Text: Karin André och Hanna Holm

"It's hard for me as a new forest owner to find impartial advice. In the first instance, I ask other forest owners". Forest owner who has recently inherited forest.

12 Mistra-Swecia Annual Report 2014 Text: Hanna Holm and Karin André

During the year, Mistra-SWECIA's researchers have met forest owners from the Swedish counties Scania, Gävleborg, Jämtland and Västerbotten to discuss how Swedish forestry is affected by climate change. In November, forest owners and researchers met up once more to share lessons learned from different parts of the country.

Climate adaptation discussions between forest owners and researchers

During the discussions, forest owners have testified dustry, while others said they had great confidence that they notice a change in the seasons and an in- in advisors from their local forest owner association. creased growth in the forest. At the same time, many Some forest owners take advantage of opportunities to expressed concern about storm damages and infes- experiment. tations by insects and fungi. Forest owners have de- – Because there are so many of us forest owners scribed how they have been afflicted by storms, even in , we spread the risks when we cultivate the though their forest was well managed. One way of pre- forest in different ways, said one of the forest owners venting storm damage is to have a larger proportion of from Scania in southern Sweden. forest. However, deciduous forest demands a lot of maintenance since the young plants must be Local cooperation protected from game. It is also difficult to know what Many testified the value of good neighbourliness, sort of yield the forest will eventually give. Deciduous sharing lessons learned, and local study circles. One forest, which can be used for example in the furniture general reflection was that Swedish forest owners are industry, can give a monetary return that justifies in- very knowledgeable. creased maintenance costs. Another measure that in- – We ought to meet up even more than we do fluences a forest's storm resistance is the timing of now. Different forest owners have different specialist clearing, thinning and felling. knowledge and interests. We can learn a lot from each A decline in demand for paper can open up new other, said one forest owner from Västerbotten in opportunities for other products, such as viscose and northern Sweden. bioenergy. Both research and risk capital are needed Forest owner also discussed that in northern to develop new products and new markets. Forest Sweden, more local cooperation is needed to expand owners must spread their risks in order to cope with and maintain the forest road network since decreased climate change and with the uncertainty of future ground frost means roads must be improved. Climate yield. However, forest owners discussed that the rec- change is causing wetter weather and so more attention ommendations they received still focused on must be paid to maintaining ditches and digging new forest. Some questioned whether the recommendations ones. The contractors who operate forestry machinery they had been given was neutral and they claimed that need more knowledge and understanding of nature con- the advisors they had met were acting on behalf of in- servation so as to avoid unnecessary ground damage.

13 Mistra-Swecia Annual Report 2014 Climate adaptation discussions between forest owners and researchers

 Forest owners also need knowledge about nature con- the research community, said one participant from servation in order to purchase services that will give ad- Västerbotten. equate protection to bogs and other water reservoirs. – Both researchers and government officials need to – The client decides what he or she wants but to get out into the forest, said a forest owner from Scania. make demands, you need knowledge, said a forest The forest owners also called for research on the owner from Jämtland who also does contracting work. significance of ecosystems. How can ecosystem services – As a land owner, I must find out what machines be valued? Several participants expressed that they the contractor intends to use in my forest, said one of would willingly take part in future research projects the forest owners. It is a little more expensive to use and in meetings with researchers and forest owners. k smaller machines but at the same time they cause less damage. The contractors earn more money by driving large machines and they often have a disclaimer clause The discussions with Swedish forest owners were led by for any ground damage in the agreement with the land Karin André from SEI ( Environment Institute) owner, but if the forest is certified, you have to use and were organised in collaboration with colleagues at contractors who also are certified. SEI, University, SMHI and the University of Edin- One of the forest owners from southern Sweden, burgh. During the year, they have met and discussed cli- who, together with her siblings, took over responsi- mate change and climate adaptation with some 40 forest bility for some forest after their father, became inter- owners from different parts of Sweden. The aim of the ested in climate issues after the Gudrun storm which project is to gain more knowledge about what affects opened many people's eyes. They had a lot of old forest the possibilities of handling changes in forestry as a result that was felled by the storm. When they reafforest, of climate change. In 2015, work will continue with the they mix spruce with deciduous forest. This forest processing and analysis of the gathered material. owner wished for greater flexibility so that land owners could experiment even more with new species of tree. To sum up, the discussions have highlighted the chal- The forest owners that took part in the discussion lenges and possibilities that the forestry industry faces suggest there should be more cooperation between with regard to adapting to climate change. Sharing sci- authorities and researchers and that more attention ence-based information is vital and one of the challeng- should be paid to forest owners' needs. es is to create meeting places where researchers and – There is a risk that research findings stay inside practitioners can share knowledge and lessons learned.

14 Mistra-Swecia Annual Report 2014