JSC “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) is launching experience exchange activities between major forest managers, focusing cooperation on nature conservation both in terms of planning and in solutions for the improvement and restoration of specific protected species habitats and habitats of European Union importance.

Over the next six years, as part of the EU-co-funded LIFE-IP “LatViaNature” project, LVM will test innovative and cost-effective methods for improving the state of forest habitats of European Union (EU) importance across a total area of 100 hectares. To improve knowledge of methodological solutions, industry professionals from LVM and SIA “Rīgas meži” met at an experience exchange seminar on 30 November.

Both companies manage territories where a rare forest habitat on a European scale is found – wooded coastal dunes. Therefore, during the seminar, participants visited the “Piejūra” Nature Park, a specially protected Natura 2000 nature area managed by LVM, where in 2019 LVM carried out extensive work to diversify wooded coastal dunes over a total area of 141 hectares, as well as forests managed by “Rīgas meži” in the vicinity of Baltezers, where biotechnological measures have also recently been carried out to improve the state of this habitat.

Latvia is one of the few countries in the European Union where natural, forest-covered dunes are found. Due to the high volume of wooded coastal dunes, Latvia provides the core protection for this habitat in the EU, making their maintenance particularly essential. Wooded coastal dunes form a typical coastal landscape in Latvia and provide the dry growing conditions characteristic of pine forests.

In the past, excessive use of dune forests led to the resumption of large-scale dune movement; therefore, in both the 19th and early 20th centuries, dunes were purposefully planted by sowing or planting Scots pine in close rows. The current territory of the “Piejūra” Nature Park also contains pines purposefully planted approximately 70–100 years ago. “Before the work began, the selected areas of the “Piejūra” Nature Park lacked deadwood; the large, twisted pines partially buried in sand had become overgrown with a dense, homogeneous cover of younger pines, the forest floor was covered by a thick layer of moss, and there were no open sandy areas. Therefore, the trees were thinned and sunlit openings were purposefully created. The nature park is a very popular recreation area, so communication with both local residents and holidaymakers was equally important to explain the necessity of the work performed,” says Vilmārs Katkovskis, Forest Management Planning Manager of the LVM Western Vidzeme region.

In Riga and the surrounding Pierīga region, wooded coastal dunes are very widespread – it could be said that Riga was built on coastal dunes – so representatives of “Rīgas meži” also shared their experience in managing them, discussing the zoning application used by the company and good practices in communicating with the public.

“Almost half of Latvia's population lives in Riga and the Pierīga region, and naturally, forests in these areas are widely used for recreation. Furthermore, a large proportion of people live very close to the forest, so in planning the work, all interests must be reconciled, and the work being carried out must be explained in greater detail. Many EU-importance and specially protected forest habitats are concentrated in the Riga area, which means that management methods must be adapted to preserve various values. Therefore, we have developed a special zoning principle: areas with high nature value, high recreation value, and areas with lower nature and lower recreation value,” says Jānis Ģērmanis, Member of the Board of “Rīgas meži”.