24 million plants to be planted in state forests this year 18.04

“Forest managers were looking forward to the melting of the snow so that they could finally commence their work. By 2020 we had already started planting in March and we had a million plants planted by the middle of last year’s April, this year we have only now started planting and only in certain places,” the Head of the State Forest Management Centre’s Silviculture Division Toomas Väält notes, referring to the late spring.

Head of the State Forest Management Centre’s Silviculture Division Toomas Väät shows how potted spruces are planted. Photo: Anna Markova

RMK mainly plants pine trees and spruces (10.62 and 10.55 million plants accordingly), also birches and alders (a total of 2.5 million plants). All plants have been grown in RMK’s Plant Management Departments.

Additionally, RMK plans to plant a new forest in places where it did not exist before – a total of 430 hectares grasslands and shrubs of low value will be afforested.

“Since the planting period has been extended due to the cold spring, we are in a complicated situation. If we have 2-3 weeks less time to plant, we need to work harder, but I am sure we will manage with the help of our employees and partners,” Väät notes.

In addition to the RMK employees, the planting season provides work for an additional 1700 individuals. Necessary workers have already been contracted – a third of them are RMK’s logging workers and the rest (over 120 of them) are contractual partners found through national procurements. Manual planters will also be assisted by four planters this season and hopefully there will be even more planters in the future.

RMK will also continue planting the forest in the autumn with 1.37 million spruces and 780,000 pine trees. The autumn planting gives good results and minimises the work load in the spring. Planting potted pine trees on the sandy growing areas provides the advantage that the plant is ready to go in the spring and the risk that comes with late planting is minimised because the ground is still humid. Moreover, prior to planting, the pine trees are sprayed with animal repellent, which helps to significantly save resources.

Most of the renewed land – 9500 hectares of it – will become a new home for plants. Around 1800 hectares or 20% of renewable land will be left to renew naturally, since this area has the potential to grow the same species of trees as manually renewable land, mainly broad-leaved trees.

RMK will invest 22 million euros into silviculture in 2022, out of which 11.7 million euros goes to forest renovation works and the remainder to silvicultural works such as maintaining the forest renovations, thicket tending and forest protection work.

This year, RMK will organise the first Forest Day in several years for anyone interested in planting trees on 13 May in Harju County, Rapla County or Tartu County. You can find more information about the Forest Day on RMK’s website https://www.rmk.ee/metsapaev/tule-istutama.

“Come with your friends or family to the RMK Forest Day and help little trees get their feet into the soil! The best appreciation for the work of foresters is the plants that have grown in the short term and a beautiful young forest, but in the long run, the praise and gratitude from the future generations from even a hundred years later who used this forest, ”said Väät.

Further information:
Toomas Väät
Head of the State Forest Management Centre’s Silviculture Division
toomas.vaat@rmk.ee
+372 5205 734

Sille Ader
Head of the Communications Department at RMK
sille.ader@rmk.ee
+372 5666 5896