Sustainable wood production on peatlands (SUO)

Projects of the National Forest Strategy
Projects of the Catch the Carbon -programme

Participants

Natural Resources Institute will lead the project and Finnish Forest Centre, Tapio Oy, University of Eastern Finland and Geological Survey of Finland are project partners.

Description

Duration: 2020-2023

Half of the Finnish peatlands have been drained for forestry. About one fourth of the growing stock of Finnish forests is on peatlands. Annually 15 Mm3 can be harvested from peatland forests in a sustainable way. Most of the forests are young, but gradually they reach the regeneration phase and provide more wood to be harvested. So far peatland forests have not been fully utilized. The demand of wood has increased in forest industry. Wood harvesting has to be carried out in a fully sustainable way.

Peatland forests are, besides the wood production, also significant carbon and nutrient pools and forest operations have impact on these pools. Forest regeneration and ditch network maintenance can increase greenhouse gas fluxes to the atmosphere, and suspended solid and nutrient fluxes to the surface waters. Also impacts on biodiversity need to be taken into account when managing peatland forests. Sustainable wood production, minimization of negative climate and water impacts and the demand to increase biodiversity are partly conflicting targets. They all should be taken into account when planning operations, and measures should be found for their consolidation.

The aim of this project is to develop a new standard for planning operations in peatland forests, which in addition to sustainable wood production aims to consolidate climate, water quality and biodiversity targets. This new standard for planning operations will be developed together with the end-users and other interest groups. It will be implemented in practice e.g. at training courses and by including it to education programmes. Project will also be active in communicating knowledge and practices on sustainable peatland forest management operations.

Project will support the implementation of National Forest Strategy 2025 and the climate programme of the government. Project will be carried out during 2020-2023. Natural Resources Institute will lead the project and Finnish Forest Centre, Tapio Oy, University of Eastern Finland and Geological Survey of Finland are project partners.

Lisätietoja

Project page (Natural Resources Institute Finland)