Silviculture, 1999

The figures for 1998 and 1999 are preliminary and represent minimum figures. The 1998 figures for Finnmark County are missing, as are the 1999 figures for Troms County and comparisons of the two years exclude these two counties.

The area sprayed went down from 28 300 decares in 1998 to 17 200 decares in 1999, a decline of 39 per cent in the course of one year. By comparison, 102 000 decares were sprayed in 1990. The county with the most sprayed land was Vestfold, where 4 400 decares were treated with chemicals in 1999. This accounted for 26 per cent of all sprayed areas in the entire country. Telemark is in next place with 2 300 decares and Oppland with 2 000 decares. Clearing and/or weed control was done on a total of 432 600 decares, at a cost of NOK 94 million.

Decline in planting

After remaining stable in recent years, forest planting declined in the last year. The area planted dropped by seven per cent from 1998 to 1999, while there was an 11 per cent reduction in the number of plants set out. Altogether 36 million plants were planted on 183 000 decares in 1999. Total planting costs came to NOK 136 million. Hedmark and Oppland had the highest planting activity, with respectively 32 700 and 27 200 decares of forestland planted.

Most scarification in Hedmark

Following a record year for scarification in 1998, last year saw a decline of 4 100 decares. A total of 80 400 decares were prepared. Of the total costs of NOK 13.6 million, NOK 6.3 million was spent in Hedmark. Fifty-one per cent, or 41 100 decares, of the scarification was carried out in this county. Average scarification cost for the country was NOK 169 per decare.

Decline in drainage

In 1999, 5 800 decares were drained, a decline of 1 300 decares from the previous year. There has been a sharp decline in drainage throughout the 1990s. There are many reasons for this, including reduced subsidies or greater environmental awareness in forestry. Drained forestland totalled 5 200 decares, with the rest made up of different types of wetlands. Most draining was done in Nord-Trøndelag County: 2 400 decares, or 44 per cent of all drained areas, were drained in Nord-Trøndelag.

Tables:

• Table 1 Forest regeneration and afforestation work , by county. 1990-1999
• Table 2 Forest drainage,, by county. 1990-1999
• Table 3 Area and average expenditure on forest regeneration. 1990-1999
• Table 4 Scarification ,,. Area and expenditure, by county. 1999
• Table 5 Drainage and fertilizing of forest area. 1990-1999