Stemwood removal falls in 2022

Finland’s stemwood removals totalled 75 million cubic metres in 2022. The felling volume of logs was 30, pulpwood 34 and energywood 11 million cubic metres, according to the preliminary data of the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).

Both stemwood removals and total drain decreased by two per cent from the previous year. Total drain was 89 million cubic metres.

A total of 64.1 million cubic metres of logs and pulpwood was harvested for industrial use and for the private use by forest owners. This shows a decrease of three per cent from the year before. Higher energy prices increased demand for energywood.

The total volume of stemwood harvested directly from forests for forest chips for heat and power plants or fuelwood for use in small-scale housing increased by three per cent to 10.6 million cubic metres.

“The total felling volume, or total stemwood removals, decreased to 75 million cubic metres, down by almost two million cubic metres from the previous year. Still, the volume was slightly higher than the previous five-year average,” said Jukka Torvelainen, senior statistician at Luke.

According to Luke’s estimate, the sustainable yield of commercial timber and energywood harvested from forests is on average 80.5 million cubic metres of stemwood per year during the ten-year period of 2016–2025. Examined over the whole of Finland, the felling potential has always been higher than the felling volume since the 1970s.