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MOTTI is a stand-level analysis tool and decision support software by Luke. It contains the key results of the growth and yield research carried out by Luke, which can be used to predict the growth of forests managed using different techniques. The software also enables making comparisons between different silvicultural methods. MOTTI can also be used to investigate the effects of forest management or non-management, selection of tree species, regeneration chains or individual silvicultural measures, for example, on forest growth, harvesting volumes, profitability of forestry or the amount of carbon sequestered by forests.

MOTTI is widely used among professional foresters, forest owners, teachers, researchers, authorities and companies in Finland. It has been updated regularly with the newest growth models. It has also been tailored for special purposes, e.g. for teaching and for calculating economic effects of forest protection. It has been published in several languages (Finnish, Swedish, English, Russian) and it has also been piloted in other countries and tree species.

The core of MOTTI is a stand-level simulator, which includes growth and yield models for e.g. natural regeneration, growth and mortality. It is designed to simulate stand development under alternative management regimes and growth conditions in Finland.
MOTTI predicts the development of the user-defined initial stand until the end of the rotation. The user can define various management schedules including management practices, such as precommercial and commercial thinnings, fertilization, and ditch network maintenance in peatland forests. The user can adjust parameters such as timing and intensity of thinning and proportions of tree species, and define the timing of final cut. Timber assortments include logs, pulpwood and energy wood compartments. If the user do not define management practices, MOTTI simulates a default management program for the stand based on the current recommendations for forestry practice in Finland.
For the economic analysis (net present value and bare land value), the user can enter stumpage prices by tree species and timber assortments, costs (e.g. costs of first commercial thinnings, fertilisation and ditch network maintenance) and interest rate. The results will be presented in the form tables, graphs and files exportable to Excel.

Mobile applications offered by different forest companies offer the possibility to observe your forest estate and forest assets on the mobile phone. The forest data is in mobile phone for private forest owners and it´s easy to log in with the bank's online banking ID.

The change of the business environment aims at better competitiveness and cost-efficiency in forest management. Mobile applications are an excellent way to encourage forest owners to take care of their forests.

Forest owners can download mobile applications to their smartphones from the internet. The application includes information about the forest assets, maps, and other key information that may be needed in the field. The application also works without a network connection.
For example, Metsä Group’s members are able to update their growing stock information by taking photos with their mobile phones. The photos are transferred for analysis in a cloud service, and they are used to calculate the growing stock information. This way when walking around in their forest estates, forest owner can update their growing stock information and request a quote to sell wood or buy forest management services right there on the spot.

With the application you can:

• view forest farm maps and aerial photos
• browse pattern information
• review the proposed measures
• acknowledge the actions taken, in which case the tree data in the pattern will be updated
• send a message to the forest expert
• take action on the request for quotation that you send from Metsäverkko.fi
• update pattern tree information with Trestima (Android only)
• navigate from one pattern to another, for example, to see urgent work
• add a note or photo to a specific location

Metsään.fi provides eServices for forest owners and forestry service providers. The online application shows the maps, forest information and, silvicultural and cutting possibilities of each forest estate and their compartments:

1. Soil and forest site type
2. Growing stock
3. Treatment proposals for a five-year period
4. Natural values (habitats of special importance)
5. Latest maps and aerial photographs with compartment borders
6. Annual growth. 

Metsään.fi also allows forest owners to apply for subsidies for improvement of young stands and declare notifications of forest use (e.eg. cuttings) by filling e-forms instead of paper ones. In addition, forest owners can contact forest service producers via the system. Metsään.fi is quite easy to use and it provides the forest owner many new flexible services, e.g. e-forms for applying subsidies. It’s a safe system, although being a public one.  A strong identification of the user is needed, use of Suomi.fi e-Identification is safe and provided by the state. Suomi.fi e-Identification contains a list of the identification tokens for example using online banking codes, mobile certificate or certificate cards

The Finnish Forest Centre collects and maintains remote sensing based data of forest resources covering the private forests. Metsään.fi is a free portal using that forest data for serving forest owners and forestry service providers. It has been found to encourage forest owners to carry out silvicultural works and generally for developing forest businesses. 

