The definition of forest
FOREST in this report denotes forest land and low productive forest land. As per the Finnish definition, there are
23 million hectares of forest in Finland. This classification has been in use in Finland since the 1950s, for over 60
years.
Finnish classification based on site productivity (growth during the rotation period):
- On forest land, the potential annual increment for the rotation period is at least 1 cubic metre per hectare per year.
- Low productive forest land (scrub land) is mainly exposed bedrock, scree or mires, where the annual increment is
less than 1 but more than 0.1 cubic metres per hectare per year for the rotation period.
- Other land areas for forestry (wasteland) consist of completely or almost treeless areas with a growth potential of
less than 0.1 cubic metres per hectare per year for the rotation period.
- Forestry land includes, in addition to the above: forest roads, permanent storage areas and plots reserved for the use
of forest management, etc.
The definition of forest used by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in its forest statistics,
based on crown density:
- Forest: Land with tree crown cover of more than 10% and area of more than 0.5 ha. The trees should be able to reach
a minimum height of 5 metres at maturity in situ. By this definition, the area of forest land in Finland is about 3%
smaller than the sum of the aforementioned forest land and scrub land areas, i.e. 23 million hectares.
- Other wooded land: Land with either a tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of 5%–10% of trees able to
reach a height of 5 metres at maturity in situ; or a crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 10% of
trees not able to reach a height of 5 metres at maturity in situ.
The Finnish National Forest Inventories have applied the international classification (FAO) parallel with the national
classification scheme since the 9th inventory (1996–2003). The international classification is necessary for
the preparation of international statistics and for international debate on forests.
Regional districts of the Finnish Forestry Centre
In this report, results are presented by the regional districts of the Finnish Forestry Centre
. ‘Southern Finland’ comprises the province
of Åland and regional districts 1a to 10. ‘Northern
Finland’ comprises regional districts 11 to
13 in the regions of Kainuu, North Ostrobothnia and
Lapland.
The regional districts of the Finnish Forestry Centre function as the administrative
division of forestry in Finland. Most of the information
concerning forest resources, such as the data from forest
inventories, is presented both as national averages and
as averages for the individual regional districts.
Source: Finnish Statistical Yearbook of Forestry 2011.
Key information sources
 |
| The National Forest Inventory (NFI) maintained by the Finnish
Forest Research Institute (Metla) generates annually updated
information on the state of Finland’s forests. Results from field
measurements can be nowadays transferred wireless in real time
to office data banks and computers. |
This report is based on the most up-to-date and accurate
data and information available in each context.
A great number of sources has thus been used.
Sources are quoted with tables, illustrations and figures.
The principal sources are the National Forest
Inventory (forest resources monitoring system) and
the Finnish Statistical Yearbook of Forestry.
The development of forest resources in Finland is
monitored over a wide range in the National Forest
Inventory (NFI) maintained by the Finnish Forest
Research Institute (Metla). The first systematic
inventory of forests was conducted as far back as in
1921–1924, and as a result Finland has exceptionally
long time series on the development of forest
resources. The forest resource data in the inventory
are based on diverse on-site surveys conducted on
test plots selected on the basis of a systematic statistical
sample. There is a regular network of such
test plots covering the entire country. When surveys
are combined with satellite images and numerical
data, findings can be calculated for smaller areas
such as individual municipalities or discrete forest
areas. Today, the NFI generates annually updated
information on trends in forest resources and the
state of the forests.
The Finnish Statistical Yearbook of Forestry
published by the Finnish Forest Research Institute
(Metla) is an annual summary of the key statistics
in the Finnish forest sector. The Yearbook contains
data on forest resources and also information and
statistics on the natural environment in forests, on
the multiple use of forests, on environmental issues, and on the production of and trade in roundwood and forest
industry products. As with the NFI, many of the statistics are based on the findings of the extensive research
conducted by the Finnish Forest Research Institute (Metla) and separate reports.
The statistics published in the Finnish Statistical Yearbook of Forestry and the findings of the NFI are available
both in printed form and online at Metinfo Services1. The detailed NFI forest resources report is also published
annually as a supplement to forest science journal Metsätieteen aikakauskirja.
The Finnish Environment Institute is commissioned by the Ministry of the Environment to conduct assessments
of the threatened species in Finland’s every 10 years and assessments of the status of Finland’s biotopes
at regular intervals.
Links
Definition of Forest
Regional districts of the Finnish Forestry Centre
Key information sources
1 National Forest Inventory – Statistics of Forest Resources
www.metla.fi/metinfo/vmi |
