Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group which represents the largest IKEA retailer, has acquired 1,321 hectares (3,264 acres) of land in Florida as part of its long-term commitment to responsible forest management. The investment property, Tupelo Honey, consists of two parcels of land in Gulf and Liberty Counties near the Apalachicola River that will be used for an ongoing afforestation project, creating new forestland by planting trees in areas where there were none before.
The new forests will support increased biodiversity, help ensure sustainable timber production from responsibly managed forests, and recover land damaged by Hurricane Michael in October 2018. The project will begin by preparing the land for planting, including clearing debris from storm-damaged areas and rehabilitating abandoned pastureland. The property will then be planted with a mix of local species, focused on longleaf pine. At least 650,000 new trees will be planted in the first rotation of the 40-year cycle.
Longleaf pine, which will constitute most of the new forest, is a keystone species that supports habitat for a variety of threatened and endangered plants and animals, including gopher tortoises, dusky gopher frogs, pine snakes, and red-cockaded woodpeckers. Furthermore, longleaf pine is more resilient to the effects of climate change than many other tree species, including resistance to forest fires.
Ingka Investments’ Florida acquisition builds on Ingka Group’s total investment of U.S. forestland properties, which are located in southeast Georgia (11,000 acres), South Carolina (17,000 acres), Alabama (29,000 acres), Oklahoma (18,000 acres) and Texas (59,000 acres).
