Decrease in area of forest notified for final felling in March

Nyhet | Statistik - 12 April 2022

In March 2022 the area covered by notifications and applications for permits of final felling was down by 21 percent compared with March 2021, according to new statistics from the Swedish Forest Agency. The area covered by applications in montane forests was 46 percent smaller compared to March last year.

The total area covered by applications and notifications in March for the whole country amounted to 16,031 hectares, which was almost 21 per cent less than in March 2021. A total of 4,307 notifications and applications were received. Of these, 24 applied for permits for final felling of 486 hectares montane forests, which was just over 46 percent less than in March last year.

At county level, the notified and applied area decreased in 19 of 21 counties

In 12 counties, the decreases were over 30 percent, with the largest decreases in Gotland, Jönköping and Kalmar counties, compared with March 2021. On the other hand, Västernorrland and Västerbotten counties showed large increases (75 and 35 percent, respectively).

In total, the area covered by notifications and applications decreased in March by 37 percent in Götaland compared with March last year. The area decreased by 66 percent in Gotland County and by 51 and 47 per cent respectively in Jönköping and Kalmar counties. In Svealand, the area decreased by 24 percent, where the largest decreases were in Dalarna and Uppsala County (44 and 39 percent, respectively). In Södra Norrland, the decrease was 12 percent. However, the differences were large between the counties, where the area in Gävleborg and Jämtland counties decreased by 40 and 33 percent, respectively, while the area in Västernorrland increased by 75 percent.

In Västerbotten, the area increased by 35 percent, which gave an increase for Norra Norrland by 17 percent compared to March 2021.

So far this year, the area covered by notifications and applications have decreased by 10 percent

During January to March, notifications and applications for permits for final felling have decreased by 10 percent compared with the same period last year. Applications for permits for final felling of montane forests have decreased by 57 percent.

In Götaland, the notified and applied area has decreased by 25 percent and in Södra Norrland the area has decreased by 12 percent compared to March 2021. In Svealand the area is unchanged and in Northern Norrland the notified and applied area has increased by 11 percent.

Statistics refer to total notifications and applications for permission on productive forest land for final felling in montane forest and valuable broad-leaved forest.

The survey is part of Official Statistics of Sweden.

All results are published in our statistical database.