The forest biomass supply represents an important part of the value chain for different wood-based products, and its environmental impacts are also frequently crucial. The performance of biomass supply chains (BSCs) can be assessed for various purposes and using a variety of methodological approaches, either including or excluding spatial properties. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate what kind of spatial data are required and available for case-specific BSC analyses in Finland, and what would be suitable levels of spatial precision for the various approaches. This thesis consists of five papers, one of which reviews case studies carried out in various geographical BSC environments around the world, while the remaining four are spatial case studies of BSC systems in Finland, three of them focusing on bioenergy production and one assessing the performance of a novel pulpwood transportation concept. A geographical information system (GIS) was used as the principal tool in one study, while in the other three the role of GIS was to produce spatially analysed data for life-cycle assessment and agent-based simulation. The main conclusion is that a spatial precision of between 1 km and 10 km, where each point of origin represents roughly an area of 1–100 km2, is sufficient for forest biomass data in Finnish BSC systems. The final precision should be determined collectively by the setup of the case study, factors leading to complexity in the supply chain system and the geographical extent of the area concerned. Relative to many other parts of the world, Finland has a readily available high quality source of spatial data for BSC research. It is recommended that GIS-based research could be improved by adding dynamic properties and stochasticity to the models, because temporal variations in feedstock supply and demand will probably increase in the future.
Decision making for sustainable development calls for scientific support in anticipating the possible consequences of decision alternatives and identifying the trade-offs between these alternatives. At the EU level, there has been a consistent movement toward the utilization of Sustainability Impact Assessments (SIA). First, the EU Strategy for Sustainable Development voiced the need to look at how EU policies contribute to sustainable development. Next, the European Commission committed to perform impact assessments of all proposed major initiatives. SIA can be used to study how factors such as policy, management, or technology development affect the sustainability of a sector or value chain and helps to inform decision makers about consequences of decision alternatives.
The Tool for Sustainability Impact Assessment (ToSIA) was developed to achieve a holistic assessment method for structuring sustainability questions as value chains of interlinked processes that enable evaluating the impacts of changes in these chains. To evaluate these changes, indicators of ecological, economic and social sustainability are utilised to describe different sustainability dimensions. Selecting the preferred alternative within these calculated differences in sustainability indicators may imply trade-offs and is enabled for example by the multi criteria analysis appended on top of ToSIA. The use of ToSIA is demonstrated through its application in numerous case studies conducted by various organizations and scholars.
This thesis presents the developed ToSIA from a methodological point of view, describing how the method is used. ToSIA is the first software implementation of a method that combines material flow based value chain analysis with indicators of different sustainability dimensions and harmonized system boundaries. ToSIA is a valid tool for evaluating consequences of the difficult decisions ahead that need to be made as we strive to enact a transition both to a 1.5 degree warming future, as well as a more sustainable humankind.
Below-ground carbon (C) allocation studies in boreal forests are scarce and have high levels of uncertainty in ecological and modelling studies. The uncertainty of fine root turnover and the heterogeneity of fine root distribution are the main barriers to quantifying the below-ground C allocation. Unravelling the below-ground C litter inputs of boreal forests, including fine roots and ectomycorrhizal (EcM) mycelia, could provide fundamental information for quantifying biogeochemical cycles. This thesis evaluated the below- and above-ground litter C inputs along a site type gradient of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) sites in southern Finland, and a distinct silver birch (Betula pendula) site in northern Finland. Furthermore, the Scots pine pioneer/fibrous root growth phenology was observed and compared with the modelled growth of the above-ground organs (predicted by the dynamic CASSIA model) in southern Finland in 2018, when there was an unusual summer drought. Fine root turnover was observed by minirhizotrons (MR) and the root growth phenology was observed by flat-bed scanners, both of which direct methods are known to provide reliable results in root research.
Based on the daily root growth monitoring experiments, we found that the timing of intensive root growth lagged behind the growth of above-ground organs (shoots, secondary xylem, buds, and needles). Interestingly, we found a clear root growth increase while the needle growth decreased, which may have been caused by a shift of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) from above-ground to below-ground. The low temperature and summer droughts may have constrained the fibrous root growth, but not influenced the pioneer root growth, which indicates that pioneer roots could be more tolerant to severe climate variations.
