Using municipal forests for diverse assessment

Concerned residents from various areas have been in touch. The Paijala forest was thinned in accordance with prevailing forestry practices, but residents feel that this did not take into account the fact that the forest has provided good noise and visual protection. The decision to fell the Tuomala forest is also only now becoming apparent.  The scenic forest is located near the border of three municipalities, next to a nature reserve, and is an important recreational area for residents. It would already have been logged if it had not been for the mild winter. However, a comprehensive 56-page nature survey of the area was conducted in 2006. It can be read on the municipality’s website under the search term ‘Golf course expansion, nature and landscape survey’ https://www.tuusula.fi/sivu.tmpl?sivu_id=2107.(switch to another service) The good news today is that the deal will be cancelled, we will join the Metso programme and investigate management recommendations for local recreation areas.  In Nuppulinna, the clear-cut areas left by previous logging operations are still being cleared, and their sad, desolate landscape is visible to residents every day. Tuusula’s major project, Rykmentinpuisto, has not been spared from logging either. As there are no residents in Rykmentinpuisto yet, their reactions are unknown. However, how much more attractive would a residential area be if it were surrounded by real nature? There is still a chance to protect the beautiful cliffs.

We want the municipality to reassess its logging targets.

Municipal logging is carried out in accordance with the recommendations and calculations made by the forest management association based on the growth of commercial forests.
The municipality of Tuusula owns approximately 1,100 hectares of commercial forest. The municipality also owns approximately 400 hectares of park forest. Annual growth is approximately 7,000 cubic metres. The logging planned for 2020 will not exceed the annual growth rate. The
total volume of logging planned for 2020 is approximately 5,700 solid cubic metres. Of the total harvest, standing sales account for approximately 3,240 solid cubic metres and procurement sales for approximately 2,460 solid cubic metres. Decision presentation 18 November 2019

Depending on the calculation method, whether park forests are included, growth has been calculated to be quite high. In the best commercial forests, growth of around 6 m3 per hectare per year is quite high.

However, the forests in the municipality of Tuusula are not ordinary forests. Many are located close to residential areas or are old-growth forests. They can be valued in many ways other than just the proceeds from selling the timber.

Forests are valuable as a source of recreation, they are carbon sinks, they should serve as green corridors, and they should protect biodiversity.  They offer residents peace and beauty. Instead of spending millions of euros on building parks in new residential areas, we could protect the forests that already exist. Tuusula is changing because we have countryside and nearby forests.

The municipality is currently developing a green space strategy. It is a good document, which is available as a draft on the website. It assigns three values to green areas. These are recreation, which includes well-being and social values, landscape and aesthetics, and ecological significance. Forests are part of green areas. Forests have all these values.

I will include some of the arguments found in the literature that are presented in the draft strategy.

Natural areas are seen as revitalising places where it is possible to recharge one’s batteries and maintain mental health. A good environment encourages people to exercise and spend time outdoors, which increases social contacts and has a direct impact on health. The values of green areas include the experience of untouched nature, a sense of space, silence, and opportunities for activities and leisure. The natural environment allows for enchantment, a break from everyday life, and an experience of the vastness and unity of the landscape. (Kaplan, 1989; Tyrväinen, 2005, Aura et al. 1997, Green Space Strategy, draft). 

Last year’s Finlandia Prize-winning non-fiction book Metsä meidän jälkeemme (The Forest After Us) offers a multifaceted view of different approaches to forest management. After the wars, Finland needed large-scale logging to cope with war reparations. Clear-cutting has gradually been replaced by continuous cover forestry methods. Nature’s own constraints add their own challenges. Because storms also cause damage and pests attack, there is no single correct method.

However, at the municipal level, a plan must be drawn up that takes into account factors other than commercial forestry objectives. It should be remembered that trees in an area that has been logged once take decades to grow back.

The municipality needs a document that gives decision-makers a genuine opportunity to influence factors that are essential for carbon sinks, biodiversity and the recreation of residents. The forest management plan must be available to all residents. We cannot assume that, because the municipality expects to earn a couple of hundred thousand euros a year, the forest management association will be given the task of drawing up a felling plan and that felling will be carried out based on their expertise. However, the forest management association is not an expert on the other values of the forest mentioned above: recreation, which includes well-being and social values, landscape and aesthetics, and ecological values.

