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Wood resources have been essential for human welfare throughout history. Also nowadays, the volume of growing stock (GS) is considered one of the most important forest attributes monitored by National Forest Inventories (NFIs) to inform policy decisions and forest management planning. The origins of forest inventories closely relate to times of early wood shortage in Europe causing the need to explore and plan the utilisation of GS in the catchment areas of mines, saltworks and settlements. Over time, forest surveys became more detailed and their scope turned to larger areas, although they were still conceived as stand-wise inventories. In the 1920s, the first sample-based NFIs were introduced in the northern European countries. Since the earliest beginnings, GS monitoring approaches have considerably evolved. Current NFI methods differ due to country-specific conditions, inventory traditions, and information needs. Consequently, GS estimates were lacking international comparability and were therefore subject to recent harmonisation efforts to meet the increasing demand for consistent forest resource information at European level. As primary large-area monitoring programmes in most European countries, NFIs assess a multitude of variables, describing various aspects of sustainable forest management, including for example wood supply, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity. Many of these contemporary subject matters involve considerations about GS and its changes, at different geographic levels and time frames from past to future developments according to scenario simulations. Due to its historical, continued and currently increasing importance, we provide an up-to-date review focussing on large-area GS monitoring where we i) describe the origins and historical development of European NFIs, ii) address the terminology and present GS definitions of NFIs, iii) summarise the current methods of 23 European NFIs including sampling methods, tree measurements, volume mode

Wood resources have been essential for human welfare throughout history. Also nowadays, the volume of growing stock (GS) is considered one of the most important forest attributes monitored by National Forest Inventories (NFIs) to inform policy decisions and forest management planning. The origins of forest inventories closely relate to times of early wood shortage in Europe causing the need to explore and plan the utilisation of GS in the catchment areas of mines, saltworks and settlements. Over time, forest surveys became more detailed and their scope turned to larger areas, although they were still conceived as stand-wise inventories. In the 1920s, the first sample-based NFIs were introduced in the northern European countries. Since the earliest beginnings, GS monitoring approaches have considerably evolved. Current NFI methods differ due to country-specific conditions, inventory traditions, and information needs. Consequently, GS estimates were lacking international comparability and were therefore subject to recent harmonisation efforts to meet the increasing demand for consistent forest resource information at European level. As primary large-area monitoring programmes in most European countries, NFIs assess a multitude of variables, describing various aspects of sustainable forest management, including for example wood supply, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity. Many of these contemporary subject matters involve considerations about GS and its changes, at different geographic levels and time frames from past to future developments according to scenario simulations. Due to its historical, continued and currently increasing importance, we provide an up-to-date review focussing on large-area GS monitoring where we i) describe the origins and historical development of European NFIs, ii) address the terminology and present GS definitions of NFIs, iii) summarise the current methods of 23 European NFIs including sampling methods, tree measurements, volume mode

Både KP och EU:s nya förordning (EU/2018/841) särredovisar och bokför avskogning som en egen aktivitet. Sveriges klimatrapportering under Klimatkonventionen, KP och EU använder data om arealer för ägoslag och ägoslagsförändringar från Riksskogstaxeringens permanenta provytor för redovisning inom markanvändningssektorn (LULUCF). Avskogning är relativt ovanlig i Sverige (ca 11 000 ha per år i förhållande till totalt ca 28 000 000 ha skogsmark), vilket betyder att permanent avskogning bara representeras av ett fåtal provytor årligen. Därmed blir variationen i skattning av årlig avskogning relativt stor. Skattning av areal avskogning i Norge och Finland görs i huvudsak på samma sätt som i Sverige. I Finland med visst stöd av fjärranalysinformation kring provytorna. Under senare år har heltäckande skattningarna för skogstillstånd och ägoslag tagits fram för hela Sverige baserat på en kombination av fjärranalys- och provytedata. Exempel på heltäckande data är Nationellt Markdatatäcke (NMD), SLU Skogskarta och Skogliga grunddata. Denna utveckling öppnar upp möjligheten för att med en metod baserat på heltäckande information kunna förbättra rapporteringen av avskogning. För att en sådan metod ska fungera krävs det en god klassificering av vad som är skog och att data om skogstillståndet finns tillgänglig, att permanent avskogning kan särskiljas från rotationsskogsbruket, att objekt som innebär permanent avskogning som nytillkomna vägar, byggnader, åkermark, etc. kan fås från årligen uppdaterade kartdata. I denna rapport föreslås en tänkbar metod där information stegvis samlas in och bearbetas. Metoden utgår från att ett kartskikt som representerar permanent avskogning skapas genom att slå samman objekt (ex. väg, bebyggelse och vindkraftverk) med utförda slutavverkningar där det angivits att området inte är rotationsskogsbruk. Detta skikt läggs ovanpå NMD:s klassifikation av ägoslag för att få den areal skogsmark som avskogats. Slutligen beräknas ingående kolmängd på avskoga

