the Forest Act, wood production and biodiversity are given equal importance. A key element of the Forest Act, with regard to safeguarding biodiversity, is defining certain habitats of special importance and giving guidelines as to how these habitats may be managed. The Act lists in all seven habitat groups where demanding and endangered species may occur. The forest owner may not take any actions which might affect the site or its special characteristics.
The Nature Conservation Act aims also at maintaining nature's biodiversity, and puts into effect two EU directives: the directives for birds and for habitat.
Forest Certification
About 21.9 million hectares, or 95 %, of Finnish forests are certified under the national Finnish Forest Certification System (FFCS). In 2000 the FFCS was endorsed by the international PEFC certification. 311,500 family forest holdings are certified according this system.
At the beginning of the year 2004, the Finnish forest area certified in compliance with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) was 93 hectares.
Forest Conservation
Nature conservation is mostly based on the law. Nature conservation is enacted especially in the Nature Conservation Act, but also in some other laws such as the Act on Wilderness Reserves. Most of these protected areas form part of the EU’s Natura 2000 Network. Private land-owners have also protected some forest areas by their own initiative. There are no exact information on the area of forests protected by private citizens.
In October 2002, the Finnish Government made a decision on the Forest Biodiversity Programme for Southern Finland 2003-2007 (METSO). METSO is a supplement to Finland’s National Forest Programme 2010 with an action programme to protect biodiversity in forests in southern Finland. METSO contains altogether 17 sub-programs, including pilot programs to test new voluntary means for land owners to increase the biodiversity of forests in Southern Finland.
In Southern Finland, most of the forests are privately owned, resulting in relatively small amount of protected forests (average European level). In Northern Finland, where state-owned forests cover a major part of the land area, the amount of conserved or protected forests is the highest in Europe.
The METSO Programme focuses piloting cost-effective methods to acquire the most valuable targets under temporal conservation or permanent protection (quality instead of large areas).
At the moment, approximately 12,1 % (2,8 mill. ha) of Finland’s forests are protected. It is almost the same area as the area of Belgium. The share of strictly protected forests is 7,2 %.
The regional governmental authority is the Forestry Centre, which bears the responsibility for supervising the implementation of forest acts and for promoting sustainable forest management.
