In autumn 2016, 6.1 million saplings from Södra were planted. This is an increase of 1.3 million saplings compared with the 2015 autumn planting season. Södra delivered a total of 33.6 million saplings in 2016.

In autumn 2015, nearly five million saplings from Södra were planted. Not since the storm years of 2005 and 2007 had such a large volume of saplings been planted in the autumn. Now this record has been bettered by more than one million saplings.

"It's great that we have once again been able to increase the volume of saplings planted in the autumn. This is partly because we have been able to offer more saplings and because the forest owners have discovered the benefits of planting in the autumn," said Johan Jonsson, Head of Södra Skogsplantor.

One advantage of planting in early autumn is that the saplings' roots become established in the soil already at this stage. This enables a more beneficial start to growth in the following spring. One of the reasons for the increase in sales of saplings in the autumn is that Södra now offers forest plants featuring protection against various types of attack, including wildlife browsing.

Södra has worked for some time now on the development of forestry methods that promote increased growth in the forest. Key focus areas include forest regeneration and production of cultivated saplings. Plant breeding is not only about increasing growth; the aim is also to develop saplings that result in forests with high-grade timber and good resistance to insect and fungal attacks. This work ensures that Södra will have favourable, long-term access to forest in Sweden.

"More than 90 percent of the forest plants we sell today are cultivated saplings with higher growth rates than non-cultivated saplings. Since the forest can be used for many products that are needed in the transition to a climate-compatible future, stable access to forest raw material is critical for all of society," said Johan Jonsson.

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