At the end of January, SIA “Rīgas meži” will begin previously planned forest maintenance and harvesting operations in the Tīreļu forestry unit near Jaunmārupe. These will be carried out in accordance with an eco-friendly approach – a forest landscape design plan, as well as the company’s “Forest Management Plan” (FMP), placing greater emphasis on the preservation of biologically valuable, natural, and recreational areas, while reducing the areas used for intensive forestry.

Forest harvesting operations will take place in the Mārupe circuit of the Tīreļu forestry unit – in the forest tracts between Loka Road, Jaunmārupe in Mārupe Municipality, and the “Pīļu kalniņš” recreation area in Olaine Municipality (starting from the Pīļu kalniņš side in compartment 20 and continuing on the Jaunmārupe side – in compartment 308).

The forest tracts where operations will take place are distinctive for their relatively high concentration of biologically valuable plots. Consequently, additional caution will be exercised during harvesting, and the work will be carried out with special care. These forest tracts also contain the free-to-use Enduro motorcycle trail created by “Rīgas meži”.

About forest landscape design plans

Creating a forest landscape design plan before forest maintenance work is a relatively new and more eco-friendly approach to forest management in Latvia, which promotes sustainable forest development and the preservation of natural values. “Rīgas meži” is a pioneer in using this approach. Specifically, before work begins, the forest is surveyed, assessed, and divided into zones. Afterwards, each zone is assigned its own type of harvesting and management method to encourage long-term regeneration, ensure the preservation of natural values, and maintain the aesthetic quality of the forest.

To date, forest work has been carried out in this manner in the company’s Rīga forestry unit, for example in the Jugla forest and Bukulti forest, as well as in the Gauja forestry unit, on the Ādaži and Ropaži side.

The harvesting operations in the Tīreļu forestry unit are also special in that the territories in other “Rīgas meži” units for which landscape design plans have been created do not include a cultural-historical territory zone – which is characteristic specifically of the Tīreļu unit. For example, it contains such cultural-historical values as the Christmas Battle sites, the fortification system with the Pluģi redoubt, the Ostwald memorial stone, and other cultural-historical objects.

Objectives of the work:

• preservation of natural values, improvement of forest stand growth conditions, composition, and health status,
• high-quality and consistent forest regeneration and maintenance,
• development of recreational opportunities,
• protection and preservation of cultural-historical objects.

Planned duration: Late January 2024 – December 2024 (excluding bird nesting season: 15 April – 30 June).

Work area and types: 54 ha:

• regeneration felling: is carried out in areas where a high-quality forest stand will be regenerated. Regeneration felling means that within one year of its commencement, the basal area of the forest stand or part thereof is reduced to below the critical basal area,
• selective felling: is carried out to evenly thin the forest in order to improve growth conditions for the remaining trees. To create a high-quality and viable forest, the basal area (density) of the forest stand will not be reduced below the critical basal area (density),
• maintenance felling: is carried out to promote tree growth, improve the composition and health of the forest stand, and remove unsuitable or obstructive trees and shrubs. In the case of maintenance felling, the basal area of the forest stand will not fall below the minimum basal area in order to improve the composition of the stand and the growth conditions for the remaining trees.

Sequence of work:

• preparation of forest roads,
• clearing of undergrowth,
• tree felling,
• extraction of timber,
• collection and removal of branches (in some places, branches may be left in the forest),
• road restoration.

Work may take place simultaneously or may be temporarily suspended due to unsuitable weather conditions.

During the work, please observe safety requirements, movement restrictions, and keep away from machinery.

Before commencing forest harvesting, “Rīgas meži” provides information on the planned work and the functional zoning of the forest stands.

Before forest harvesting work, in order to promote sustainable development of the areas, a four-type functional zoning of forest stands has been established: biologically valuable areas, buffer zone areas for biologically valuable plots, forestry areas, and cultural-historical areas. These zones highlight landscape elements and also take into account forest values and recreational opportunities. When carrying out the work, the principles of responsible and sustainable forest management determined by the international certificates awarded to “Rīgas meži” will be followed.

Biologically valuable area:

• Objective of the work: to protect and preserve areas with high biological value and natural habitats – active raised bogs, degraded raised bogs, swampy forests, and other biologically valuable areas.
• Planned work: in accordance with the FMP and findings from habitat experts, restrictions and prohibitions on economic activity have been set here. Tree felling in this area will only be carried out if necessary for infrastructure maintenance, with prior coordination with nature conservation specialists.

Buffer zone area for biologically valuable plots:

• Objective of the work: to preserve a buffer strip around plots of biologically valuable areas. This strip is created in places where there is a concentration of natural forest habitats, where the felling layout is evaluated and recommendations for preserving natural values are provided by the “Rīgas meži” nature and environmental protection specialist.
• Planned work: taking into account the necessary spatial and seasonal restrictions, regeneration felling may also be planned here. Work in this area will not take place during the bird nesting season.

Forestry area:

• Objective of the work: to carry out economic activities in accordance with the FMP and the forest landscape design plan, ensuring the maintenance of main tree species – pine, spruce, and birch, the regeneration of clearings, as well as the creation of a sustainable forest landscape.
• Planned work: in regeneration felling, existing natural values and additional ecological trees (viable trees of the previous generation or trees with a diameter larger than the average diameter of the dominant tree species in the plot) will be preserved. Ecological trees will be concentrated in one or more groups. In addition to ecological tree groups, individual larger-dimension trees of the dominant stand or individual ecological trees of the previous generation will also be preserved. Likewise, undergrowth of pine, spruce, oak, and lime, as well as juniper and hollow trees, will be preserved.

Cultural-historical area:

• Objective of the work: to protect and preserve culturally and historically significant objects, such as the First World War network of trenches and dugouts. This zone is created in areas with a concentration of cultural-historical objects, where the felling layout is evaluated and recommendations for preserving cultural-historical objects are provided by the “Rīgas meži” nature and environmental protection specialist.
• Planned work: with less intensity and paying special attention to the preservation of cultural-historical values. In these areas, ecological trees will be grouped in the immediate vicinity of the objects to be preserved for cultural-historical reasons, to prevent the risk of damage to the objects as a result of forest work. Similarly, ecological trees will be preserved, under which, as in the entire plot, pine, spruce, oak, and lime undergrowth will also be preserved.