Except for reports about Covid-19, the rainy summer has been the favorite theme for the tabloids in Sweden this summer. July 2020 was the coldest in Sweden since … I don´t know how long. Considering the fact that the Swedes are not allowed to go anywhere because of the pandemic, this has been a problem for sun lovers. But for the forest …
Growing green forest
During the winter 19/20, I was working with both pre-commercial and commercial thinning on a small site in south Sweden. The other day I went there to see the result.
It was truly a joy to see all the shades of green. It was growing everywhere, and everything was growing – bushes, grass, trees. The difference compared to summer 2018 is stunning. Then, when walking in the forest, it was dry, dusty, scratchy and yellow grass everywhere.
Rain and heat work together
In southern Europe, it´s still hot and dry, as in some parts in central Europe. Today I also read that the forest in California is burning again. So, I guess that we are the lucky ones up here.
The combination of heat and moist is without a doubt perfect for the forest which is obvious on the photos in this article. Also berries and mushrooms are doing well under these conditions.
Green forests for future generations
Let´s hope that this weather continues so that also the coming generations can enjoy the fruits of the forest. Here in the northern hemisphere, “tree farming” is a long-term project that spans over the generations. On a perfect forest site, you have all ages of forest to harvest and manage. Let´s make sure we can go on like that.
More photos
Here are some more photos from my walk in the Swedish forest on 20th July 2020.
Photos: Per Jonsson
Good to see a verdant green forest. You don’t seem to have many Brambles in your forest understory, but looking at the last picture i think the ground is too wet.
This site had both dry and wet parts. The last picture shows a very wet part where an excavator made quite big mounds to plant on. That´s why there were holes like the one of the picture. It seems to have been successful though, as the spruce trees there seemed to do ok.
The first picture in the article is taken just some 150 meters away from the last, in the same stand. There it is dry soil with just gravel and stone, but … very good hummus. Thanks to the wet summer it´s growing well there as well.
As for brambles, we don´t have much of those in this area.