Ratiboř

Evaluation of this year's activities in municipal forests

It would seem that this year has been relatively quiet in the forest. Thanks to the loss of old spruce stands attractive to bark beetles and the rainy weather, it seemed that it was over, meaning after the bark beetle calamity, but this was far from being the case. The beetle still hadn't run out of breath. It kept us busy all year round, only its destructive activity was not as obvious as in previous years. It was easy to see how intensively the municipal forests were being worked, especially by the disappearance of forest stands devastated by bark beetles, by the timber boundaries around the roads and by the number of passes of the trucks carrying the timber. It was a hustle and bustle... Timber harvesting was a priority for several years and cultivation activities were carried out only in the form of gradual reforestation of clearings and the necessary care of newly planted trees. In the municipal forests, there is now a period when logging is slowing down and the work associated with establishing and growing new forest stands is increasing. And this planting work is not so visible anymore, but it is all the more laborious. And there have already been...

The bulk of the timber harvesting was done in the first quarter of this year. We didn't wait for the remnants of the old spruce forest in some of the affected areas to fall victim to bark beetles; as in previous years, they had already begun to be uprooted and broken by biting winds during the winter, and with the consent of the state administration, we proceeded to remove them. As this was one of the last harvests for the next few years, from which good quality, strong spruce timber could be selected, the municipality had some of this wood cut for its own use for stock and also for the construction of a pavilion in the hunting lodge in Červeny. For the rest of the year, we only had to worry about old bark beetle droughts. The most troubles with such logging were in the area above the football field and in the part of the property below the grove in Nivka. This summer's rainy weather made it very difficult to get the timber closer and the work was incredibly protracted. Moreover, you can see for yourself that the area above the playground is still not finished.

The positive thing about this year was at least that timber of any quality was easily available on the market, but the prices of timber did not go up too much.

As I have already mentioned, the municipal forests are entering a period where they will be dominated by cultivation for many years. This year we have finally found time to do some of the work that we had to postpone due to the bark beetle problems, or that we had no idea of doing due to many other concerns.

We started in the winter at Zadní Dvorce, in the place where the harvester had got stuck during the logging in the previous years. In the depression left by this trapping, water suddenly started to break through to the surface. We have taken advantage of this and two pools have now been created on the site, which may be used in the future for breeding amphibians or as watering or watering holes for game.

An unpleasant event befell the municipal forests and the forests of neighbouring private owners in March, when four days after the burning of the slash had finished, the wind caused the fire to start, jump into the dry grassland and start a forest fire that destroyed the young, mostly spruce trees. This happened in Červeny, in the locality of V Uvezené. The damage was repaired during the year by reforestation and the owners of the damaged forests were compensated through the insurance company.

Although this year's rainfall was very favourable, the rainfall came too late for spring reforestation. The rains started when we were almost finished with reforestation, so we were actually planting in dry ground all the time, and the losses to reforestation are high in the groves we started planting first. The whole spring afforestation this year was a hectic affair, especially at the beginning, which coincided with the time when the coronavirus measures were coming into force. The situation changed from day to day, either it looked like there would be no seedlings because the nursery was threatened with quarantine, then it almost happened that there were no people to plant because of the quarantine, but we had already imported seedlings, and so on... but somehow we managed in the end. The annual volume of reforestation of the new groves reached about 9 ha, of which broadleaves and firs accounted for about 2/3 of the area and 1/3 was spruce, pine and larch. Of the deciduous species, we planted beech and oak, and a small amount of alder.

We have been promised a subsidy from the State Agricultural Intervention Fund (SIF) for the construction of fences to protect young deciduous and fir stands against deer browsing. The original intention was to build 4 kilometres of such fencing, but after weighing up the realistic possibilities, i.e. in particular the provision of the necessary quantity of seedlings and reforestation workers, we have finally applied for only 3.1 kilometres for this year. This subsidy will cover almost 100% of the cost of such fencing. The fencing is already in place at this time. You will come across them on your nature walks, especially in the Dvorce area, and you will certainly not miss them. They are not small structures, the largest of them is almost 4 hectares. In total, almost 10 hectares of fencing have been built in the municipal forests in the last two years, and the reason is clearly economic. If we did not have freshly planted deciduous and fir plantations fenced, we would have to treat them two or three times a year against deer biting. The cost of one coating of deciduous crops, including the repellent used, is close to CZK 10 000 per hectare, so without fencing the total amount spent by the municipality on protecting the crops against wildlife could easily reach CZK 200 000 - 300 000 per year (10 ha × 2-3 coatings × CZK 10 000). It should also be borne in mind that, although approved and authorised chemical plant protection products are used in the treatment of deer, their consumption in this particular case alone would amount to 1-1,5 tonnes on the municipality's property. Yes, we would be forced to apply more than one tonne of foreign substances per year to the woodland, and this amount would increase over the next few years, as we still do not have all the woodlands reforested. That is why we have responded to the next subsidy call from the Agricultural Fund for Agriculture and Rural Development and have submitted an application for another 1.1 km of fencing for 2021.

Many of you will not like the idea of fencing such large areas of forest, as they represent a major restriction on movement, but it is one of the easiest ways to manage economically the care of such a large number of wooded clearings. It is not only the cost savings associated with protection against wildlife that are important, but also another important point, namely the reduction in the time it takes for young woodland to mature. The cost of harvesting one hectare of broadleaf crop is also close to CZK 10 000. If it were possible to shorten the time for which fencerows have to be cut by a single year, this would represent a saving of another CZK 200 000 for the municipal coffers.

And the money will be needed. Especially for the education of young forest stands, for pruning and thinning. The municipality must carry out at least 90 hectares of thinning and pruning during the ten years of the Forest Management Plan (FMP). This is a binding indicator that we must meet. Of the ten-year period of the LHP, we have almost three years under our belt, and to date we have only completed 8 hectares. The delay in carrying out these planting interventions is due to the bark beetle calamity, but we will have to make up for this delay. The state does provide a subsidy for this activity, but this currently covers only about 1/3 of the actual costs, the rest we have to pay ourselves from our own resources.

So far this year, we have received subsidies for afforestation with deciduous trees, for the approximation of timber with horses, for the approximation of timber with an export kit, for pruning in young forest stands and for the mitigation of the effects of the bark beetle calamity in the total amount of CZK 2 188 273. We will apply for further subsidies before the end of the year.

The issue of forestry subsidies is beyond the scope of this contribution. However, in most cases, the granting of subsidies is conditional on something. For example, proper care of the planted trees, reforestation of calamity groves within the time limit set by legislation, etc. We will have to draw on subsidies in the future, so we cannot slacken in our efforts to grow a new generation of forest.

Acquisition of forestry equipment

For more than two years we have been using a new tractor (Zetor Proxima 90) with a balancer to manage the municipal forests. Now there is an opportunity to expand the tractor equipment. We took advantage of the support of the Support and Guarantee Forestry Fund established by the Ministry of Agriculture (PGRLF). This fund announced a subsidy for the purchase of forestry equipment. We decided to purchase a new two-wheeled siding with a capacity of 5 tonnes to go with the tractor. In addition, a hook container carrier so that we can handle the containers that the municipality owns within the collection yard. The fund was also used to purchase a 4x4 forestry special to bring seedlings and reforestation material to hard-to-reach areas, to deliver material for tree dripping and fencing. We also intend to use the forest special for the maintenance of green areas within the municipality.

The total cost of the purchase is CZK 1 453 440 including VAT. Our application has been supported by the PGRLF and we have received a subsidy of 50% of the total amount for the required equipment. The action will be implemented after the completion of the administration by the fund during the spring months of 2021.

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Update January 2021