Metsään.fi in numbers in early 2020: 13,5 million hectares of forest data in the service, 108 765 forest owners have visited the service, 942 service providers have joined the service, 2461 operators use the service, 8,4 million hectares available to operators, 537 706 consents available to operators.

CFLogistics (LogForce) is a software service for forestry related transport that streamlines the business for both the haulage contractor and the forestry company. CFLogistics software covers all the planning and vehicle software needed by a haulage contractor. With the help of the CFLogistics service, a transport company can offer its services to several forestry companies using one information system. The forestry company can focus on managing delivery volumes and optimising stock turnover. With the CFLogistics software service, the haulage contractor can plan and manage the transport of logs, forest energy, chips and other by-products of the forest industry from the starting depot to the location of use.

Advantages for transport companies:

• Higher utilisation rate of the transportation equipment
• Ability to work for different forestry companies using just one application
• More flexible transport planning
• Forestry companys advantages:
• Focus on managing delivery volumes
• Better stock turnover
• Cost-efficient logistics

Third party digital service Kuutio brings together forest owners, wood buyers and other service providers in a digital environment. Kuutio.fi enables asking bids from wood procurement companies, when a private forest owner wants to sell wood. The service is developed by Suomen Puukauppa Oy, which was founded by all the major actors in the forest sector. Involved are Stora Enso, UPM and Metsä Group among almost all of the smaller saw mills. Kuutio is fully functional in any role of forestry professionals either through a browser interface or the company’s own forest system as long as it has been set up with a Kuutio connection.

Actual sales are made outside the service, Kuutio only acts as a go-between wood buyers and sellers. In most cases it is still required to do some field work and validate the information provided by system by visiting the stand marked for harvesting. All parties of wood trade benefit from Kuutio because sellers and buyers are able find each other more easily than before. The service utilizes public forest details from the Metsäkeskus database Metsään .fi and improves the functionality of wood trade. Kuutio paves the way to wood trade especially for those who are not the most at ease when it comes to taking care of their forestry property. Kuutio is targeted to all Finnish forest owners and they can use the service for free.

The purpose of the act on the financing of sustainable forestry (Kemera-law) is to advance economically, ecologically and socially sustainable silviculture and use of the forests. A private forest owner may receive financial support from the State for forest management, forest improvement work and for nature management. Public funding for forestry is based on the Act on the Financing of Sustainable Forestry. The general objectives of forestry financing are stated in the Act: increase the growth of forests, maintain road networks for forestry purposes, secure the biodiversity of forests and promote the adaptation of forests to climate change.

Government subsidies are essential for safeguarding sustainable wood production, maintenance of forest biodiversity and improvement of the health of forests. The most common reason not to participate in the cost sharing program is the challenge in applying the support. The receipt of Kemera subsidies requires a implementation plan or an application for support and declaration of completion. The amount of Kemera support varies by type of work and by financial zone. Support is a taxable income and the funding is provided by the Finnish Forest Center. Forest management and improvement work which may be eligible for support include the tending of seedling stands, tending of young stands, ditch cleaning and supplementary ditching and construction of forest roads. Support may also be granted for remedial fertilisation.

One of the challenges in wood mobilization is small-scale wood units within long distances from the nearest roads. These units are not profitable for harvesting, since forest and long-distance transportation are of high costs. The answer to the challenge might lie in bigger wood terminals where wood from multiple small-scale units would be gathered from the same area for intermediate storage. In general, storing the wood is sensible at a distance of about 100 to 150 km from the site of use. The best location for intermediate storage is at the beginning of forest roads.

In Lapland, for instance, a few big terminals have been built close to the railway to advance the efficiency of wood transportation by train. In the provinces, larger terminals are usually located mainly according to the needs of industry and large forestry companies. Benefits of common terminals occur especially in wintertime, when maintenance of storage area could be done commonly or by the certain terminal operator. The joint terminals are well suited for energy wood and wood for which the need for storage is at a different time. This allows continuous use of area.

