03.10.2022 | News
The first forestry project funded by the Baltic Sea Action Plan Fund promotes continuous cover forestry to reduce eutrophication in the Baltic Sea.
The effect of forestry practices on nutrient leakages and eutrophication in the Baltic Sea has received increasing interest among researchers and the forestry sector in recent years. Silva, a Finnish association focused on promoting continuous cover forestry (CCF), has launched a free online tool, ‘the Forest Calculator’, with which forest owners can compare different forest management methods in terms of their nutrient leakage, profitability and carbon storage capacity.
The calculator provides estate–specific results based on soil types and the age of the trees, providing forest owners with detailed information about their forest estate. “What is special about Silva’s Forest Calculator compared to many existing online tools for Finnish forest owners is that it is based on solid research and open to all. We hope that this tool helps to convey the benefits of CCF practices to forest owners, especially when it comes to leakage reductions and profitability,” said Annukka Valkeapää, Executive Director at Silva.
About 60 percent of productive forest land in Finland is owned by private people, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland. The Forest Calculator is part of Silva’s project ‘Reduction of Forestry Derived Nutrient Inputs to the Baltic Sea by Continuous Cover Forestry’ that aims to explore new ways to promote CCF to forest owners. The first-ever forestry project of the Baltic Sea Action Plan Fund (BSAP Fund) received funding from the 2020 funding round.
Continuous cover forestry is a forest management method that preserves tree cover throughout a forest by limiting the number of trees felled at any one time. In addition to reducing nutrient leakages to waterways, especially phosphorus and nitrogen, the method can help protect biodiversity as well as recreational and landscape value. CCF seeks to create more diverse forests compared to clear-felling, a method still widely used in Finnish forestry.
“Forestry and more sustainable land use practices are an important part of solutions for a healthy Baltic Sea. Research, collaboration and education are needed so that forestry management practices can be changed for the better, and Silva’s project is an excellent example of that,” commented Dennis Hamro-Drotz, Senior Programme Manager, Nefco.
For further information, please contact:
Dennis Hamro-Drotz, Senior Programme Manager, Nefco
dennis.hamro-drotz@nefco.int, +358 10 6180 641
Annukka Valkeapää, Executive Director, Silva
annukka.valkeapaa@jatkuvakasvatus.fi, +358 40 5515601
About the Baltic Sea Action Plan Fund
The Baltic Sea Action Plan Fund (BSAP Fund) was set up in 2010 to help speed up the implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. The BSAP Fund is funded by Sweden and Finland and co-managed by Nefco and the Nordic Investment Bank. The next call for project applications that address the needs highlighted in the Baltic Sea Action Plan is estimated to be announced on the Baltic Sea Action Plan Fund programme page towards the end of 2022.
View the latest approved BSAP Fund projects
