56 million spruce, pine, birch, and black alder – that is roughly the number of seedlings sold this year by AS "Latvijas valsts meži" nurseries. 45 million, or 80%, were used for the restoration and afforestation of Latvian forests – both in state-managed and privately-owned forests, while 20% were exported to the Nordic countries under long-term cultivation contracts. Undeniably, these figures are very compelling, yet the future of tree nurseries is threatened by the implementation of the European Green Deal principles. Does it not sound paradoxical?

Especially when we recall that the "Green Deal", among other things, provides for the planting of three billion trees by 2030. However, there is no answer to the question – how will it be possible to achieve this if the modern seedling cultivation business is seriously endangered?

Today, the most widely used and effective seedling cultivation technology is container seedlings, which are grown in the initial stage in a peat substrate – in specialised growing trays. They are then transplanted into the soil together with the entire peat substrate, which also provides some of the necessary nutrients during the first year of growth. The seedling is not traumatised when transplanted into the forest and suffers less from unfavourable environmental conditions during the establishment period. At the same time, container seedlings are a technology that enables mechanised planting with high labour productivity (1,500–2,000 seedlings per day), which can also be performed over a longer vegetation period.