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373 Scand. J. For. Res. News & Views 4 (2015)
from Nordic Forest Research SNS 4 2015
Råd i god skogsvård Tapio’s training and extension services
Three publications from Tapio – the left is about culture in the forest, the central presents "good silviculture", the right addresses extension services. Background photo Lobke Thijssen, Wikipedia commons Tapio translates research into best practice The Finnish organisation Tapio What does this change mean? became the limited company News & Views asked Ritva Toivonen, Tapio Oy at the start of 2015." head of Tapio, to guide us. – Despite the change of legal status, The different Nordic countries Tapio’s mission remains the same as it have approached their forest has been for 100 years, she says. This extension programmes and is to gather, analyse and synthesise communication in a variety academic research and develop it into of ways, often split between tools, methods and studies serving many organisations. Tapio is an decision-making. The information exception, being almost the sole must also be transferred into a form knowledge transfer organisation that it is as easy as possible to use. We in Finland. A description of target all levels, from practical forestry Tapio is, therefore, of interest to to business and policy. other Nordic countries. – Being a limited company makes Tapio’s history spans more than 100 management and decision-making years. Suomen Metsänhoitoyhdistys – For the landowner, the challenge is somewhat more straightforward. But, Tapio (“Finnish forest management probably not access to information, but being business-based also means that the fact that it is difficult to synthesise. society”) was founded as an NGO all activities must have a customer. Ritva Toivonen, head of Tapio. Photo: Tapio in 1907 and has since had the She is convinced that the new status mission of promoting silviculture will enhance efficiency and customer- and good forest management. Tapio’s services to forest professionals. On orientation. responsibilities grew, and it became 1 January 2015, Tapio became a 100% The most important direct customer the central executive organisation for state-owned organisation reporting to is the Finnish government, particularly forest improvement activities, forestry the Prime Minister’s Office. the Ministry of Agriculture and planning and for providing extension 374 Scand. J. For. Res. News & Views 4 (2015) Scand. J. For. Res. News & Views 4 (2015)
Forestry, who commission and Knowledge portal for forest About Tapio finance studies and development owners The Tapio Group has a turnover of 11 projects. Indirect customers include The webpage Metsään.fi (“My forest”) M€ and a staff of 60 (about 20 in the forest industries, entrepreneurs, provides up-to-date information to parent company). The headquarters forest owners’ organisations and registered users about their properties. of the Tapio Group are in Helsinki, and private landowners. The second most Tapio was responsible for developing affiliations (including the seed centre) are located in Oitti, near the city of Lahti. important group of direct customers is this, but transferred the concept and the forest industry, followed by forest its maintenance to Skogscentralen in Tapio Oy offers expert and development/ research services exclusively to the sector organisations. 2012. Metsään.fi can be used both by government. Private landowners subscribe to forest owners and forest professional Tapio Silva Oy offers expert, extension the magazines and buy forestry- partners to direct forest management and development/research services, related books and tree seeds. Tapio’s activities. The service includes forest training, and tree seeds from the Tapio best practices and recommendations data, suggested actions, maps and air seed centre. (100% owned) for forest management are most photographs of the property. Metsäkustannus Oy – a publishing commonly delivered to landowners via company issuing the journals Metsälehti forest management associations, other Close contact with academia (“Forest newspaper”) and Metsälehti service providers, the forest industry New findings from academia must, Makasiini, as well as books (100% owned). or Skogscentralen. of course, be incorporated into The Tapio Group also has a stake guidelines on an on-going basis. in Pohjan Taimi Oy – a producer of Guidelines and tools This is a challenging task for Tapio, plants, equipment and services for forest Typical examples of current projects but Ritva Toivonen stresses that the regeneration. Tapio owns 29.6% of the include the development of guidelines relationship with universities and company. for good forest management and tools institutions is close. for METSO (a voluntary forest nature – We have a continuous forum for protection programme). developing