The harvesting of storm-damaged trees carries risks and requires special expertise. Metsä Group does not allow its forest workers to harvest storm-damaged trees on their own. We hope that forest owners give careful and honest thought to what they are capable of doing themselves, and when it is time to contact a forest professional.
In the case of storm damage, the greatest decrease in value has already taken place, but to prevent further fungal damage, do not delay felling. Individual trees felled by the wind are usually best left in the forest to add to decaying wood.
In Finland, you can leave a maximum of ten cubic metres of spruce with a minimum butt end diameter of ten centimetres per hectare. Any volume exceeding this must be harvested. For pine, the maximum volume is 20 cubic metres.
Insect damage
In the case of insect damage, the right method depends on the type of insect. For example, if the damage is caused by bark beetles, the damaged trees must be harvested from the forest before the beetles living under the bark take to the air. In practice, this means May and June in Finland.
If the bark beetles have already left the tree, the removal of the dead tree will make no difference in terms of future damage, so it can be left in the forest. Decaying trees are also host to many natural enemies of bark beetles.
It is impossible to fully prevent forest damage, but you minimise it by taking good care of your forest.