The life cycle of a forest

The forest owner is responsible for setting a new-growth forest off to a good start. Spin the zoetrope and see how the forest always grows back!

In Finland, the use and management of forests is governed by the Forest Act, the Nature Conservation Act, and a number of other provisions, decrees and guidelines. The objective of the current Forest Act is to safeguard not only wood production, but also the biodiversity and diverse use of forests. The Act provides a framework for landowners to cultivate and manage their forests. The traditional forest maintenance process, referred to as periodic silviculture, runs from the sapling stage to final fellings, and is repeated time after time. At present, other alternatives include small clearing fellings, continuous cover forestry, and conservation.

Unlike forests that are cut down to make way for a road, housing complex or perhaps a shopping centre, commercially used forests do not disappear even though trees are felled. In Finland, forest owners must ensure that a new generation of trees grows in place of the felled trees. This was decreed in the Finnish Forest Act as early as in 1886!