 |
Finnish forest growing stock 2.2 billion cubic metres – 10th Finnish National Forest Inventory completed The growing stock of Finnish forests amounts to 2.2 billion m3. In 2004–2008 the annual increment of growing stock was about 99,5 million m3. For almost 40 years the standing volume in Finnish forests has continuously risen and is now about 48% higher than it was in the late 1960s. Half of the growing stock is Scots pine (1.10 billion m3), about one-third Norway spruce and 20% broadleaved stock (mainly birch). Compared to the previous inventory (NFI 9, 1996–2003), timber resources of Finnish forests have increased from 2.1 billion m3 to 2.2 billion m3. The increase consists of Scots pine and broadleaved stock; the volume of Norway spruce has decreased. This is explained by the different age structures of the tree species: on average, Scots pine and broadleaved forests are younger stands at the stage of rapid growth, and Norway spruce forests are older and have had more cutting possibilities. Since the mid-1970s the annual increment of growing stock in Finland has exceeded the annual drain (roundwood removal, cutting wastes, natural mortality) by 20–30%. The annual roundwood removal of growing stock was about 56 million m3 per year during the period 2004–2008. The Metla research team has calculated that the maximum sustainable annual removal of roundwood during the years 2008–2017 is about 70 million m3. The methodology for field measurements was changed for NFI10 so that measurements were made throughout the country each year. This made it possible, for the first time, to get up-to-date inventory results for different regions concurrently. The main users of the forest information are national forest and environment authorities, the forest industry, and the Regional Forestry Centres that also have participated in the data collection in the most recent inventory.
The 11th NFI started in 2009 and will be completed by 2013. The future challenge of the NFI11 is to develop the methodology so that the NFI can meet the new information needs and provide relevant data for decision-making. New information needs are related to greenhouse gas reporting according to international agreements and estimation of forest biomass resources and wood properties in relation to different end-use requirements. The most recent inventory results are available at http://www.metla.fi/ohjelma/vmi/vmi10-info-en.htm and annually in the latest Finnish Statistical Yearbook of Forestry www.metla.fi/julkaisut/metsatilastollinenvsk/index-en.htm
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
According to the latest surveys carried out by the Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla), the growing stock of Finnish forests amounts to 2.2 billion m3. The annual increment of growing stock is approaching 100 million m3, being 99.5 million m3. For almost 40 years the standing volume in Finnish forests has continuously risen and is now about 48% higher than in the late 1960s. The results are based on the measurements over the years 2004–2008 of the 10th National Forest Inventory. The 10th Finnish National Forest Inventory (NFI) came at the same time to its end and the 11th NFI has been started. 