My wooden cup is filled with steaming coffee. I am sitting on a fallen aspen, which has been left in place as a retention tree during forest regeneration. The decaying trunk is a real five-star conk hotel. Polyporus brumalis, Trametes ochracea, Trametes hirsuta, Hericium cirrhatum, Funalia trogii and Punctularia strigosozonata – all these inhabitants of the new hotel can now be found here, just a few years after the forest was regenerated and the aspen fell over soon after harvesting.
Sawn coniferous stumps are the largest source of decaying wood in this area. The closest stump sports a prime specimen of Phyllotopsis nidulans, and under the bark of the pine stump next to it, I find a real style icon of bugs, the Aradus betulinus. The bright fruiting bodies of Trametes cinnabarina stand out on the low-lying birch branches.
This is where I picked a bucketful of lingonberries in the autumn, raspberries in late summer and wild herbs before midsummer. I do not own this forest area, but thanks to the right of public access, I can use it in many different ways.
In the summer of 2022, I came on board as Metsä Group’s Leading Nature Expert, with a degree in ecology. It is an entirely new post in the company. In cooperation with my colleagues, my goal is to invite stakeholders and experts to jointly create new sustainable solutions for producing wood raw material and ways in which a significant operator like us can generate added value to society at large.
I am convinced that we will succeed thanks to our versatile competence and cooperation. As we move towards fossil free economic activities, forestry based on our naturally occurring tree species is the fundamentally correct solution for industrial raw material production when aiming for measures that strengthen nature. In the Nordic model, forestry does not result in actual land use change: most of the naturally occurring species continue to be found in areas allocated to wood production. The result is a uniquely diverse system offering a variety of natural benefits.
However, forestry also poses a challenge to nature. In many ways, the differences between commercial forests and natural forests are clear. Since the 1990s, the development of forestry has been based on an increasingly pluralistic approach. To improve the state of nature, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel – that was done a long time ago. Nevertheless, the best practices must be widely adopted and made into verifiable, measurable packages. In other words, we must keep checking that wheel regularly.
Ecological reconstruction involves various things such as goals, measures, results and verification. Research and science must replace ideologies.
The fulfilment of our needs leads to a good and meaningful life. This is why we produce wood products that people use in their daily lives. Likewise, forest nature offers us necessities: clean water and air; pollinator services to secure food production; health benefits; hobby opportunities; and the required amount of self-sufficiency for those who enjoy picking mushrooms and berries. We contribute to all this.
The baton of multigenerational forestry is now in all our hands, to be used jointly.