Increasing nutrient availability could clearly increase the above-ground C allocation but not the below-ground allocation. Our study sites CT, VT, MT were named after Cajander’s Finnish site type theory in the order of increasing nutrient availability. Our study found that the nutrient-poor site CT tends to have significantly higher fine root longevity and biomass than the relatively nutrient-rich sites VT and MT. Fine roots could allocate more biomass below the ground and survive longer in nutrient-poor conditions. The distal tips of tree roots reflect the forest foraging ability, as shown by the fact that EcM root tips per basal area and fine root biomass per basal area both increased gradually from nutrient-rich to nutrient-poor sites and from low to high latitudes. Overall, we found that below-ground litter accounts for 21-58% of total litter inputs in boreal forests. This finding indicates that the C allocation pattern could be a specific effect of species and latitudes. The Scots pine in the southern sites allocated up to one third of total litter inputs below the ground but the northern silver birch allocated over half of total litter inputs below the ground.
In conclusion, we suggest that the growth phenology and litter inputs of below- and above-ground organs should always be observed and quantified together. Understory species contributed significantly to litter C inputs which should not be neglected in boreal forests.
Moreover, future studies should be focused on the shifting of below- and above-ground C allocation response to extreme climate and also on the need to include EcM mycelia and root exudates in the accounting of below-ground litter pools.
Forests and forest-related sectors could play a major role in the transition of the global economy from dependence on fossil fuels and non-renewable raw materials to sustainable production and consumption. Forest resources in Russia account for over 20 % of global stocks and can play a significant role in the development of the new forest-based bioeconomy. However, Russian forestry remains very much orientated towards traditional, long-standing foundations that were designed in the middle of the last century. Many of the foundations are out of date and require development. Several attempts have been made to innovate Russian forestry, and recently these have been closely linked to learning and understanding the Nordic experience in forestry, particularly from Finland and Sweden. Interest in Nordic forestry was stimulated by the greater productivity and profitability, achieved under very similar environmental conditions to Russia. Investment in soil preparation, active silvicultural systems, and road construction, as well as the utilisation of wood-based energy, are among the factors that affect the outcomes of forestry in Nordic countries. As such, it is believed that Nordic forest practices could bring several innovative and proven-over-time solutions to the development of forestry in Russia. However, due to the unique institutional and operational frameworks that currently exist in the country, Nordic forest solutions cannot be readily adapted for the local conditions. Transfer and implementation of the solutions require an understanding of the Russian operational environment.
Thus, the general aim of this thesis was to systematically analyse the opportunities and challenges of reforming the forestry sector in Russia through the adoption of possible innovations from Finland and Sweden. The study focused on the Nordic forest solutions in intensive forest management (NIFMS), road construction (NFRS) and forest energy utilisation (NFES). In addition, the general principles of strategic planning and thinking used by the Russian forestry companies were studied. The empirical part of the study was based on an analysis of the situation in the Republic of Karelia, one of the main forest regions in Russia, whose territorial and resourcing indicators are commensurate with Finland and Sweden. The key findings and conclusions are of relevance for other forest regions in Russia.
According to the results, Nordic forest solutions look promising for the Russian forestry sector, although transferring and implementing the solutions in Russia might be limited due to political and legislative factors in the local operational environment. Specifically, the prospects of NFRS are accompanied by an unprepared regulatory climate regarding the prolongation of forest leasing contracts, while NFES is stymied by a lack of sufficient economic and legislative drivers to support the development of biofuels in Russia. A sufficiently dense road network and the utilisation of energy wood are important components of NIFMS, where the latter is cited as the centrepiece of the solutions. Therefore, the solutions need to be addressed in an integrated manner, as a single packaged issue. The planning and application of the solutions should follow the principles of sustainable development, otherwise, the solutions might fail in the long-term. These principles are not yet embedded in the Russian operational environment and this should be carefully considered in future forestry development in the country.
Forest fires are an ambivalent issue in Fennoscandia. Although most long-term fire-history studies show a decrease in burned areas, the recent large fires have set challenges for the future given the increasing demand to develop more effective fire management methods. On the other hand, the low impact of fire has raised concerns regarding how to safeguard fire-induced biodiversity. Related to these subjects, in my thesis I have studied fire scar formation, the flammability of the most common ground layer fuels and the state of prescribed burning in Finland.
