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Most of Upper Lapland is under protection |
See also:
 Multiple use of forests in Upper Lapland
Dispute over the ownership of state lands
Saami organizations
Upper Lapland is the name used for the area consisting of the three northernmost municipalities in Finland: Inari, Utsjoki and Enontekiö. Forestry is only carried on in nine percent of the total land area of these municipalities. The minimum degree of protection of different biotopes is 40% of their total area, but for several biotopes the degree is as high as 70–80%. To take an example, the total area of protected unspoilt old-growth forests in Upper Lapland is 374,000 hectares, of which 258,000 hectares are situated on productive forest land.
The network of protection areas is complemented by means of landscape-ecological planning in commercial forests owned by the state, which has also been accompanied by a survey of habitats with nature protection values in the commercial forests. In addition, 30–35 trees per hectare are left permanently standing in the context of final fellings in state forests, and over 20 of these are live trees.
The valuable natural sites in the commercial forests have been completely preserved despite fellings in 85% of the cases, and the rest have been preserved to a high degree. Both the state commercial forests and those in private ownership are certified.
No clear-cutting in state forests
Upper Lapland is no exception to the general rule in Finland that forestry is carried on in such a way that the forest will be regenerated within an acceptable period of time. Annual fellings for regeneration comprise about one thousand hectares in the state-owned forests and about 650–700 hectares in privately owned family forests. No clear-cutting is undertaken in the state forests.
On an average, the rotation period of upland pine forests in Inari is 170 years. The forest is mainly regenerated naturally by the seed trees retained when felling. Only very light soil preparation is undertaken in the state-owned forests, and lichen-bearing areas are not prepared at all. The annual increment of the commercial state forests in Upper Lapland is 239,000 cubic metres, which is significantly higher than the planned cut of 150,000 cubic metres.
The planned cut in privately owned family forests in Inari is 70,000 cubic metres, while the fellings come up to 55,000–65,000 cubic metres per year. Even before the advent of certification, forestry measures in the private forests were lighter than is customary. Felling for regeneration is carried out as seed tree felling to assist natural regeneration, and the area of actual clear-cutting is only a few hectares each year. Natural regeneration has been successful.
Also in forest.fi:
Multiple use of forests in Upper Lapland
Dispute over the ownership of state lands
Saami organizations
Related graphics:
 Share of protection of different biotopes in Upper Lapland 23,51 Kb
Protection status of southernmost Forest Lapland 23,71 Kb
The southernmost part of Forest Lapland vegetation zone 46,47 Kb
Forestry and reindeer herding in parts in some reindeer-herding co-operatives 23,11 Kb
Statistics of forests in Inari 14,57 Kb
Statistics of land use in Upper Lapland 24,6 Kb
Households’ sources of livelihood in Inari 24,49 Kb |
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