The sufficiency of wood has been widely debated over several centuries. As new commercial uses of wood were discovered, the industry directed its attention to even the most outlying forests.

In a country where wood was abundant, it was used for all purposes imaginable: for construction, for household objects, for heating. New fields were carved out of the forest by burn-beating, and the distillation of tar provided additional income.

The great merchant navies required an endless supply of wood, and nations turned their gaze northwards towards the land of green gold. Several ironworks and commercial sawmills sprang up in the early 18th century, and the exploitation of forests began in earnest.

Forests were a valuable resource and concerns about the sufficiency of wood soon emerged. Commercial interests fuelled competition concerning ownership of forests. Some expressed their fear that the supply of wood would give out. The common folk were chastised for their wasteful use of wood. In reality wood remained in abundance, although forests had grown sparse around villages and industrial estates.

Forests only began to thin out in the 19th century when the wood industry developed and primeval forests were largely cut down. New innovations in the field transportation exposed even more remote forest land to efficient harvesting. Despite the people's persistent worry of wood becoming scarce, forests continued to grace the Finnish landscape.

Old roads followed the contours of the land.

Gustaf Vasa declared all unoccupied land the property of the crown. Anyone could settle in the wilds and clear a space in the forest for a small farm. Life in the wilds offered more freedom than the populated farmlands. There were no neighbours to be consulted about what should be planted, and there was forest aplenty to turn into fields, as long as you had the strength to do it.

Distant rivers and their forested banks attracted the interest of tar distillers. The work was heavy but it paid well. Made of fir resin, tar was needed for household purposes and there was always a market for it. The crown wanted its share in the form of taxes, yet tar was produced in sufficient quantities to be shipped to other countries as well.

A 17th-century peasant may have caught a glimpse of the wider world by picturing in his mind a Dutch trader sailing through the seven seas to distant ports, its planks lined with tar he had distilled.

As long as ships were made of wood, tar was a reliable source of additional income for the east-coast peasants. In the middle of the 18th century, concerns about the forest giving out caused restrictions to be imposed on tar production.

Lines had to be cleared in the woods for mapping and land survey projects.

Concerns about the scarcity of woods led to a need to further define the ownership of forests. In connection with the 18th-century land reform, forests jointly owned by the village community were apportioned between the farmers. Thus farmers became forest owners.

In the traditional agricultural society, many families lived from hand to mouth, but forest ownership gradually improved the standard of living. Wood sold well and the money it brought in allowed the landowners to purchase labour-saving tools. Since the land reform, forest owners could also establish crofts in the forest.

Thus forest ownership represented capital, which multiplied and raised the standard of living in the long term. Excluded from this favourable development were the landless classes, who no longer enjoyed the time-honoured right of free use of the forest and its products.

Land surveyors often acquired a close-up view of the state of affairs and the variable conditions in the realm.

The allotment of forests also benefited the government and the rapidly-growing wood industry, and their interest led to the implementation of a land reform in the 18th century. Ownership arrangements between private and commercial forest owners and the government continued, with further reforms in the 19th century.

The occupation of land surveyor offered a close-up view of the state of matters in the realm. Surveyors had of old acted as a link between the crown and those at the grassroots of society. Knowledge of the state of the forests was valuable when forests were mapped. The information was used to further the interests of the growing wood trade and wood-refining industry.

Samoilla kartoitusmatkoilla karttui tietoa kansan oloista ja alueiden erityispiirteistä, kansanluonteesta. Kansallisuusaatteen värittämällä 1800-luvulla puukaupan ansiosta menestyvä talous sekä suomalaisuuden ainutlaatuisuus kietoutuivat yhteen. Molemmat pohjautuivat luontoon ja molempia maanmittareiden tietämys hyödytti.

Surveyors travelling from place to place also learned about the national character, the conditions and the special features characterising the different regions. Nationalist ideas gained ground in the 19th century and the wood trade created a thriving economy which was intertwined with the unique national consciousness. Both had their roots in nature and both benefited from the knowledge of surveyors.

The tradition of private forest ownership explains the large number of forest owners today. Forest ownership may have value even for urban residents. Besides the economic benefits of forest ownership, environmental and cultural values have assumed an increasingly important role. A patch of forest land may form a tie to the family's roots.

Inherited forest holdings are often located far from their present owner's home. Some owners may never even have visited their property.

In many areas forest owners established joint associations to manage the member's forest holdings and secure their economic benefits. Such arrangements echo the idea of collective forest ownership before the 18th-century land reform.

The modern Finn's relationship with the forest is largely based on the right of public access which guarantees everyone the right to roam the forests, and to pick berries and mushrooms. In order to offset the pressures for more intensive use of the forests, the government has established nature reserves and Natura 2000 sites, the purpose of which is to preserve the biodiversity of nature and the landscape. Such measures guarantee everyone the use and enjoyment of forests.