Forest Group of the Finnish Board on Ecological Restoration

The Finnish Expert Group for Forest Restoration was established as a part of the Finnish Board on Ecological Restoration (FBER). The FBER Forest Group concentrates on issues related to ecological management and restoration of forests in protected areas.

By ecological management of forests we refer to maintaining special habitats like herb-rich forests or sunlit esker forests as suitable habitats for particular species requiring protection. Ecological restoration of forests, in turn, aims at recreating structural and other conditions of forests as close as possible to the natural state that prevailed before the forest was utilized for wood production.

FBER Forest Group

  • designs monitoring schemes for the ecological effects of restoration and ecological management of forests
  • promotes the connection between research and practical management related to forest restoration
  • formulates guidelines for restoration and ecological management of forests
  • provides expert knowledge on forest restoration
  • organizes courses and seminars on restoration and ecological management of forests.

The Group Members

  • Tapio Group: Lauri Saaristo (chair), Hannes Pasanen (secretary)
  • Metsähallitus: Aurora Prättälä, Pia-Maria Thomssen
  • University of Jyväskylä: Atte Komonen, Panu Halme
  • University of Eastern Finland: Tuomas Aakala, Jari Kouki
  • HAMK University of Applied Sciences: Henrik Lindberg
  • Tampere University of Applied Sciences: Petri Keto-Tokoi
  • Finnish Environment Institute: Pekka Punttila
  • Natural Resources Institute Finland: Juha Siitonen, Matti Koivula
  • Finnish Forest Centre: Riikka Salomaa
  • Ministry of the Environment: Maarit Loiskekoski
  • Ministry of Acriculture and Forestry: Ville Schildt (Katja Matveinen).

The group has designed monitoring schemes for effects of

  • artificial creation of dead wood
  • opening small canopy gaps in younger forests
  • removal of spruce from herb-rich forests, and
  • management of sunlit habitats.

The group meets 4-5 times a year. One of the meetings is usually a field excursion.

Contact information

  • Leading expert Lauri Saaristo (Chair), tel.int. +358 40 573 9168, e-mail lauri.saaristo(at)tapio.fi.