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For est regions 63area, the Muddus National Park. In practice,however, very large areas are now protected fromfelling because it is not regarded economic to regeneratethe forest (one is not allowed to cut forestwithout providing properly for regeneration). Thisis relevant to most of subregion (5), as far as Stateforests are concerned (H6JER 1954). But only minorfractions of this extensive area are primeval, asselective cutting has usually been carried out overeven the remotest parts.FoRESTRY.-There is an extensive literature ongeneral forestry, silviculture, forest ·economy, etc.,but mainly in the Swedish language (e.g. SKOGENOCH SKOGSBRUKET, 1961).Present-day forestry in northern Sweden usespractically only clear-felling, sometimes over areasof several sq. km at once. Controlled burning,planting and extermination of the competitivebirch by brush killers are common practice, butnatural regeneration is also often possible, notablyon coarse soils. Seed-trees of pine are often leftinclimatically favourable areas, they increasestrongly in diameter and still more in value aftertheir isolation, but they should be cut before thenew forest starts to grow in height.Cellulose is nowadays produced much more thansaw-timber, and even weak dimensions are used.Roads are extensively built through even remoteforest areas, and motor transport has replaced mostof the horsework and even some of the floatingwhich still, however, is the cheapest way of longdistance transportation.The forests of the northern and middle parts ofSweden are owned to about 40 % by farmers andto nearly 30 % by those industrial companieswhich also own most of the sawmills and cellulosefactories. In the far north, the State owns themajority of forest acreage, but farther south lessthan 10 %. For the whole country, the areal figuresare 50 % farmer owned, 25 % company owned, and18.5 % State owned, but when standing timberor production are concerned, the farmers own farmore and the State far less, owing to latitudinaland altitudinal distribution.As an average for the whole northern coniferousforest, production is only half as high as in thesouthern region. But there are equally large differenceswithin the region. Whereas subregion (I)is only slightly inferior to the southern region,production in subregion ·(4) is always much lower,and in subregion (5), as stated above, generally toolow to warrant long-term forestry on an economicbasis. The low production is partly due directly toclimate and partly to widespread poor primary soilconditions, stagnation of soil processes and almostgeneral nitrogen deficiency. It is connected with avery long rotation period (about lOO to 150 years),and with low stature and wide spacing (EBELING1961, p. 170) which lead to low figures for standingtimber. However, the wide areas compensate formuch of this, and still the centre of Swedish forestryis in the northern coniferous forest region.Acta Phytogeog.r. Suec. 50