Pentti Niemistö, Soili Kojola, Anssi Ahtikoski, Raija Laiho. (2017). From useless thickets to valuable resource? – Financial performance of downy birch management on drained peatlands. Silva Fennica vol. 51 no. 3 article id 2017. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.2017

Keywords: forest management; Betula pubescens; thinning; energy wood; pulpwood; profitability; final cutting

Highlights: The most profitable management regimes for pulpwood and energy wood production in dense downy birch stands on drained peatlands include no thinnings, but final cutting at the stand age of 40–45 years as whole-tree harvesting, or as integrated harvesting of pulpwood and delimbed energy wood stems about 10 years later depending on applicable harvesting method; A competitive management regime is early precommercial thinning at 4 m dominant height to a density of 2500 stems per hectare and production of pulpwood with a rotation of 55–65 years. Equal profitability is achieved with or without traditional first thinning, which can thus be included for other reasons, for example to improve regeneration of spruce.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Downy birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.) stands on drained peatlands are often considered useless because they typically do not yield good-quality sawn timber. However, covering an area of ca. 0.5 million hectares and with total yields of up to 250 m³ ha^–1, downy birch stands on peatlands in Finland have a potential for pulpwood and/or energy wood production. We examined the financial performance of alternative management regimes (with or without thinnings, different thinning intensities, several rotation lengths) combined with alternative harvesting methods (pulpwood, energy wood, or integrated, energy wood being delimbed stems or whole trees). We used data from 19 experimental stands, monitored for 20–30 years. For harvesting removals we considered both actual thinning removals and final-cutting removals with alternative timings that were based on the monitoring data. We assessed the profitability as a combination of the net present value of the birch generation and the bare land value of future generations of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). The most profitable management was growing without thinnings until whole-tree final cutting at the stand age of 40–45 years with an advanced multi-tree harvesting method. In contrast, the standard method in whole-tree final cutting resulted in the lowest profitability, and an integrated method with the energy wood as delimbed stems was the best of the standard methods. Thinnings were unprofitable especially when aiming to produce energy wood, whereas aiming for pulpwood, light precommercial thinning was competitive. Commercial thinning at the traditional “pulpwood stage” had little effect on profitability. The best stand age for final cutting was 40–65 years – earlier for very dense stands and whole-tree energy wood harvesting with advanced method, later for precommercially thinned stands and pulpwood harvesting.

Niemistö, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Kampusranta 9 C, 60320 Seinäjoki, Finland E-mail: pentti.niemisto@luke.fi
Kojola, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Latokartanonkaari 9, 00790 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: soili.kojola@luke.fi
Ahtikoski, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Paavo Havaksentie 3, 90014 University of Oulu, Finland E-mail: anssi.ahtikoski@luke.fi
Laiho, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Management and Production of Renewable Resources, Latokartanonkaari 9, 00790 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: raija.laiho@luke.fi

article id 407, category Research article

Soili Kojola, Timo Penttilä, Raija Laiho. (2004). Impacts of different thinning regimes on the yield of uneven-structured Scots pine stands on drained peatland. Silva Fennica vol. 38 no. 4 article id 407. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.407

Keywords: Pinus sylvestris; stand structure; silviculture; growth and yield; peatland forestry; intermediate cuttings

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Drained peatlands in northern Europe comprise more than 10 million ha of forestland and thus constitute a considerable production potential in forestry. Much of this area consists of stands dominated by Scots pine and close to maturity regarding commercial thinning. The trees within these stands typically vary in terms of age, size, and growth rate. The impacts of silvicultural cuttings on these uneven-structured stands are inadequately known. We simulated the impacts of a control regime with no thinnings, and three different thinning regimes, involving different thinning intensities, on the development of fifteen pine-dominated stands in Finland. The simulations started from the first thinnings and were continued until regeneration maturity. The predicted total yields ranged from 244 to 595 m3 ha–1, depending on site and thinning regime. The highest total yields were observed for the control regime in which 18–38% of the yield was, however, predicted to self-thin by the end of the simulation. Thus, the differences in the yields of merchantable wood were fairly small among the compared regimes. However, the regimes involving thinnings generally needed less time than the control regime to reach regeneration maturity. The mean annual increment of total stem volume was at its highest in the control regime. The highest mean annual increment of merchantable wood was obtained in the regime involving two moderate thinnings, but excluding the most low-productive sites where thinnings did not increase the yield of merchantable wood.

Kojola, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Research Centre, P.O. Box 18, FIN-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail: soili.kojola@metla.fi
Penttilä, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Research Centre, P.O. Box 18, FIN-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail: tp@nn.fi
Laiho, University of Helsinki, Department of Forest Ecology, P.O. Box 27, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland E-mail: rl@nn.fi

article id 494, category Research article

Antero Varhimo, Soili Kojola, Timo Penttilä, Raija Laiho. (2003). Quality and yield of pulpwood in drained peatland forests: pulpwood properties of Scots pine in stands of first commercial thinnings. Silva Fennica vol. 37 no. 3 article id 494. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.494

Keywords: Pinus sylvestris; peatland; thinning; silviculture; pulpwood; fiber; pulping

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The inherent structural dynamics of drained peatland forests may result in a great variation in various wood and fiber properties. We examined variation in fiber and pulp properties i) among stands, ii) among trees within stands, and iii) within trees in young stands dominated by Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). The stands, selected to cover a maximal range of the potential variation, were all at a stage of development where the first commercial thinnings would be feasible. Differences in the processability of the thinning removals were small. In similar kraft cooking conditions, a 5-unit variation in the kappa number of unbleached pulp was observed among the stands. Stand origin had no effect on pulp bleaching. The wood formed prior to drainage had a higher density, shorter fibers, was slightly slower delignified by cooking, and its yield was slightly lower than that of post-drainage wood. These properties, except for high density, are typical for juvenile wood in general, and at stand level they did not correlate with the proportion of pre-drainage wood. When the variation in fiber and pulp properties was broken down into its components, most of it was derived from tree-level in all the cases. On average, the fiber and pulp properties did not differ from those observed for first-thinning pulpwood from upland sites. Consequently, peatland-grown pulpwood may be mixed with other pulpwood in industrial processes. It would probably be best suited as the raw material for pulps with high bonding requirements, e.g. in the top ply of multi-ply board grades or in some specialty grades.

Varhimo, KCL, P.O. Box 70, FIN-02151 Espoo, Finland E-mail: antero.varhimo@kcl.fi
Kojola, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Research Centre, P.O. Box 18, FIN-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail: sk@nn.fi
Penttilä, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Vantaa Research Centre, P.O. Box 18, FIN-01301 Vantaa, Finland E-mail: sp@nn.fi
Laiho, Department of Forest Ecology, P.O. Box 27, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland E-mail: raija.laiho@helsinki.fi

Click this link to register to Silva Fennica.

If you are a registered user, log in to save your selected articles for later access.

Contents alert

Your selected articles

Follow @SilvaFennica