The main findings of my thesis were:
These major findings of my thesis could be of use in enhancing forest fire prevention and prescribed burnings as well as in interpreting past fire regimes.
The performance of a forest inventory is typically evaluated using error indices, such as root mean square error (RMSE) and the difference between means of observed and predicted attributes (MD). However, error indices or errors as such, do not fully reveal the practical usefulness of forest inventory data. Using erroneous inventory data as a basis for management planning may have harmful effects on forestry decision-making. Errors in inventory data can lead to the selection of management prescriptions that differ from the optimal prescriptions based on error-free data. Eventually, differences in the selected prescriptions result in losses in regard to the objectives set for the management. The main aim of this thesis was to assess the effects of inventory errors on forest management where the objective is to maximize the net present value (NPV) of timber production and carbon payments. The studies considered different combinations and levels of errors in forest stand attributes and evaluated the effect of errors on the optimality of management prescriptions based on the expected economic losses, which were measured in NPV. The results showed that expected losses depend on the error rate of those forest stand attributes, which are used to describe the present state of the forest in the planning system. In particular, the results indicated that errors in mean diameter can be more harmful than errors in the basal area. Increasing the sample size in a remote sensing-based forest inventory increased the accuracy of predicted stand attributes and decreased the expected losses. The inclusion of carbon payments in the maximization of NPV showed that the effect of errors on expected losses decreases when the carbon price increases. The findings of this thesis indicate that it is very important that the effects of inventory errors are considered in forest management planning.
Frost hardiness (FH) is one of the limiting factors for the successful growth of woody plants in the boreal zone. To cultivate the plants in cold conditions, they need to be tested before they are launched to the farmers and forest owners. Appropriate preconditioning for the different progenies of the plus tree of forest seedlings within the same species, and different horticultural woody species and cultivars are not known well. To answer those questions, this study designed and implemented experiments for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) progenies, for three horticultural species, i.e., apple (Malus domestica Borkh.), blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.), blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.), and for pear cultivars (Pyrus communis L.). The study is composed of three parts with the following aims: i) to determine whether the pollination site affects the FH of the Scots pine progenies, ii) to determine the proper late-autumn preconditioning before running the frost hardiness tests of different apple, blueberry, and blackcurrant cultivars, and iii) to determine the effects of a short warm spell in mid-winter on the FH of pear cultivars. One of the important aims of the thesis was to assess and compare the different FH testing methods with the help of the experiments executed here.
The first part of the study consisted of the progenies of Scots pine plus-tree seed orchards in Finland and Ukraine, in addition to the progenies from natural stands in Finland, with three seed lots from each site. FH was examined twice during cold acclimation in controlled conditions. The second part concerned the effects of different preconditioning temperatures (+3, −3, −7, and −10 °C) and their durations (one or three weeks) on the FH of two apple cultivars, three blueberry cultivars, and three blackcurrant cultivars. The third part concerned the effects of short term warm spells in mid-winter on the FH of three pear cultivars that were preconditioned in natural conditions, then dehardened in a growth chamber at +5 °C for either 3-4 days or 16 days, and then rehardened at −7 °C for 5-7 days.
It was found that the freezing test temperature had a strong effect on the physiology and growth of different organs of the plus-tree progenies of Scots pine, but no consistent differences were found in FH among the progenies. The proper preconditioning temperature for the development of the maximum frost hardiness of the aboveground parts in late autumn is three weeks at −3 °C for apple and blueberry, though a shorter time for blackcurrant would be enough. The frost hardiness of the pear cultivars responded to temperature changes in mid-winter, but less than expected, and the responses were similar in all cultivars. In addition, the FH estimates of the stem by electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and relative electrolyte leakage (REL) were quite similar, but these methods overestimated FH when compared to the FH by visual damage scoring. DTA results had a small variation compared to other methods but the use of DTA is limited due to the low occurrence rate of the low temperature exotherm (LTE) in several species (e.g., blackcurrant).
This study creates new methods for assessing unpaved forest road quality using airborne laser scanning (ALS) data. The low and high pulse density ALS data were first processed and digital elevation models (DEMs) created at several resolutions from 0.2 m to 1 m. Different interpolation methods such as IDW, NN, Spline, and Kriging were compared in the first phase, and IDW was chosen for further calculations. The work focuses on road quality properties such as surface flatness, surface wear quality, road structure, ditch quality, road drying properties, and water accumulation, and also the vegetation cover on and beside the road.
