Aug 13, 2024
Current weather favours autumn forest planting
Eesti Metsameister’s subsidiaries, which focus on growing new generations of forest, have been active in 2024, carrying out reforestation work in 13 Estonian counties in the spring season alone. Merli Lehis, reforestation specialist at Eesti Metsameistri Metsahaldus, shared the results of the spring work:
“This season’s work took place in 13 Estonian counties: Ida-Viru and Lääne-Viru, Järva, Harju, Rapla, Lääne, Pärnu, Viljandi, Jõgeva, Tartu, Valga, Põlva and Võru. In total, about 180 hectares were planted, and just under 1 million young trees started growing in the forests.”
Despite the success of the spring season, we are paying particular attention to the autumn planting season, which is increasingly favoured by changing weather conditions.
Changing weather and the advantages of autumn planting
In recent years, Estonians planting forests have been troubled by dry and hot spring weather. Where summer warmth used to arrive around Midsummer, intense sunshine is now already here in early May. Unfortunately, this often causes sunburn and excessive drying in plants planted in spring, so the young trees fail to establish.
The changing weather has led more and more forest owners to consider planting in autumn. “The cooler and moister conditions of autumn are more favourable for many tree species, especially bare-root plants, which are more sensitive to dry soil,” explains Lehis.
An autumn planting period supported by the weather gives trees better conditions for rooting, which means they are well prepared for the next growing season.
Popular tree species
In recent years, birch has become one of the most popular tree species both in Estonia and among our southern neighbours, in both the spring and autumn planting periods. Its growing popularity has been largely driven by innovative carbon projects and the afforestation of grasslands, for which birch is well suited thanks to its height and fast growth.
“Birch is also a very good alternative when a previous spruce stand has been hit by disease. This spring season, birch was so popular that the taller plants were sold out even before the sales period began. At the moment, there is no sign of its popularity declining,” said Lehis. “It is worth reserving the plants needed for the 2024 autumn season and the 2025 spring season well in advance.”
In addition, the share of pine plants being planted has grown, and the planting of spruce has fallen accordingly.
Preparing for the autumn season
For us, the autumn season starts much earlier than September. In the summer months before autumn, we inspect the spring planting work to get an overview of problematic sites. If we find a site where plants have died for various reasons and it no longer meets the minimum number of plants per hectare required by the forest management rules, we strongly recommend that the customer fills in the plantation.
Early detection allows the forest owner to order the corrective work for the autumn season, making it possible to take advantage of the favourable weather conditions of the autumn period. Young forests should also be inspected to see whether plantation maintenance is needed.
“If you still plan to regenerate the forest in spring, it is worth doing the soil preparation in autumn. The ground can settle, and in spring you can plant as soon as the weather allows. The second half of summer and September is the right time to carry out soil scarification for both autumn and spring reforestation,” advises Lehis.
Thorough preparation ensures quality work
We accept orders for autumn planting until mid-August, so that we can complete all soil preparation work in time and plan the logistics of our teams.
We would like to thank all our partners. “Over the years, we have found high-quality, reliable partners for our reforestation seasons who know what sustainable establishment of new forest generations means! Without their dedication and professionalism, it would not be possible to achieve results like these,” emphasises Merli Lehis.
Eesti Metsameister is accepting orders for complete services with soil preparation for the autumn season only until 15 August, so anyone interested should act quickly.
The planting service can still be ordered until mid-September, and home-grown birch, spruce and pine plants until the end of the season!
