Forest cultivation and soil scarification increased in 2025

Nyhet | Statistik - 30 June 2026

The area of forest cultivation and soil scarification increased in 2025. The forest cultivation area amounted to 200,300 hectares, while the area with soil scarification amounted to 193,000 hectares. In this year’s survey, statistics on chemical browsing protection in the field are also reported.

Forest cultivation is a collective term for both planting and sowing. In 2025, the total forest cultivation area amounted to 200,300 hectares. This was an increase compared with 192,000 hectares in 2024. The increase was mainly due to a larger forest cultivation area among individual owners, while the area among other owners decreased.

The use of soil scarification also increased, from 161,000 hectares in 2024 to 193,000 hectares in 2025. The increase was observed in all regions and was largest among individual forest owners.

Supplementary seedlings decreased

The use of supplementary seedlings decreased compared to last year. In 2024 the number of supplementary seedlings was 43 million, compared to 33 million in 2025. The decrease between 2024 and 2025 was most pronounced in Norrland.

Forest fertilization is still above the levels of 2022

Forest fertilization decreased to 37,000 hectares in 2025, compared with 41,000 hectares the previous year.

Over the past 30 years the area where fertilization has been conducted has varied considerably, from a low of 10,000 hectares in 2022 to as much as 80,000 hectares in 2010. The sharp decline between 2021 and 2022 can be explained by rising fertilizer prices due to the war in Ukraine.

Continuous-cover forestry

In 2025, continuous‑cover forestry amounted to 735,000 hectares. The total level was therefore in parity with 2024. However, the distribution between owner categories has changed. The area among individual owners decreased from 535,000 hectares in 2024 to 475,000 hectares in 2025. The area among other owners increased from 198,000 hectares to 260,000 hectares.

Note that the statistics are intended to estimate the area of productive forest land where continuous-cover forestry is practiced as a management system. They are not an estimate of the amount of continuous cover forestry measures carried out in a single year.

Less ash recycling

During 2025, both the area and amount of ash recycling has decreased compared to 2024. The area decreased from 16,400 hectares to 12,800 hectares and the amount from 50,300 tons to 40,200 tons. The amount per hectare remained at a similar level, 3,1 tons per hectare.

During the period 2009–2025 the average area and amount of ash recycling was 12,000 hectares and 41,000 tons per year. 80 percent of all ash recycling was carried out in Götaland, 18 percent in Svealand, and 2 percent in Norrland.

New data on chemical browsing protection in the field

Starting with the 2025 survey, the Swedish Forest Agency also collects data on chemical browsing protection. Chemical browsing protection is applied to seedlings in the field to reduce browsing damage from ungulates, such as moose and deer. The data refers to treatment carried out on site after planting and apply to small-scale forestry.

The survey shows that 60,400 hectares were treated in 2025. Of the treated area, the largest share was in Götaland, followed by Svealand. In Norrland, the treatment occurred only to a limited extent.

Explanations regarding the statistics

The statistics from the Swedish Forest Agency regarding silvicultural activities are based on three components: a random sample survey of small-scale forestry (owners of less than 5 000 hectares of productive forest land), a total population survey of large-scale forestry (owning more than 5 000 hectares) and a comprehensive survey of ash recycling on forest land.

It is important to note that some estimates are presented together with statistical margins of error. The margin of error provides an indication of the uncertainty surrounding the estimate. When a margin of error is reported, it represents a 95 percent confidence interval. This means that if the survey was to be repeated many times, 95 percent of the calculated intervals would contain the true but unknown value. The size of the interval depends on the number of observations in the sample and the variability of the variable. Margins of error are not always included in written communications but are available in the Swedish Forest Agency’s statistical database together with the estimates.

The survey is part of the Official Statistics of Sweden.