In mid-March, “Rīgas meži” plans to commence forest maintenance work near Langstiņi (“Rīgas meži” Gauja forestry, Krievupe district, Garkalne parish, Ropaži municipality).
Purpose of the work: preservation of natural values, opportunities for mushroom and berry picking, development and improvement of recreational opportunities, shaping the forest landscape and thinning the existing forest stand. To promote forest regeneration and provide sunlight for the next generation of trees, openings will be created.
Planned timing of the work: Spring 2023 (from mid-March).
Area of the work: 57 ha.
Planned sequence of work: preparation of forest roads according to transport needs, felling of trees, removal of timber, partial collection and removal of branches, and restoration of road infrastructure. The work may take place simultaneously or may be temporarily suspended due to unsuitable weather conditions.
The work will be carried out in accordance with regulatory enactments and the company’s “Forest Management Plan” (FMP), in which greater emphasis is placed on biologically valuable areas, nature and recreation areas, and in which areas for forestry work have been reduced.
Furthermore, forest maintenance will be carried out in accordance with the landscape-ecological plan and the territory design plan created for this massif. When carrying out the work, the principles of responsible and sustainable forest management, as determined by the international certificates awarded to “Rīgas meži”, will be observed.
The forest massif near Langstiņi is special because it contains a relatively large number of biologically valuable forest compartments where forest maintenance will not be carried out. This area is popular with nature enthusiasts for both active and quiet recreation, as well as for berry and mushroom picking. There are particularly valuable old, large-dimension trees, as well as hollow and ecological trees, which will be given special attention during maintenance work, including the creation of a protective “space” around them.
Before the forest maintenance work began, a functional zoning was created specifically for this territory – biologically valuable areas, their buffer zones, and landscape-valuable areas. The zoning of the landscape design plan highlights landscape elements and takes into account forest values, adjacent buffer zones, and recreational opportunities.
In accordance with the developed plans, two types of felling are intended here:
selection felling: trees are evenly thinned or openings are created to provide better conditions and more light for young trees so that they form a healthy stand in the future (the basal area (density) of the forest stand is not reduced so that it becomes less than the critical basal area (density) multiplied by a factor of 1.5),
thinning felling: to promote tree growth and improve the composition and health of the forest stand, unsuitable or obstructive trees are removed (to improve the composition of the forest stand and the growing conditions of the remaining trees, where the basal area (density) of the forest stand is not reduced to below the minimum basal area).
Before starting forest harvesting, “Rīgas meži” is introducing the public to the planned work and the functional zoning of the forest stands:
Biologically valuable area: the purpose of the work is to protect and preserve the specific area, which has high biological value and contains natural forest and mire habitats. Therefore, in accordance with the FMP and the findings of habitat experts, restrictions and prohibitions on economic activities have been set here – tree felling will only be carried out in cases where it is necessary for infrastructure maintenance, with prior coordination with a nature conservation specialist.
Buffer zone area for biologically valuable compartments: the purpose of the work is to preserve a protective zone around the biologically valuable area compartments. This zone is created in areas with a concentration of natural forest habitats, where the felling design is evaluated and recommendations for the preservation of natural values are provided by a nature conservation specialist.
This area is intended to avoid degrading the value of the biologically valuable compartments.
Landscape-valuable or recreational area: this area plays a significant role in terms of non-timber forest values – this territory contains landscape-significant places and is popular for recreation, berry picking and mushroom picking. Therefore, the purpose of the work is to preserve these non-timber values in the long term.
In this territory, forest harvesting work will be more gentle. To promote better natural regeneration of pine and ensure the natural succession of the forest stand in the long term, irregular and regular-shaped openings will be created here through selection felling. Meanwhile, thinning felling is planned to ensure optimal growing conditions for the strongest trees – more light and space to develop a stronger forest stand that is resistant to external environmental and biological factors (windfall, snow damage, pests).
During the work, please observe safety requirements, movement restrictions and do not approach the area where machinery is operating!