Glossary of terms

Forestry terms explained in plain language.

Calculator figures

Site index (bonitāte): the stand's productivity class, Ia (best) to Va (lowest), set from the dominant species' height and age. It determines the main-cut age and diameter.
Basal area (šķērslaukums): the cross-sectional area of tree stems per hectare (m²/ha) at 1.3 m; describes stand density. Measured on the stand's first storey.Cabinet Reg. No. 384
Total basal area: the sum of the basal areas of all first-storey species in the stand (G). This is the figure the calculator compares against the minimum basal area when deciding whether a thinning is possible.
Form height (veidaugstums): the stem form height used in volume calculation: volume per hectare ≈ basal area × form height.
Growing stock (krāja): timber volume (m³). *Total volume* — all standing timber, without subtracting Gmin. *Cuttable volume* — what may be harvested, respecting the minimum retained basal area (Gmin). In a clear-cut the two are equal.
Gmin (minimum basal area): the basal area that must remain in the stand after a thinning. A thinning is permitted only if the stand's basal area exceeds the minimum, and the cut must not take it below the minimum.Forest Law s. 10; Cabinet Reg. No. 935 annex 1
Stand (nogabals): a homogeneous unit of forest area that calculations are done for. Each row of the calculator table is one stand.
Nature values: forestry restrictions (e.g. microreserves, habitats, protection belts) that require further investigation. The calculator always marks such stands in yellow.
Assortment split: an assumption about how much of the volume becomes sawlog, small log and pulpwood. The public calculation uses a simplified 30/30/40 split; the actual yield depends on stem quality.

Property, documents and procedures

Forest inventory: gathering and documenting information about a forest and its features on a given property. Only a certified specialist with professional indemnity insurance may carry it out. The data must be filed with the State Forest Service (VMD); the inventory must be repeated at least once every 20 years. Without a valid inventory, felling is prohibited (except dead, damaged and windthrown trees under the prescribed procedure).Forest Law s. 1(24), s. 12(4), s. 29
State Forest Register (MVR): the state information system that collects and maintains data on forests, forestry operations carried out in them, forest infrastructure, adjoining bogs, openings and glades. A forest owner is entitled to receive all information about their own property from it. Maintained by VMD.Forest Law s. 1(28), s. 30
Felling permit (apliecinājums): a document issued by VMD confirming that a planned operation is lawful; it counts as the permission to carry it out. Felling may not begin without one.Forest Law s. 1(2), s. 12
When no permit is needed: no permit is required for: felling trees with a stump diameter under 12 cm; tending cuts in young stands up to 20 years of age; felling dead and windthrown trees where the stand's basal area still exceeds the critical basal area (VMD must be notified once a year); and establishing and maintaining boundary lines.Forest Law s. 12(1)
When a permit is refused: VMD will not issue a permit if the planned operation does not comply with the regulations; if the annual forestry report has not been filed; if title has not been registered in the Land Register in the acquirer's name (except for a sanitary cut); or if a fine has not been paid and damage caused to the forest has not been compensated.Forest Law s. 12(2)
Sanitary assessment: a VMD assessment required to fell a stand in a sanitary cut where the basal area of viable trees has fallen below the critical basal area (e.g. after windthrow, bark beetle damage or disease).Forest Law s. 11
Unproductive stand assessment: a VMD assessment declaring a stand unproductive; the basis for a reconstruction cut before the main-cut age is reached.Forest Law s. 43.1; Cabinet Reg. No. 935 ch. VII
Annual forestry report: the owner's or lawful possessor's duty to inform VMD by 1 February each year of the forestry operations, including felling, carried out in the previous calendar year. Filed through the VMD e-services portal. An unfiled report blocks any new felling permit.Forest Law s. 29(2), s. 12(2)(2)
Forest management plan: a document drawn up from forest inventory data, planning even and sustainable use of the timber resource. Voluntary for a private owner; mandatory where the total managed area exceeds 10,000 ha.Forest Law s. 31, s. 32
Lawful possessor of forest: a person to whom land was transferred in the course of land reform and marked out on the ground, or who acquired possession by inheritance or another lawful basis. In practice — someone entitled to deal with the forest even though title is not yet registered in the Land Register.Forest Law s. 1(27)
State fee for forestry operations: a payment to the state for issuing a felling permit, a sanitary assessment, an unproductive-stand assessment, a certificate of origin for reproductive material, or an import authorisation.Forest Law s. 43.1
Cadastral designation: the unique 11-digit identifier of a land unit in the State Real Estate Cadastre. It is what locates the property's inventory data in the MVR and allows an initial valuation without a site visit.State Real Estate Cadastre Law

