Estimates for year 2018 are missing due to the underlying surveys were not conducted that year.

Decrease in area of forest cultivation

The Swedish Forest Agency has been surveying forest cultivation since 1955. Forest cultivation is a collective term for both planting and sowing. In 2023, 198 700 hectares were cultivated, compared to 223 600 hectares in 2022. Figure 2 shows a decrease of forest cultivation for individual owners while the area of forest cultivation for other owners was at the same level as the previous year.

Continued decrease in supplementary planting

After the dry summer of 2018, 58 million supplementary plants were planted in 2019. Prior to this, annual levels since 2005 have been between 21 and 36 million supplementary plants were used annually since 2005. Since 2019, supplementary planting has gradually decreased, with 31 million plants being planted in 2023. In the figure below, the years before 2019 are three-year averages where the middle year is stated. For example, 2016 refers to an average for the years 2015 to 2017.

Margin of error is published together with the results in the statistical database of Swedish Forest Agency.

Continuous-cover forestry

In 2023, the extent of Continuous-cover forestry was surveyed for the fourth time.

The survey does not focus on individual continuous-cover practices but rather on the extent to which landowners intend to manage their land so that it remains continuously forested without creating large clear-cut areas. In this survey, example of methods of Continuous-cover forestry were given. Continuous-cover forestry does not refer to land within voluntary set-asides, unproductive forest land or with the target classification of nature conservation or nature conservation with management.

The statistics are intended to estimate area of productive forest land where continuous-cover forestry is used in Sweden, as a form of management. It is not an estimate of the amount of activities carried out a specific year. This estimate is therefore slightly different compared to many of the statistics on  silvicultural activities, which refer to silvicultural activities carried out during a specific year.

In 2023, continuous-cover forestry encompassed 778 000 hectares in Sweden. The largest proportion approximately 566 000 hectares, was managed by private owners, while around 212 000 hectares were managed by other owners. The estimate has a margin of error resulting in a confidence interval from 666 000 hectares to 891 000 hectares. This means that it is not possible to confirm any real increase or decrease from the previous year, despite small changes in the point estimate between years.

Margin of error is published together with the results in the statistical database of Swedish Forest Agency.

Area with forest management plan

As of 2019, the area with forest management plan has also been surveyed. In this case, a forest management plan refer to a plan no older than 10 years old. Approximately 17.6 million hectares have a forest management plan, approximately 1.8 million hectares do not have a forest management plan, and for 248,000 hectares it is stated that there is a forest management plan for a part of the management unit but not all of it. In addition, for 2.1 million hectares, there is no forest management plan, but that there is one that is older than 10 years.

There are marginal changes between years of the estimated area with forest management plan. The statistical margin of error means that there is no guaranteed difference between the years.

Margin of error is published together with the results in the statistical database of Swedish Forest Agency.

Pinus contorta

Figure 6 is based on estimates between 1980 and 2023. The area of planted or sowed pinus contorta has increased in 2023 compared to previous years. However, it is still at a low level compared to the beginning of the time series. During 2023 2,900 hectares were planted or sowed with pinus contorta. The latest estimate from 2022 was almost 2,100 hectares. Since 1980, the accumulated area planted or sowed with pinus contorta is almost 494,000 hectares. Additional area for 2018 is missing because the survey was not carried out at the time. Area, planted or sowed with pinus contorta, is only surveyed form large scale forestry.

Area regenerated with Pinus contorta in Norrbottens, Västerbottens, Jämtlands, Västernorrlands, Gävleborgs, Dalarnas, Värmlands and Örebro county.

Ash recycling

Since 2024, ash recycling has been included as part of the statistics on silvicultural activities and Sweden's official statistics. The results refer to the area and total amount of ash in tonnes of (dry weight) spread annually from 2009 to 2023. The results show that in 2023, ash recycling was carried out on nearly 14 000 hectares, with 44 600 tonnes of ash (dry weight) being spread. On average, ash recycling has been carried out on approximately 12,000 hectares and 41,000 tonnes of ash (dry weight) has been spread annually during the time series.From 2009 to 2023, an average of 78 percent of all ash recycling activities were carried out in Götaland, 20 percent in Svealand, and 2 percent in Norrland.

The variation in the spread of ash over the years can be due to several factors. One example is that reduced load-bearing capacity in the forest for the machines after high amounts of precipitation can affect the possibility of the spread of ash. In addition, contractors may have stopped due to poor profitability or larger producers of ash have changed fuel, which generates more or less amount of spreadable ash. A general uncertainty about ash recycling among forest owners can also play a role.