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A seasonal forest of figures
Being around trees is good for us – and not just at Christmas time. But how much are our woods worth? A few fun facts to show off.
100 years: This is how long trees in Switzerland live on average. The oldest tree, a larch in Valais, is 1,500 years old.
Anno 1876: In a pioneering step, Switzerland put a stop to deforestation – first in the mountain regions, then nationwide. Forests perform protective, economic and health-related functions.
66 trees per head: Swiss forests are home to 535 million trees, which is equivalent to 66 trees per inhabitant. The most common trees are spruce, followed by firs and beech trees. The most forested canton is Ticino, which is 51 percent covered by trees.
40 wolves: Several wolf packs roam Switzerland.
440 francs: The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) has calculated that this is the per-capita value of Switzerland’s forests as recreation areas. If you had to pay to walk in the forest, it would cost more than an annual pass for the zoo.
70%: Most of our woodland belongs to the state. Thirty percent is privately owned.
30,000 hunters: Deer are the main target of Swiss hunters. They shoot 42,000 of them every year, partly in order to maintain the natural balance.
500,000 Christmas trees: This is how many fir trees are harvested and sold before Christmas every year in Switzerland. Around 60 percent of our Christmas trees are imported.
3 seconds: That’s how fast one cubic meter of wood grows in the Swiss forests. It adds up to 10 million cubic meters a year – enough for 130,000 homes.
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