The roads were divided into three categories using the Metsäteho forest road quality assessment system. Active/deactivated road status was assessed on Vancouver Island, Canada. Linear discriminant analysis was used to find the best predictors of the road quality classes, the result being validated using confusion matrices, by k-fold cross-validation, and/or by calculating kappa values. A combination of surface indices, the topographic wetness index and soil information provided high precision (81.6–89.8%) information about unpaved forest road quality. Simultaneously, the indices individually showed promising results when applied to high pulse density data. The classification based on vegetation growth was up to 73% correct, while the presence of a ditch system and its status as mapped using the high resolution LiDAR data was up to 92% correct.
The findings indicate that the use of LiDAR data can help forest managers gain more information about the quality and status of forest roads in remote areas without spending extra resources (time, transportation costs, personnel) on checking the road network manually. Although the use of ALS data for road quality assessment cannot yet replace field visits, it opens up possibilities for further research and offers the option of combining these novel approaches with other road assessments.
This dissertation examines current collaborative practices in wooden multistorey construction (WMC) projects through a business ecosystem approach to detect effective and ineffective practices when working with novel wooden materials and gaining knowledge of them. Furthermore, it deepens our understanding of citizen perceptions and homeowner experiences towards WMC, to ensure that professionals are able to construct buildings that are not only profitable, but also appreciated by end-users and functional in daily use. Qualitative means are used to provide an in-depth view of the matters.
The findings reveal that while construction projects are essentially collaborative efforts, the novelty of WMC materials and methods requires increased communication and learning between the business ecosystem participants. The keystone of a business ecosystem has a fundamental role in enabling deeper, long-term commitment between participants through procurement practices and meetings. These allow participants to work towards a common goal and to accumulate knowledge of wooden construction also between projects. Feedback processes should be improved between the participants, but homeowner experiences should also be utilized more efficiently. The results imply that while the business ecosystem approach provides a usable lens to study collaboration in WMC projects, it should not be seen as a static system concentrating on the design and construction phases, but one that evolves throughout a building’s life cycle, incorporating end-users as the ecosystem keystones when moving to the use phase of the building.
Furthermore, the results support previous literature in that end-users appreciate soft aspects of wood material, such as aesthetics and ambiance, while durability and maintenance needs create concerns. However, the qualitative approach used in this study reveals that some aspects are multifaceted, carrying both positive and negative meanings for the end-users. Homeowner experiences indicate the importance of the everyday usability of home materials. Furthermore, the ‘liveliness’ of the wooden material seemed to surprise some of the homeowners, indicating that they are more familiar with other urban construction materials. Communication with end-users should therefore be improved to decrease concerns, but also to inform about the material’s practical benefits such as pleasant soundscapes.
To better understand the underlying processes of many natural phenomena, accurate observations and measurements must be carried out in space and time. Considering forest ecosystems, monitoring the development and dynamics of tree characteristics is essential in this regard. An era of three-dimensional (3D) sensing techniques and point clouds has revolutionized individual tree observations, enabling measurements at an unprecedented level of detail. The feasibility of using point clouds to characterize trees and tree communities in space and their development in time was investigated in this thesis. The objective was to develop point cloud–based methods for distinguishing and characterizing trees and downed dead wood and to test the feasibility of the developed methods in boreal forest conditions.
Point cloud–based methods for detecting and characterizing forest structure were developed in studies I–III. Downed dead wood trunks could be distinguished from the undergrowth vegetation and near-ground objects by means of their regular, cylindrical geometry. Smooth, cylindrical surfaces and vertical continuity, on the other hand, were the key characteristics of point cloud structures to separate woody structures of standing trees from foliage and a tree stem from branches. The methods were tested in diverse boreal forest structures to validate these methodological principles.
