Year (Three-year average) is given as the middle year for example 2001-2003=2002. Starting from 2008 season of inventory is based on the felling season 1/7 -30/6, that could be seen in the notation.

We report the results in accordance with the old regulations in Section 6 of the Forestry Act (1979:429). In order for the regeneration to be classified as approved, the number of main plants in the inventoried regeneration must amount to at least the prescribed number per hectare and the gap must be below what is prescribed. The inventory instruction is like, but not exactly the same, as the instructions for supervision under the Forestry Act.

From 1 April 2022, new regulations apply for how many main plants/main stems must be present for a regeneration to be considered approved. Our inventory is also done in accordance with the new regulations and will report these results next year when we have three-year averages.

Percentage of approved regeneration area at the last inventory, by region:

• Northern Norrland 91%
• Southern Norrland 78%
• Svealand 76%
• Götaland 81%

All regions have had a positive development since the turn of the millennium until a couple of years ago, when the approved area decreased in all parts of the country. In this year's inventory, we see an increase in three of the four regions and a continued decrease in Southern Norrland.

Year (Three-year average) is given as the middle year for example 2001-2003=2002. Starting from 2008 season of inventory is based on the felling season 1/7 -30/6, that could be seen in the notation.

Planting had an approved area of 83 percent at the last inventory. 78 percent of the sown area was approved and 65 percent of the naturally regenerated area was approved. Regeneration without any regeneration measure was lowest with 47 percent approved area. However, this area represents only 2 percent of the total regeneration area.

Starting with 1999, the figures shown are 3-year average and the category No measures is listed separately in inventory results. For inventories prior to 1999 No measures is included in Natural regeneration. Before 2007 the category Seeded is published together with Planting.

Method of regeneration

Planting is the most common regeneration method. The results from the latest inventory show that 87 percent of regeneration fellings are planted. Planting has increased significantly since the beginning of the 2000s, when about 60 percent of the area was planted.

In the past, regeneration with so-called natural regeneration was more common than it is today. About one third of the felled area was regenerated with natural regeneration in the early 2000s, compared with 7 percent according to the latest results.

Regeneration by sowing was almost negligible in the early 2000s but increased in the early 2010s to a maximum of 5 percent in the 2012/13 survey. At the last inventory, the proportion of regeneration with sowing was 4 percent.

Approximately 2 percent of the regeneration felled area is not regenerated at all. This is a slight decrease since the beginning of the 2000s, when the share was 3-4 percent of the felled area.

Year (Three-year average) is given as the middle year for example 2001-2003=2002. Starting from 2008 season of inventory is based on the felling season 1/7 -30/6, which could be seen in the notation.

Year (Three-year average) is given as the middle year for example 2001-2003=2002. Southern Norrland is including the county Dalarna and the municipality Torsby in county Värmland. Starting from 2008 season of inventory is based on the felling season 1/7 -30/6, which could be seen in the notation.

Year (Three-year average) is given as the middle year for example 2001-2003=2002. Starting from 2008 season of inventory is based on the felling season 1/7 -30/6, that could be seen in the notation.

Soil scarification

The latest results show relatively small changes compared to last year's.

The proportion of soil prepared regeneration area in the country was 87 percent at the last measurement. This is about the same as the results of recent years, but more than in the early 2000s, when about 80 percent of the area was scarified. Scarification is more common in the northern half of the country than in the south.

The proportion of soil scarified planted regeneration area in the country has been relatively stable since the beginning of the 2000s. The latest results show that 91 percent was scarified. The scarified area in 2002 was 89 percent. In Norrland, virtually all the regeneration area that is planted is scarified, 99 percent in Northern Norrland and 98 percent in Southern Norrland, the proportion in Svealand and Götaland is 91 and 77 percent respectively. The proportion of scarified area in Götaland has increased significantly since the record-low result of 67 percent in 2014/15.

According to the latest inventory, soil scarification on naturally regenerated land was 50 percent, which is a decrease of 18 percentage points compared to the beginning of the 2000s. In Northern Norrland, soil scarification increased to 55 percent and in Southern Norrland it decreased to 55 percent. In Götaland and Svealand, the proportion has fallen to 46 and 42 percent, respectively.

Year (Three-year average) is given as the middle year for example 2001-2003=2002. Starting from 2008 season of inventory is based on the felling season 1/7 -30/6, that could be seen in the notation.

Main Plants

The latest results show that there are an average of 2,315 main plants per hectare in the country. Last year's result was 2,291 main plants per hectare. The margin of error for this year's measurement is ± 98 seedlings, which means that it is not possible to ensure that this year's number is an increase. In terms of trends, it looks like the number of main plants has decreased since the beginning of the 2020s, but even that is not a statistically significant decrease.

Most of the main plants are pine and spruce. Pine dominates in northern Norrland and southern Norrland. In Svealand, there are about the same number of main plants of spruce and pine, while spruce dominates in Götaland. In recent years, however, the proportion of pine has increased slightly in Svealand and Götaland, but this year's inventory shows a decrease again. Note that these changes are not statistically significant.

Birch, which is mainly self-regenerated is often common in regenerations. However, in the regrowth monitoring, conifers are always prioritized over deciduous trees as main plants, which explains why the number of deciduous trees is relatively low among the main plants.

Birch is the most common deciduous tree species, accounting for about 14 percent of the main plants. Lodgepole pine, larch, valuable broadleaves and other broadleaves than birch is still of small extent, accounting for about 3 percent according to the latest results.

Year (Three-year average) is given as the middle year for example 2001-2003=2002. Starting from 2008 season of inventory is based on the felling season 1/7 -30/6, that could be seen in the notation.

Naturally regenerated seedlings on planted regeneration fellings can also be counted as main plants and this is relatively common. Recent results show that almost all main plants are naturally regenerated on 7 percent of the planted area. On a quarter of the planted area, the proportion of naturally regenerated main plants is 31-40 percent, and on another quarter, the proportion of naturally regenerated main plants is 16-30 percent.

The table provides information on the proportion of the planted area consisting of naturally regenerated main plants in different share classes. For example, 24% of the planted area in 2001 consisted of main plants where 0-15% were naturally regenerated. Year (Three-year average) is given as the middle year for example middel of the seasons 2010/11-2012/13 = 2011/12.

Figure 9. Sweden map