I have selected some quotes from Kerava’s 2018 forest management principles. Comprehensive guidelines should also be drawn up for Tuusula.

General principles

• Forests are actively managed in accordance with management class-specific objectives and an annual action plan.
• Preserve and maintain the vitality and diversity of the tree stand.
• Preserve any old and valuable forests and take conservation trees into account.
• Pay attention to streams and small wetlands.
• In forestry, natural regeneration is favoured whenever possible.
• During logging, care is taken to avoid damaging remaining trees and causing damage to the terrain.
• In sensitive and fragile areas, work is carried out without damaging the forest floor.
• Let's protect the nesting peace of animals and birds (15 April–31 July).
• Respond quickly to plant pests (e.g. damage caused by booklice).
• Groups of trees, individual trees, large rocks and unusual natural formations are highlighted by removing vegetation.
• Let's highlight cultural landscapes.
• The paths along outdoor trails are maintained to ensure safety.
• The wishes of residents are heard in such a way that the common interests of the city and its residents are more important than the views of individual residents.

Nearby forests

• The cityscape emphasises the city's image and architecture.
• The surrounding areas are kept clear and safe for movement.
• The clearing of brush and undergrowth focuses on paths and light traffic routes, viewing points, cultural landscapes and the boundaries of plots and forests.
• Management focuses on different parts of the forest rather than clearing the entire forest evenly.
• Green areas that are valuable in terms of biodiversity are left untouched during clearing work.
• The aim is to make the forest diverse and varied in terms of age structure and landscape.
• In rough areas, wear is prevented by planning trails and leaving tree trunks on the ground.
• Areas of special natural value are managed as nature conservation areas in accordance with a separate plan.
• Forest regeneration is carried out through small-scale clear-cutting and selective felling.
• In the immediate vicinity of residential areas, most logging residues are removed as they detract from the landscape and outdoor recreation.
• Residents are informed of care measures in advance by means of a letter to residents, the city's website and social media.

Outdoor recreation and leisure forests

• In the management of hiking and outdoor recreation areas, attention is paid to the diversity and naturalness of forest tree species and age structure.
• Dangerous trees will be removed.
• No rotten or fallen trees are left at the edge of outdoor trails, and the edges are kept clear of brush.
• Important habitats are taken into account.
• Small areas of untended thickets are left in outdoor forests to increase biodiversity.
• In outdoor recreation forests, regeneration areas are small.
• Logging residues are removed from key areas, while the resulting gaps are adapted to the landscape.
• Information about forest management activities is available on the municipality's website.

Protective forest

• The focus of management is on preserving the protected forest as healthy, multi-species, multi-layered and dense.
• Dangerous trees will be removed
• Forests with the highest natural value are reserved as protected areas.

In Kerava, forests are classified as follows: local forests, outdoor recreation forests, protective forests, commercial forests, valuable forests, and protected areas
(Principles of Forest Management and Use, Kerava, 2018).

Initiative The importance
of local forests has grown year by year, and this has become particularly evident during the current exceptional circumstances. The municipality drew up a forest management plan in 2012. We, the undersigned, demand that this plan be made public and updated.  In addition, the municipality must draw up a management plan for forests and recreational areas, which defines the principles for the management of forests and recreational areas, taking into account the various recreational values of forests, the need for carbon sinks and biodiversity.
The growth rates of commercial forests should not be applied to felling volumes.
Local forests should be cleaned up, thinned and managed. Forests that
meet nature conservation criteria should be submitted to the Metso programme.
When planning new residential areas, construction should be adapted so that existing trees remain part of the area. 
Clear-cutting should be abandoned in favour of solutions that leave pine and birch trees, seed trees, deadwood and edge trees standing, resulting in a landscape, recreational and ecological view that is completely different from that of a barren clear-cut area.
Forest management must take into account the natural conditions: simply leaving weak spruce trees standing is not a solution due to storms, and the area damaged by the Metso programme may also spread to neighbouring forests.

The municipal forest management plan must be published on the website, residents must be consulted on the management of their local forests, and the annual action plan must also be submitted to the relevant authorities for consideration before tenders for logging are invited.

This content has been translated using AI

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