Leader: Ieva Līcīte
Start date: 01.08.2019
End date: 31.08.2024

LIFE Climate Change Action and State Regional Development Agency of the Republic of Latvia 
grant agreement No. LIFE18 CCM/LV/001158
Logo Life OrgBalt

Project partners are LSFRI "Silava" (coordinating beneficiary, contact person Ieva Līcīte), Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry, Luke (Finland), Tartu University (Estonia), NGO Baltic Coasts (Latvia), Latvia University of Life Science and Technologies, Ministry of Agriculture of Republic of Latvia and Michael Succow Foundation (Germany).

The primary aim of the LIFE OrgBalt project is implementation of climate-change mitigation measures in management of nutrient-rich organic soils in cool temperate moist climate region to contribute to the EU and national climate targets in post-2020 commitment period by reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from organic soils in cropland, grassland and forest land.

The main outputs of the project are climate change mitigation methods for nutrient-rich organic soils in farmlands and forest lands supplemented with demonstration sites; reduced GHG emissions; improved GHG emission factors for nutrient-rich organic soils and GHG inventory procedures for the Baltic region, GHG emission data base for the Baltic region, guidelines for climate-smart management of organic soils, planning tools, policy tools, stakeholder targeted dissemination, scientific and popular publications.


LIFE OrgBalt website

Project staff

Andis Bārdulis
Aldis Butlers
Ieva Ivbule
Normunds Jēgers
Edgars Jūrmalis
Linards Ludis Krumšteds
Ieva Līcīte
Elvijs Medvedkins
Raitis Normunds Meļņiks
Guntis Saule
Georgijs Saveļjevs

Publications

Ivanovs J., Haberl A., Melniks R. 2024. Land, 13(4), 466
Modeling Geospatial Distribution of Peat Layer Thickness Using Machine Learning and Aerial Laser Scanning Data
DOI: 10.3390/land13040466
Petaja G., Ivbule I., Zvaigzne Z.A., Purviņa D., Upenieks E.M., Līcīte I., Lazdiņš A. 2024. Environments, 11(4), 73
Organic Carbon Stock in Mineral Soils in Cropland and Grassland in Latvia
DOI: 10.3390/environments11040073
Lazdiņš A., Lupiķis A., Polmanis K., Bārdule A., Butlers A., Kalēja S. 2024. Silva Fennica, 58(1), 22017
Carbon stock changes of drained nutrient-rich organic forest soils in Latvia
DOI: 10.14214/sf.22017
Vigricas E., Čiuldienė D., Armolaitis K., Valujeva K., Laiho R., Jauhiainen J., Schindler T., Bārdule A., Lazdiņš A., Butlers A., Kazanavičiūtė V., Belova O., Kamil-Sardar M., Soosaar K. 2024. Plants, 13(1), 139
Total Soil CO2 Efflux from Drained Terric Histosols
DOI: 10.3390/plants13010139
Meļņiks R.N., Bārdule A., Butlers A., Champion J., Kalēja S., Skranda I., Petaja G., Lazdiņš A. 2023. Land, 12(12), 2153
Carbon Losses from Topsoil in Abandoned Peat Extraction Sites Due to Ground Subsidence and Erosion
DOI: 10.3390/land12122153
Dubra S., Samariks V., Līcīte I., Butlers A., Purviņa D., Lupiķis A., Jansons Ā. 2023. Sustainability, 15(24), 16622
Effects of Drainage on Carbon Stock in Hemiboreal Forests: Insights from a 54-Year Study
DOI: 10.3390/su152416622
Rancāne S., Līcīte I., Zuševica A. et al. 2023. Zemdirbyste, 110(3), 195-206
Biomass of alternative species for traditional cereal crops in Latvia and their potential impact on the carbon cycle
DOI: 10.13080/z-a.2023.110.023
Bārdule A., Polmanis K., Krumšteds L.L., Bārdulis A., Lazdiņš A. 2023. iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, 16(3), 165-173
Fine root morphological traits and production in coniferous- and deciduous-tree forests with drained and naturally wet nutrient-rich organic soils in hemiboreal Latvia
DOI: 10.3832/ifor4186-016
Zvaigzne Z.A., Butlers A. 2023. Proceedings of International Scientific Conference "Engineering for Rural Development 2023", Latvia, 24-26 May, 2023, 461-466
Application of fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy for quantification of chemical parameters in peat samples
DOI: 10.22616/ERDev.2023.22.TF097
Bārdule A., Butlers A., Spalva G., Ivanovs J., Meļņiks R.N., Līcīte I., Lazdiņš A. 2023. Water, 15(10), 1954
The Surface-to-Atmosphere GHG Fluxes in Rewetted and Permanently Flooded Former Peat Extraction Areas Compared to Pristine Peatland in Hemiboreal Latvia
DOI: 10.3390/w15101954
Samariks V., Lazdiņš A., Bārdule A., Kalēja S., Butlers A., Spalva G., Jansons Ā. 2023. Forests, 14(2), 184
Impact of Former Peat Extraction Field Afforestation on Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Hemiboreal Region
DOI: 10.3390/f14020184
Licite I., Popluga D. 2022. International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Surveying Geology and Mining Ecology Management, SGEM 2022, 22(4.2), 303-310, ISBN 978-619-7603-50-7
Identification of the Climate Change Mitigation Targeted Management Practices for Organic Soil Management in the Baltic Region
DOI: 10.5593/sgem2022V/4.2/s19.38
Līcīte I., Popluga D., Rivža P., Lazdiņš A., Meļņiks R. 2022. Civil Engineering Journal (Iran), 8(10), 2290-2304
Nutrient-Rich Organic Soil Management Patterns in Light of Climate Change Policy
DOI: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-10-017
Licite I., Popluga D. 2022. Proceedings of 22nd International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2022, 22(5.1), 793
The Mapping of Climate and Agricultural Policies Targeting Organic Soil Management: Case Study from Latvia
DOI: 10.5593/sgem2022/5.1/s23.099
Bārdule A., Butlers A., Lazdiņš A., Līcīte I., Zvirbulis U., Putniņš R., Jansons A., Adamovičs A., Razma Ģ. 2021. Forests, 12(7), 840
Evaluation of Soil Organic Layers Thickness and Soil Organic Carbon Stock in Hemiboreal Forests in Latvia
DOI: 10.3390/f12070840
Skrastiņa E., Straupe I., Lazdiņš A. 2021. Proceedings of 27th International Scientific Conference "Research for Rural Development 2021", 36, 63-69
Afforestation of abandoned peat extraction sites with Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) as a solution of climate change mitigation
DOI: 10.22616/rrd.27.2021.009
Melniks R., Ivanovs J., Lazdins A. 2020. Proceedings of 19th International Scientific Conference "Engineering for Rural Development", 19, 1706-1711
Identification of possible ditch culvert locations using LIDAR data
DOI: 10.22616/ERDev.2020.19.TF439
Licite I., Lupikis A. 2020. Proceedings of 19th International Scientific Conference "Engineering for Rural Development", 19, 1823-1830
Impact of land use practices on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture land on organic soils
DOI: 10.22616/ERDev.2020.19.TF492
Ivanovs J., Stals T., Kaleja S. 2020. Proceedings 26th Annual International Scientific Conference "Research for Rural Development 2020", 35, 248-251
Impact of the use of existing ditch vector data on soil moisture predictions
DOI: 10.22616/rrd.26.2020.036