Peruslohkoja

Peruslohkoja are basic units used in Finnish forestry and land-management practices to organize forest property for inventory, planning, and administration. A peruslohko is the smallest unit used in forest inventories and management planning, defined as a distinct portion of forest land with clearly delineated boundaries. The concept serves as the building block for assessing growth, planning silvicultural operations, and reporting production data.

Boundaries of peruslohkoja are determined by a combination of natural features, terrain breaks, and man-made markers such as roads and property borders. The boundaries are recorded in national map and cadastral databases maintained by authorities such as the National Land Survey. Each peruslohko has associated attributes, including area, dominant tree species, age-class distribution, growing stock, and prescribed management actions, which are updated through regular forest inventories and field surveys.

Uses and applications of peruslohkoja include silvicultural planning, harvest scheduling, and yield estimation. They provide a standardized framework for measuring growth, planning thinning and harvesting, and compiling statistics for forest management reporting and, in some cases, taxation or subsidy calculations. Peruslohkoja help coordinate actions across different owners, contractors, and management units and facilitate integrated decision-making in landscape-level forestry.

Administration and digital integration: the peruslohko framework is part of Finland’s forest and land-information system. Boundaries and attributes are integrated into digital maps and forest inventories and are coordinated by the relevant authorities, notably the National Land Survey and forest-management bodies. The system complements cadastral parcels by focusing on management units rather than ownership boundaries, and peruslohkoja can cross administrative or property borders when planning operations.