Abstract
The Nordic countries include Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, which range from lat. 54° in southern Denmark to lat. 72° at North Cape, Norway. This region is dominated by the boreal coniferous vegetational zone.Denmark and southern Sweden are, however, located in the deciduous (nemoral) forest zone, whereas the interior part of Iceland and the high altitudes of Norway and Sweden are in the mountainous zone. Forests cover 1, 11, 28, 60, and 66 percent of the land area in Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland, respectively. Traditional forestry has mainly concentrated on conifers in the boreal and the nemoral zones. Increased concern about nature conservation and sustainable land use along with economic constraints and reduced softwood timber prices have led to increased focus on growing and regenerating broadleaves. Planting nursery-grown seedlings is the common and preferred method for forest restoration and afforestation. However, this technique is expensive unless wide spacing is used. Direct seeding is a less expensive alternative that may still give acceptable results. This regeneration practice has been examined for a number of broadleaved species within a collaborative project including forest researchers from Mississippi, Estonia, and the five Nordic countries. Results from this work are presented, and conclusions are drawn for forest management and future research and development in this field.
Parent Publication
Citation
Madsen, Palle; Arad•ttir, Ása; Gardiner, Emile; Gemmel, Pelle; Høie, Kåre Lund; Löf, Magnus; Stanturf, John A.; Tigerstedt, Peter; Tullus, Hardi; Valkonen, Sauli; Uri, Veiko. 2000. Forest restoration in the Nordic countries. In: Proceedings of a Conference on Sustainability of Wetlands and Water Resources, May 23-25, Oxford, Mississippi, eds. Holland, Marjorie M.; Warren, Melvin L.; Stanturf, John A., p. 120-125
