The study found that natural regeneration of pine and spruce is successful when continuous cover logging operations are executed correctly.
According to the doctoral dissertation, pine and spruce regeneration is more abundant and growth is faster under a sparser overstory canopy. In some places even at a lower basal area than recommended by current forest management guidelines.
Petra Peltola, who defended her doctoral thesis at the University of Eastern Finland on September 11, explains that substrate characteristics also played a major role in the number and growth of pine seedlings. A thinner or exposed humus layer predicted a higher number of seedlings, whereas abundant moss cover and bilberry predicted fewer.
Small gap harvesting proved to be the best method
According to Peltola, the results can be applied by choosing the continuous cover harvesting method and potential site preparation technique that best promote natural regeneration. Additionally, forests should be thinned to a density that optimally supports natural regeneration and seedling development.
The doctoral research examined the natural regeneration and seedling growth of pine and spruce in continuous cover forestry following single-tree selection, small gap, and shelterwood harvesting. For pine, the study focused on Northern Finland, and for spruce, on Southern Finland.
The presence of herbaceous plants and bilberry predicted faster-growing pine seedlings in Northern Finland, indicating more nutrient-rich growing sites.
Small gap harvesting supported the natural regeneration of pine best. Remote sensing was successfully used to predict the quantity of naturally emerged seedlings.
Finland’s most beautiful forest stand
Research in the forestry sector established as early as the beginning of the 2000s that people consider a relatively sparse forest stand containing tall birches and pines along with shorter understory to be scenically the most beautiful1). Landscape attractiveness was measured by presenting test subjects with photos of various forest landscapes.
The scenic beauty index created from this research has been used in modeling studies comparing different forest management practices.
Clear-cutting, on the other hand, is perceived to degrade the landscape value of forests used for recreation, especially during snow-free periods.2)
By preserving structural and species diversity, future development and the opportunity to continue thinning from above are safeguarded. Favoring mixed tree stands also increases resilience against changing environmental conditions. In continuous cover forestry, all of these factors are already taken into account in the measures taken to prepare for timber sales.
Sources:
1) Silvennoinen H, Alho J, Kolehmainen O, Pukkala T. 2001. Prediction models of landscape preferences at the forest stand level. Landscape and Urban Planning 56:11–20.
2) Tyrväinen L, Silvennoinen H, Hallikainen V. 2017. Effect of the season and forest management on the visual quality of the nature-based tourism environment: a case from Finnish Lapland. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 32:349–359.
📞 Choose clear-cut-free timber – ask for EverCover-certified raw material!
Certified timber from continuous cover forestry is now available for construction projects. Contact us to learn more about timber products that meet EverCover certification standards: mikael.sjovall@innofor.fi, +358 50 3820521
Manage your forest with continuous cover forestry – contact us through our website or send an email to: toimisto@innofor.fi
