Metsä Group has developed a new digital service for its owner-members, a nature value map, which makes it possible to consider biodiversity more accurately in forest management. The nature value map shows the parts of each forest owner’s forests that are likely to have the highest nature values. The service is part of the digital Metsäverkko service available to Metsä Group’s owner-members.
The nature value map is based on open spatial data and can be used to calculate the current biodiversity value of each part of every forest stand in Finland, i.e. of each grid square (16 x 16 m). The map displayed in Metsäverkko shows the combined effect of the structural features valuable for biodiversity in the area. Structural features accounted for include the stratification of the trees, the presence of various tree species, the volume and age of the trees; the nutrient richness, soil moisture level and characteristics of the site; the proximity of natural waterbodies; and the sites protected under the Forest Act, as well as rocks and escarpments.
The nature value map is designed to support the planning of wood harvesting and forest management activities: for example, it especially helps target nature management measures by helping locate potential retention tree groups and protective thickets, and identify biodiversity hotspots and areas that could be excluded from forestry measures. The nature value map also supports forest planning by facilitating the selection of sites to be excluded from commercial forestry and special treatment sites necessary for FSC® forest certification, as well as the selection of the felling method, for example. The nature value map complements the tools already used by Metsä Group's employees, which ensure that sites protected under law are excluded from forest management measures, for example.
On the new map layer, valuable biodiversity sites are shown in green. The darker the shade of green on the map, the more likely the site is to have a high biodiversity value, suggesting that the area has potential to become even more valuable in terms of biodiversity.
The development of the nature value map will continue with the objective of expanding the data sources to better meet the needs of forest owners and society. For example, the consideration of decaying wood has been identified as a further development area. Another objective is to be able to use the nature value map to predict the effects of forest management on biodiversity in the future.
“The new nature value map is an example of Metsä Group's implementation of the principles of regenerative forestry, i.e. a concrete step towards forest management that strengthens biodiversity. It provides forest owners and Metsä Group’s specialists with a new tool for targeting biodiversity measures and, in the future, also to monitor the development of biodiversity. The purpose of the map is not to prohibit forestry measures but to enable us to better address the biodiversity values of forests when planning forest work. I encourage members to take a look at the nature value map of their forests in the new Metsäverkko service,” says Juha Laine, SVP, Marketing and Communications, Wood Supply and Forest Services, from Metsä Group.
Metsä Group’s owner-members can see the new nature value map of their own forest estate in the browser-based and mobile versions of the Metsäverkko service. The nature value map will be updated in Metsäverkko on 3 December 2025.
Logo license of Metsäliitto Cooperative's FSC group certification: FSC-C111942