Puunkorjuu

Puunkorjuu, literally "wood harvesting" in Finnish, is the practice of felling trees and extracting timber from forests for industrial use. It covers planning and selecting harvest areas, the cutting of trees, delimbing and bucking, and the transportation of logs to roadsides or mills. Puunkorjuu is a core stage of Finnish forestry, designed to balance timber production with ongoing forest growth and health.

Harvesting methods vary with silvicultural goals and stand structure. Clear-cutting is used in some contexts to regenerate certain species or stands, while thinning, shelterwood, and selective or group selection aim to maintain continuous forest cover and biodiversity. Road and skid layout, rotation age, and local site conditions influence how a puunkorjuu operation is planned and executed.

Typical puunkorjuu workflows combine felling, delimbing, bucking, and loading, followed by transportation to mills or roadside storage. Ground harvesting uses tools such as chainsaws, harvesters, and feller-bunchers, while skidders and forwarders move logs along prepared trails. In hilly or fragile terrain, cable systems and rope-access methods may be employed to reduce soil disturbance.

Puunkorjuu is typically governed by forest management plans and harvest licensing that aim for sustainable yields and renewal. Certification schemes such as FSC and PEFC verify responsible practices, including reforestation, site preparation, and protection of watercourses and habitats. Finland emphasizes continuous cover forestry and regeneration after harvest, with monitoring to ensure growth rates meet planned outputs.