The park forest plan is designed to maintain diverse and pleasant forest environments in areas covered by local plans

A forest management plan is a plan for the management and use of forest assets drawn up from the forest owner’s perspective. The park forest plan now approved covers all park forests owned by the municipality of Tuusula, totalling 470 hectares. All forests located within green areas designated in local plans are classified as park forests.

The park forest plan includes an assessment of the forest’s tree stock and condition, its natural values, potential uses and management needs. As part of the planning process, a field survey of the forests will be carried out during the summer of 2025. 

The most common management measure is the management of young trees

In practice, the park forest plan outlines the types of forests we currently have in Tuusula and how they should be managed over the next decade to ensure a pleasant environment. The plan applies only to forests currently owned by the municipality and does not, for example, address which forests should be preserved during future land-use planning projects.

The local authority has planned some form of management for the majority of forest areas. In park forests, the most common measure is the management of young trees. The management of small trees involves thinning out small trees based on the needs of the area, safety and landscape maintenance; this is often also referred to as clearing.

– Outside of the plan, we are constantly removing hazardous trees based on our own observations and reports from local residents. A safe local woodland is important for residents and makes residential areas more attractive, says municipal gardener Mia Järvinen.

Efforts are being made to increase the amount of deadwood

Deadwood is dead and decaying wood. Deadwood provides a habitat for a wide variety of species, such as insects, fungi and birds. Deadwood increases forest biodiversity and improves the forest’s ability to withstand environmental changes. Around a quarter of all species in our forests are directly or indirectly dependent on deadwood.

The amount of deadwood was also surveyed as part of the park plan. The survey revealed that there is an alarmingly low amount of deadwood in Tuusula’s park forests. Only 30% of the forest compartments contained deadwood, and in those compartments where deadwood was present, there was an average of just 2.6 m³/ha. Last autumn, the amount of deadwood was also surveyed in commercial forests. The situation is slightly better in commercial forests. There, the corresponding figure is 7.6 m³/ha.

The amount of deadwood in forests is gradually increasing as trees need to be felled. It is therefore important that felled trees are left in the forest to decompose undisturbed.

– We often receive enquiries from residents about tree trunks left in the forest. Many would like to make use of the trunks lying in the forest as firewood. We explain to them that the trees have been left in the forest on purpose and that they are beneficial to biodiversity, says Mia Järvinen.

The new park forest management plan and the commercial forest management plan, completed in 2024, are available to view on the municipality’s map service. Further information on forest management in the municipality of Tuusula can also be found on the municipality’s website.

Further information:

Municipal Gardener Mia Järvinen, 040 314 4091, mia.jarvinen@tuusula.fi

Green Space Specialist Laura Turpeinen, 040 314 4333, laura.turpeinen@tuusula.fi

This content has been translated using AI