An interview with Dagnija Lazdiņa, Lead Researcher of the creative group for forest regeneration, afforestation and woody plant plantations outside forest land at the LSFRI “Silava”

At the beginning of the year, you attended the general meeting of the Forest Owners' Association, where the Minister of Agriculture, Kaspars Gerhards, addressed the forest owners. What impression did you get of the minister?

The minister had just started his job, and I believe this was his introduction and first conversation with representatives of the forest industry. As is known, his previous contact with the forest was more related to nature conservation issues rather than forestry, which includes tending stands, growing, and, of course, timber extraction. It would be premature to pass judgment – if we meet with the minister again in a year, once he has familiarised himself and seen how processes in the sector work, we can draw conclusions! The meeting took place in a favourable atmosphere; the minister mentioned what he had seen during his visit to the LSFRI “Silava” and praised the work of local forest scientists, but I would truly call it an introduction! When we start, we have an idea of how it should be done, but it is only by getting down to work that it becomes clear exactly how one will need to work and operate.

How big is your forest property?

Small. 10 and 5 hectares in the Alūksne region. The Estonian border is not far from my forests. I inherited part of the forest, and we “bought” the rest. The purchase happened more for emotional reasons because it is located not far from the inherited part, on the banks of the Vaidava River – therefore in a protection zone. I own old forest, young forest, and forest that needs regenerating, as well as a protection zone with grey alders, flooded brushwood and a “dammed” river – 15 ha is a great variety.

Has the river been dammed by a beaver?

No, by a human! Renewable energy. There is a power plant on the river that is in operation.

Since I devote a large part of my life to science and research, I own the forest, it is looked after, but not “polished” – by allowing it to “self-form” – I observe the “natural processes”, and if things go wrong, I intervene. I certainly don't qualify to enter a competition for the tidiest forest!

Things are varied with forests in the Alūksne area. If the owner lives right there or nearby, they manage it and work actively, tending and cleaning it. If the owner is not someone from the industry or lives far away, or the property is small, then it is what it is... There are plots left for “self-development”. I manage to spend time in my forest about four times a year, I should do it more.

A forest scientist and a forest owner. Are these things compatible and do they not hinder each other? Do you ever happen to feel like you are at work when in the forest?

Doing science is great because I can do what I like and am interested in, and get paid for it too! To use an analogy – work is a hobby for which you are rewarded! If it weren't for the administrative burden of having to document what you did at which hour or day, and where you were, it would be ideal! It creates a thicker crust on the tasty bread! We have good international cooperation, we conduct local research in collaboration with the industry, and we conduct research in cooperation with colleagues from other countries. If people save money to go on foreign trips, for me, travelling is also work, although we see landscapes, forests, conference rooms and airports.

We sometimes hear: “Latvian scientists should talk more and louder about their achievements!” How about you – do people ask you a lot, do you tell them much?

I believe that in the fields of natural and agricultural sciences, between which forest science sits, we should be called researchers rather than scientists. You can never fully get to know nature, so we research! Nature cannot be “conserved” – but it can be protected by taking and managing it in such a way that the resource renews itself; this also applies to recreation and protected species, which are such due to specific circumstances. A researcher researches and looks for correlations. I think that we researchers talk, tell, and explain! I also talk; I talk enough, and I like doing it! I see meaning in it!

There is a position (role) of “lead researcher” – a person who writes “project applications” with the aim of conducting research, and if they are lucky and the application is approved, there is a great opportunity to lead this research! That is – to administer, oversee so that everything turns out as intended, document, report on everything, and ensure that everyone involved in the research has something to do, and that ultimately, what was planned succeeds. Once we have learned something new, there is a good opportunity, like at the Forest Science Day organised by “Silava” at the end of May this year, to tell colleagues in the industry what we have learned and discovered. Then there is adult training generously funded by Europe, where we are invited for one or two days to tell forest owners or other industry representatives about things useful in their work. In current research, public information is usually one of the “packages” of work; currently, issues of improving tree growth conditions are topical – we used to call it fertilising, but we abandoned that term due to the dual meaning of the word's roots. We are in the middle of the LVM-funded “Tree Growth Condition Improvement Research Programme 2016–2021” (1)! We are researching both the need for additional nitrogen application and the optimal tree age for doing so, as well as comparing the impact of the applied fertiliser doses on stock growth and other components of the forest ecosystem. We use both mineral fertilisers and wood ash, studying their impact on the environment in cooperation with the LU Institute of Biology and the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre. We organise seminars, “publish” in the local press, create video stories, and participate in forest days. There will be guidelines and a book.

What do you talk about in training sessions?

In my range of research, two areas dominate – forest regeneration and afforestation. The latter is one of the most important things in the bioeconomy: if we have sufficient, high-quality raw material and resources, and if we have enough smart people who can create a high value-added product from the available resources (forest, wood), we will have great prospects of becoming a normal, prosperous country! By forest, I mean the forest as an ecosystem; an additional resource is tree stands outside forest land. In my daily life, I more “operate” with younger trees (up to 20 years old). One of the current developments “gathering speed” is agroforestry. This means that agricultural activities take place alongside forestry – both sectors “work” simultaneously. The specification depends on the country. In Latvia, agroforestry already exists, only we do not call it that. For example, there are many beef cattle and dairy cows grazing in areas next to the forest, where small clusters of trees are or deforested areas have turned into pastures. Scientifically, this is called a silvopastoral system – animals graze under tree crowns and it is good for both! It is good for the trees because the grass is eaten, it is good for the animals because the tree casts a shadow, and by eating the lower tree branches, they ingest necessary microelements. In Latvia to a small extent, but elsewhere strongly developed, is the so-called alley agroforestry. In Central Europe, there is less forest, there are large agricultural areas, less rainfall, and wind erosion is observed there in relatively large territories. This is becoming topical for us too, because in some places in Latvia, the ancient, once-created wind protection belts have been felled or destroyed. The reasons for this have been various, either it was not clear what it was, or it was necessary to consolidate land and obtain larger areas eligible for support – more hectares (to merge properties).

