Timber production possibilities on Finnish peatlands

The MELA software was used to make cutting calculations based on the data from the 8th National Forest Inventory in order to grasp the significance of peatland forests. For the calculations the models of stand development, handling and economy applied in MELA were adjusted to correspond with the newest research results and current practices in forestry. The calculations show that the estimate for the maximum sustainable cutting volume during the period 1996-2005 was 68 million cubic metres per year, of which 9.7 million or 14.3 % was on peatlands. During the following twenty decades the accumulated cutting volume was calculated to approach 74 million cubic metres per year, of which more than 20% was from peatland forests.

Additional information on the project: www.metla.fi/hanke/3266/index-en.htm