The notified area of final felling in Sweden increased by 17% in the region South of Sweden during May compared with the corresponding month in 2018. In some counties has is it doubled. One reason for the increase is the infestation of bark beetle which leads forest owners to notify for final felling to clear damaged forests. On national level there is only small alterations compared with May 2018, as Swedish Forest Agency reports.
The total area of notified final felling in the whole country amounted to 21 729 hectares.
In the region North of Sweden the area notified for final felling decreased by 4% to 4 872 hectares and in the region Central Sweden it decreased by 12% to 4 911 hectares. In the region South of Northern Sweden, the notified area increased by 6% to 6 163 hectares and in the region Southern Sweden the increase was 17% and amounted to 5 783 hectares.
At the county level, the notified harvest area increased in 12 of 21 counties. The largest increase was in Blekinge County with more than a doubling of the notified area. In Kalmar County the notified area increased by almost 60%. It is the highest note for the month of May since 2007 for both counties. Notifications also increased in Värmland County (50%) to 1 628 hectares, which is the highest recorded level for the month of May in 12 years. The increase in the region of Southern Sweden of notified area of final felling is plausibly due to the extensive attacks of bark beetle.
So far in 2019, 101 264 hectares have been reported for harvesting, which is 17% more than in the first five months of last year.
