By planting almost 30 million new trees across an area of 13,500 hectares, AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) has brought this year's spring forest regeneration season to a close. Thanks to favourable weather, the planting work proceeded briskly and the service providers carried it out to a high standard. In total, 19,300 hectares of forest are due to be regenerated this year through planting, sowing and natural regeneration.

Lauris Ropājs, Head of Silviculture Operations at LVM, explains:

“We began planting at the end of March and completed the planned forest regeneration work over the following 11 weeks. Admittedly, as in agriculture, forestry work is also affected by the weather: while last year planting had to be halted for a few weeks because of unexpected cold, this spring the challenge came from prolonged rain. Even so, the planned work has been done, thanks to the professional support of our service providers.”

Most planting in Kurzeme

This spring 29.3 million seedlings were planted in the territory managed by LVM, with an increase in forest regeneration using birch and black alder seedlings. Planted in the forest were 16.8 million pine, 8.5 million spruce, 3.2 million birch, 700,000 black alder and 30,000 oak seedlings.

This year the largest planting volumes were in the Dienvidkurzeme region, where 2,500 hectares of forest were regenerated by planting, and in the Ziemeļkurzeme region with almost 2,000 hectares. Regeneration volumes in the other six LVM regions were smaller.

Sowing and planting

LVM uses several methods of forest regeneration. This spring 13,500 hectares of forest were regenerated using the most widespread methods – planting by hand and mechanised sowing. A further 4,700 hectares will be regenerated naturally this year, while 1,100 hectares of forest will be regenerated by mechanised planting.

Edgars, a long-standing provider of silviculture services to LVM, shares his experience:

“In small towns, job opportunities are what they are. But I really like working in the forest – the pay is good, because I am paid for what I get done, and I don't have to travel far from home. This year will be my eighth planting forests, and if you do the sums, over those years I have already planted a million seedlings. I have even carried out young stand tending in the first young stand I planted. It is a pleasure to see that the trees have grown five, even six times taller than me. A forest grows very fast if it is tended properly. The spring planting season is over, but the work does not stop. Now I will start pre-commercial weeding, then move on to seedling protection work and young stand tending. And so it goes every year.”