best practices in forest Forest knowledge – We develop a large number management, where we bring together dissemination in Finland of best practice guidelines for researchers and practitioners under While Tapio is an important organisation specific purposes, such as for water various themes. However, my opinion specialising in knowledge transfer to management, timber and energy is that this is an area in Tapio that professionals, research institutions and universities also disseminate their own wood production, land use planning, needs even more focus and increased work. This is however usually at the level she says. The best known is Tapio’s strength. The world is becoming of single projects/large programmes. recommendations for good forest increasingly complicated and we need Luke (formerly Metla) publishes management, which is a large to understand and be involved with an forestry statistical data, a task of great collection of best practices for forest increasing number of disciplines. importance for practice and research. management for various landowners’ The “best practice processes” The forest industry also has their own strategies. follow well defined plans and targets research company – Metsäteho The mission also includes for each year. Last year, almost 30 Oy – which focuses on disseminating evaluation and analysis, for example organisations participated. information on wood logistics. of policy programmes within the EU For the landowner, the challenge is In addition, the private organisation, The and examining how they impact the probably not access to information, Work Efficiency Association (TTS), is active in research that is very close to Finnish forest sector. but the fact that it is difficult to practice and training related to forestry – Our magazines, Metsälehti and synthesise. What is science actually issues. Metsälehti Makasiini, are important telling us about a forest management direct channels to forest landowners. issue? To gain a complete picture it is These are complemented by web necessary to analyse several research With a beard of lichen and services. The second most important reports and areas of science. eyebrows of moss channel is books, either digital or – This is an area where Tapio brings Tapio is a forest spirit or god of eastern printed. We also offer education and added value, she says. Finland, who figures prominently in the training services, nowadays mainly Read more: Kalevala. Hunters prayed to him before e-based. www.tapio.fi (also in English) and a hunt. His wife is the goddess of the Together, Tapio and its subsidiary www.metsalehti.fi (only in Finnish) forest, Mielikki. He was the father of Annikki, Tellervo, Nyyrikki (the god of Metsäkustannus produce some 20–30 Contact: [email protected] book titles per year. Some of the hunting), and Tuulikki. Fitting the Green Man archetype, Tapio has a beard of guidelines and handbooks are also lichen and eyebrows of moss. free to download as pdf-files. Source: Wikipedia Scand. J. For. Res. News & Views 4 (2015) 375
The first forest tree seeds Shortcuts deposited at Svalbard Global Iceland Tree breeders met Seed Vault in Iceland “Afforestation in Iceland has been a history of trials and errors, to see if anything could grow here. Now forestry has become a viable investment opportunity”. This was one of the opening statements from A∂alsteinn Sigurgeirsson from the Icelandic Forest Research at the NordGen Forest thematic day on tree breeding. The meeting was held in Borgarnes, Iceland, in March 2015 and tree breeders from Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Denmark gave presentations on various topics. Presentations and program can be downloaded from the Nordgen website, www.nordgen.org
Sweden The Ministers of Food and Agriculture for Denmark, Dan Jørgensen, Norway, Sylvi Listhaug, and Sweden, Sven-Erik Bucht, brought the first forest seed samples to the Global New book takes a grip on Seed Vault. Photo Lanbruks- och Matdepartementet, Norway future land use The Swedish research program Future Newspapers all over the world have around the world. The permafrost and Forests has produced a new book that reported on the “Doomsday vault” thick rock ensure that the samples will discusses the balance between the various – the long term store of crop seeds. remain frozen even if there is a loss of functions of boreal forests and the global trends affecting them. The book, edited Since the opening of the depository in power. by Erik Westholm, Karin Beland Lindahl 2008, 840,000 varieties of food crops Read more: www.nordgen.org and Florian Kraxner, investigate inter- have been stored in order to preserve Contact: Kjersti Bakkebø Fjellstad, alia the growing world population and them in the unlikely event of a assess the resulting pressure on land- [email protected] devastating human or