Current issue: 58(5)
There is no clear picture in Finland of how big the revenues are that the State and the local authorities receive from taxation for the part of primary forestry. Conception of taxation varies from 100% to 50%. The paper presents a comparison between the gross income from timber sales as determined according to the method used at the Central Statistics Bureau and the net revenues as calculated on the basis of forest fee.
At 1920s area taxation was introduced in forest taxation. The system is based on forest types and their timber production capacity. According to the principles of area taxation, no tax is paid for overcuts, whereas timber capital savings should be paid for.
According to the calculations of this study, in 1958–62 the gross income from timber sales was about 506 million Fmk annually in Southern Finland, the costs involved in timber production about 437 million Fmk, and the annual taxable income 231 million Fmk. In the period more valuable timber assortments were harvested than those for which taxes were paid according to the old regulations.
Half a century ago, area taxation was a system suited to its purpose. Now, however, forestry is in the hands of another generation, and accounting has been introduced in practical agriculture and forestry. Therefore, a taxation system based on the real income from timber growing should be introduced. The transition period could even be relatively short. It seems probable that a forest owner does not sell timber at a time when this would be required by silvicultural aspects in order to avoid income taxation, he should have to be present an acceptable working plan.
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The study material included 600 Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) grafts from the Tohmajärvi seed orchard in Eastern Finland. Their broad sense heritability for the height growth was 0.92, for the number of branches 0.87 and for the angle of branching 0.84. Grafts from Central Finland had cones more often than the southern ones, the frequencies being 26.3% and 11.2%. It seems that dominance plays a significant role in the genetical variation of this seed orchard and that height growth is probably more rewarding breeding characteristic than quality, the difference being small, however.
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The article is a report of a study tour of five Finnish foresters in Germany on September 27 – October 2. 1971. As in most industrial countries, the recreation use of forests is rapidly expanding and, therefore, its needs are considered in the management of forests. Two examples of intensively used recreation forests are described, Schönbuch near Stuttgart and the Bavarian Forest National Park at the Czechoslovakian border. These forests are effectively used for both timber production and recreation at the same time. Some other effects of urbanization on forests also are discussed in the article.
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This article is an abstract from a lecture given in Helsinki on 2.12.1970. Physiological differences in different parts of developing primordia of micro- and macrostrobiles are manifested in the ultrastructure of the cell tissues. In electron microscopy, the study off metabolic activities can be combined with the anatomical examination of the flower primordia.
The generative cells of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) develop under the strong metabolic activity of surrounding layers of cells. Simultaneously the activity and development of the organelles in generative cells becomes hindered, and these inhibitions will exist until the fertilization. It can be concluded that the higher the gradient of sexualization of the cells in different parts of flower primordia, the weaker the metabolic activity in these cells.
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About 4,000 seedlings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) were planted in 1965 both on a clear-cut and sheltered area in Central Finland. In the autumn of 1966 needle colour was determined by using Muncell Color Charts which allowed a quantitative measurement of three colour dimensions (hue, value, and chroma). Terminal shoot growth was recorded for two years after colour measurements. In both species, fertilization (NPK in the spring of the year of colour measurement) as well as other site factors caused differences in all three dimensions of needle colour. A regression of shoot growth on needle colour was found in both species. In most cases colour value (darkness) and, in spruce, also chroma, predicted the subsequent growth almost as well as did these two-colour variables together.
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Among the users of factor analysis there seems to be a tendency to extend the use of this method to tasks where it suits poorly. It is therefore important to emphasise at least the following aspects: 1) More critical attention should be paid to problems of interpretation especially at situations where method is aimed at analysing the causal relationships among the variables; 2) The study problem should be stated so clearly as to make it plausible to evaluate the suitability of factor model to the problem.
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A hypothetic problem is outlined as an example of the type of problem to which factor analysis should not be applied. Apart from this, attention is paid to industrialisation, a concept characterised by several variables, none of which can be held constant while analysing its influence on attitudes by multi-variable cross-tabulation techniques.
