Silva Fennica Issue 64 includes presentations held in 1947 in the third professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the public administration. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service. Two of the presentations were published in other publications than Silva Fennica.
This presentation describes the forests and their silvicultural state in the areas of Perä-Pohjola and Lapland in the Northern Finland. Forest management work needed to improve the silvicultural state of the forests is suggested.
Silva Fennica Issue 64 includes presentations held in 1947 in the third professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in the public administration. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service. Two of the presentations were published in other publications than Silva Fennica issue 64.
This presentation discusses different ways of organizing felling cycle, forest management practices used in the forests of Finnish forest research institute, and how good practices developed in the institue could be applied in state forests.
Silva Fennica issue 52 includes presentations held in professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in public administration in 1938. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
This presentation describes a study of forest management practices suitable for in Hylocomnium-Myrtillus site type forests, typical for Northern Finland. A special problem for the forest site type is poor regeneration due weak seed production of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) and thick moss layer.
Silva Fennica issue 52 includes presentations held in professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in public administration in 1938. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
This presentation describes nature turism and recreation in Finland, how timber harvesting and nature conservation affect tourism and ways to adjust fellings to tourism.
Silva Fennica issue 46 includes presentations held in professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in public administration in 1937. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service.
This presentation describes principles of thinning of forest stands.
Planning of large central tree nurseries, which has become topical in Finland, means that the seedlings will be used in a wide geographical area. The nursery must decide which proveniences of seeds of the different tree species it will use. This concerns also the customer that buys the seedlings. The planting and lifting of the seedlings in the nursery have to be timed so that the seedlings are in a right state of growth at the time of planting.
The growth of the seedlings can, under certain conditions, be promoted by using a slightly southerly seed provenience, and large-sized seeds. There are, however, limitations to how much the seeds can be transferred northwards. If the nursery lies much south of the planting site, the seedlings have started height growth at the time of planting. This applies especially larch (Larix sp.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and birch (Betula sp.), but affects less Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.). The problem can be handled by using a cool storage space for the seedlings waiting for a delivery in the nursery.
According to an international study, seedlings grown from seeds collected in countries south from Finland usually die already during the first two years in the nursery. Within Finland the seeds can be transferred at least by two latitudes. Spruce seems to tolerate longer transfer. Seed orchards should be planted south of the seed’s origin to ensure better yield and better quality seeds.
The Silva Fennica issue 61 was published in honour of professor Eino Saari‘s 60th birthday.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
The article is a review on the research about forest regeneration in Finland, executed in the Forest Research Institute. The climate affects the results of different regeneration methods. Thus, sample plots have been established in different parts of the country. In 1933 there was a total of 386 sample plots around the country. To compare the effect of weather conditions in the regeneration, sample plots have been established in successive years. Other conditions that affect forest regeneration are soil, forest site type, tree species, time from the felling of the stand, and tending of the seedling stand. Of the 386 sample plots 245 were planting experiments and 141 sowing experiments.
The PDF includes a summary in German.
About 60%, 20.5 million hectares, of Finland is covered by forests. Of this area 10.5 million hectares are peatlands. The forests are divided in fertile forest land (17 million hectares), forest land of low productivity (3.5 million hectares) and nonproductive lands (about 10 million hectares). Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is the dominant species in 60%, Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) in 23%, and Betula sp. 17% of the forests. The younger age classes are poorly represented, but despite the abundance of older age classes, the growing stock and productivity of the forests are not very high. The reason is low density of the forests, unfavorable tree species composition and the condition of the forests. Timber is used as household timber in towns and in rural areas (16.5 million m3), in traffic (1.3 million m3), fuelwood in industry (3 million m3), raw material in wood industry (9.1 million m3) and export (4 million m3). State owns 36.9% of forest lands, companies and associations 8.1% and other private forest owners 53.5%. The article describes the administration of state and private forests, and forest education in Finland. There was about 600 sawmills, 25 mechanical pulpwood mills, 24 pulp mills and 31 paper mills in the country in 1920.
About 60%, 20.5 million hectares, of Finland is covered by forests. Of this area 10.5 million hectares are peatlands. The forests are divided in fertile forest land (17 million hectares), forest land of low productivity (3.5 million hectares) and nonproductive lands (about 10 million hectares). Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is the dominant species in 60%, Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) in 23%, and Betulasp. 17% of the forests. The younger age classes are poorly represented, but despite the abundance of older age classes, the growing stock and productivity of the forests are not very high. The reason is low density of the forests, unfavorable tree species composition and the condition of the forests. Timber is used as household timber in towns and in rural areas (16.5 million m3), in traffic (1.3 million m3), fuelwood in industry (3 million m3), raw material in wood industry (9.1 million m3) and export (4 million m3). State owns 36.9% of forest lands, companies and associations 8.1% and other private forest owners 53.5%. The article describes the administration of state and private forests, and forest education in Finland. There was about 600 sawmills, 25 mechanical pulpwood mills, 24 pulp mills and 31 paper mills in the country in 1920.
Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) forests in Northern Finland are situated mainly in the state lands. The survey is based on silvicultural surveys made in the northernmost districts of the state forests. The quality of private lands of the area was deduced based on the adjacent state lands and specific observations. A map was drawn on the distribution of productive Norway spruce forest in the study area.
The continuous Norway spruce forest areas covered 1,112,000 hectares, of which 866,000 hectares were on the state lands. Especially in the northern parts of the area also more fragmented spruce forest could be found (130,000 hectares in the state lands). The estimated total volume of the wood in the forests in the state and private lands was 57.78 million m3 in the continuous spruce forest area. The spruce forests were often situated on hill and fell areas relatively high above the sea level. In the areas north of the 66th parallel, almost half of the forests were above 300 meters above the sea level. Because spruce forests of the state lands were concentrated near watershed areas, the wood harvesting was more expensive, and reduced the value of the state forests. The spruce forests grow usually on fresh mineral soil sites. However, towards north the species was found on drier sites. The stands were mostly pure spruce stands or mixed birch-spruce stands. The older age groups were the most common, but young stands were rare.
The article is based on observations made during a decade in the parishes of Utsjoki and northern, middle and eastern parts of Inari in Finnish Lapland. At the timber line the pine regenerates very slowly. The amount and quality of pine forests on their timber line has been diminishing because of forestry, expansion of settlements and reindeer pasturing.
Assigning the pine forests on the timber line as protection forests would serve the nature protection purposes as well as the wellbeing of the inhabitants and the state. Protection of areas where the regeneration is weak as well as the birch forests that serve as source of firewood for local people is of particular important. Measures against forest fires need to be taken. Extensive use of forests for reindeer pastures have caused a threat to existence of those forests.
When it comes to forest management, securing the seed yield and the survival of the seedlings need to be taken care. The productivity of the forests must be increased. For growing amount of people living in the area, the need for firewood and timber for other purposes must be fulfilled without increasing pressure to nearby forests.
Soil of open and forest covered lands have different properties. Forest devastation has negative effect on forest soil, for instance, through leaching of nutrients. There are different views on how forest fire influences chemical properties of the soil. Burning of forests can have both positive and negative consequences.
The article publishes partial results from a study that aimed to find out how shifting cultivation affects the soil, and how it may change natural regeneration and forest growth of the stands. Soil samples were collected from four burnt-over sites. Of the samples, size classes of the soil particles, volatile solids and nutrient contents were determined. According to the results, the burning increased soluble nutrients, but the effect was not long-lasting. However, more sample sites would be needed to give definitive results of the differences.
The moisture content of the wood has negative impact on transport, storage and use of wood, particularly this can be noticed on firewood. The moister the wood the harder is the transportation and storing. The high percentage of moisture also reduces the heating power of fire wood.
Drying of the wood of different tree species was studied at the forestry institute Tuomarniemi with following experiment setup: pines, spruces, birches, aspens and alders were logged and cut into one-meter split billets. Then they were dices according Huber’s formula. The wood was stacked in three similar ricks (stacks), varying the direction of the cut surface. The various tree species were distributed evenly to every rick. The split billets were weighted straight after manufacturing and after every month.
The wood dries fastest during spring and summer months. The direction of the cut surface of split billets in the rick makes no big differences in drying. The coniferous wood dries up to lower moisture content than broadleaved woods.The article is a review on shifting cultivation, its methods and use in Finland, and its effect on the condition of forests. Shifting cultivation decreases forest reserves not only by burning large amounts of wood. Of the area used for shifting cultivation, 10-50% can be open land. The older age classes of forests are often missing, and range of tree species shift towards deciduous trees. This causes lack of large timber. The shorter the rotation, the less well the most valuable trees survive on the area. One reason is lack of seed trees. Of the coniferous trees, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is able to survive in the burnt-over lands better than Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.), because it can produce seeds at a relatively young age. Betula sp. and especially grey alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench) regenerate well on burnt-over lands. Also the frequency of good seed years determine which tree species become the dominant species on a burnt-over site.
When shifting cultivation is abandoned, deciduous trees keep their advantage over coniferous trees, because the wood of coniferous trees is used more in the surrounding villages. Pine and spruce spread to the burnt-over areas from the poorer sites that often had remained unburned. In densely populated areas in some counties in Savo in eastern Finland, where shifting cultivation was practiced intensively, Norway spruce became rare. Dominant tree species in the burnt-over areas became birch and pine.
The article is divided in two parts. A German summary is included in a separate PDF