The Forests of Finland and their Development

Forests Resources are vital to the economic life of the Finland. 85.5% of the total land area is under forestry operation. The total growing stock is estimated to be 1410 million m³. The unbarked volume of the growing stock by dominant tree species is 606 million m³ of pine, 530 million m³ of spruce and 274 million m³ of deciduous species.According to Ownership 63% of the forest belongs to the farmers, 28% is publicly owned and 9% is owned by Corporations, local authorities,etc. In the country there is awareness for protection, improvement and increasing the productivity of the woodlands to sustain the expansion of wood using industries.Finland is a country living decisively on forests, probably more so than any other country in the world. The area covered by forests in Finland is 26.2 million hectares (as per results of the IV inventory) giving an average of 50 hectares per capita. The total growing stock is estimated to be 1410 million cubic meters, giving an average of 54 m³ per hectare.The quality of the forests is better in the southern part of the country giving an average volume of 100 m³ per hectare. The annual growth is calculated to be more than 46 million m³ (excluding bark) on an average1.7 m³ per hectare, which is likely to be raised to the tune of 58 million m³ in near future.