9 percent of the area remains as environmental consideration areas after regeneration felling

Nyhet | Statistik - 21 December 2021

During the three-year period 2015/16 - 2017/18, the area left as environmental consideration during regeneration fellings was on average nine percent. This is similar to the results from earlier surveys conducted for the periods 2000–2007 and 2009–2014.

Area left as environmental consideration

Consideration areas are smaller areas of productive forest land, which have been left voluntarily or in accordance with the Forest Conservation Act during regeneration felling. Examples of consideration areas are sensitive habitats and edge zones to water, wetlands other land uses.

During the three-year period 2015/16 - 2017/18, an average of 9% of the regeneration area was left as consideration areas. The area was slightly larger in northern and southern Norrland (10%) compared with Svealand and Götaland (8%). Of this, 4–6% were sensitive habitats in all parts of the country. The area of edge zones was larger further north in the country, from 1% in Götaland to 5% in Northern Norrland.

The National Forest Inventory’s data regarding consideration areas for the period 2011–2019 was also 9% for the whole country.

A comparison with estimates from the Swedish Forest Agency's Polytax inventory shows that consideration areas between 2000 and 2014 were between 7% and 11%. The methods have changed during the period, and it is not possible to say whether there have been any actual trends during the period.

Individual trees left during regeneration felling

There is a strong trend of decreasing volumes of seed and shelter tree, which is due to the decrease in use of natural regeneration as a regeneration method. The volume of consideration trees is unchanged, but the number of small trees shows a declining trend.

Increases in the volume of hard dead wood, but decomposed dead wood has decreased

Since the middle of the 1990’s there has been a trend of increasing volumes of hard dead wood left during regeneration fellings. For the period 2005-2012 there has however also been a declining trend in the volume of more decomposed wood, so that the total volume of dead wood left is fairly constant during this period.