Consumers in Finland and around the world are increasingly seeking new natural, health-promoting products. This has led to increased demand for traditional forest products as well as the need for new health-promoting raw materials obtained from the forest.
Forest owners have become part of the international food, cosmetics, and chemical industry value chains by producing and selling natural products outside of the traditional rights of public access.
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Through research and development, efforts are being made to discover new products and value chains for the bioeconomy.
ECODIVE information package on forest berries
Information
Finnish forest berries - the power of nature!
Finland boasts 37 edible wild berry species available for anyone to pick.
Better bilberry and lingonberry yields with forest management
Non-timber forest products, such as berries, are increasingly valued, partly due to their health benefits. While foreign pickers have increased the commercial picking and harvesting of berries, the majority of the berry harvest still ends up being used domestically by Finns.
Bilberry and maintaining health
Bilberries are rich in polyphenol compounds, which can maintain health and prevent diseases. Polyphenols protect the plant from harmful UV radiation, fungi, bacteria, viruses, and pests, and also act as growth regulators. Their quantity is influenced by factors such as light, temperature, and soil nutrient and moisture conditions.
Videos
1. Bilberry animation for children: Let's take care of and enjoy bilberries! (2 min 56 s.)
This animated video provides children with information about bilberries in a delightful form. In addition to increasing awareness about bilberries, the animation aims to inspire children, and perhaps also parents, to become interested in local nature and forests.
2. Forest site types in a nutshell (6 min 27 s.)
A video filmed in various forest site types in the field provides an overview of the forest site type classification system for mineral soils.
3. Getting to know forest site types (21 min 38 s.)
In this video filmed in the field, researcher Juha-Pekka Hotanen introduces the forest site type classification system for mineral soils and guides viewers on how to identify different types in the field.
4. Establishing observation plots for flowering and fruiting of forest berries (6 min 8 s.)
Senior Researcher Rainer Peltola demonstrates how to set up observation plots for monitoring the flowering and fruiting of forest berries.
5. Näin lasketaan metsämarjojen kukat koeruuduilta (4 min 44 s.)
Senior Researcher Rainer Peltola demonstrates how to count the flowers of forest berries from observation plots.
6. Promoting pollination services to increase the productivity of forest berries (4 min 56 s.)
Senior Researcher Rainer Peltola explains how the living conditions of pollinating insects can be improved to enhance the pollination results of forest berries.
