Sweden

Management of forest genetic resources in Sweden

• Link to Strategy - Gene conservation of forest trees (in Swedish)

The Swedish Forest Agency has conserved gene resources of native forest trees in habitat protected areas since 2014. The strategy allows a resource-efficient and dynamic long-term conservation of genetic variation, species and ecosystems in the same protected area. Today, more than 400 areas exist, with nearly 600 gene conservation units that are protected forever.

The tree species are biologically very different. Therefore the objectives of the strategy vary in terms of number of genetic resources and minimum number of trees per genetic resource required for a certain species. For Scots pine and Norway spruce, at least 500 trees are needed, while 50 trees are sufficient for many hardwoods. For very rare and scattered tree species, even 15 trees may suffice as a genetic base.

Sessile oak and beech occur in marginal populations in Sweden. These populations may contain unique variants of genes and are therefore prioritized for conservation. For ash and elm, red-listed due to forest diseases, gene conservation is essential too. For common forest trees such as spruce, pine and birch, gene conservation is valuable, for instance, from scientific and utilitarian point of view.