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Some alternative ways of using factor analysis in the field of forest owners’ behaviour are explored in the article, in the light of two new Finnish publications. The philosophical and mathematical propertied of factor analysis are often considered too restrictive, and thus its applicability to different fields too limited. A good knowledge of the method and the subject matter theories seems to be an important prerequisite for a successful application of factor analysis. Otherwise the researcher is too dependent on the general recommendations concerning the use of factor analysis and cannot fit its use in his special situation and the whole methodological setting of the study.
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Seedlings of three different Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) nursery stock, 1+0 ,1+1, and 2+0, were kept over the winter, after they had been packed in polythene bags, in three different ways: 1) In a refrigerated storage room, 2) in a wooden crate in the ground, 3) submerged in a lake. The seedling to which they were to be compared with were left over the winter in a nursery bed. The 1,800 seedlings were planted out in the spring 1966 in 15 random blocks. Their development was scrutinized during the three subsequent falls.
The seedlings which had been stored in the lake all died. The seedlings which had been stored along the 1st and 2nd method, managed almost as well as the ones which had been kept over the winter in the nursery bed, except for those of 1+0 stock.
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The material of 78 damaged Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) trees was gathered in Southern Finland in order to clarify the advance of decay. The harvesting which had caused the scars had been carried out 12 years earlier and at the moment of the investigation the growing stand was 110 years old. It was noticed that the variables used could explain only a few per cent of the variation of the advance of decay. It was concluded that the only important thing in practice is whether the injuries are in roots or in stems.
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Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings were stored for five days in an ordinary wood shed. One half of the seedlings were planted out directly, and another half after soaking the roots of the seedlings for 3–6 hours in water to compensate the possible water deficit developed. According to the results of the experiment, the effect of watering was extremely small. The difference observed, which was in favour of the trees that had been watered during storage, was discernible only in the needle length and in the number of lateral buds; in mortality or in the growth of the seedlings no difference could be observed.
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The Finnish forest industries have doubled their use of wood raw material during the past two decades. The average annual overcut of 4.0 million m3 in 1960–64 has been turned into an average annual surplus of 2.7 million m3 in 1965–69. By 1974 industry’s requirements for domestic roundwood would increase by about 6.3 million m3, if all new capacity can be taken into full production. The MERA allowable cut, if realized, would leave a 1.5 million m3 annual surplus in the forest balance in 1974. Less intensive forestry programs would mean a 1.5 to 4.4 million m3 overcut in 1974.
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The paper lists the abbreviations used of forest scientific publication around the world.
The Sinivuori Nature Park, located in the northeast part of the county of Häme in Southern Finland represents the rare fertile forest lands in the country, and belong partly to the so-called centre of herb‐rich forests of Häme. Sinivuori is one of the smallest nature reserves in Finland (64 ha). The detailed vegetation analysis was performed in 1969, supplemented by earlier and later observations. The area was divided into 69 one-hectare squares for the study of the flora and vegetation.
The most common rock in the park is mica schist. The pH of the soil is relatively high, in average 6.6. Thermal-time sum is 1,100–1,200. The vegetation differs to a large extent from the surrounding areas. 169 vascular plants were found in the area, some of which very rare in the area. The paper lists the plants and their abundance in the area, and the vegetation is described by the forest types. Distribution maps are presented for the species.
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The mobility of logging tractors was tested in the winter 1969 on difficult snow conditions to gather information for planning of logging operations and for logging machinery design. The tractors tested were Clark Ranger 666, Timberjack C, Valmet Terra, Ford Brunett 5000, Fiskars 510, BM-Volvo SM 660, BM Volvo SM 661, Ford Country 6, MF-Robur I and BM-Boxer T-350.
