IMPACT OF FOREST MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING ON FOREST BIOMASS SUPPLY IN REGIONAL LEVEL OF FINLAND

摘要

Forest management decisions can influence significantly on forest biomass supply and resources inrnshort- and long term. Forest bioeconomy has shown its potential for economic growth in Finland, which aimsrnincreasing both industrial and energy use of wood remarkable. Investments in the forest industry are reflected in jobrnopportunities especially in the forest biomass supply chains as a result of more efficient use of forests. The economicrnimpact can influence especially the forest owners and transport operators, but it is relevant to the entire regionalrneconomies. The forest industry's major investments are being realized mainly through centralization, but forestrnenergy potential could generate decentralized opportunities and economic growth also in regional level, alongside thernexisting forest industry. The aim of the study was to measure the impact of alternative forest management decisionsrnon removal and costs of forest biomass in the regional area of South-Savo in eastern Finland. The study investigatedrnthe industrial round wood and energy wood availability and supply using the latest forest inventory data, NationalrnForest Inventory (NFI). The stand data consisted of young grove-like spruce and dryish pine dominated stands beforernfirst thinning. Current forest management regime was compared to the scenarios in which either industrial or energyrnend-use targets were emphasized in forest management. An existing forest stand simulator (MOTTI) was used withrnmore reliable tree-based platform for future changes in 5-year cycles. The profitability of forestry was analyzed byrnapplying the accurate regional stumpage and roadside prices based on updated statistics. The study showed very lowrnestimated stumpage prices and harvesting costs for energy wood based forest management and procurementrncompared to corresponding industrial round wood. Competitive costs of energy wood will give a positive signal forrnincreasing the regional renewable energy use and possibility for additional investments. Follow-up project providernthe input data to investigate the economic effects of forest policy changes as a part of total regional economy byrnapplying a modified CGE (Computable General Equilibrium) model, RegFinDyn.