With spring weather setting in, JSC “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) has begun forest regeneration work. The first areas to be regenerated by mechanised planting will be done this week in the LVM North Kurzeme region. In total, 19 270 hectares of state forest are due to be regenerated and afforested this year, with more than 29 million top-quality seedlings from LVM tree nurseries planted in the forests.

This year LVM is beginning forest regeneration with mechanised forest planting. Of the more than 19 thousand hectares planned for 2025, forests will be regenerated by mechanised planting across 1113 hectares. To complete this volume of work, 1 252 000 top-quality seedlings grown in LVM tree nurseries will be used. The largest forest area to be regenerated by mechanised planting is in North Kurzeme – 240 hectares. Similar volumes are planned in the Vidusdaugava and East Vidzeme regions – 223 and 220 hectares respectively – with smaller areas in the other LVM regions.

Jānis Kažemaks, Head of Forest Regeneration and Tending at LVM, explains:

“Weather plays a major role in forest regeneration. Before work can begin, we have to wait for the soil to thaw. Throughout the spring planting season, meanwhile, we always hope for changeable weather – it is important that it is not hot, but rather that rain falls at intervals and it stays warm. If a prolonged period of drought and heat follows planting, the newly planted young trees die. Weather that is too cold is not desirable either, because in sharper frosts there is a risk of the seedlings being heaved out of the ground. If, for example, mechanised sowing is carried out in excellent weather, a young pine grown from a tiny seed is visible above ground within a month.”

Forests regenerated by mechanised planting this year will be established with pine (57%) and spruce (43%). Mechanised planting of containerised birch seedlings will also be trialled on a very small scale.

A few days later, forest regeneration will also begin using mechanised sowing and planting with hand tools. Mechanised sowing will likewise be used to regenerate forest in all LVM regions, across a total of 464 hectares. Seed obtained from LVM tree nurseries will be used for sowing. Regenerating one hectare requires 350 grams of pine seed.

Last year LVM regenerated forest by planting and sowing across 14 354 hectares, with a further 5 605 hectares regenerated naturally.