It takes many years for a tree to grow. Forest management decisions taken today will impact the landscape for hundreds of years. Caring for our most important natural resource is not to be taken lightly.
Learn more about how we manage the forests for growth and biodiversity. We use the raw material with a long term vision, safeguarding future values of the forest for society and all living species.
The two most important aspects of forestry today are climate and biodiversity. When it comes to biodiversity, independent scientists have shown that the ecosystems of the Scandinavian countries are the most intact in the world. For centuries, we have been able to practice industrial forestry while maintaining functional ecosystems, but we are also still learning more, every day. This is what we live by.
Forest legislation has long been strong in the Nordic countries and The Swedish Forestry Act was established already in 1903. The law spells out the demands that society has on all forest owners, including reforestation and establishment of new forest using methods and tree species that are suitable for the site. A forest owner is obliged to take consideration to nature, cultural heritage, reindeer husbandry and other interests.
"The forest is a National resource. It shall be managed in such a way as to provide a valuable yield and at the same time preserve biodiversity"
The Swedish Forestry Act, 1§
You can read the Swedish Forestry Act in full at FAOLEX.
Planning is the basis of our active and sustainable forestry that takes into account natural, cultural and social assets.
Holmen’s forests and their values are described extensively in local ecological landscape plans. These plans are living documents. They include strategies on how to plan areas set aside for nature conservation, and how the forests are to be managed in order to preserve natural assets and create new ones. We also assess whether any environments are in short supply in the present-day forest landscape, in order to take the right decisions for tomorrow.
Every ten years we conduct a survey of all of our forest holdings and calculate the potential harvest in a hundred years’ time. The calculations also take into account montane forests, conservation efforts, reindeer husbandry and social values.
Over time, previously set-aside stands with lower value are replaced by stands with higher value in accordance with the National Strategy for Formal Protection of Forests from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
Biodiversity is made up of a complex interaction between many different species in different natural environments. In order to maintain the biodiversity, these different types of forest environments must be fostered.
25% of the forest is exempted from forestry activities.
In Sweden, 25% of the forest is exempted from forestry activities in favour of other ecosystem services. That is an area the size of Belgium and the Netherlands combined.
At Holmen, we exclude low productive forest land from production for sustainability purposes in accordance with Swedish law, and these parts make up around 10% of our forests. When harvesting, around 10% of every site is left due to environmental consideration, which is also regulated by law. On top of this, we make around 5% voluntary set-asides.
We work with active measures to raise the quality and biological diversity on our lands. Some examples are nature conservation burning, creation of dead wood and the creation or restoration of wetlands.
Special social and historical considerations are also made, for example with regard to reindeer herding and Sami cultural relics.
Over time, Holmen has developed what we call Knowledge forests on locations carefully selected on the basis of their biological conditions. A Knowledge forest spans over 500–2,500 hectares, where a minimum of 50 percent of the productive land consists of areas with high conservation value. The aim is for these sites to gather and share knowledge about different themes, showing what a huge benefit forestry can be for the environment. Read more about our Knowledge forests.
Being a large land-owner includes responsibility for forest roads, in our case covering hundreds of thousands of kilometres. It is not uncommon for these roads to be a pre-requisite for rural livelihoods and they also increase public access to forest areas for recreational purposes (except during thawing when they may need to be closed off).
Well-designed networks of forest roads can contribute to reducing soil damage off-road and negative environmental impact on watercourses. Transporting timber off-road in the forest with a forwarder consumes around fifty times more energy than transport of the same volume on a timber truck.
Maintaining the roads is prioritised according to the needs of forestry. It is extremely important that we take environmental care, for example to prevent the arise of obstacles to natural animal or fish migration, when we construct new roads or upgrade old ones.
Holmen is one of the largest holders of forest land in Sweden and we focus on sustainable and efficient forest management. Holmen’s forest holdings include around 1.3 million hectares, of which roughly a million hectares are productive forest land. Holmen Forest's environmental work is performed in accordance with the ISO 14001 environmental management system.
Our code-of-conduct that applies to all companies within the Holmen group, states: "Forests should be managed responsibly in a way that ensures the long-term survival of native plants and animals in the forest landscape. The long-term productiveness of the land should be nurtured, aquatic environments protected, and historical valuable heritage environments preserved. All wood must be traceable back to its origin."
Having all the processes in our company set up for working this way, it adds no extra strain for us to abide by the law or following EU standards and regulations.
For more information about our forest management, please visit the Holmen Forest website or read more about Swedish forest regulations and law enforcement at the Swedish Forest Agency.
Sustainable forestry is an important cornerstone in a bio-based society. We aim to keep creating growth for the future, because the forest belongs to us all. Here's how we manage the forest, step by step.
