I started this particular blog with the intention of mentioning our Interior Pine doors and finding any links to the production of wood for this purpose, it would appear my own ignorance has helped me realise that the forests of Finland are put to many uses but not so much for Pine doors as I had thought.
Finland is the most extensively forested country in Europe, Forests cover 86 % of its land area. There are about four hectares of forest to every Finn, Finland's forests are northern boreal forests, almost half of the volume of the timber stock consists of pine (Pinus sylvestris).
The other most common species are spruce (Picea abies,) downy birch (Betula pubescens) and silver birch (Betula pendula).
The Finnish forest industry is based on the use of these principal tree species which all are indigenous.
There are about twenty indigenous tree species growing in Finland, the most common ones being pine (Pinus silvestris), spruce (Picea abies) and birch (Betula pendula and B. pubescens). Usually two or three tree species dominate a forest, naturally pure pine stands are found in rocky terrain, on top of arid eskers and on pine swamps.
Natural spruce stands are found on richer soil. Birch is commonly found as an admixture, but it can occasionally form pure birch stands.
Today the annual increment is about 75 million cubic metres, whereas around 60 million cubic metres or less are harvested or die of natural causes. The total volume of timber in Finnish forests is 2,024 m cubic metres, the total annual growth of the trees is 81 m cubic metres.
The growing season in Finland is about 80 days, which means that the average daily increment is 1 m cubic metres. In effect, during one day of the growing season, the increase of timber in Finnish forests is equivalent to that of a compact woodpile one metre in height and width and one thousand km in length.
Other important values are biodiversity and the berries, mushrooms and game that the forests provide.Reindeer herding, practised by both the indigenous Sámi peoples and non-Sámi Finnish reindeer herders, is in most parts of Northern Finland theoretically protected against other land uses by Finnish legislation, in the area especially reserved for reindeer herding, forestry and other land use should not, according to the law, significantly hinder this traditional livelihood.
Private individuals and families own slightly over half of Finland's forests, there are almost one million forest owners in Finland, including those who own forest holdings jointly, this means that nearly one fifth of the population are forest owners.
The forests owned by families and individuals pass from one generation to the next through inheritance; this is why Finns generally use the term 'family forestry'. The state owns 34 percent of the Finnish forest land, private industries 8% and other bodies, 5%. State forests are mainly situated in the north of Finland, and 45% of them are under strict protection.
Ninety five per cent of Finnish commercial forests are certified under the national Finnish Forest Certification System (FFCS), endorsed by the international Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). Thanks to this, it is possible to apply for a PEFC label for timber products from certified forests. Some Finnish forests have also been certified under another international system, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), but the area of these forests is less than 100 ha.
The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has accepted the PEFC certificate as a guarantee in public procurement that PEFC-certified timber comes from legal and sustainable sources according to UK criteria.
Forest industries are the branch of industry which manufactures goods from the timber grown in the forests, Forest industries are divided into the pulp and paper industries and the wood products industry.
The pulp and paper industries are also called chemical forest industry, and the wood products industry is called mechanical forest industry, In some central European countries forest industries include also publishing activities.
The pulp and paper industries include the production of chemical and mechanical pulp and their further processing into paper and paperboard.
The wood products industry includes the production of sawn goods, plywood and other timber boards and their further processing into windows, construction components and furniture, for example.
Sawmills also produce wood chips and sawdust as by-products. Wood chips are used to make pulp and sawdust is used in the manufacturing of particleboards.
A substantial amount of this copy was extracted from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Finland and a lesser amount from the Forest Industries web site.
Contact Information: Finland's Government; www.government.fi
Any questions, email info@directdoors.com and ask "Chippy"
Edited by "Chippy" for www.directdoors.com