Stand characteristics

Forest: an ecosystem at any stage of development in which the principal producer of organic matter is trees whose height at that location can reach at least 5 metres and whose current or potential canopy projection is at least 20 % of the area occupied by the stand. An isolated area smaller than 0.5 ha does not count as forest.Forest Law s. 1(34), s. 3.1
Forest land: land carrying forest, land under forest infrastructure, and the flooded openings, bogs, glades and adjoining bogs contained within the forest. Forest land area can be larger than the stand area — an important distinction when valuing a property.Forest Law s. 1(29)
Forest stand (mežaudze): forest with homogeneous growing conditions, species composition and age. It is the base unit to which felling and regeneration requirements apply.Forest Law s. 1(31)
Compartment (kvartāls): a unit of forest subdivision bounded by rides, roads or other natural boundaries; made up of several stands. A stand's address in an inventory description is normally given as the compartment and stand number.Cabinet Reg. No. 384
First storey: the set of the tallest trees in a stand, whose height differs from the storey's mean height by no more than 20 %. Basal area, the dominant species and the main-cut diameter are all determined from the first storey.Forest Law s. 1(32)
Dominant species: the tree species with the largest growing stock in the stand's first storey. It determines the main-cut age, the main-cut diameter and the regeneration requirements.Forest Law s. 1(43)
Stand age: the biological age of the dominant species. Where trees of the dominant species differ in age, the age is taken from the cohort with the largest growing stock.Forest Law s. 1(33)
Young stand (jaunaudze): a stand of conifers, ash or oak up to 40 years of age, a grey alder stand up to 10 years, and stands of all other species up to 20 years.Forest Law s. 1(15)
Critical basal area (Gkrit): the basal-area threshold below which a stand can no longer develop satisfactorily and must be regenerated. If a cut or windthrow takes the basal area below it, the duty to regenerate is triggered.Forest Law s. 1(18), s. 21; Cabinet Reg. No. 935 annex 1
Mean diameter (D1.3): the mean stem diameter of the stand's trees at 1.3 m above the root collar. Together with age it determines whether the stand may be felled in a main cut.Cabinet Reg. No. 935 ch. III
Stump diameter: the diameter of a felled stem at stump height. No permit is required to fell trees whose stump diameter is under 12 cm.Forest Law s. 12(1)(1)
Composition formula: a notation showing the share of each species in the stand by volume, e.g. 8P2B — 80 % pine, 20 % birch. The species named first is normally the dominant one.Cabinet Reg. No. 384
Pure and mixed stands: a pure stand is one in which the dominant species makes up at least 80 % of the composition. A mixed stand carries a substantial admixture of several species. Mixture affects the assortment yield and therefore the price.Cabinet Reg. No. 308; industry practice
Stocking density (biezība): the ratio of a stand's actual basal area to that of a normal stand of the same age and site index. Low stocking means less volume per hectare.forest management practice; Cabinet Reg. No. 384
Advance growth (paauga): the young generation of trees grown up under the canopy of the old stand and capable of forming the next stand. Preserved viable conifer advance growth can substitute for planting when regenerating.Cabinet Reg. No. 308; Cabinet Reg. No. 935 annex 12
Understorey (pamežs): shrubs and low-value trees below the main canopy that do not form a storey of the stand. A dense understorey raises the cost of harvesting and young-stand tending.forestry practice
Forest site type (MAAT): a stand classifier defined by soil moisture and fertility (e.g. sils, mētrājs, damaksnis, vēris, gārša, slapjais mētrājs, dumbrājs, kūdrenis, ārenis). Latvia distinguishes 23 types. The site type determines which species the forest must be regenerated with, how large a clear-cut may be, and the regeneration deadline.Cabinet Reg. No. 384; Cabinet Reg. No. 935 ch. IV; Cabinet Reg. No. 308
Dry, wet, bog, drained-mineral and drained-peat groups: forest type groups by moisture regime and drainage: dry — dry mineral soils; wet — waterlogged mineral soils; bog — peat soils; āreņi — drained mineral-soil forests; kūdreņi — drained peat-soil forests. The group affects machine access and the harvesting season.Cabinet Reg. No. 384 classifier
Unproductive stand: a stand not worth growing on because of insufficient volume increment, species composition or tree quality. On a VMD assessment it may be felled in a reconstruction cut before the main-cut age.Forest Law s. 1(37); Cabinet Reg. No. 935 ch. VII
Volume increment: the annual growth in timber volume, m³/ha per year. High in young and middle-aged stands, declining as the stand approaches the main-cut age. A key figure when deciding whether to fell now or wait.forestry practice; national forest monitoring (LSFRI "Silava")
Plantation forest: a stand established for specific purposes and registered as such in the MVR. The ordinary felling and regeneration rules do not apply to it.Forest Law s. 1(39), s. 24

