Sustainable forest management

A. Ahlström has a long history as a responsible forest owner and manager. Sustainable and good forestry keeps forests vital and maintains growth, enabling them to sequester carbon optimally. Sustainable and economical silviculture is an important value for us as a forest owner.

A. Ahlström has been owning forests for over 170 years, and currently, the extent of our forest assets is 36,000 hectares. The forests are managed in an economically and ecologically sustainable manner, taking into account their social impacts. Considering the biodiversity and natural variety of the forests is part of our operating principles.

The goal of Ahlström’s forest management is to increase the vitality of the forests and the growth of the tree stock. We manage the forests in a way that improves their adaptation to climate change and increases carbon sequestration in the trees and wood products. Ahlström’s forests play an important role in the transition from a fossil-based economy to a bioeconomy.

Adapting to climate change

We increase the proportion of deciduous trees in the tree stock and grow the number of mixed forests containing several tree species. A diverse tree species structure strengthens the forest’s resilience to the challenges posed by climate change and related damages. The growth of the tree stock is maintained by ensuring a sufficient proportion of young forests and their vitality through sapling care and thinning. In tree cultivation and logging, we aim for the highest possible proportion of sawlogs. This maximizes carbon sequestration in large trees and the sawn timber and other wood products made from them.

Safeguarding biodiversity

1,600 hectares of our forests are entirely protected from forestry operations, and in addition, there are many areas where logging and other forestry activities are restricted, like shoreline, urban-adjacent, and rocky areas. We continuously map areas important for biodiversity during operations and through an ongoing separate nature mapping project. These areas may contain rare plants or otherwise important and rare habitats. These areas are excluded from forestry operations or managed in a way that preserves their special features.

Forests as carbon sinks

Our large forest holdings are also an important carbon sink. Planting new trees and caring for saplings are essential measures to grow and maintain the carbon sink. A vital forest increases the carbon sink, and the sawn timber and other wood products made from our forests store carbon and replace fossil raw materials.

The peatlands that were once drained for forestry have a significant positive impact on the annual growth of the tree stock and thus on carbon sequestration. In these peatland forests, carbon sequestration in the soil can be ensured through continuous cover forestry aimed at maintaining a stable groundwater level, thereby slowing down the decomposition of peat.