Finland

Finland – Living Lab profile

Context and experience

Although agroforestry is not very often associated to northern European climatic zones, agroforestry has a long tradition in Finland. The most well-known examples of agroforestry practices in northern Fennoscandia are reindeer husbandry and the collection of non-wood forest products such as berries, mushrooms and wild herbs. Even though the climate in Finland is harsh, there would also be opportunities for vegetable production, although this is much less common. The purity of agricultural products in Finland is considered a main advantage. Due to the harsh climate, pests rarely reduce the quality of vegetables, which decreases the use of pesticides and opens opportunities for organic production. In northern Finland, vegetable production has been decreasing and currently there is very little production of vegetables grown in outdoor conditions. Supply is far from covering the demand, especially since locally grown-food ideology has grown in recent years. Therefore, studying and developing short and local food supply chains would provide opportunities for agroforestry in Finland in the future.

Grazing of forests and wood pastures is another agroforestry practice found in Finland. Forest and wood pasture grazing was still common in Finland in the 1930s, but disappeared almost completely in the 1950s with the intensification of agriculture and forestry. Forest and wood pastures are shaped when animals are grazing in the forest. Selective grazing of cattle modifies forest vegetation to a more meadow-like vegetation and speeds up nutrient turnover. An appropriate grazing pressure is important as grazing at intermediate pressure has in general a positive impact on biodiversity. In Finland, there were still about 2 million hectares of forest and wood pastures in the 1950s. Since then, the area of wood pastures (In Finnish: hakamaita) has decreased to about 1900-3300 ha and the area of forest pastures (In Finnish: metsälaitumia) to about 5000-9000 ha. The quality of the remaining woody traditional biotopes has deteriorated considerably due to eutrophication and forestry operations. However, the maintenance of traditional biotopes, their landscape values and delivered ecosystem services provide opportunities for entrepreneurship and development of modern silvopastoral systems. Government support is until now the main source of income for farms managing key biotopes and traditional rural landscapes by grazing. Nevertheless, there would be a range of opportunities to develop additional sources of side- or main income such as e.g. ecotourism, therapy and well-being services (Greencare), wild berry and mushroom cultivation, honey production, bioenergy production and direct sales of pasture meat.

Especially for pasture meat there would be large opportunities. There is a current trend that dairy production is moved more and more to indoor production. In addition the meat and dairy sector is a large emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. Forest and wood pastures store carbon, and when meat is produced by grazing cattle in forests or wood pastures, a large part of the emissions from livestock is compensated by the growth of vegetation and carbon uptake in the soil. In addition, no imported feeds are needed as the animals feed on natural forage. Moving livestock production back to a more natural environment opens up opportunities for carbon-neutral meat production. In addition it greatly improves animal well-being.

In Finland, there would also be large opportunities for linear agroforestry systems such as riparian buffer zones and windbreaks. As the Baltic sea is surrounded by land on all sides, problems with eutrophication and pollution are very large mainly as a result of agriculture, forestry, and the industrial sector in the surrounding countries. Riparian buffer zones are in place in much of the farmland surrounding water courses, but on the other hand, in many places buffer zones are missing. Making sure riparian buffer zones are in place everywhere would definitely result in an improvement of surface water quality and prevent erosion. In addition, riparian buffer zones function as wildlife corridors, increase carbon storage, and even have positive effects on biodiversity. Many aquatic species flourish better if there is deadwood and leaves in the water, which in turn attracts many other species such as benthic invertebrates, fish and birds creating a whole new ecosystem vibrant of life.

Last but not least, in Finland there would also be possibilities for forest farming, for instance the cultivation of edible and medicinal mushrooms, and wild forest herbs. Urban forest gardens and food forests can be a joy for the people and children would see again how food is produced.

More insights

Otto Makkonen introduces the Vaahermäki farm, an agroforestry system combining sheep and forests. The farm was established in the end of the 1800s AFINET – Sheep as forest managers

• More information about the possibilities for alley cropping in Finland

• More information about mushroom cultivation

• More information about medicinal mushrooms and non-wood forest products
  Information on agroforestry collected by the Finnish Agroforestry Network.