Notification of regeneration felling in normal forests

In 2022, 228,087 hectares were notified for regeneration felling in normal forest, which is the lowest area since 2012.

Individual forest owners notified 133,456 hectares, which was 21 percent less than in 2021. Other owners reported 94,631 hectares, 3 percent less than the previous year. Over the past eight years, individual forest owners have reported a larger area than other forest owners. As shown in Figure 3, the notified area for individual forest owners varies more from year to year than it does for other forest owners.

In this context, normal forest refers to normal forest according to Section 14 of the Forestry Act, which means forest on land that is suitable for wood production and that is not used to a significant extent for other purposes.

The notified area for regeneration felling decreased in all parts of the country in 2022 compared to 2021. In Götaland, the area decreased by 25 percent, in Northern Norrland by 18 percent and in Svealand by 12 percent. In Southern Norrland, the decrease was 4 percent.

Applications for permits for regeneration felling in montane forests

In 2022, the Swedish Forest Agency received applications for permits for regeneration felling of montane forests on 5,707 hectares of productive forest land. This is a decrease of 57 percent compared to 2021. Applications for regeneration felling in montane forests since 1995 are shown in Figure 5.

In May 2020, a ruling from the Land and Environment Court of Appeal stated that forest owners who have been denied permission to harvest in montane forests are entitled to compensation from the state, corresponding to 125 percent of the forest's market value. As a result, in 2020–2021 we could see that applications for felling of montane forests increased sharply. Although the area in applications has decreased in 2022, they are larger than any of the years before the Land and Environment Court of Appeal's ruling.

Montane forest refers to montane forest according to Section 15 of the Forestry Act. The montane border is an administrative boundary for forestry in the montane area and harsh climate conditions. The montane border demarcates the montane forest

Applications for permits for regeneration felling in valuable broadleaved forests

The area in the applications for a felling permit in valuable broadleaved forests decreased in 2022 by 24 percent, to 915 hectares, compared to 2021. This is about the same level as in 2020 but 30 percent lower than the average for the ten-year period 2012–2021. Figure 6 shows the development between 1995 and 2022 of the area applied for.

Notification and application for felling for purposes other than timber production

In total, 6,161 hectares of productive forest land for purposes other than timber production were notified and applied for in 2022. Of this, the majority, 5,837 hectares, were in so-called normal forest (according to Section 14 SVL), 265 hectares in montane forest and 59 hectares in valuable broadleaved forest.

Compared with 2021, the reported area in normal forest decreased by 12 percent and in valuable broadleaved forest by 32 percent. In montane forests, the area increased by 168 percent. See also the notified and applied area from 1995 to now in Figure 7.