Increase of delivered seedlings in 2023

Nyhet | Statistik - 16 April 2024

In 2023, 431 million seedlings were delivered, which is an increase of 9 million (2 percent) compared to 2022. It is however 21 million seedlings less than the peak year 2021.

The number of Scots pine seedlings has increased steadily since 2013. In 2023 the number of delivered seedlings of Scots pine was 236 million, which was an increase of 7 million seedlings, compared to 2022. The number of delivered Norway spruce seedlings was just over 176 million in 2023, which is unchanged compared to 2022.

Norway spruce and Scots pine seedlings together constitute 96 percent of the total number of forest seedlings delivered. Delivered Lodgepole pine seedlings represent 1.9 percent and larch 1.1 percent. Sitka spruce, birch and seedlings of other conifers and broadleaf species each make up less than 0.8 percent of the number of forest seedlings delivered.

Production method

Container-rooted seedlings are the dominant method of production for coniferous species. Scots pine and lodgepole pine are almost entirely produced as container-rooted seedlings. The proportion of Norway spruce seedlings produced as container-rooted in 2023 was 79 percent. For Larch seedlings proportion was 41 percent, which is an increase compared to 2022 (32 percent). Most other coniferous species and broadleaf tree species were produced as bare-rooted seedlings in 2022. Just over 4 percent of the coniferous seedlings were produced as transplanted container-rooted seedlings in 2023.

Propagation method

Seed propagation was the dominant method of propagation of coniferous seedlings in 2023. Vegetative propagation was mainly applied for broadleaf seedlings other than birch.

Protection method

The share of coniferous seedlings delivered with some sort of protection against insects (mechanical or chemical) has increased since 2016. In 2023 the proportion of Norway spruce and Scots pine seedlings with protection against insects was 71 and 45 respectively. The trend with an increased proportion of seedlings with mechanical protection and a decreasing share of insecticide-treated coniferous plants has been clear since 2014. During the last four years, the share of mechanical protected seedlings has amounted to around 50 percent and the share of insecticide-treated seedlings has amounted to 3 percent.

Origin

In 2023, delivered seedlings originating from Swedish seed-orchards amounted to 88 percent, which is an increase of 4 percent from 2022. Seedlings of Scots pine and Lodgepole pine almost solely (96 and 98 percent respectively) originate from Swedish seed-orchards. The proportion of Norway spruce seedlings originating from Swedish seed-orchards increased from 74 percent in 2022 to 82 percent in 2023.

Forest seedlings and seeds imported to Sweden for forest sowing

During 2022 just over 58,9 million seedlings were imported to Sweden from other countries. This means that 14 percent of delivered seedlings in 2022 (out of 422 million seedlings in total) had at least partly been produced outside Sweden. (It is uncertain whether the plants were delivered the same year they were imported.) The import of seeds shows significant variation over time, both in terms of quantity and type of species. The import of seed in 2022 was 271 kilogram in total.

The statistics refer to seedlings and seeds for use in Sweden.

Explanation

• Container-rooted seedlings – the roots are surrounded by a substrate cluster that usually consists of peat.
• Transplanted container-rooted seedlings – container-rooted seedlings which are transplanted as bare-rooted seedlings.
• Bare-rooted seedlings – seedlings without accompanying cultivation substrate (soil or peat) around the roots.