NordForsk agreement No. NordForsk/2026/2
The project partners are University of Tartu (leading partner), Latvian State Forest Research Institute 'Silava', Natural Resources Institute Finland, and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Within the framework of the study, we will analyze how seasonal water availability affects tree growth dynamics, water quality, and biodiversity in drained hemiboreal forests, and whether simple, cost-effective solutions (overflow weirs, adjustable dams) can mitigate the negative impacts of drought. Adaptive drainage management has already been successfully applied in agricultural lands, but its potential in forest ecosystems remains unexplored. By retaining water in forests during dry periods, these measures have the potential to reduce drought-induced stress on trees, improve their growth, and enhance water quality and biodiversity indicators. Fieldwork to assess the effectiveness of such structures will be carried out in Latvia and Estonia, with environmental parameter measurements involving researchers from Estonia, Finland, Sweden, and Latvia.
The main activities of the study:
- Hydrological modelling to identify risk areas;
- Field studies (water regime, dynamics of water chemical composition, tree physiological indicators, primary production in aquatic ecosystems, diversity of aquatic invertebrates and amphibians, biomass of aquatic insects);
- Development of recommendations for implementing climate-smart solutions in forestry in the Nordic and Baltic countries.
