Annually 2 500–3 500 hectares have been released from peat production in Finland. To meet European Union targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Finland has aimed at substituting fossil fuels with wood-based fuels. The afforestation of cutaway peatlands could create carbon sinks and compensate soil carbon fluxes (Hytönen et al. 2018). High nitrogen content of the residual peat enables high biomass production, while potassium and phosphorus nutrition can be secured e.g. by ash fertilization. Cutaway peatlands could be afforested cost-efficiently with native downy birch (Betula pubescens Ehrh.), which is a primary successional tree species thriving on peatlands. Wood production would be based on natural seeding, early clear-cutting with whole-tree method, and coppice regeneration. This stand management system has shown potential for profitable production of energy biomass without subvention (Jylhä et al. 2015). The present study was aimed at assessing the profitability of growing downy birch on cutaway peatlands, based on empirical productivity models and a larger dataset than in the case study above.
