Probably, many have noticed green or red marks on the trees in the Nature Park “Piejura” this summer. They were left there by the planners of JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) in cooperation with the LIFE CoHaBit project and the Nature Conservation Agency (DAP) habitat experts due to the planned works in the Nature Park, which will start this fall. It has already been reported that restoration work is needed to increase forest biodiversity and restore habitat quality. For example, most of the pines in the Nature Park are planted in rows, they are never groomed and thinned, so in many places the sticks languish. Without restoration of the habitat, pines will not grow into strong, thick trees with a wide crown on many plots.
The picture shows pine, which needs to shade the crown to increase light conditions and improve the pine growth conditions.
For complete information on the course of the restoration work, on 30th August, at the initiative of the municipality, the management of the Council and agency “Carnikavas Komunālserviss”, the Foundation “Latvian Fund for Nature”, and the Association “Baltic Shores” gathered for a meeting in the Nature Park “Piejūra” to interview habitat experts and planners - both about the work done in the preparations, and about the upcoming works in the Nature Park “Piejura”.
The restoration of the habitat will improve the quality of the wooded seaside dune habitat and make the stand more natural. The amount of light in the ground cover will increase by forming openings (treeless small areas), which will allow various plants and animals to settle there, thus increasing biodiversity.
Photo: wooded dunes, where it is necessary to carry out thinning of the grove to make the grove more natural.
Restoration of the wooded seaside dunes and grey dune habitat in area of 13.10 ha was already performed in a part of the Natural Park “Piejura” – Mangalsala - in the beginning of the year 2019. At the meeting in Carnikava, a representative of the City Development Department of the Riga City Council shared the experience of practical work and first results. Since such restoration works of the biotope of the wooded seaside dunes have practically not been carried out in Latvia, the first results are positive, and similar restoration works can be performed in places along the entire coast.
The trunks covered with red paint mark the boundary of the work plot, on which the thinning of the forest will be carried out. In turn, in the middle of the forest, red-marked trees denote the boundary of groups of ecological trees, which will be completely left in the forest to ensure biodiversity.
In these places, the dry tops of some dry, withered trees will be sawn off and left right there in the ground, reducing the risk of decaying and falling on the visitors of the Natural Park. Corners of the plot are marked with a double red line; both colours are laid on the trunk in places where the boundaries coincide. Polygons, in which an opening or glade will be formed – trees around old, big pines will be cut to increase the amount of light, shade off the old pines and improve their growth conditions, are marked in green. The colour mark on the trees does not mean that all of the marked trees will be felled. The paint on the tree will remain for up to two years, until it will fade. Therefore, you are kindly asked not to touch the paint and not to try to scrape it off.
Restoration work of the wooded dunes takes place within the framework of the project LIFE CoHaBit in cooperation with JSC “Latvia's State Forests”. More information about ecological and landscape necessity to restore the wooded dunes can be found on the site dabasparkspiejura.lv.