Både KP och EU:s nya förordning (EU/2018/841) särredovisar och bokför avskogning som en egen aktivitet. Sveriges klimatrapportering under Klimatkonventionen, KP och EU använder data om arealer för ägoslag och ägoslagsförändringar från Riksskogstaxeringens permanenta provytor för redovisning inom markanvändningssektorn (LULUCF). Avskogning är relativt ovanlig i Sverige (ca 11 000 ha per år i förhållande till totalt ca 28 000 000 ha skogsmark), vilket betyder att permanent avskogning bara representeras av ett fåtal provytor årligen. Därmed blir variationen i skattning av årlig avskogning relativt stor. Skattning av areal avskogning i Norge och Finland görs i huvudsak på samma sätt som i Sverige. I Finland med visst stöd av fjärranalysinformation kring provytorna. Under senare år har heltäckande skattningarna för skogstillstånd och ägoslag tagits fram för hela Sverige baserat på en kombination av fjärranalys- och provytedata. Exempel på heltäckande data är Nationellt Markdatatäcke (NMD), SLU Skogskarta och Skogliga grunddata. Denna utveckling öppnar upp möjligheten för att med en metod baserat på heltäckande information kunna förbättra rapporteringen av avskogning. För att en sådan metod ska fungera krävs det en god klassificering av vad som är skog och att data om skogstillståndet finns tillgänglig, att permanent avskogning kan särskiljas från rotationsskogsbruket, att objekt som innebär permanent avskogning som nytillkomna vägar, byggnader, åkermark, etc. kan fås från årligen uppdaterade kartdata. I denna rapport föreslås en tänkbar metod där information stegvis samlas in och bearbetas. Metoden utgår från att ett kartskikt som representerar permanent avskogning skapas genom att slå samman objekt (ex. väg, bebyggelse och vindkraftverk) med utförda slutavverkningar där det angivits att området inte är rotationsskogsbruk. Detta skikt läggs ovanpå NMD:s klassifikation av ägoslag för att få den areal skogsmark som avskogats. Slutligen beräknas ingående kolmängd på avskoga

Wood resources have been essential for human welfare throughout history. Also nowadays, the volume of growing stock (GS) is considered one of the most important forest attributes monitored by National Forest Inventories (NFIs) to inform policy decisions and forest management planning. The origins of forest inventories closely relate to times of early wood shortage in Europe causing the need to explore and plan the utilisation of GS in the catchment areas of mines, saltworks and settlements. Over time, forest surveys became more detailed and their scope turned to larger areas, although they were still conceived as stand-wise inventories. In the 1920s, the first sample-based NFIs were introduced in the northern European countries. Since the earliest beginnings, GS monitoring approaches have considerably evolved. Current NFI methods differ due to country-specific conditions, inventory traditions, and information needs. Consequently, GS estimates were lacking international comparability and were therefore subject to recent harmonisation efforts to meet the increasing demand for consistent forest resource information at European level. As primary large-area monitoring programmes in most European countries, NFIs assess a multitude of variables, describing various aspects of sustainable forest management, including for example wood supply, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity. Many of these contemporary subject matters involve considerations about GS and its changes, at different geographic levels and time frames from past to future developments according to scenario simulations. Due to its historical, continued and currently increasing importance, we provide an up-to-date review focussing on large-area GS monitoring where we i) describe the origins and historical development of European NFIs, ii) address the terminology and present GS definitions of NFIs, iii) summarise the current methods of 23 European NFIs including sampling methods, tree measurements, volume models

More than half of the forest land in Europe is privately owned, and ownership structure is known to have implications for management, production of timber and other forest products and services that support the transformation towards a green economy. This chapter provides examples of how we can gain knowledge about the forest and forest owner/user relationship from a structural point of view. Sweden is taken as an example because of the accessibility of continuous data on forest conditions, ownership and demographic data. It is concluded that the pace of change in ownership structure and forest management behaviour is slow. Further, neither the ongoing migration, urbanisation, ageing population nor the increased proportion of women seems to reduce the willingness to manage and harvest.