The feasibility of the developed methods for characterizing trees and tree communities in space and time was tested in studies II–V. The structural complexity of a tree community was noted as the most important factor affecting tree-detection accuracy. High performance of the point cloud–based method was achieved on managed forest stands with a low degree of variation in tree size distribution. In controlled thinning experiments, thinning intensity was found to be a more significant factor affecting the performance than thinning type (i.e. thinning from below, thinning from above, and systematic thinning). The hemispherical measurement geometry of terrestrial point clouds was successfully complemented with aerial point clouds acquired from above the canopy to improve the vertical characterization of trees and tree communities. Finally, the capacity of bitemporal terrestrial point clouds to characterize changes in the structure of trees and tree communities was demonstrated. If there was an increase or decrease in the attributes of trees within a tree community detected with conventional forest mensuration techniques, a similar outcome was achieved with the point clouds.
The findings of this thesis improve the current knowledge of the feasibility of using point cloud–based methods in observing tree characteristics. Detailed 3D reconstruction of forests expands the spectrum of tree observations, as the dynamics of trees and tree communities can be monitored in more detail. This increases the understanding of processes shaping ecosystems and provides new approaches to improve ecological knowledge.
This research focuses on stand dynamics and ecological recovery in miombo woodlands, Morogoro, Tanzania. The study uses the Kitulangalo Permanent Sample Plots (PSPs) to analyse tree species’ site-specific growth, regeneration dynamics, and stand development using empirical and modeling approaches. The high number of tree species in miombo necessitated the formulation of three species groups involving 1) trees that grow relatively rapidly to be dominants in top canopy layers 2) trees that stay mainly in the lower and middle canopy levels and 3) trees that grow slowly but persistently and may eventually rise to dominant and codominant canopy positions applied in studies I and III. Study III also applies three harvesting alternatives, which align with the recommended harvesting practices for these woodlands.
Diameter increment varied with the change in basal area growth across species groups, reaching a maximum of 3.2 cm (group 1) during 2008-2016. Density-dependent mortality and ingrowth also varied with species group as higher mortality rates dominated the lower and middle canopy layers due to asymmetrical competitions. Fencing the plots prompted thick grass cover. The drop in the total number of regeneration stems and the simultaneous increase in the number of main stems in fenced areas and dense plots indicated a self-thinning process induced by competition. This is linked to multi-stem regeneration undergoing a morphological transformation into single-stem saplings (main stems) and eventually becoming small trees. Harvesting intensity, density-dependent mortality, and ingrowth regulated stand basal area and therefore stand growth and development during the simulation. Stand structural development was dominated by species groups 1 and 2, indicating sustainability in species composition and structures. Stand development was affected by the addition of new stems of each species in each simulation year.
Miombo stands have demonstrated the potential to attain a steady-state condition over the medium-term under-regulated stand conditions and silvicultural treatments. The developed models, treatments, and harvesting alternatives may be limited in application to Kitulangalo and similar lowland miombo woodlands in Tanzania. Future studies concerning stand conditions, silvicultural treatments, and harvesting alternatives are vital for a better understanding of stand dynamics in miombo woodlands in Tanzania.
This dissertation studies the stand-level economics of continuous cover and rotation forestry. The main method of this dissertation is economic-ecological optimization, where statistical-empirical size-structured ecological models are coupled with economic optimization models including fully flexible optimization between continuous cover and rotation forestry. The dissertation consists of a summary section and three original research articles. The first article compares the favourability of continuous cover forestry between pure Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands and studies the effects of ecological models on economically optimal solutions. The second article studies the economics of mixed-species stands with up to four tree species. The third article studies the economics of arctic forestry in the homeland region of the Sámi people using a model that simultaneously includes timber production, carbon storage, and negative externalities of forestry on reindeer husbandry.
According to the results, the differences in continuous cover forestry favourability between tree species are largely dependent on both species-specific differences in natural regeneration and natural regeneration differences between ecological models. Under realistic economic parameters, our model specification yields the result that continuous cover forestry is optimal for Norway spruce in both single- and mixed-species stands. In contrast, Scots pine favours rotation forestry in both single- and mixed-species stands. Physical overyielding of a species mixture does not reveal the economic preferability of that species mixture. In addition, we demonstrate that economically optimal continuous cover forestry avoids “high grading”, i.e. selective harvesting that leads to a completely different and economically inferior outcome. Including the negative externalities of forestry on reindeer husbandry into the economic model favours continuous cover forestry in arctic Scots pine stands. A carbon price between €14–€20 tCO2-1 is enough to imply that saving old-growth forests as carbon storages and reindeer pastures becomes optimal.