Biodiversity

Historically, biodiversity was not a priority issue in Swedish forestry, but over the past  30 years, the focus has shifted. The development has been rapid and the knowledge of how we can create healthy  ecosystems and at the same time increase growth in the forest is constantly increasing. 

Holmen's forest strategy strives for high and profitable growth while ensuring that all naturally occurring species can survive in the Swedish forest landscape. Of Holmen's 1.3 million hectares of land, almost 1.2 million hectares are forest land, while the other areas consist mainly of water. mountains and marshes.

Nature conservation set-asides are the parts of our forest land that are exempt from forestry as they have large or unique values that should be preserved.

Distribution of our forest holdings

A biodiversity index from the UK's Natural History Museum models human impact on nature and estimates what proportion of the original number of species and habitats remains.

The desired level of biodiversity in an area is at least 90 per cent, which is to be regarded as a limit value that the biodiversity in an area should not be below. Sweden and Finland are the two most forested countries in Europe, both with about 70 percent forest land, a large part of which is actively managed. According to the Biodiversity Index, there are also two countries with good conditions for functioning ecosystems, both with an index of just over 95 percent.

This can be compared to the global average of 77 percent, significantly lower than the 90 percent that is considered sustainable. The index also shows that the conditions for biodiversity in  Sweden have improved over the past 50 years. For more information about the Biodiversity Index, see page 119 of Holmen's Annual Report 2023 (pdf).

How Swedish forests are to be managed is regulated in the Forestry Act, among other things. Forestry legislation has a long history in Sweden and as early as 1903 the first more modern forestry law was introduced with requirements for regrowth, i.e. that all forest that is harvested must be reforested. Over the years, there has been a great deal of development in knowledge, and methods for creating healthy and viable forests are constantly being developed.

Since the current Forestry Act was introduced in Sweden in 1993, production goals and environmental goals have been equal. The preservation of natural and environmental values thus became as important as the forest's production values. The requirements for consideration include, among other things , the size of clearcuts, that individual trees and dead wood are left at harvest and that considerate biotopes and valuable cultural environments must be protected. 

With a production cycle in the forest of almost a hundred years, changes do not happen overnight, but several indicators show a clear positive development since the law was introduced. The amount of deciduous trees has increased by more than 20 per cent and the proportion of coarse deciduous trees has more than doubled since 1993. The area of old forest and the amount of hard dead wood have also more than doubled in the last 30 years.