Silvicultural and forest improvement work 2023

Data corrected on 2.10.2024 and 18.6.2025.

Read more on the page Changes and corrections in the statistics.​

In 2023, the total costs of silviculture and forest improvement were EUR 272 million. This was more than 11% nominally, but less than 3% in real terms due to inflation, than on average during the last five years. 

•    Of this amount, silviculture accounted for EUR 214 million (-5%) and forest improvement for EUR 58 million (+3%). Forest improvement includes fertilisation, remedial ditching, and the improvement and construction of forest roads.
•    The volume of initial clearing of intermediate felling areas increased to almost 92,000 hectares (+22%), and costs increased to more than EUR 30 million (+20%). Correspondingly, the clearing of regeneration areas decreased to 25,000 hectares (-11%) and some EUR 5 million (-15%). 
•    The total area of early and later pre-commercial thinning was 132,000 hectares, the same as the previous five years’ average. The costs of early and later pre-commercial thinning were EUR 59 million (-8%).
•    The total area of the improvement of young stands was only 29,000 hectares, 30% less than the previous five years’ average. Total costs were almost EUR 20 million (-13%).
•    The area of artificial regeneration increased by 1% to roughly 97,000 hectares. Of this amount, planting accounted for 77% and seeding for the remaining 23%. The costs of artificial regeneration were EUR 57 million (-13%). The planting area of pine and spruce increased (+4% and +2% respectively), while that of spruce decreased (-6%). 
•    In recent years, the level of mechanical seeding has remained stable, whereas that of mechanical planting has fallen steeply since 2020. In 2023, the mechanical planting area was 67% smaller than the previous five years’ average. 
•    The area of prescribed burning was almost 1,500 hectares in the summer of 2023. This was many times higher than in the previous year and the largest prescribed burning area since 2002*. Nearly the same area was reached in 2020 (1,450 hectares).
•    Some 2,150 kilometres of forest roads were improved and constructed, up by 2% from the previous five years’ average. Forest road investments totalled almost EUR 30 million (+14%). 
•    Remedial ditching activities decreased. In 2023, remedial ditching covered some 2,500 kilometres, 60% less than the previous five years’ average.

The statistics on silviculture and forest improvement include work carried out in forests owned by private forest owners, forest companies and the state. The statistics do not include work carried out independently by private forest owners in their own forests from 2015. Statistics on repelling root-rot disease using stump treatment were no longer compiled in 2022–2023. 

The statistics for 2023 do not include work carried out by forest owners and supervised by forest management associations. All comparisons of costs over time are based on values in real terms (deflated by the cost-of-living index 1951:10=100), and the costs of repelling root-rot disease in the previous years have been excluded from the comparisons. 

Forest felling areas based on felling plans that are based on the Finnish Forest Centre’s statistics are published in conjunction with the statistics on silviculture and forest improvement. 

*Year corrected 2016 -> 2002. Statistics on prescribed burning started in 1950.