Felling types

Main cut (galvenā cirte): the felling type used to harvest a stand in one or more operations once the main-cut age or the main-cut diameter has been reached. It is carried out either as a clear-cut or as a selection cut.Forest Law s. 1(10), s. 9
Main-cut age (cirtmets): the minimum age the dominant species must reach before main-cut felling may begin. Depending on site index: oak 101–121 yrs; pine and larch 101–121 yrs; spruce, ash, lime, elm and maple 81 yrs; birch 51–71 yrs; black alder 71 yrs; aspen 41 yrs.Forest Law s. 9(1) table
Main-cut diameter: the mean diameter at 1.3 m of the dominant species in the first storey that must be reached for the stand to be felled in a main cut before the main-cut age. In practice it lets a well-grown stand be harvested earlier. For example pine 30 cm, spruce 26 cm, birch 25 cm — the exact values depend on species and site index.Forest Law s. 1(11); Cabinet Reg. No. 935 annex 2
Clear-cut (kailcirte): the form of main cut in which every tree in the stand is felled, apart from the retained ecological trees. Permitted once the main-cut age or diameter is reached and no restriction applies.Forest Law s. 9; Cabinet Reg. No. 935
Selection cut (izlases cirte): the form of main cut in which only part of the trees is removed and the stand is kept. Used where clear-cutting is not permitted.Forest Law s. 9
Maximum clear-cut area: depending on the forest site type, the maximum area of a clear-cut coupe is 2 or 5 hectares. In sils, mētrājs, lāns, damaksnis, vēris and gārša it is 5 ha. Further limits apply to adjoining areas that have not yet been regenerated or have not reached the prescribed age.Cabinet Reg. No. 935 ch. IV–V; Forest Law s. 9(2)
Sanitary cut: a felling type to improve forest health, removing trees damaged by disease, pests or animals, or thrown and broken by wind — either across the area or selectively. If the basal area of viable trees is below the critical level, the stand may be felled in full on a VMD sanitary assessment.Forest Law s. 1(41), s. 11
Reconstruction cut: a felling type for removing an unproductive stand, across the area or selectively, in order to establish a more valuable stand in its place.Forest Law s. 1(40); Cabinet Reg. No. 935 ch. VII
Deforestation cut: a felling type for operations that change the land use (construction, mineral extraction, creating agricultural land). Requires an administrative act by the competent authority and compensation to the state.Forest Law s. 1(4), s. 41
Landscape cut: a felling type to secure the visibility and accessibility of landscape features (e.g. opening viewpoints).Forest Law s. 1(1)
Other cut: a felling type for creating and maintaining forest infrastructure and boundary lines, removing hazardous trees and conserving nature values.Forest Law s. 1(8)
Thinning (krājas kopšanas cirte): a tending cut in a growing stand to thin it and improve the growth and value of the remaining trees. Permitted only where the basal area exceeds the minimum and does not fall below it as a result of the cut.Forest Law s. 10; Cabinet Reg. No. 308
Young-stand tending: a tending cut in a stand of up to roughly 6 m mean height, removing competing and low-value trees to free growing space for the target species. No permit is needed for tending in young stands up to 20 years of age.Cabinet Reg. No. 308; Forest Law s. 12(1)(2)
Thinning condition: a tending cut is permitted if the stand's basal area exceeds the minimum basal area, and the cut must not take it below the minimum.Forest Law s. 10
Coupe (cirsma): a specific, marked-out forest area within which felling is permitted under an issued permit. A coupe is also the object of a transaction when cutting rights are sold.Cabinet Reg. No. 935 ch. XII
Coupe marking (stigošana): establishing the coupe boundaries on the ground — clearing boundary lines and marking trees, and surveying the area before felling begins.Cabinet Reg. No. 935 ch. XII
Ecological trees: trees that must be retained in the coupe to safeguard biodiversity. In a clear-cut carried out on the main-cut diameter, at least 8 ecological trees per hectare must be left; in all other coupes at least 5 per hectare. A set number of dead and fallen trees must also be retained.Cabinet Reg. No. 935 ss. 54–55
Biologically important forest structures: forest components important for habitat and species protection, dispersal or ecological function — cavity trees, deadwood, snags, springs, micro-depressions. They must be retained outside specially protected areas as well.Forest Law s. 1(6), s. 36; Cabinet Reg. No. 936
Unauthorised felling: felling in breach of the procedure laid down in the Forest Law, or damaging trees. In addition to a fine, VMD recovers compensation for the damage caused to the forest in favour of the state.Forest Law s. 14, s. 50, s. 51

