A. Species
Scientific name: Betula pendula
Common name(s): Silver Birch
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Least Concern
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Finland
Country/Region: Western Europe with supplementary information from Northern Europe and Baltic states
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Regional/Continental/Multi-country level
Name/Details of location: Western Europe
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 1900
End Year: 2020
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat and Wild species sourced from significantly modified habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Logging and/or Wood Harvesting
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Medicine and hygiene, Energy, Decorative and aesthetic and Materials and construction
Motivation of use: Basic subsistence, Income generation from trade (individual/household/community) and Largescale commercial exploitation for trade
Is this use legal or illegal?: Legal under national law
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people and National / local private sector
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat and Wild species sourced from significantly modified habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: Forest management practices
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Five commercial tree species comprise nearly 80% of the forest standing stock volume in Western Europe. However, under climate change and the forest health crises from native and introduced pests and pathogens , there now is a strong need to consider a wider diversity of tree species.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: large multi-national industry; Birch withstands browsing pressure; provide a wide variety of non-timber forest products (incl. betulin used in pharmaceuticals) as well as timber
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: large multi-national industry; Birch withstands browsing pressure; provide a wide variety of non-timber forest products (incl. betulin used in pharmaceuticals) as well as timber
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: large multi-national industry; Birch withstands browsing pressure; provide a wide variety of non-timber forest products (incl. betulin used in pharmaceuticals) as well as timber
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
Need to: (i) develop opportunities for industrial uses of birch wood, (ii) inform forest owners, managers, and industrial professionals about the potential value of birch, and (iii) define silvicultural guidelines
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2020-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-11-08