%0 Articles
%T Kohti hyvää suometsien hoitoa – harvennusten ja kunnostusojitusten vaikutus ojitusaluemänniköiden puuntuotokseen ja metsänkasvatuksen taloustulokseen
%A Kojola, Soili
%D 2009
%J Dissertationes Forestales
%V 2009
%N 83
%R doi:10.14214/df.83
%U http://dissertationesforestales.fi/article/1866
%X This thesis examines the impacts of silvicultural activities on productivity and financial returns of Scots pine (<em>Pinus sylvestris</em> L.) stands on drained peatlands in Finland. The effects of ditch network maintenance operations (DNM) and thinnings, with different timings and intensities, were studied. Based on stand development simulations, the best regimes for different types of stands according to site type, climatic area, and stand silvicultural status were defined from the viewpoint of both wood production and financial profitability.

Certain aspects affecting the management outcomes, such as the timing of the first thinning, were examined using data from thinning experiments. Long-term predictions of the impacts of different management regimes were carried out by simulating the development of well-representative model-stands which were composed from appropriate inventory data sets. The MOTTI stand simulator used to perform the simulations enables the predictions by utilizing specific models for drained peatland stands. In addition to natural stand dynamics, these models describe the effects of silvicultural treatments on the development of a given stand. The mean annual increment of merchantable wood (MAI<sub>merch</sub>) was used as the measure of wood productivity, and the financial feasibility of the regimes was compared using net present value (NPV) analysis.

Silvicultural treatments, when applied to appropriately match stand condition, increased both the productivity and financial returns of stand management. Applying DNM resulted in a small increase in MAI<sub>merch</sub>. When thinning was introduced along with DNM, their combined effect on wood productivity was considerable. According to current operational practices, DNM is generally combined with thinning. In some cases, e.g., in sites of low productivity, the need for DNM may become apparent prior to the thinning stage. As for profitability, thinnings proved to be crucial. The regimes with heavy and late thinnings were generally more profitable than those with normal thinnings. Further, early thinning (relative to stand volume) lacked appeal when seeking a financially profitable removal from the first thinning. In young stands with an initially poor silvicultural condition, however, applying even a low-yielding first thinning considerably increased the NPV when compared to a regime with no thinning at all. Generally, the regimes resulting in the best profitability included heavier thinnings and fewer DNM and thinning treatments than did the regimes resulting in the best yield results.

This study demonstrates considerable potential for profitable wood production-oriented management in pine stands on drained peatlands despite their challenging circumstances and long rotations. The results can be used for defining new and more site-specific silvicultural guidelines for various types of drained, pine-dominated peatland stands within the entire range of boreal conditions.