According to the most recent information about forest resources, the growing stock volume on forest land and poorly productive forest land is 2.5 billion cubic metres and annual increment of growing stock amounts to 108 million cubic metres. When compared to the inventory carried out five years ago, the volume of growing stock increased by 120 million cubic metres and annual increment of growing stock increased by 2.4 million cubic metres. The mean growing stock volume on forest land is 119 cubic metres and the mean annual increment of growing stock is 5.2 cubic metres per hectare. The recent results are based on calculations from National Forest Inventory’s years 2014–2018 measurements.
There are 26.2 million hectares of forestry land in Finland, covering 86% of the total land area. Of the forestry land, 77 per cent is forest land which is well suited for wood production. In addition to forest land, the forestry land includes poorly productive forest land (10%) and completely or nearly treeless unproductive land (12%). Forest roads, storage areas and other forestry maintenance areas amount to one per cent of the forestry land.
The total area covered by forest land and poorly productive forest land is often called forests. Forests cover 75% of the total land area of Finland. The most forested region is Kainuu, where the share of forests is 88%, and the least forested regions are Åland (57%) and Varsinais-Suomi (58%). A total of 18.4 million hectares of the forest land is available for wood production. The area remaining outside the scope of wood production includes nature conservation areas, for example.
Private persons own more than half of all the forestry land in Finland. The state owns 35% and companies 7%, while municipalities, parishes and other associations own 6% of the forestry land. In Southern Finland, 72% of the forestry land is owned by private persons, whereas in Northern Finland the largest owner is the state with its share of 57%.
Peatlands amount to 8.8 million hectares of the forestry land. Of the present peatland area 53% is drained. In Southern Finland the share of peatlands amounts to one fourth and in Northern Finland to 40% of the forestry land. The region with the most peatland areas is North Ostrobothnia, where more than half of the forestry land is peatland.
The volume of growing stock on forest land and poorly productive forest land totals 2,475 million cubic metres. Of the growing stock volume, 90% is located on land available for wood production. The region with the largest growing stock volume is Lapland (more than 400 million cubic metres), but Southern Finland amounts to two-thirds of the entire country’s growing stock volume. Of growing stock volume, half is pine, 30% spruce and the remaining 20% deciduous trees. A total of 64% of the growing stock volume is located in privately-owned forests and 21% in state-owned forests.
“The annual increment of growing stock on forest land and poorly productive forest land totals 108 million cubic metres, of which 95% is located on land available for wood production. A little over three-fourths of the annual increment takes place in forests owned by private persons, municipalities, parishes and other associations,” says Kari T. Korhonen, principal scientist at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).
The mean volume of growing stock on forest land is 119 cubic metres per hectare. The mean volume of growing stock is the highest in Kanta-Häme (177 cubic metres per hectare) and the lowest in Lapland (75 cubic metres per hectare).
The annual mean increment of growing stock on forest land is 5.2 cubic metres per hectare in the entire country. The annual mean increment is highest in Kanta-Häme (8.3 cubic metres per hectare) and Päijät-Häme (8.2 cubic metres per hectare), and the lowest in Lapland (2.3 cubic metres per hectare).
Further information:
Kari T. Korhonen, principal scientist, Luke, tel. +358 29 532 3030, [email protected]
Eeva Vaahtera, senior statistician, Luke, tel. +358 29 532 2019, [email protected]
Antti Ihalainen, senior scientist, Luke, tel. +358 29 532 2163, [email protected]
Olli Salminen, senior scientist, Luke, tel. +358 29 532 5346, [email protected]
Statistics: Forest resources by region, 21.11.2019
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) promotes bioeconomy and sustainable use of natural resources. luke.fi/en
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