Silvicultural and forest improvement work 2025

In 2025, approximately EUR 294 million was spent on silvicultural and forest improvement works, including for the first time the estimated costs of self-performed tending of seedling stands. The total cost comparable with previous years was EUR 260 million, which was 8% lower than the average of the previous five years. 

• The cost of silvicultural work amounted to approximately EUR 237 million, accounting for 81% of total costs, while forest improvement work accounted for around EUR 56 million, or 19%. Forest improvement includes fertilisation, remedial ditching, basic improvement and construction of forest roads.
• Approximately 21,600 hectares of regeneration areas were cleared, which was 16% less than the average of the previous five years. Initial clearing for thinning operations was carried out on about 58,100 hectares, which was 28% less than in previous years.
• The area of soil preparation increased by 19% compared with the average of the previous five years. Soil preparation was carried out on 110,000 hectares, of which 69% was prepared using mounding.
• The area of artificial regeneration remained at the level of previous years, totalling 92,700 hectares. Seeding accounted for 22% and planting for 78% of the total area.
• A total of 199,400 hectares of pre-commercial thinning were done, including the new work category self-performed pre-commercial thinning. The volume comparable with previous years was 132,000 hectares, which was at the same level as the average of the previous five years.
• A new work category, pre-commercial thinning of seedling stands, was added to the statistics, amounting to 67,400 hectares. This is a calculated estimate of pre-commercial thinning carried out by forest owners themselves. The estimate is based on data from the National Forest Inventory (NFI). The costs of self-performed pre-commercial thinning were also estimated and amounted to nearly EUR 34 million in 2025. More information is available in the statistical documentation.
• Improvement of young stands was carried out on 17,900 hectares. This was 48% less than the average of previous years, and the volume has been in continuous decline since 2020.
• Forests were fertilised on a total of 91,600 hectares, which was 35% more than the average of previous years. Growth-enhancing fertilisation accounted for 70% of the fertilised area and remedial fertilisation for 30%. The area increased in both categories: growth-enhancing fertilisation by 31% and remedial fertilisation by 43%.
• Forest roads were built and improved over a total of approximately 1,800 kilometres, the same amount as in the previous year, but 15% less than the average of previous years.

The statistics on silvicultural and forest improvement work include activities carried out in privately owned forests, company-owned forests and state forests. Since 2015, the statistics have excluded self-performed work by private forest owners in their own forests, except for self-performed precommercial thinning, for which a preliminary estimate is published from the statistical year 2025 onwards. The final figures for self-performed precommercial thinning for 2024–2028 will be calculated once NFI14 is completed in 2029.

Data on stump treatment for root rot prevention has not been recorded for the years 2022–2025.
All temporal cost comparisons are based on real values (deflated using the Cost-of-Living Index 1951:10=100), and the costs of root rot prevention in previous years have been excluded from the comparisons.

The silvicultural and forest improvement statistics are published alongside data on forest felling areas based on felling notifications, derived from the Finnish Forest Centre’s felling method statistics.