A total of 56.3 million cubic metres of logs and pulpwood were harvested for export or for the production of forest industry products. The volume remained at the previous year’s level and was seven per cent more than the annual average of the previous ten-year period. Compared to the record volume of 2007, the industrial roundwood removals were just over two million cubic metres less. The total roundwood removals consisted of 24.4 million cubic metres of logs and 31.9 million cubic metres of pulpwood. The year-on-year volume of logs increased by 1% and the volume of pulpwood decreased by the same amount.
In 2014, a total of 9 million cubic metres of roundwood were used as wood chips in heat and power plants or as fuel wood in residential housing. The volume of wood used for energy production increased by 2% compared to the previous year, but exceeded the average of the previous ten-year period by as much as a third.
The total roundwood removals, consisting of roundwood harvested for energy production and the forest industry, amounted to 65.3 million cubic metres in 2014. The volume remained at the previous year’s peak level and was 10 per cent more than the average of the previous ten-year period.
The National Forest Inventory by Luke helps in estimating the felling capacity and utilisation rate of Finnish forests. “The maximum sustainable volume of industrial roundwood and energy wood removals calculated on the basis of latest measurements is currently around 81 million cubic metres a year. According to the information on the 2014 roundwood removals, about four fifths of this volume is in use nationally,” says researcher from Luke.
The total annual drain is the combination of roundwood removals, logging residue left in the forest and the residue of naturally dead trees. In 2014, the latter two amounted to 9 and 5 million cubic metres of roundwood, respectively, causing the annual drain to reach 79 million cubic metres. The volume remained at the previous year’s level and was 12% more than the annual average of the previous ten-year period.
According to the latest measurements, the volume of standing trees in forests available for wood production increases 100 million cubic metres a year. Last year, the drain accounted for 79% of this figure.
