Sustainable Wood Mobilisation in the Arctic – Felling Operations in Finland

ROSEWOOD partners visited in 2019 the forestlands of Lapland in Finland, more specifically, a forest thinning site of Metsähallitus, the Finnish state-owned enterprise which manages a large part of the country’s woodlands.

Metsähallitus employs state-of-the-art technology to ensure sustainable operations. At the site partners visited, thinning is limited to old trees that hinder young stands from growing and is done with the newest harvester models of Ponsse, a Finnish forestry machine manufacturer, which cuts and barks Nordic spruce stems in less than a minute. Ponsse is a ROSEWOOD Best Practice selected by the Northern Hub.

The types of felling undertaken in Finland are regeneration felling and intermediate felling. In intermediate felling trees are harvested in a way that the growing conditions of the remaining stand improve. In regeneration felling the whole growing stock, except for the seed and shelterwood trees, is harvested. In natural regeneration, the new generation of trees is established naturally from the seeds of seed trees or shelterwood left standing in the felling site, or from seed in the woods adjacent to the felling area. In artificial regeneration, the new tree generation is established by seeding or planting.

To find out more about the Metsähallitus approach to sustainable forestry operations watch this official Metsähallitus video.