Harvesting and timber products

Assortment (sortiments): a timber product type prepared for a specific use, with defined length, diameter and quality requirements. A single stem normally yields several assortments, of decreasing value from butt to top.industry standards and LVM assortment specifications
Sawlog: the highest-value assortment, sawn into boards and beams. It requires a straight stem, sufficient diameter and limited knots and rot. The sawlog share is the main driver of a coupe's value.industry standards
Pulpwood: thinner and lower-quality stem sections used in pulp and panel production. Cheaper than sawlog but dearer than firewood.industry standards
Firewood and energy wood: the lowest-quality wood, used for heating. It also covers thin stems from tending cuts.industry practice
Wood chips: comminuted wood obtained from harvesting residues, branches, tops and low-value wood. Used for energy.industry practice
Harvesting residues: branches, tops and other stem parts left in the coupe after the assortments have been cut. They may be collected for chipping or left to return nutrients to the soil.industry practice
Harvester: a multi-operation harvesting machine that fells a tree, delimbs it and cuts it into assortments in a single cycle. It also records measurement data.industry practice
Forwarder: the forwarding machine that collects the prepared assortments in the coupe and carries them to the roadside landing.industry practice
Roadside landing (krautuve): a place beside the forest road where assortments are sorted into stacks and loaded onto a timber truck. Landing access and road bearing capacity have a substantial effect on harvesting costs.industry practice
Solid and loose cubic metres: a solid cubic metre (m³) is the volume of wood excluding voids; roundwood is measured this way. A loose cubic metre (ber. m³) is the volume of stacked wood or chips including voids. One m³ corresponds to roughly 2.4–3 loose m³ of chips — the prices are not directly comparable.industry measurement practice
Yield (iznākums): the volume of assortments actually obtained relative to the coupe's growing stock. It differs from the inventory volume because of rot, snags, breakage and quality — so the inventory volume is not the same as the saleable volume.industry practice

Regeneration and tending

Forest regeneration: the set of measures to re-establish a stand on an area where a cut or other factors have taken the basal area below the critical basal area. It is a legal obligation of the forest owner, not a choice.Forest Law s. 1(20), s. 21
Regeneration deadline: in most forest types the forest must be regenerated within 5 years of the cut. In bog types (purvājs, niedrājs, dumbrājs, liekņa) — within 10 years. Where a clear-cut was carried out on the main-cut diameter, regeneration by sowing or planting (or by retaining viable conifer advance growth) must be done within 3 calendar years.Cabinet Reg. No. 308; VMD guidance
Declaring a stand regenerated: an area is declared regenerated once it carries the minimum number of established trees per hectare: pine — 2000 trees, other species — 1500 (with separate conditions for oak, ash, elm, wych elm, maple, beech and hornbeam). In nine forest types the stand must be regenerated specifically with pine (at least 80 % of the composition).Cabinet Reg. No. 308; VMD
Young-stand tending deadline: if a young stand was declared regenerated below 2 m in height, it must be tended once the mean height is 2–10 m: in conifer stands no later than the 10th calendar year after being declared regenerated, in broadleaf stands no later than the 5th.VMD; Cabinet Reg. No. 308
Afforestation: the set of measures to establish forest on land not registered as forest in the cadastre. A landowner is entitled to afforest unless the regulations restrict it.Forest Law s. 1(22), s. 22
Natural regeneration: a stand re-establishing itself without planting or sowing — from seed in the soil, from seed trees or from stump shoots. Acceptable if the required tree numbers and species composition are reached within the deadline.Cabinet Reg. No. 308
Soil preparation: mechanical treatment of the soil before planting (furrowing, mounding, disc trenching) that improves seedling survival and growth.forestry practice
Forest reproductive material: the seed units, plant parts or planting stock of forestry-relevant tree species used for regeneration or afforestation. It may only be collected from sources registered with VMD, and only certified material may be sold.Forest Law s. 1(26), ss. 17–20
Containerised and bare-root seedlings: containerised seedlings are grown in trays with substrate around the roots — a longer planting season and better survival. Bare-root seedlings carry no substrate: cheaper, but with a narrower planting window.nursery practice
Early tending (mowing): controlling grasses and competing broadleaf sprouts around young seedlings in the first years after planting.practice under Cabinet Reg. No. 308
Stump shoots: new shoots growing from the stump or roots of a felled tree. Typical of birch, aspen, black alder and grey alder; they can suppress planted conifers if tending is not carried out in time.forestry practice

