The prolonged rainfall that began back in the spring and has continued for most of the summer poses a significant threat not only to agricultural work, but also affects forestry – limiting silvicultural operations and hindering the healthy growth of forests.

If forest stands are flooded in early spring, when the snow is melting, the stands are not at risk, because the trees are still dormant, but prolonged wetness during the growing, or leafy, season is critical for trees – it considerably increases the risk of pest outbreaks, and forest stands may also die off.

The prolonged rainfall in May, which continued into June and even July, has particularly affected Madonas novads, where May became the second wettest May since 1945. As early as June, flooded birch stands covering several dozen hectares were recorded in the Lubāna wetland area. As the rain has continued, the situation had still not improved at the beginning of August. In this same location, forest stands managed by AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) were also flooded in 2017, when the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle spread considerably in the neighbouring forest areas.

In the LVM Ziemeļlatgale region, the rainfall is also making everyday silvicultural work more difficult – the wet weather since May has affected the work of forest management foremen out in the forest.

Jurijs Jesko, Leading Forest Management Foreman for the LVM Ziemeļlatgale region, explains:

“It has been raining regularly in our region ever since the spring, and daily life is now unimaginable without tall rubber boots – in places the ditches have overflowed and water is washing across the roads. Young stands where the saplings were planted only very recently have been flooded as well. The situation is better in areas where the forest was regenerated by planting the trees on mounds – raised patches of soil.”

The rainfall has also flooded the plantings of selectively bred birch at the LVM Podiņi nursery in Madonas novads, which are needed for the regeneration of both state and privately owned forest areas.

Likewise, in several places in Latvia the weather has made it more difficult to prepare the soil for planting new forest next spring, which creates significant risks for meeting the planned forest regeneration targets.

Kaspars Kristiņš, Head of the LVM Silviculture Production Division:

“The current wet weather conditions are significantly affecting soil preparation work with disc ploughs – in places the machinery sinks into the wet soil, and pulling it out causes downtime and unforeseen additional costs for service providers. Following last week’s rainfall, soil preparation with disc ploughs is currently restricted in almost all regions. We are therefore adapting to the situation by rescheduling work according to the weather conditions in each particular region. In places where the soil is waterlogged, we prepare it by forming mounds with a bucket, which is a more suitable solution in such conditions.”