Swedish forest management

Photo: Samuel Unéus skördare i skogen

Some 75 per cent of the Swedish forest areais managed, typically to produce timber. Every year, 400 million saplings are planted in Sweden and approximately 1 per cent of the total forest area is harvested.

The Swedish Forest Act of 1903 was the first in the world to require reforestation. Today, this involves planting two to three new saplings for every tree that is felled. Forest owners are free to manage their forests according to their own objectives, but in combination with the responsibility to ensure that there is sufficient new forest and to preserve and develop environmental values. Under current Swedish forestry law, production and environmental aims take equal precedence. This means that it is just as important that forests’ environmental values ​​are preserved and developed, as it is that forests providea high and value-adding wood production.

Aside the Swedish Forest Act, rules in the Environmental Protection Act also govern the way forestry can be conducted.

Sustainable forest management

The UN Food and Agricultural Organization and Forest Europe define sustainable forest management as “the stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, which maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfil, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems.” 

This definition is based on the aims of Agenda 2030, which is also the basis for forestry for a sustainable development  in Sweden.

Even-aged retention forestry

Many Swedish tree species’ growth patterns are historically adapted to severe impacts caused by recurring storms and fire. Even-aged retention forestry with clear-cuts mimics these sorts of impacts and is the most common form of forest management conducted in Sweden.

The idea is to establish an even growth of forests of all ages across the entire forest landscape. This means felling trees in one area at a time and planting new seedlings after felling, ensuring that there are always growing forests of different ages across larger forest landscapes. Read more about clear-fellings here.

Uneven-aged forestry

Even-aged forestry is not the only way to manage forests. Interest in what is known as uneven-aged forestry, for example  dimension cutting and selective felling, is increasing. In such cases, felling is often focused on trees of a certain size, for example.

Uneven-aged forestry can be a good alternative if special objectives need to be met that cannot be addressed with even-aged forestry. This could relate to improving recreational values in forests close to urban areas, for example, or preserving and promoting lichen-rich forests that are important for reindeer husbandry or to benefit certain species of fungi.