What are your research topics?
My research focuses on how we can make better forestry-related decision-making. Forests provide natural raw materials for construction and industrial uses, offer recreational and cultural benefits, and serve as habitats for a wide range of species. Managing these multiple benefits requires a clear understanding of what different decision-makers value, the development of alternative strategies, and transparent assessments of how forests may change over time.
Finnish forest owners often describe their priorities as “multi-objective”. Addressing these multiple priorities requires understanding forests as ecological systems. The development of the forest is shaped by management actions, natural disturbances, and growth over time. Forest planning decisions are long-term and must be made despite considerable uncertainty. While forests are renewable, harvesting is consequential in the short term and cannot be undone.
To support improved decision-making, my research develops methods that link forest data, simulation, and optimisation. These approaches are designed to support decisions across scales, including individual forest owners, forest companies, and policy contexts.
Where and how does the topic of your research have an impact?
Forest planning provides a structured way to compare different management priorities and their outcomes. The aim is to connect decisions regarding forests with the priorities of the decision-maker.
Private forest owners are the primary forest decision-makers in Finland. They decide which trees to harvest or conserve, which species to regenerate, and how to respond to natural disturbances. Tools supporting decision-making can help identify management strategies that align with their preferences, whether these relate to economic returns, ecological values, or other ecosystem services. This allows a more transparent evaluation of alternative management options and their consequences.
At broader scales, forest planning can be used to evaluate policy interventions and management strategies. Changes in forest legislation, certification, taxation and the development of carbon and nature value markets are all intended to influence forest use. Forest planning can be used to quantify the potential impact policy interventions may have, supporting the evaluation of positive and negative consequences alike.
Across all scales, the aim of my research is to support forestry-related decision-making that is informed, transparent, and aligned with both forest owners and societal needs.
What is particularly inspiring in your field right now?
One of the most significant developments is the rapid increase in the availability and resolution of forest data. Advances in forest inventories, remote sensing, and ecological modelling provide detailed information about forest resources and their dynamics. This creates new opportunities to better represent ecological processes and multiple ecosystem services within planning.
At the same time, there is growing recognition that forest management must move beyond single-objective optimisation. Forests are increasingly viewed as multi-functional systems, requiring approaches that balance economic, ecological, and social objectives. This highlights the need for planning approaches that explicitly consider trade-offs and support decision-makers in navigating them.
However, a key gap remains in translating available data into practical decision support. While data and models have advanced rapidly, decision-support tools that are intuitive, transparent, and aligned with stakeholder are required. Strengthening this link between data, models, and decision-makers remains a central and motivating challenge in forest planning research.