A birch stand might be regenerated when it is merely 50 years old. A new tree stand is established either naturally or artificially. Today, about one third of Finnish forests are regenerated naturally and two thirds artificially. Natural regeneration is based on seeding from trees already growing on the site, usually by leaving a number of seeding trees standing at felling. Sometimes a forest can be regenerated in strips or small clearings, in which case trees in the surrounding forest can serve as mother trees.
Artificial regeneration requires the removal of all old trees from the site.
A new stand is established on the clear-felled area, either through seeding or planting. On poorer sites, pine is usually regenerated through seeding. Spruce and birch are almost always planted, as is also the case with pine on richer sites. The tree species used are almost exclusively domestic. Every year 150 million seedlings are planted in the forests.