Areal concentrations in certain aspects of Finnish forestry

Abstract

Areal concentrations in the distribution of forestry land and forest land in Finland, total annual increment, fellings, forest returns and the timber utilized in the wood-processing industry were studied by means of cumulative maps and Lorenz diagrams. An index of concentration in the range 0–1 was calculated for each aspect studied. The highest proportions of forestry land in Finland are found in the north and east, although with an index of 0.09 one can scarcely speak of a concentration. The distribution of actual forest land shows a slight concentra­tion in the principal forestry district in the country, the Lake Region, with an index of 0.15. A considerable concentration in total annual increment and commercial fellings, indices of 0.35 and 0.39 respectively, is found in the south of Finland, particularly the Lake Region, and the forest returns, in­terpreted here as the potential returns calculated from the total increment, are even more obviously concentrated in this latter region, with an index of 0.45. This may be taken in the long term to represent the stumpage income accruing to the forest owners. The wood‑processing industry is obviously highly localized, and thus timber utilization carries a concentration index