UNHIDE Agroforestry - A Knowledge Exchange Latvia- Sweden 2023-25 - Report - Page 50
Skrīveri demo-trial: forestry on farmland, Latvia
Goat’s-rue (Galega officinalis) under the canopy of grey and black alder.
SKRĪVERI FORESTRY DEMOSTRATION TRIAL
was established in 2011 to test introduced fastgrowing and short-rotation tree species, as well
as perennial crops, with potentially high industrial yield for plantation on agricultural land in an
increasingly warmer climate. The site is managed
collaboratively by the Agricultural Institute of Latvia and the State Forestry Research Institute Silava.
arundinacea), galega (Galega officinalis), largeleaf lupin (Lupinus polyphyllus L.), and festulolium
(Festuca sp.) to produce industrial biomass for
biogas and pellets. Where sowing was not done,
traditional meadow plants have naturally colonized
the area. Mushrooms such as scaber stalks (Leccinum spp.) also appeared naturally after a few
years.
Trees planted here include Norway maple (Acer
platanoides L.), sweet cherry (Prunus avium L. syn.
Cerasus avium Moench), willow (Salix), smallleaved linden (Tilia cordata Mill.), birch (Betula
pendula L.), poplars (Populus spp.), English oak
(Quercus robur L.), black alder (Alnus glutinosa),
grey alder (Alnus incana), hybrids of alders and
aspens (Populus tremula × tremuloides), and some
native hazel bushes (Corylus avellana L.). To control weeds and effectively use the space between
trees, fast-growing grasses and high-energy plants
were sown, such as reed canary grass (Phalaris
The trees in the trial are roughly the same age and
size, planted in rows slightly sparser than typical
Latvian forest plantations. The layout remains repetitive, non-random, and single-layered, resulting in
less habitat and biodiversity compared to natural
forests, food forests, or forest gardens. Part of the
experiment has tested different fertilizers, including wood ash, digestate residues, and municipal
wastewater sludge.
Anders Lindén & Dagnija Lazdina.
Sid 15-16
Dr. Dagnija Lazdina has been involved from the
establishment of the trial to the present. She is the
