Seed and Seedling Production

Choice of species for forest production varies across the Nordic region based on which tree species are naturally occurring and which thrive and produce under different climatic conditions. This, and the fact that data are scarce, makes comparisons difficult across countries. For some species and countries, data are put together, for others, data are presented for single countries only.

As an overview of the most important species in the production chain for the different countries the amount of seedlings delivered to the forestry in 2019 is shown below (Figure 1).

In Finland, Sweden and Norway the two conifers Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) make up most of the plant production for forestry. Norway spruce makes the biggest share for commercial production of these two due to the large extent of natural regeneration and direct seeding of pine. Sweden has the largest forest area while Norway has the smallest among these three countries.