International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

Agroforestry has the potential to provide a broad range of ecosystem services including maintenance and improvement of soil and water quality. Nevertheless, there is a lack of supporting policies both at national and at European level. Moreover, although tree cover density on agricultural land is surprisingly high in the Baltic States, agroforestry is seldom immediately associated with boreal and hemiboreal regions. Two agroforestry systems corresponding best to the farming traditions in Latvia are short rotation coppices grown on agricultural land and silvopastoral systems. In Latvia, the first experimental area of agroforestry systems of fast growing tree species (Populus spp., Salix spp. etc.) and legumes or perennial grasses was established in 2011. To promote the implementation of bioeconomy principles, municipal waste (wastewater sludge) and renewable energy by-products (wood ash and digestate) were applied as fertilizers to promote increase of yield. Within the study, not only benefits of agroforestry systems were evaluated but also ecological risks associated with the application of fertilizers.

More than a half of Latvia’s territory is covered with forests, and forest sector is important for the national economy. Despite the high economic importance of timber resources, forest utilization in Latvia is moderately intensive, as long rotation cycle (70-100 years for most widespread tree species) is used and strict environmental regulations are in force. Meanwhile, due to the climate change and growing demand for renewable resources, intensification of forest management is ongoing and expected to continue. Studies on the interactions between forest, soil and water are of high importance to ensure sustainably intensified forestry. Forest felling, transportation of logs, collection of slash, stump extraction, drainage system establishment and maintenance, forest road construction, beaver population management, use of water protection structures and riparian bufferzones are apparent components of forestry that may exacerbate, change or improve quality of water, soil and stands, and as such, require research and practical application of relevant protection measures.