Aging-wise, this clear-cutting is among the worst I've seen. Such forests hardly exist anymore, says Daniel Rutschman from the association Skydda Skogen to Dagens Nyheter, which first reported on the clear-cutting.
This is a real horror example, says Rutschman.
The clear-cutting covers a total of approximately eleven hectares near the Bågtjärnskogens nature reserve in Sollefteå. Many of the pines were around 300 years old and thus began growing during Carl von Linné's lifetime, in the 18th century. About 200-year-old spruces have also been clear-cut.
In a comment to DN, SCA's forestry manager Ola Kårén says:
"The ambition is always to save trees that are deviant in age or are particularly thick. The selection made is a human judgment and becomes generally good, but rarely entirely perfect."
He also says that trees that should have been saved will be returned to nature.
Skydda Skogen presented a list last year of over five hundred forests that SCA has clear-cut or plans to clear-cut, despite their natural values being known to the company. According to SCA, the clear-cutting in sensitive areas, however, only constitutes a small proportion of the company's clear-cutting.
Primeval forest is a forest that has developed without human influence, but does not have to be untouched virgin forest.
Spruce and pine forests that have been left untouched by management and clear-cutting have high natural values. They regenerate naturally, which makes the trees vary in age and size. Such forests are often more varied and provide more living spaces for fungi, lichens, plants, and animals.
