Why “forests” is being discussed
The most recent Hacker News stories and comments contributing to this topic's mentions.
> It's undeniable that tons of very rare native forests were cut down alongside this (we're talking about 815 acres in Muhos and 494 acres in Kajaani). Google very clearly inten…
by throwaway2037 · Oct 12, 2026
The whole controversy here is that some of what Google cut down was those very rare pieces of native (and protected) forests
by culi · Oct 12, 2026
Most of Finland's forests are planted. Some of that is for logging but also some of that is for conservation purposes. In Finland, all planted forests are native species. But th…
by culi · Oct 12, 2026
That's just the Muhos site. Another 200 hectares at the Kajaani site. Much of Finland's forest cover is planted forests which tend to be lower in biodiversity. But the controver…
by culi · Oct 12, 2026
Some of what google cut down was indeed planted forest (which are always native species in Finland) but the entire controversy here is that google also cut down multiple protect…
by culi · Oct 12, 2026
Much of it is planted forests (of native species). Some of those planted forests are for logging purposes and some of it is for GTR purposes to protect biodiversity. A lot of wh…
by culi · Oct 12, 2026
Interest
Proportion of Hacker News items mentioning "forests" over time.
Mentions
Total number of Hacker News items mentioning "forests" over time.
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines a forest as, "Land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. It does not include land that is predominantly under agricultural or urban use." Using this definition, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2025 found that forests covered 4.14 billion hectares, or approximately 31 percent of the world's land area in 2025. Read more on Wikipedia