natural disaster. based resources. The authors examine On 26 February 2015 the Ministers Tor Myking, [email protected] the urgent need for solutions to the of Agriculture for Sweden, Norway energy crisis, and Denmark together deposited the Global Seed Vault entrance. Photo Anna Rehnberg consider worrying first tree seeds. The seeds from Scots climate scenarios and provide a pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway global outlook on spruce (Picea abies) were collected bioenergy futures. from natural forests in Finland and Readers will Norway. discover – This is a milestone for the work how these on the conservation of genetic developments resources in forest trees, say Tor will influence Myking and Kjersti Bakkebø Fjellstad long-term on the NordGen webpage. strategic The Global Seed Vault is owned decisions on by the Norwegian government and the future use of Nordic forests. is maintained by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Nordic The book “The Future Use of Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen). Forests” is issued by Springer. Its purpose is to store duplicates of all Source: seed samples from crop collections www.futureforests.se 376 Scand. J. For. Res. News & Views 4 (2015)
Shortcuts
Impacts of EU legislation on Sweden Denmark the forest-based sector Stronger supervision of New head of Danish forest The EFI (European Forest Institute) is environmental concerns research one of three partners who will assess the The Swedish Forest Agency has Claus Beier will become the new impacts of EU legislation on the forest- strengthened its focus on clarifying what Head of Department at Department based sector. the Forestry Act says when it comes of Geosciences and Natural Research A new tool, cumulative cost assessment to biodiversity and cultural heritage Management, University of Copenhagen. (CCA), has been launched by the European concerns in the forest. In 2014, the Forest The department includes the former Commission’s Directorate-General for Agency made 212 decisions involving centre Forest & Landscape. GROWTH (internal market, industry, injunctions and prohibitions. This is a Claus Beier is currently Director of entrepreneurship and SMEs). CCAs have sharp increase compared to previous Research at NIVA, the Norwegian already been commissioned for the steel and years. In 2011, 29 such decisions were Institute for Water Research. He will aluminium industries and one is currently made. commence the position in Denmark 1 carried out for the chemical sector. The most common reason for decisions May 2015. The new assessment of the forest-based was to prevent soil damage caused by Source: www.ku.dk sector had its first stakeholder meeting forest machinery. About 30 per cent of in Brussels on 27 February. The study the decisions were related to traversing will continue with stakeholder meetings terrain. throughout 2015. Read more: www.skogsstyrelsen.se Sweden Read more: www.efi.int Concern for threatened species has driven current Sweden conservation-oriented More retention in Swedish forestry forestry in Sweden The Swedish Forest Agency estimates about half of the Swedish productive Retention forestry, where conservation that about 8% of the area is set aside for forest land area, and includes therefore of biodiversity is integrated with timber conservation at final felling. This is about some uncertainty. production, has become standard in twice as much as previously estimated. Source: www.skogsstyrelsen.se the Nordic forest sector today. But The new estimate is based on data from how did it arise in Sweden? An article Retention patch. Photo Mats Hannerz in Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research digs through historical articles to elucidate the development from the vigorous debates and conflicts in the 1970s to the current situation where both market and regulations have paved the way for retention forestry. The authors identify six major driving forces for this progression, the main one being concern about threatened species. Read more in: Simonsson, P. et al. 2015. Retention forestry in Sweden: driving forces, debate and implementation 1968- 2003. Scand J For Res 30(2), 154-173
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Write to the scientific editor: News & Views is a newsletter from SNS Mats Hannerz, containing short, popularized Silvinformation AB articles covering Nordic forest research and [email protected] forestry. Articles presenting SNS-supported activities are prioritized. The More info about SNS: News & Views is edited by newsletter is published eight Mats Hannerz, Silvinformation AB www.nordicforestresearch.org times per year, and is available for [email protected] and produced by download from the SNS and Scandinavian Carl Henrik Palmér. [email protected] Journal of Forest Research websites.