According to the results, there is a preference of tracked vehicles in difficult snow conditions compared to wheeled tractors. Ford Country with long and bearing full-tracks proved to have the best mobility. On downhill grades it was found significant differences between three-quarter-track-tractors and skidders, although the performance on level ground and uphill grades was relatively similar. The tracked vehicles can easier move on the packed snow layer and reach a higher speed.
The driving speed does not increase significantly until the density of snow has entirely changed through getting wet. Wet top layer of snow affects positively on driving, because it increases packing of the snow. Increasing density of the snow improves especially the mobility of broad-tired wheeled tractors. To be able to predict the driving speed of a tractor in winter working conditions one must know the depth of the snow layer and the density of the snow and the grade of the slope. In addition, the passages on the same route and the packing of the snow must be regarded.
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The purpose of the study was to measure the throughfall in a managed Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand in Southern Finland (61°47’, 24°18’). Totally 20 summer rain gauges (collecting area 100 cm2) were placed randomly in form of a lattice of 100 squares, each 2x2 m. Six rain throughs, 15 cm x 150 cm, were placed in the experimental stand. Auxiliary precipitation measurement was done in an opening, by using four summer rain gauges, two rain throughs and one recording rain gauge. The throughfall was followed in May–September 1967.
In comparison with summer rain gauges, the rain throughs gave too low values when the precipitation was below 3 mm/rain shower. Accordingly, only the results of rain gauges were used. The rate of throughfall was determined by the amount of precipitation and the rate of heaviness of the rain shower. When trying to describe the relative amount of throughfall by using various characteristics of the stand, the equitation proposed by Seppänen (1964) proved the best. When the rate of throughfall was depicted with the distance between the summer gauge and the nearest tree, there was negative correlation between these. The correlation was negative under heavy rains, but positive in small rains.
Various factors of uncertainty are discussed. During long periods the areas under Scots pine canopies reach more rain water than those between the canopies, which may be important when analysing the spatial distribution of ground vegetation.
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Experiments were carried out to find out the effect of fertilizer application on germination, seedling emmergnece and initial development in conifer plantations established on peat by sowing, with a special reference to Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). The experiments were carried out in 1968–70 in laboratory, in greenhouse and in the field.
In the greenhouse experiments with Y fertilizer for peat soils (14% N, 18% P2O5, 10% K2O) it was shown that germination and seedling emergence decreased markedly with increased fertilizer application. Mortality among seedlings that had emerged was the higher the larger quantities of fertilizer had been applied. The effect of fertilization was the greater, the drier the substrate. Fine ground rock phosphate (33% P2O5) promoted seedling emergence on a dry substrate but not on a wet one.
The field experiments carried out in Central Finland included dry and wet sites. Y fertilizer, Oulu Saltpeter (25% N), fine-ground rock phosphate and potassium salt (50% K2O) were used. According to the results, easily soluble fertilizers decreased seedling emergence. On wet sites the effect of Y fertilizer was weaker than on drier sites. Fine-ground rock phosphate slightly increased the number of seedlings emerging. Height growth was increased during the first three growing seasons only by those fertilizers containing phosphorus.
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In the eastern parts of South-Finland the growing season of 1967 was highly favourable, which resulted in good height growth during the following year. During the summer 1968, temperature conditions were unfavourable, while the middle of summer was cold and the later part of the growing season unusually hot. The following winter had exceptionally cold spells from January to March, which caused Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) abundant winter frost damages such as dead shoots and buds, and destroyed needles.
These damages occurred particularly in stands with height of 0.5–3 m, and the occurrence of damages seemed to concentrate to the parts of saplings that had been immediately above the snow cover. Detailed observations on spruce plantations growing under a dense nurse stand of alder (Alnus sp.) indicated that explicitly the top shoots suffered from damages and not so much the laterals. When the needles of the leader suffered from minor damages, the shoot continued to grow normally. Still, sometimes a branch took over and became a new leader. If only the leader bud was killed, further stem development became dependent on one of the topmost lateral buds. When the upper part of the leaded died, one of the lateral shoots at its base usually became the new leader.
