Gaps in forest data put threatened species’ habitats at risk

Scattered or missing information about wildlife habitats can leave valuable areas vulnerable to logging, Yle reports. In Äänekoski, a forest that is the town’s only known breeding site for the white-backed woodpecker escaped clear-cutting by chance.

The trees had already been sold and a forest-use notification filed with the Finnish Forest Centre when Ville Pätynen, an agent for the Metso jointly owned forest, learned of the breeding site. The forest is now considering adding it to a nearby METSO-protected area, and the timber buyer agreed to cancel the sale.

Pätynen said the discovery came during a visit to the area with Tomi Hakkari, a biologist at a regional vitality centre. Hakkari knew about the site through his birdwatching activities and said the information had come from close monitoring by bird enthusiasts.

Forest owners can access detailed estimates of the timber in their forests, but information about habitats for threatened and protected species is spread across different sources. The Finnish Forest Centre’s system identifies some species and environmental features when a forest-use notification is submitted, but forest professionals say the data is not comprehensive.

The centre is gradually adding nature data from other sources, including records of flying squirrels, and is developing ways to gather information through satellite and aircraft observations. It aims to add information about birds of prey nests next year, but is still considering how precisely to show their locations. Access to the data will be restricted, the centre said.

At present, forest professionals may need to request records from the Species Information Centre or use the Tiira bird information system, which requires BirdLife membership. Pätynen said he knew of cases in which harvest planners had faced charges after inadequate information contributed to problems, although decisions not to prosecute were common.

Finnish Forest Centre service manager Hanna Parviainen said forest inventory data was only a starting point for planning logging. Professionals still need to visit the forest to verify the records and check for other features that should be considered.