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Finland is the most forested
country in Europe |
Finland is the most extensively forested country in Europe. Forests cover 86 percent of its land area. There are about four and half hectares of forest to every Finn.
In terms of phytogeography, Finland is situated in the boreal coniferous zone. Almost half of the volume of the timber stock consists of pine (Pinus sylvestris). The other most common species are spruce (Picea abies,) downy birch (Betula pubescens) and silver birch (Betula pendula). The Finnish forestry and forest industry are based on the use of these principal tree species which all are indigenous. In all, Finland has about thirty indigenous tree species.
As regards the tree species found here, Finland is located in the northern coniferous zone or the taiga. It is also called the heathland forest zone. In the taiga, the number of forest-forming dominant tree species is small.
Finnish forests are also categorised according to the forest type classification developed by A.K. Cajander. The system is based on the fact that the competition between species and their different requirements lead to the development of a unified vegetation or forest type in each type of habitat. Thus, the forest type is linked to the productivity of the habitat. In forest management, the forest type is used, among other things, to assist in the choice of a suitable tree species for each location, and of the best method of regeneration – sowing, planting or natural regeneration. The forest type also reveals something of the timber-producing capability of the habitat.
Average growth of million cubic metres on a summer´s day
The total volume of timber in Finnish forests is 2,189 million cubic metres. The total annual growth of the trees is 98,5 million cubic metres. The growing season in Finland is about 80 days, which means that the average daily increment is over one million cubic metres. So, during one day of the growing season, the increase of timber in Finnish forests equals a compact woodpile that is one meter in height and width and one thousand kilometres in length.
The volume of growing stock in the forests has increased ever since the 1960s. For over 30 years, the growth of Finnish forests has clearly exceeded the volume which is removed from the forests naturally and trough harvesting.
In Finland, forestry land is classified according to the annual increment of trees growing per hectare. The majority of Finnish forests, 20 million hectares, grows on forest land with high productivity. The area of low productive forest land and other land area for forestry combined is six million hectares. The term 'forest' generally means productive and low productive forest land together.
Out of forestry land, 34 percent consists of mires. The area of forest land increased from the 1950 up to the 1980s, because mires with a poor yield were drained which resulted to higher productivity per hectare.
Graphics:
 Graphs related to forest resources
Drawings:
 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris)
Norway spuce (Picea abies)
Downy birch (Betula pubescens)
Silver birch (Betula pendula) |
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