The potential of birch highlighted at the NordGen Forest Conference 2025 in Iceland – Europe’s least forested country
Birch planting and breeding programs were some of the many topics discussed at NordGen's annual forest conference, which was recently held in southern Iceland. In addition to listening to the many speakers, participants had the opportunity to visit naturally regenerated birch forests in the area.
Earlier this week, NordGen and Land and Forest Iceland organized a forestry conference entitled “Birch at the heart of reforestation.” Around 70 conference participants traveled to Hella, Iceland, located southeast of Reykjavík. On the first day of the conference, participants listened to around fifteen speakers. Ágúst Sigurðsson, director of the Land og Skógur authority, welcomed the conference participants, followed by NordGen's director Lene Krøl Andersen.
”We are all working to support diverse and resilient forests for future generations. Everyone in this room understands the importance of this mission. Linking Nordic expertiese, like today, is crucial to reach our goals. We can acheive great things togehter.” said Lene Krøl Andersen.
Increased interest in planting
The program continued with a presentation by Emma Holmström, professor at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), who gave the presentation ”Birch in Northern Europe: From Breeding to Forest Management - A Nordic and Baltic Perspective.”
Among other things, she told the audience that birch is the most common broadleave tree in Scandinavia that is used for many things such as food, fuel fibre and timber. Until now, the use of birch in Sweden has been a bit opportunistic. It is easy to establish in natural regeneration but often, it is not managed with much of intention. But there is a lot of birch mixed into the production forest today and there is a potential to develop the market if quality products can be provided.
”Nowadays, we see more and more interest for planting birch as the main species by using genetically improved material,” said Emma Holmström and continued:
”But should it be managed for stand or for tree growth, that is the question. When planting birch, density management is an important early economic decision for the forest owner. Thinning is key to promote a faster diameter development.”
One of the speakers from Norway was Mari Kjos, a plant breeder from The Norwegian Forest Seed Center who talked about the initiation of a breeding programme for silver birch (Betula pendula) in Norway. For this purpose, a seed orchard that will supply the eastern and southern parts of Norway was established near Hamar in 2023. The background to this initative is that the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food want to increase investment in other tree species than spruce and pine. These two species today constitutes 90% of the annual production in Norway. There is also a demand for higher quality wood from the industry.
”Silver birch, in rotation with Norwegian spruce, can be an alternative in areas with a high risk of root rot. The frequency of root rot is for exaple very high in the eastern parts of the interior of Norway. In the future, the aim is to expand the breeding population with 200 new plus-trees with provenances from all over Norway, says Mari Kjos.
1.5 percent woodlands
The program naturally also featured several presentations on Icelandic conditions, covering topics such as pests, pathogens, soil health, and of course tree breeding. One of the Icelandic speakers was Aðalsteinn Sigurgeirsson, a forest geneticist at Land and Forest Iceland. He opened his presentation by saying, “Welcome to Iceland, the least forested country in Europe.”
Today, only 1.5% of the land area is covered by natural, native birch woodlands. However, most of these woodlands are too low to meet the FAO’s definition of a forest. This vegetation is primarily composed of downy birch (Betula pubescens). An additional 0.5% of Iceland’s land area consists of cultivated forests, mostly planted with introduced species. Following a brief historical overview, the presentation focused on a study involving five trial sites originating from a 1998 provenance trial of 50 natural populations of downy birch. In 2020 and 2021, these sites were assessed for survival, leaf rust (Melampsoridium betulinum), seed production, height, and diameter.
“The results show a positive and often significant correlation in the ranking of provenances across the different trial sites. This strongly suggests that a birch tree’s performance is largely determined by its genotype, not merely by the local environment,” said Aðalsteinn Sigurgeirsson.
The second day was devoted entirely to forest excursions in the area. First, the bus stopped at Nauthúsagil, where the group saw a rowan tree that is at least 150 years old and the ancestor of Iceland's planted rowans. The trip then continued via dramatic river crossings to the beautiful surroundings of the Þórsmörk nature reserve, where the group observed the natural regeneration and expansion of birch forests.
FACT: NordGen's forest conferences
The forest conference is organized annually by NordGen in close cooperation with the national representatives on NordGen's Forest Regeneration Council. The Nordic countries take turns hosting the conference, next year it will be held in Norway.
