Proper material in forest regeneration required – New statistics report from NordGen on Nordic forest seeds and plants
Healthy and resilient forests, with sufficient genetic diversity, are essential to cope with adaptation to climate change. To better understand the development in forestry, and to facilitate the Nordic cooperation, access to joint statistics is important. Therefore, NordGen recently published an updated and expanded statistics report on the Nordic countries' use of forest plants and seeds.
Climate change brings difficult challenges for the forestry, not least when it comes to increased pest problems, weather-related damages, and reduced yields. To handle these issues, forest regeneration with the proper forest seed and plant material is crucial. The new report "Statistics: Forest Seeds and Plants in the Nordic Region – Version 2023" compiles data from the entire Nordic region.
“These statistics are important for understanding the developments within the forest plant and seed production in the region. The challenges we are facing require an increased exchange of knowledge between the countries and it is important for the Nordic cooperation to have access to joint and comprehensible data,” says Inger Sundheim Fløistad, Section Leader of NordGen Forest and one of the authors of the report.
Updated and Expanded Statistics
The new edition is updated with statistics from the years 2020 and 2021, but also contains information on more forest tree species and is expanded with additional statistics categories. “An example of a new section in this version is the delivery of plants to forestry and the proportion of different forest tree species that have been genetically improved, usually as part of a tree breeding program,” says Thomas Solvin, Secretary in the NordGen Forest Working Group on Genetic Resources and one of the authors of the report. The publication compiles statistics and information provided by the NordGen Forest Regeneration Council.
“Our wish is to continue collecting data from the Nordic countries and publish biennial versions of the Nordic statistics report in the future, says Thomas Solvin.
FACTS:
The publication is the second edition in an ongoing series, the first was published in 2021. The statistics in the updated report cover the years 2013 to 2021.