FORESTS OF LATVIA

Hokitika Guardian, 27 April 1922, Page 4

FORESTS OF LATVIA

Considering the long felling period and the resulting normal yearly output. all fears as to a would-be ruinous utilisation of Latvian forests are with-. out laudation. It is a fact- that excessive exploitation took place during the war; and last year, owing to transport j difficulties and extremely high requirements by local inhabitants and the. State, the felling norm was surpassed in several forests situated near the transport ways, hut on the other hand, there are forests which have remained untouched for seven years. The principal stocks have thus remained undimin-i.-hed. ,According to the Latvian l‘.c liomist the whole area ol Latvian State forests is 1.626,942 hectares, of which 1,206,182 hectares are conifer forests ami the rest leaf-forests. The prevailing trees are pines and 28 per cent, of the pine-forests are more than 80 years old, 7-1 per cent, being young or of medium age. Leaf forests consist of biieh, poplar, ash, oak, alder etc. Forte per cent, of these forests are more than 40 years'('ld. Up till now, about 214,000 hectares of forests devastated during the war have remained unrestered Communal and private forests form only a small part of the total area of Latvian forests, covering a surface equal to 16 per cent of all the State forests. The largest area in forests is in Courlatul, where the large woods of Ugaie-l’ilteiic-Kuhliga, T'urkalno-Fialve. and Orubin-Liiknn-Nion are situated, and they represent 60 per cent of the whole area of Latvian lorests. In the second place comes Livonia with 29 per cent., and in the third, l.atgalia with 21 per cent. Concerning the value of Latvian I crests. tiny may lie divided into three priiicd",l groups; the first group with n,u urea of about 600.000 hectares, involving the greatest part of the former State and the best cultivated private forests, which before the war g->ve a, revenue of 7J rids, per hectare-; the second group, with an area as large as the first one, coni! rises a part of the former State and nearly all the former medium private forests with a-pre-war revenue of 5 rbls. per boot ere; the third group includes the devastated forests and those insufficiently cultivated .with a- total area, of 1524,000 hectares, a,ml a pre-war revenue of 2.5 rlils. per hectare. The total yearly revenue before the war reached 6.210.000 gold rlils. The utilisation of forest proceeds is under a settled plan according to which the felling period for conifers is given at 1(10 to 120

years and for leaf-trees 00 to 801 years. This comparatively long felling period determines the yearly scope of forest exploitation. According to cad< illations made by the Datvian Forest Department the yield (luring 10-2 will he 1.89,0/0 cuh.e fnflioms of timber, and 120.053 cubic ; fathoms of firewood from conifers; ! 9.550 cubic fathoms of timber and j 42,400 cubic fathoms of firewood from '■ leaf-forests; and 89,726 cubic fathoms of timber and 42,403 cubic fathoms of i firewood from fallen and broken trees. This makes a total of 238,355 cubic fathoms of timber and 254,403 cubic fathoms of firewood, representing 65,000 standards of sawn wood goods and 20,000 cubic fathoms of pit props and pnlpwood.