Packaging and biomaterials firm Stora Enso planted or delivered 62 million tree seedlings to its customers last year, as part of its forest regeneration efforts.
In its annual report, Stora Enso said that a little over 20 million of the seedlings were planted in its own forests in Sweden, with 19 million planted on private forest owners’ lands in Sweden, Finland, Norway, and the Baltics.
A further 23 million seedlings were sent to external customers, including other forestry companies.
Forest regeneration
‘Forest regeneration is a crucial part of even-aged forestry – the most common forest management method in Northern Europe,’ Stora Enso said in a statement. ‘When new trees are planted after final fellings, we make sure there will be new forest growing to replace the felled trees. This is also required by law.’
The seedlings used in the process are grown in nurseries, both at Stora Enso’s own facilities in Sweden and by suppliers in Finland and the Baltics.
These seedlings come from tree breeding programs that aim to enhance growth, resilience, and adaptability to changing environmental conditions.
Environmental conditions
‘These programmes are set up to ensure that the tree seedlings will be fit to the environmental conditions in the forest, now and over the decades to come,’ the company added.
Over time, the seedlings planted in a regeneration area become mixed with naturally regenerated seedlings that grow from seeds already present in the soil, contributing to forest diversity, it noted. Once the trees reach a height of approximately two meters, tending to both planted and naturally regenerated trees results in a mixture of species and genetic origins that strengthens the forest’s long-term health.
‘Our focus remains on fostering healthy, thriving forests that will stand the test of time and the changing climate,’ Stora Enso said. Read more here.
