Forests
(including scrub land) cover 23 million hectares (76 %) of the land
area of Finland.[1] Forests are the primary habitat of almost
half of the country’s species diversity.[2] The most common tree species
of these boreal forests are pine (Pinus sylvestris),
spruce (Picea abies) and birch (Betula spp.).
Over
half of Finland’s forests are in small private holdings (54 %), while
a significant proportion is owned by the state (33 %). Only a small
amount is owned by companies (8 %) and by other owners such as municipalities
and the church (5 %).[1]
Since
early in the 20th century the state has strongly promoted intensive
forestry in Finland with the aim of maximising the flow of timber
to Finnish mills. Forest policies have resulted in the conversion
of old-growth forests to industrial forests that lack key features
of natural boreal forest.[3]
Industrial
forestry and in particular the creation of monoculture forests have
significantly changed the structure, dynamics and species composition
of the forest ecosystem.[3] Species such as the flying squirrel
(Pteromys volans), three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus),
Siberian jay (Perisoreus infaustus) and hundreds of
plants and invertebrates have been unable to sustain their populations
in commercial forests. Altogether 564 forest species are classified
as threatened in the Finnish assessment of threatened species (the
Red List), a majority of them as a result of modern forest management.[2]
A further 416 forest species are classified as near-threatened. In
reality, the number of threatened species is probably much greater,
since the status of 65 % of all forest species could not be assessed
at all because of insufficient information on their populations.
Around
a quarter of the threatened forest species are entirely dependent
on old-growth forest, and many others depend on particular features
of boreal forest that are now only to be found in old-growth forests.[2]
The number of species entirely dependent on old-growth forest that
have become extinct or are threatened or near-threatened has reached
260, according to the latest assessment of threatened species (2001)[2]
– an increase of over 40 from the previous assessment (1991).[2]
Currently
only about 4 % of the country’s forest area (7 % including scrub land)
is strictly protected.[4] The vast majority of this is situated
in areas where many of the threatened species are unable to survive.
Unless the area of forest and of rare habitats under protection is
significantly increased, hundreds of species are expected to face
extinction within the next 50 years.[5]
[1]
Finnish Forest Research Institute (2003) Statistical yearbook of forestry
2003
[2] Ministry of Environment (2001) The 2000 Red List of Finnish species
[3] Siitonen, J. (2001) ‘Forest management, coarse woody debris and
saproxylic organisms: Fennoscandian boreal forests as an example’
in Ecological Bulletins 49: 11–41
[4] Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (2002) Report of the working
group on classification and statistics of forest protection
[5] Hanski, I. (2003) ‘An ecological assessment of the need for forest
protection in Finland’ in S. Harkki, K. Savola and M. Walsh (eds.)
A comprehensive conservation programme for Finland’s forests in the
21st century: 18–33. BirdLife Finland.
[Excerpt
from an NGO-publication Certifying extinction?]
