Department of forest production

DEPARTMENT OF FOREST PRODUCTION

The ^Department

^ofForest

^{Production studies}

silvicultural and

forest

regeneration methods,

^the

growth ^{and variation}

ⁱⁿ

growth of the forests, timber harvesting problems

^andthe

raw-material properties

^of

timber. The Department is responsible ^for managing the

land

^andwaterareasunderthe

jurisdiction

^of

the

Institute, maintains the field experiment register for the whole Institute,

^andcoordinates

field experiment

activities.

Long-term experiments

as the basis

of research

Forest

production

research^isaform

of

applied

^{research which} presup-

poses extensive field

experiments.

TheInstituteis

responsible

^forman-

aging

^the

experimental

areas and_na-

ture conservation _areas where the

long-term experiments

vital ^{for the}

Useofsmall-sized timberfromfirst thinnings ^for energyand pulpwood ^isan

importantissueincurrentresearch.

well-being

^{of Finland's forests} are

carried out. The oldest of these_ex

periments

are over70yearsold. Ex

periments

onthe institute's landin

clude cultivation

experiments

^with

exotic tree

species,

^seedcrop, drain

ageandfertilization

experiments,

^and

experiments

^{in which}

thinning

^and

othertreatments_are

being compared.

Most of this research is carried outat

the Institute's research stations.

The

Department

^{ofForestProduc}

tion works in close contact with the

practical forestry

sector.Concrete_ex

amples

^{ofthisinclude}

maintaining

up

to-date

timber-measuring guidelines

for commercial

forestry

^{and thefor}

est industries.

Future

challenges

^for silvicultural research

The current under-utilization of for

est_resources andthethreat

posed by

air

pollution

^andclimate

warming

^set

new

challenges

on silvicultural re

search.Forinstance,^the

problem

^of

how best to utilize small-sized timber

is

directing

^{research towards} ques

tionsofenergyforest

production.

However,^theunder-utilizationof

forest _resources mustnot be allowed

toresult in

poormanagement^ofthe

forests; the forests

require

^continu

ous care if

they

are to retain their

vitality

^{in thefuture, too. However,}

silvicultural measures have to be de

veloped

^{that ensure the survival of}

threatened

species

^{and forestdiver}

sity,

^{for instance. This}presupposes

reliable informationabouttheeffects

of forest treatment methods on forest

ecosystems.

Research forests

TheInstitutemanages

experimental

areas and nature conservation _areas

stretching

^{from the Solböle}

experi

mental _area in Tammisaariin the

south to the Malla nature reserve at

Kilpisjärvi

ⁱⁿ the north. Administra

tionofsomeofthe

experimental

^ar-

eas is the

responsibility

^{ofthe local}

researchstations,andsomeareasare

directly

underthe

Department

^ofFor

est Production. The land and water

areas

managed by

theInstitute are

primarily

^{intendedforresearch}pur

poses.Areaswithoutany^{current ex}

perimental activity

^are

primarily

^man

aged

as commercial forests inorder

to create a diverse forest milieu. The

provision

^{of research datato inter}

ested

parties

^{isalsotakenintoaccount}

when

deciding

^{howbesttoutilizethe}

land.

Hiking

^trailsand demonstration

areasare

being

constructedinthere

search forests.

Theaimofthenational

parks

^un

derthe

jurisdiction

^{oftheInstitute}

Pallas-Ounastunturi, Pyhätunturi

^and

Koli is the conservation and mainte

nance of nature in an untouched state

forfuture

generations.

^{In additionto}

recreation,the

parks

^{serve theneeds}

ofresearchand

teaching.

THE FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

M ETLA

Rillitie 4-12

PO.Box 18, 01301 Vantaa, Finland phone +358-0-857 051

fax +358-0-857 2575

Unioninkatu 40A 00170 Helsinki, Finland

phone +358-0-857 051 fax +358-0-625 308

DirectorGeneral Eljas ^Pohtila Administrative Director TeroOksa

Head ofCommunications Unit Marja Ruutu

DEPARTMENT OF

^{FOREST PRODUCTION}

TheDepartment isled

by

^{ProfessorJari} Parviainen, ResearchDirector

Professors:

Forest operations PenttiHakkila

Forest

regeneration

^ErkkiLähde

Growthand

yield

^Kari Mielikäinen

Wood

quality

^{Olli Uusvaara}

Researchdirector'ssecretary

Raija

^Lahtinen Information officers:

Heli Mikkelä Simo Hannelius

Research Area Unit:

Research forests Risto Savolainen

Nature conservation _areas Eino Piri

Secretary ^Kaarina Ridanpää

METLA/Communications Unit1993