Northern Minnesota has deep cultural and ancestral roots to Finland. But there's more we share.
Our forests of pine, spruce, birch and aspen-and the logging trucks that regularly roll by-are familiar to both regions. Finland's economy, like Minnesota's, leans heavily on its forest-based industries. And their long history of intensive forest management holds valuable lessons.
Gerald Niemi, center director and professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute, has been nurturing a relationship with Finnish ecologists over the past two decades so those lessons aren't lost. Maintaining sustainable forests and biodiversity well into the future is the goal on both sides of the ocean.
Conifers-scotch pine and spruce-are the trees of choice for Finnish industries, and they grow these species very successfully. Intensive forest management, along with improved genetics and weed control, has led to a dominance of coniferous species in Finland. Minnesota, on the other hand, has focused most of its recent attention on deciduous trees, primarily aspen.
"It's an interesting contrast," said Niemi. "The ecologists in Finland are concerned that there aren't enough deciduous trees because intensive forest management has removed many of the aspen and birch trees. Here in Minnesota, ecologists are concerned that there are not enough conifers."
Finland also has a history of managing their forests in a "clean" way by removing dead trees on the ground and leaving little debris after logging. This practice doesn't leave much woody debris for a variety of critters that need it for cover, food or nesting sites. Finland has a growing list of species that are of concern in its forests and modifications have, and are, being consideredto reverse this trend. In addition, this "clean" forestry method doesn't allow for decomposition of plant matter that naturally regenerates soil
nutrients.
"Finnish ecologists would like to incorporate more of what we could call 'messy' forestry, like we do here, into their management," Niemisaid. "Coarse woody debris left after a logging operation is very important to many animal species-from small mammals, to birds, to amphibians. It's reasonable to remove some of the slash from a logging site, but the amount depends on the productivity of the site."
Over the past 20 years, Finland has made a concerted effort to change some of their forest management practices. They are more committed to preserving old-growth stands by reducing clear-cutting logging methods. They are also beginning to incorporate more "messy forestry" by increasing coarse woody debris and promoting more deciduous tree species, especially aspen.
Niemi respects Finland's focus on ecological issues and the many highly trained environmental scientists they have working to maintain their ecological standards. He studied in Finland under a Fulbright Scholarship in 1981 and has been sharing information on these issues ever since.
"We need to better integrate our information on economic and environmental indicators to make good management decisions on the use of our natural resources," said Niemi. "Currently, the linkage is lacking, but we are trying to improve the connections."
Recent "linkages" include two trips to Finland by Niemi in the past year to give presentations on natural resource sustainability and indicators of environmental change. He also sits on an advisory board to UPM Blandin Paper Mill, a global forest products company based in Helsinki, Finland. Jim Marshall, Blandin mill forest resources manager, says that Niemi brings essential expertise in forest birds and other ecological matters to the board.
"Gerald has seen first hand the company's forestry practices and environmental performance, and is able to observe and comment," said Marshall. "There is truly a huge opportunity to learn from each other, and we're doing that, in both the academic and business realms."
Further strengthening the relationship, Blandin foresters and forest ecologists have also traveled to Finland and hosted Finnish colleagues in Minnesota, discussing forestry practices and biodiversity issues.
"The forest industry is important to the economies of both northern Minnesota and Finland," said Neimi. "But we also want to maintain biodiversity for the health of the forest, to maintain clean water and because of the unique diversity of our plants and animals. The balance of those things-what you cut, where you cut, and what is left in the forest-is the crux of the matter. Finding that balance is exactly what we're doing at NRRI and what Finnish society is interested in, also."Business North
