“The forest industry is actively working to promote biodiversity, but the challenge has been to measure outcomes and evaluate our efforts. The five indicators that Holmen has now developed help to solve this problem,” says Sören Petersson, Senior Vice President Wood Products, who heads up Holmen Forest.

The five indicators that Holmen believes give a good picture of the conditions for biodiversity are 1) proportion of old forest, 2) proportion of old forest with specific indications of nature conservation value, 3) volume of dead wood, 4) volume of broadleaves, and 5) volume of large broadleaves. The statistics for the five indicators are taken from the National Forest Inventory at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).

Holmen’s Annual Report 2024, released on 7 March, reports for the first time on how the five indicators have developed on the company’s own forest land. The results show that the proportion of old forest, the volume of dead wood, the volume of broadleaves and the volume of large broadleaves have increased by between 15 and 81 per cent since 1996. The proportion of old forest with specific indications of nature conservation value has climbed 73 per cent since 2005.

Holmen has chosen a start year of 1996 as this is the first year for which data on the volume of dead wood is available. The first year of data on old forest with specific indications of nature conservation value is 2005.

“The five indicators provide a good picture of the conditions for biodiversity. As we begin using them to describe progress in our own forests, it is gratifying to see that our approach to forest management is producing such positive results. Hopefully this can provide knowledge and experience that others will also be able to benefit from,” says Sören Petersson.

In order to promote biodiversity, Holmen saves features such as large broadleaves, dead trees and unusually old trees in the forests that are managed. Holmen also refrains from managing certain areas of high conservation value. Other measures include observing valuable protection zones around lakes, rivers, marshes and farmland.

“Holmen’s aim is to ensure that all naturally occurring species are able to thrive in the Swedish forest landscape. To achieve this, we in the forestry industry need to constantly update our strategies and methods to protect and develop the natural assets in our forests,” says Sören Petersson.

For further information contact:
Sonja Sandbacka, PR Manager Holmen Forest, +46 76 103 64 26, sonja.sandbacka@holmen.com

 

Facts: The importance of the five biodiversity indicators

  1. Old forest is important for several reasons. Old trees host birds, insects, mosses and lichens. The older trees are also valuable indicators of healthy conditions in the soil and on the forest floor, which is good for ground vegetation and fungi.
  2. Old forest with specific indications of nature conservation value (SIN) indicates not only that the forest is old, but also that it has the qualities typical of natural forests, such as the presence of both very old and large trees, dead wood and trees of different ages.
  3. Dead wood is important for forest biodiversity, providing a habitat and food source for birds, insects, fungi, mosses and lichens. It is estimated that around 20 per cent of all forest species depend on dead wood.
  4. Broadleaves are particularly important for insects and thus also for feeding birds. Many mosses and lichens thrive on the rich bark of broadleaves.
  5. Large broadleaves are important places for birds to both feed and nest. These trees are particularly important for woodpeckers. A number of mosses and lichens only grow on a single species of tree – be it aspen or the larger broadleaves – and then usually only on old and large trees. The same is true for insect species, with old and large birch trees also hosting rare species.

Facts: Trends for the five indicators in Holmen’s forests

Data from 1994 onwards has been used in the report. The values used are five-year rolling averages.

The starting year chosen for the report is 1996, as this is the first year that the National Forest Inventory can provide a five-year average for the volume of dead wood. An exception is old forest with specific indications of nature conservation value, where the start year is 2005. The latest year reported is 2021, which contains data for the five-year period 2019–2023.

The trends for the five indicators on Holmen’s forest land since the respective start years are as follows:

  • The proportion of old forest is up 41 per cent.
  • The proportion of old forest with specific indications of nature conservation value (SIN) has climbed 73 per cent.
  • The amount of dead wood per hectare has risen by 81 per cent.
  • The volume of broadleaves per hectare is up by 15 per cent.
  • The volume of large broadleaves per hectare is up by 61 per cent.

Progress in Holmen’s forests can also be seen in the graph below, where the value for the starting year is set at 1.0.

 

 

Holmen is one of the largest forest owners in Sweden. We manage the forest actively and sustainably to make sure it grows optimally, giving us the best raw material. Adopting a long-term view, we take responsibility for the forest ecocycle from seed to replanting while safeguarding biodiversity. Our employees manage our forests, buy wood and help private forest owners with harvesting and forest conservation.