Sweden aims to increase the proportion of renewable energy sources, ultimately to be able to phase out fossil fuels. To achieve this, new energy sources need to be explored. In this multi-disciplinary article, we examine the technical, economical, ecological and legal possibilities to commercially and sustainably harvest brushwood for bioenergy, while simultaneously gaining positive environmental effects, both for biological diversity, the cultural heritage, and the climate. The Swedish open landscape is becoming covered with secondary brushwood regrowth through natural succession, except where it is kept open. Brushwood is spreading along roads, railway lines, edge zones, in power line corridors, abandoned semi-natural grasslands, nature reserves, and in marginal land in urban areas. Such brushwood consists of saplings, bushes and young trees of a range of deciduous plant species, e.g. birch, aspen, alder and goat willow, sometimes mixed with conifers, often forming dense thickets. Such secondary brushwood regrowth could be systematically utilised as a new source of renewable bioenergy. Commercial brushwood harvesting in Sweden may contribute 26 PJ of energy annually, which may be a small but significant contribution, considering the favourable energy ratio (E-r = 28), indicating that large emission reductions can be achieved, if fossil fuels are replaced. Growing brushwood does not require fertilizers or pesticides, soil tillage or crop management, and it does not compete with any other potential land use. Many brushwood habitats are already being managed to clear brushwood, for other purposes, minimizing the added harvesting cost. Apart from providing bioenergy, it has also been suggested that brushwood harvesting would benefit biological diversity. A large number of nationally redlisted species are dependent on the active management of open habitats, including semi-natural grasslands, and man-made habitats such as road verges and power line corridors. Our litera

In the management of natural resources, conflicting interests and objectives among different stakeholders often need to be considered. Here, we examine how two contrasting management scenarios of boreal forests in northern Sweden differ in their consequences on forest structural composition and the economic gains at harvest. Management strategies prioritize either (i) forest characteristics that promote grazing resources for reindeer herded by the indigenous Sami, or (ii) timber production as practiced in Sweden today. When prioritizing reindeer grazing, forest stands develop a higher abundance of older age classes with larger trees and lower stem density, which reduces harvest and revenue levels by approximately 20 % over a 100-year period. The differences between these strategies illustrate the complexity in finding a trade-off for coexistence between industrial land users and other livelihoods that share the same landscape. Political support and institutional solutions are necessary to initiate changes in policy in finding such trade-offs in the management of environmental resources and thereby influence the optimal distribution of costs and benefits between different actors.

When managing natural resources, the requirements of several stakeholders often need to be considered, as their competing aims and interests need to be delivered in different ways. Agreeing on trade-offs and finding optimal solutions is often a demanding task, particularly if the actions of one land user make it difficult for others to utilize natural resources in a specific way.In this case study, we explore the consequences of two different forest management scenarios on forest characteristics and economic gains in two particular study areas in the Swedish boreal forest. The management strategies differ by prioritizing either i) forest characteristics that sustain reindeer grazing or ii) timber production as practiced in Swedish forestry today. However, simplifications that affect our models include the assumption of only one landowner and a management focus on the stand level. Further, we do not evaluate the direct consequences of the two scenarios on reindeer husbandry, as only selected parts of the winter grazing grounds are considered.Depending on the management strategy, forest characteristics differ, e.g. the composition of age classes or timber volume. Compared to management for timber production, forests managed for reindeer grazing are characterized by a higher abundance of older age classes with larger trees, but lower stem density. We found that, over a 100 year period, these forest characteristics generated revenues of approximately 80 % of those resulting from management focused on timber production.These differences and their resulting consequences illustrate the contrasting preferences for particular forest characteristics of the two land users. However, to understand them as principles for potential trade-offs, they have to be interpreted carefully in relation to the range of possible management options available to achieve sustainability in the multiple-use situation of Swedish boreal forests, as well as to enhance their cultural and biological va