Planning our forestry
Planning is crucial to balancing the many values that must coexist in our forests. By analyzing our forest holdings from a landscape perspective and over a long period of time, we can identify which forests have the highest nature values and which can be managed with a focus on timber production. In addition, careful planning is carried out before each individual harvest.
Processes in the forest are lengthy. It takes about one hundred years for a tree to mature for harvesting, and many other natural processes take even longer. When we plan forest management and conservation efforts, we do so with a perspective that spans a century or more.
Landscape-based planning
Another important factor is that we perform planning both based on the local conditions of a specific area and with a broader view of the needs and conditions from a landscape perspective, known as ecological landscape planning.
This approach allows us to efficiently create different values in different areas of our forests. In some forests, the focus is entirely on biological diversity, while in others, timber growth takes center stage.
Planning for every measure
In addition to our long-term planning from a landscape perspective, we also carry out careful planning for each individual measure in the forest. The most extensive planning occurs before regeneration harvesting. The basic retention of the area – often called environmental consideration – includes nature values, cultural environments, recreation and outdoor life, and reindeer herding. You can read more about basic rentention here.
Our highly trained harvest area planners thoroughly examine the forest to assess what environmental considerations should be taken. They plan which areas should be preserved, known as conservation areas, and how the forest machines should operate within the site. They also plan for the next generation of forests.
Forests can be reclassified
Based on our continuous inventories, we make new assessments of our forests over time. This could lead to forests previously evaluated to have lower conservation value being reclassified as areas with higher value, prompting new designations. Similarly, a forest previously classified as a voluntary set-aside may now be assessed as having lower conservation value and therefore might be reclassified. These processes are an important part of our planning to ensure we take the right actions in the right places.
Så här planerar vi – på kort och lång sikt
Ecological landscape planning
Planning before every harvest
Our planning process in detail
Estimated harvesting
Map tool for SCA's forests
In our map tool, you can view SCA's entire land holdings in Sweden, as well as our Conservation parks, voluntarily set-asides and areas managed with alternative methods.
Through the map page, you can also visit the Forest Industries website and see the map that displays SCA's and other major forest companies' key habitats and other forest areas excluded from forestry, both voluntarily and through formal protection by the state."
Read more about
Managed forest
SCA's forests are actively and sustainably managed to increase growth over the long term. Today, the volume of living trees on our holdings is larger than ever. This is possible thanks to our forest management practices. High growth benefits both our operations and the climate.
Nature conservation and consideration
To ensure biodiversity in the forest, a variety of habitats are needed. We use a wide range of tools to achieve this. For instance, we leave extensive consideration areas during harvesting, voluntary set-aside to develop freely, and carry out active measures to benefit different species. Follow-ups show that our efforts are yielding results.
SCA and reindeer husbandry
Forestry and reindeer husbandry are carried out on the same land, which means that good cooperation is crucial for both parties to function side by side. We place great emphasis on collaboration with Sami communities to identify constructive solutions that minimize the impact of forestry on reindeer management.