Seedling production gives nature a helping hand and guides the tree through one of its most sensitive phases. Holmen cultivates seedlings at the nurseries of Friggesund and Gideå. Total capacity is just over 40 million seedlings per year.
Natural conditions at each site determines which tree species is chosen. For planting and direct seeding, this is pine, spruce or lodgepole pine. Holmen's land contains 50% pine, 30% spruce, 13% broadleaves and 7% lodgepole pine, calculated as percentage of standing volume. Pine and spruce are the most common trees in Sweden.
Planting is a robust method for forest regeneration, well suited to all climatic conditions. Soil preparation and planting should take place as soon as possible after harvesting in order to minimise the time with no tree cover.
But not every tree that grows is planted by us – far from it. Naturally regenerated seedlings of various species typically grow around the planted seedlings on the same site. This species mixture, with added genetic diversity to the target species, increases the biological diversity and resilience of the cultivated stands, concludes the Nordic Genetic Resource Center.
Every tree needs light and nutrition to be healthy and grow well. Therefore, thinning is one of the most important activities in forestry.
Both pre-commercial thinning and commercial thinning involve reducing the number of stems in the forest so that the remaining trees can reach the proper dimensions. By thinning on several occasions, the most viable trees are selected and left to stand until the final harvest.
This action increases the future value of the timber by promoting growth among the highest quality trees. But, maybe even more importantly, it supports a higher ongoing growth in volume, which is necessary to maximize the carbon storage of CO2 from the atmosphere. We make sure that the trees, during all their lifetime, have good access to light and nutrition for optimal growth.
In the newly planted forest and at the thicket stage, more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere than is captured by the seedlings. This is due to ongoing decomposition. But as trees grow, they capture more and more carbon dioxide. When trees are 20-40 years old, they have the largest carbon uptake in their lifetime.
This means that the maximum climate benefits occur in "middle-aged" forests, which in Sweden means at around 30-50 years of age. The annual growth of the trees peak; the trees will continue to grow after 40 years of age, but not as much and not in the same pace; the growth rate is slowly reclining. The net sequestration of carbon dioxide slowly reduces as the forest becomes mature. When the trees get very old, carbon uptake and release balance out, as decomposition again starts to take over.
When the trees are harvested in their mature stage, somewhere between 75 to 100 years of age, a greater carbon uptake can be achieved, since this will make room for a younger forest to continue the growth cycle.
It is important to maintain the circularity with care and responsibility for the natural, cultural and social assets of the forest. Reports show that unmanaged forests favour species that thrive in continuity, such as for example spruce at the expense of hardwoods, and disfavour species that needs change.
Set-asides and nature conservation to ensure a natural occurrence of dead wood and old-growth area development are important parts of the modern forest production for all species to thrive. But if the mature forest is left standing to grow old without being harvested, it will become more exposed to stormfalls, wild fires and forest pests such as bark beetle invasions. Responsible and active forest management keeps the forest vital and provides it with greater resilience.
Read more in the report from the Swedish Forest Industries.
A forest is usually not harvested until it is close to 90 years old. When it is time to harvest the mature forest, we reap the benefits of many people’s efforts throughout the forest’s life-cycle. Harvesting is the process that has the greatest impact on the forest landscape, but with good planning and care, the effects can be mitigated.
The waste is at a minimum. Actually, 100% of each harvested tree is used. The parts that cannot be used in industrial production – thin branches, roots and the spruce’s needles – stay in the forest and decompose. That way, they become natural nourishment for the ground and for the seedlings which will be planted after harvesting.
The main products from the fully-grown tree are planks and boards, where the carbon sequestered from the forest can be stored for decades, often hundreds or years and more. But planks and boards are square, and tree-trunks are round. So some parts of the trees become wood chips, which then becomes pulp. The slimmer, upper parts of the trees become pulp too, as well as trunks from thinning in the forest that are defected or not wide enough to become sawn timber. From this pulp we make paper and paperboard.
After the forest has been harvested, work begins as soon as possible on ensuring proper regeneration of the forest. This involves ensuring that seeds or seedlings survive and establish good growth.
For every tree we harvest we plant at least two – often three – new ones.
The future forest must provide a host of benefits and ecosystem services. It's like a cultivated work of art that is created jointly by many different people and by nature through complex relationships.
For sustainable sourcing
If you work in paper purchasing, you can take pride in the fact that the paper industry displays better sustainability performance than many other industries. Let's look at sustainable forestry and why it matters for the choice of paper.
Thanks to a blend of forestry law and ambitious forest owners in Sweden, the standing volume of wood in Sweden has more than doubled over the past 75 years, and over the same period the yield has also increased significantly. This is because annual growth has been greater than the yield over the years.