Finland is the most forested country in Europe; 86 per cent of its land area, or a total of 26 million hectares (64 million acres), is covered by forest. The country is responsible for one quarter of the world's printing and writing paper exports, and for one sixth of its paperboard exports. Feeding this massive paper industry is the Finnish forest industry - one of the most intensive in the world. As a result, Finland's forests - including its remaining old-growth fragments - are being exploited by clearcutting, forest thinning, road construction, and ditching of soils. The result is the severe and extensive fragmentation of natural habitat. While much of Finland's productive forest (around 62 per cent) is in the hands of private landowners, the vast majority of its valuable old-growth forest is owned and logged by the state. These two images show a result of this logging in the northeastern areas of the country. In the 1987 image, the area has a near homogeneous forest cover (green); on the other hand, the 2002 image shows only a few patches, mainly in the protected areas with continuous forest cover. The patches of tan signify clearcut areas. View detailed information
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