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The changed in size and shape of ditches made by draining plows and tractor diggers were followed over a one-year period after the draining in four different peatland types. The material consists of 51 ditches made with each method in dwarf-shrub pine bog, herb-rich spruce swamp, in herb-rich sedge bog and sedge pine bog. The measurements were made immediately after the digging, and one month and a year later.
Ditches made by plowing and surrounded by peat became shallower quickly during the first 2–3 days after plowing due to the pressure of the surrounding peat. Ditches made with tractor diggers did not become shallower as fast, and their bottom did not widen to the same extent than plown ditched. During the first year, machine-made ditches change in a same way as handmade ditches, especially when compared to ditches made by tractor digger.
Immediately after digging the ditches made by tractor digger were 10 cm deeper and 0.13 m3 larger than plown ditches. One year later the values were 7,5 cm and 0.09 m3, respectively. Plown ditches made in the peat were 14.4 cm deeper than ditches that penetrated into the subsoil, for tractor digger the value was 13.2 cm. Ditches made with a tractor digger were deeper than plown ditches both in soils with deep and shallow peat layer.
The changes were largest and fastest in the wettest peatland type herb-rich sedge bog. In herb-rich spruce swamps, which have a shallow peat layer, the shallower plown ditches kept their form better than ditches dug by tractor digger.
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The paper describes the results obtained from an experiment of fertilization of drained treeless peatlands in connection of planting in three sites in Central Finland. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings 2+0 was used. The fertilizer (Y-fertilizer for peat soils, 14% N, 18% P2O5, 10% K2O) was applied in rates of 0, 20, 40 and 80 g/transplant. The fertilizer was strewn either around the plant within a circular patch of 20 cm in diameter, in a ring with a radius of 10 cm and in a ring with a radius of 20 cm. The seedlings were measured two and five years after planting.
The greater the quantity of fertilizer applied and the closer it was applied to the plant the higher was the mortality of transplants. Fertilization increased the mortality during the first two growing seasons after application. Later, however, the mortality decreased to a similar level irrespective the way the fertilizer was applied. In the beginning of the second growing season the fertilized plants showed considerably better height growth than the control plants. The smallest quantity of fertilizer applied produced almost full increase in growth. The pattern of application of the fertilizer had little effect on the growth.
It was concluded that a use of small amounts of fertilizer can be recommended in connection with planting and that it should not be applied very near the seedlings.
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The paper lists the forest publications of forest scientific research published in Finland in 1970 in five scientific series: Acta Forestalia Fennica, Silva Fennica, Communicationes Instituti Forestalis Fenniae, Folia Forestales, and Metsäteho Reports.
The aim of the present study was to increase the knowledge of the anaerobic conditions prevailing in virgin peat soils of different kinds, and on the fluctuation of the aerobic limit. Silver rod method was used to indicate anaerobic conditions and to locate the aerobic limit. The material included 18 peatland sample plots on treeless bogs, in pine bogs and in spruce swamps in Southern Finland. Observations of the discoloration of the silver rods and measurements of ground water level were made from 8 June to 13 August 1968.
The results show that the location of the aerobic limit is dependent of the depth of the ground water table, and usually lies 5–15 cm above the ground water table. Down to 10–20 cm below the aerobic limit, where it reaches maximum, the rate of decomposition of sulfurous organic matter is positively correlated with the distance from the aerobic limit. Deeper it gradually decreases, and in the depth of 25–35 cm no hydrogen sulphide seems to be released.
In the forested peatland types the volume of the growing stock and the increment were dependent on the depth of the aerobic limit only when nutrient content and pH of the peat was more or less constant. Where the aerobic limit was close to the ground surface but the nutrient contents were relatively high, the volume of the growing stock may be comparatively high. Birch (Betula sp.), better than the conifers, is able to stand conditions poor in oxygen. The growing stock was poor in sites where the aerobic limit was near the ground surface, but the nitrogen and phosphorus contents were high, or vice versa. Consequently, aerobic limit is of great importance as an indicator of site quality.