Together with the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Economics, we conducted a micro-trial on a small area – we grew perennial grass seeds between rows of trees, while fast-growing woody plants grew in the rows; the experimental area is still maintained.

Another of my research areas is the aforementioned fast-growing woody plants: propagation, afforestation, and the selection of the best specimens. 9 years ago, we started a study in which we set up agroforestry systems and started looking at local willow varieties that could be used for this purpose. Searching along ditches, meadows, and riverbanks for willows with larger, more beautiful, more lush shoots, we set up plantations and observed how they “behaved”. We realised that two of those found are “promising”. They have excellent biomass, they bloom abundantly! If you are not involved in beekeeping, you might not know, but willows are the first flowering plants in spring! Here, early springs are becoming characteristic, which means that bees wake up early and bees want to eat, but there is none! The beekeeper has to supplement the colony with sugar, but – if willows are blooming near the hive, bees can go for nectar! In our experimental plantation, established in 2011 in Skrīveri, they extracted honey on 9 May this year! The first yield! Our two willow clones – “Monika” and “Visvaldis” (Monika Martinova and Visvaldis Kāposts are the people with whom the most serious and successful cooperation took place, starting research on willow growing in 2001). Next year will mark five years since the European-funded study ended (the rules state that for the five years following the end of the project, we may not give these clones for commercial growing). We have registered both varieties with the CPVO(2). The harvesting technology suitable for our varieties is not the one similar to maize harvesters, but the one that wraps them into bales! “Ours” have good biomass growth, they bloom abundantly in spring, grow back well, and are wind-resistant, which is why they could also be used for wind protection belts and planting on roadsides; they will not be taller than 4-5 metres.

In 2001, when we started research on willows, we also wanted to test the effectiveness of biocompost from various types of wastewater. A little later, we started looking at willows as an energy crop and realised that we needed to create our own willow varieties. But – if in other parts of Europe and the Nordic countries work on breeding has been going on for at least 20 years, they have probably already “found something good”. We started our research with willow clones from Sweden, looking at how they behave. Work was started in 2002; currently, we are researching and looking at this crop as something to be grown in small areas where it is not profitable to engage in agriculture. Modern agricultural machinery is now quite large, and it is not cost-effective to go to a 2-3 ha field with a large combine. Likewise, there are quite a lot of branched forms of agricultural land properties that are difficult to drive through or navigate, and there are areas whose quality is rated below 25 points: these will be properties where engaging in traditional agriculture would be unprofitable and cumbersome. We have the “Horizon 220 Magic” project, the idea of which is “turning marginal area burdens into opportunities” – how to use land areas that many consider unusable. The project is led by Greek colleagues and involves 26 countries. We are looking at how willows, poplars and aspens (willow family) have grown, we also pay a little attention to alders, how they grow in areas that I described earlier, for example, if the soil is unstable or stony.

Have you ever met people who grow willows in small areas, but – imported – from Scandinavia?

Yes, and they are doing well – I think, those who have done everything as they should! The limiting factor – there are currently too few harvesting machines in Latvia! Therefore, willows are not always managed to be harvested in time, because spring comes quickly. There are few willow plantations established on good agricultural land. There are such, but few. There are large farmers who have planted fast-growing willows where, for various reasons, they cannot sow and harvest grain in time – with the thought – the land will produce, willows will be harvested in winter. There are investment companies that have planted areas with willows, but for them, it is more considered a “buffer project” because their core activity is woodchip supply. So to speak – if you cannot go into the forest, but there is a lack of woodchips, you take them from the field! There are people who have bought agricultural land in Latvia – there is a term in English – low agricultural impact – a crop that can be managed non-intensively. In the first two years, you have to work carefully so that the field does not become overgrown with weeds, but, starting from the third year, the crop “copes on its own”. Looking at it as a whole, the results in Latvia are good. If willow growing develops and there is better service, we will have a small, stable industry. Why small? Nowhere, in no country is it large! For example, in Sweden, which we consider a pioneer in this regard, fast-growing woody plants, in years when good subsidies were granted, grew to around 16,000 ha. Willow plantation areas are usually not more than 1-2% of agricultural land, which is relatively little. I would call it a niche industry, which is unlikely to become a mainstream industry in Latvia.

You mentioned bees… There is a large number of willow admirers who move on four legs…

There is a difference: if you plant willows, there will be 10-15 thousand plants per hectare; if you plant aspen or hybrid poplar, there will be 2-3 thousand/ha. Willows are grown as shoots (coppice); if deer or roe deer enter such an area, they like to graze, but will not destroy the stand. It is not necessary to fence off a coppice because, if I may say so, we do not have so many eaters to eat them all at once! Conversely, if poplar or aspen is planted, their number per hectare is smaller, and one solid herd of deer can eat everything or keep the area in a state that would serve not as an energy crop area, but as a food base for hunting management. These “admirers” pay more attention to young pine stands. Protecting young pine stands from damage by deer-family animals is also one of our research areas.

In conclusion, I want to say that in the current version of the LSFRI “Silava” website, there is a section – “Products and services”, where you can find our published electronic information materials, but in the “Research” section, it is possible to find out current and completed research topics, current information on the implementation of research, and download research reports.
(1) http://www.silava.lv/23/section.aspx/View/181
(2) https://cpvo.europa.eu/

(Photographs from Dagnija Lazdiņa's personal archive and from the 2019 Forest Science Day events have been used)