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LVM Carries out Tending of Young Trees Using Forest Machinery

Implementing innovative forest management solutions, in four regions JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) carries out maintenance of young trees with forest machines. In this way, it is planned to cultivate an area of 500 ha of young forest this year.

“Such a technique is not new in the company; we have already carried out maintenance work in this way in small quantities. This year, as the demand for energy wood increased and the labour supply decreased at the same time, we made the decision to tend young stands with specialised machinery. In this way, we can plan resources more effectively – we can perform the work in a limited time and in the desired volume,” says Andris Ivanāns, LVM Planning Manager.

LVM plans to develop and use this type of work more widely in the future as well, educating existing and newly engaged service providers accordingly. The results of mechanized tending will also be evaluated.

The work that is usually done with hand-held power tools – cutting bushes that are not the target species of the forest stand and thinning of the trees of the crown stand – is done by a machine.  The felled trees are placed in piles in the forest stand and are later brought to the energy wood stacker by tractors. Next, it is planned to chip these materials and deliver them to customers.

LVM is entrusted with managing half of the entire forest area of Latvia. This year, in total, it is planned to carry out young stand tending works on an area of 35 000 ha.