Kirk, Only clearcutting is used in Finland. But clearcutted areas are quite small, the mean being below 2 hectares (< 5 acres). The current forest certifying (95% of the forest area excluding protected areas) requires that 5 trees are left standing in every hectare (2 trees / acre) for insects, birds, fungi etc. Nature conservation organizations claim the number is too small, and I have noticed myself, that the weakest trees (which may be damaged by logging operation) are left and after couple of years they are often not anymore standing.
If natural regeneration is used for the Scots Pine, 50-150 trees / hectare (120-370 trees / acre) are left for 5-10 years. A newer method is to grow mixed forest of the Norway Spruce and the Silver Birch. The birch grows in Finland much faster than the spruce and birch leaf debris ameliorates soil too. The spruce is quite shade tolerant and its early growth is even better under taller birches because of the protection from late winter wind. Birches reach cutting age earlier and spruces are left growing. - Kouta On Oct 27, 6:11 pm, Kirk Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > Thank you for this information Kouta, that is interesting. > > It sounds like timbering in Scandinavia maybe isn't quite as benign or > "light on the land" that it is sometimes made out to be. In terms of carving > up roadless tracts with roads anyway. > > Is clearcutting or other other forms of even-aged harvest used, or is it > primarily selective or uneven-aged harvest? > > Kirk Johnson --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