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The study was carried out in order to establish the possible influence of damage caused to the needles of Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. by the spruce spider mite, Oligonychus ununguis (Jacobi), and the growth of the damaged seedlings. The study was carried out in 1968–1970 by comparing growth of seedlings infected with spruce spider mite with that of seedlings where mites had been killed with acaricide (Eradex®). In the seedlings that had not been treated with acaricide, the number of wintering eggs were 60, 20 and 5 per shoot in the various years of the study. When the experiment was laid out, before planting and acaricide treatment, the seedlings were four years old, all seadlings were heavily infected, the number of wintering eggs being 100 per shoot. The growth of infected seedlings was 3, 20 and 15% smaller than that obtained for the seedlings which had been treated with acaricide.
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The aim of this study was to investigate how the weight loss and water content of cold stored plants depend on the storage conditions, and if there is a clear connection between these factors and the field survival of the planting stock. The experiments were carried out in a climate chamber at about +2°C and at three moisture levels (about 70, 85, and 95%) from November 1968 to May 1969. Three-year-old seedlings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) average length 127 mm, diameter 3.5 mm and the top/root-ratio of fresh weight 1.93, were stored in open and sealed plastic bags. In addition, a transpiration retardant (Silvaplast) was used. The plastic bags (10 plants each) were weighted every 4. week. The remaining 270 seedlings were planted out and inspected after one growing season.
Although the experiment was made in a small scale, the results showed clearly that plant mortality, varying between 3 and 97%, was due to the storage conditions. The weight loss ranged between 2 and 50%, and the correlation between the weight loss and the mortality in the field was high. The water content of the seedlings was about 61%. The correlation between water content and survival was very high. Thus, the determination of weight loss or water content could be a useful method in observing the changes of water balance of the seedling stock during winter-storage. Further investigations are needed to show the tolerable rate of drying out for different sorts of plants. The Silvaplast-treatment had no visible effect either on the drying out or on the field survival.
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A review is made into the experiences and possibilities of willow breeding, with a particular consideration of their application under Finnish conditions.
In comparison with other tree genera, Salix has many advantages in breeding. The great number of species, large genetic variation between and within species and frequent crossability offer good possibilities for improvement by hybridization. The dioecious flowering, plentiful seed production and short generation cycle are valuable properties for breeding by controlled pollination. Individuals with desirable characteristics can be easily propagated vegetatively from cuttings. The propertied stated above are also characteristic of poplars, the breeding of which has resulted in great success. Corresponding results can be therefore expected from willow breeding, which has recently been initiated in several countries.
Today willows have no practical significance for forestry in Finland. There are, however, some suitable Salix species, both indigenous and exotic, for starting material for breeding, and plenty of favourable sites for willows. Therefore, the beginning of breeding research with willows should be well justified also in Finland.
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This paper reports spot sowing experiments of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). The seeds were either covered with coarse sand, tramped in the substrate or sowed without any covering, 30 seeds in each treatment in 70 replications. The site was of Vaccinium type with sandy soil. The germination percentage was 81 and 91 on the respective years. The development of seedlings was observed for 3–4 years.
The results indicate that both tramping and covering the seeds to some extent increased the number of seedlings and improved the early development. The highest numbers of seedlings were recorded in the first growing season, after which there was 23 seedlings/100 seeds in the uncovered spots, 27 seedlings in the covered spots and 31 seedlings in the tramped spots in the experiment sowed in 1965.
Mortality of the seedlings was highest between the first and second growing season, and empty spots increased with the time. There was no difference in mortality between the sowing methods, but the number of seedlings after first growing season affected the result. Under favourable conditions four seedlings per spot seemed enough to secure the survival of minimum one seedling per spot during the three first growing seasons. In poor conditions seven seedlings was needed.
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