Operating culture, various practices, and lack of cooperation of the actors are experienced to restrict the wider deployment of common terminals. However, an increase in wood flows will require building more terminals. There is a need for more joint terminals, but it requires cooperation between forest service providers. It would be highly useful to gather the intermediate storage places in one map-based spatial database, which would be open-accessed for all the service providers. This would advance bringing together different actors in the wood procurement chain. In summary, the main benefits comprise:

• Joint wood terminals of forest companies for short-term storage of wood
• Profitable harvesting from the small-scale unit
• Efficiency in wood transportation by train
• Less environmental effects because of centralized terminals

Fragmented ownership structure is one of the main challenges of wood mobilization in Europe. Small-sized, dispersed forest property with difficult access to forests results in high costs for timber harvesting per hectare. The joint forests have been established in Finland since the end of the 1800. In the beginning of 2019 there were 460 common forests in Finland. The establishment of the common forest and the incorporation to existing joint forests have recently become more widespread. The total area of common forests is growing and it is already more than 700 000 ha. There are about 25 000 stakeholder in the common forests of our country, and they include over 5% of the surface area of our private forest. The smallest common forest is less than 20 hectares, while the largest, Kuusamo common forest has over 90 000 hectares of territory. The largest common forests are in North-Eastern Finland.

Changes in the common forest law have facilitated the integration of common forests and the creation of new joint forests. The common forest can provide a good and workable solution to many objectives of modern forest ownership. The common forest is a shared forest area for operating sustainable forestry in favour of the shareholder forest estates. The common forests are privately owned and have no public-law character or obligation. According to the Common Forestry Act, common forest must be used primarily for operating sustainable forestry. Sustainable forestry includes economic, social and ecological sustainability. The shareholders of common forest decide how to emphasise the utilization of different areas for the purposes of sustainable forestry.

There is a need for raising awareness of the positive possibilities of forest consolidation, including:

• Bigger forest units with easier access to forest property
• More cost-efficiency in harvesting, smaller unit costs in work and supplies
• Ease of foundation and joining$Ease of owning forest
• Better forest management with constant profits
• Easier management and administration
• Tax relief, lower income taxation
• Better recreational possibilities
• Functional and democratic administration
• Simple and safe investment

Transportation costs are the most costly part of wood mobilization especially in sparsely populated areas with long distances.  The distance between forest and factory can be over 500 kilometers. To reduce costs of long-distance transportation of wood, bigger lorries were innovated and are now tested in Finland in a research project. The environmental effects and traffic safety are also explored.

Full utilization of HCT vehicles requires maintenance of road networks including forest roads, main roads, and bridges.

The 33-metric vehicle combination is able to carry even 70 tons of wood. The vehicle consumes less fuel than the smaller one and therefore contributes to reducing the environmental effects of transportation. The vehicles will also contribute to traffic safety since fewer vehicles will be needed to wood transportation in the future.

The research project is participated by experienced research institutes: Aalto University, Oulu University, Metsäteho, and Tampere Technical University. In the research project, the impacts on the road as well as the features of the lorries are investigated: braking distances, passing capacity, oscillations of the vehicle, and curve driving. The consumption of fuel, emissions, and durability of tires are also focused on.

Cost efficiency is gained in long-distance transportation of wood. The HCT vehicles reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions.

The first combination to transport wood started shipping with a pilot permit in December 2020.

Demand for forestry-service products is increasing. This means the service providers must be easy to reach and be able to offer all services needed by forest owner. Providers have to take into account the diverse forest owners groups and their needs regarding the management and use of forests.
So far, the challenge have been scattered services for forest owners.
Now many companies and entrepreneurs have started to offer full forest management services from one place.

Full service from one company/association is attracting forest owners to take care of their forests.
The change of the business environment aims at better competitiveness and cost-efficiency in forest management.

Network of associations offering full service of forest management for forest owners: guidance, planning, call for bids, comparing offers, harvesting, forest regeneration, digital services and forest estate
brokerage.