This year's forest planting season, in course of which the State Forest Management Centre (RMK) added 19.3 million trees – 800,000 more than last year – to the state forests, has come to a close.

Most reforestation works are completed in the spring; however, for the fourth year in a row, RMK is also planting spruces in September and October.

“Prolongation of the planting period allows us to better organize our operations and also provide work to planters in the autumn,” said Rainer Laigu, Chief Specialist of Forest Management at RMK.

“The trees planted in previous autumns have grown nicely. Today, a four-year old spruce is approximately 80 centimeters in height, and in order to improve its growing conditions, foresters have cleared its surroundings of grass and brush three times already, to ensure that the tiny tree receives sufficient light and food,” he added.

This autumn, RMK planted 800,000 spruces in forest under its care, mainly in Lääne-Viru, Järva and Jõgeva counties. In spring, a total of 18.5 million trees were planted. Out of the counties, the largest number, 3.7 million trees, were planted in Ida-Viru County.

Altogether, RMK is renewing more than 10,000 hectares of forests this year; with one-fifth being left to the process of natural reforestation. There, nature itself is able to renew the clear cut area with the most suitable species of trees – mostly birchwoods, aspen woods and common alder. The plants required for the renewal of the state forest are grown by RMK in eight nurseries across Estonia.