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Introduced tree species (4.4)
Introduced tree species23 change forests, their mix of species,
structure and diversity. Introduced species have been planted
in Finland only for research and experimental purposes, or as
decorative trees and stands in arboretums, for example.
There are about 9,500 hectares of forests in Finland composed
of introduced species. Of these, 9,000 hectares are stands of
lodgepole pine.
The number of stands with introduced species is not growing as
the Forest Act and forest certification both require that, apart
from special cases, only indigenous tree species must be used in
regeneration. Siberian larch is considered an indigenous species.
In the forest certification standards, the special cases in which
introduced species may be used include the establishment of
park forest stands, the production of Christmas trees and conifer
twigs, stands and trees planted for landscape management,
and the cultivation of hybrid aspens. Hybrid aspen is a crossbreed
between Finnish and North American aspen, which has
been cultivated in Finland already since the 1950s.
Links
23 Introduced tree species are other than indigenous species occurring naturally
in Finland. The Siberian larch and the hybrid aspen are treated as indigenous
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