In the last 30 years, almost a quarter of Sweden’s last unprotected natural forests have disappeared. Research from Lund and Umeå universities shows this. At the current rate, these ecologically important forest areas will be gone in 50 years.
– This is the real forest. We are losing habitat and species richness, big beautiful trees. Certainly also things we don’t really know yet, says Ander Ahlström, natural geography researcher Lund University.
In the study, the researchers used databases that documented almost a million fellings over the past 30 years. The review they made shows that almost a quarter of Sweden’s unprotected natural forests – which have grown since the Ice Age – have been cut down between 2003 and 2019.
– It is very serious and frightening. If you want to relate to the pace in the Amazon, it is five to ten times faster here, says Anders Ahlström.
In the player: Then all natural forests in Sweden can be wiped out