Forest protection

Forest damage: the partial or total loss of a stand's viability due to pests, disease, animals, people, wind, snow, fire and similar factors.Forest Law s. 1(21)
Forest protection: measures to prevent or mitigate forest damage and its consequences. The owner has a duty to monitor the state of the forest and inform VMD of any damage found.Forest Law s. 1(19), s. 26
European spruce bark beetle: the most significant pest of spruce stands in Latvia. In an outbreak VMD may require felling to be suspended, control measures to be taken, or infested material to be destroyed. Damaged spruce stands often need an urgent sanitary cut, as the timber value falls sharply.Forest Law s. 27; Cabinet Reg. No. 348 "Forest protection rules"; VMD
Root rot (sakņu piepe): the cause of root and stem rot in conifers, reducing sawlog yield and the stand's wind stability. A significant value-reducing factor in older spruce stands.LSFRI "Silava"; VMD forest pathology monitoring
Windthrow and windbreak: trees uprooted and trees snapped by wind. If the damage takes the basal area of viable trees below the critical level, a VMD sanitary assessment is required and the duty to regenerate arises.Forest Law s. 11, s. 21
National forest monitoring: the system for observing, analysing and forecasting forest resources and environmental condition, carried out across the country by the Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava".Forest Law s. 1(36), s. 29.1

Nature protection and restrictions

Microreserve (mikroliegums): a small area designated for a specific specially protected species or habitat, with restrictions on economic activity. It can substantially reduce the harvestable volume — check for one before a transaction.Species and Habitats Protection Law; Forest Law s. 2(2)
Specially protected nature territory (ĪADT): a nature reserve, national park, nature park, protected landscape area, strict nature reserve or biosphere reserve. Each territory may have individual protection and use rules that are stricter than the Forest Law.Law "On specially protected nature territories"; Forest Law s. 2(2)
Natura 2000: the European network of protected nature territories. Within them, forest management plans are approved by the Nature Conservation Agency.Forest Law s. 43(1)(4)
EU forest habitat: a protected forest habitat type (e.g. boreal forests, swamp woods, ravine and slope forests). A confirmed habitat normally means clear-cutting is prohibited in that stand.Cabinet regulations on protected habitats; Species and Habitats Protection Law
Protection belt (aizsargjosla): a strip of prescribed width around a feature within which economic activity is restricted — around watercourses and water bodies, bogs, roads, power lines and water abstraction points. It affects the available felling area and the felling type.Protection Belt Law; Cabinet Reg. No. 936
Veteran tree (dižkoks): a tree that has reached the dimensions laid down for a specially protected tree. Felling one is prohibited.Forest Law s. 12(5); Cabinet regulations on protected trees
Seasonal restrictions (nesting period): certain forest operations are restricted during the bird nesting season — for example young-stand tending in young pine, broadleaf and spruce stands in spring and summer. This affects how work is planned across the year.Forest Law s. 37(4); Cabinet Reg. No. 936
Sustainable forest management: managing and using forests in a way and at an intensity that maintains their biological diversity, productivity, regeneration capacity and vitality now and in the future, and their capacity to fulfil ecological, economic and social functions without harming other ecosystems.Forest Law s. 1(13)
Compensation for management restrictions: payment an owner may receive in defined cases for restrictions on forestry activity (e.g. in microreserves, protected territories, forest parks). The procedure is set out in separate regulations.Forest Law s. 38.3(2); Cabinet regulations on compensation
Deforestation: human-induced conversion of forest to another land use. Permitted only for defined purposes, with an administrative act by the competent authority and compensation to the state, paid into the Forest Development Fund.Forest Law s. 1(3), ss. 41–42
Forest certification (FSC, PEFC): voluntary certification of management compliance with international sustainability standards. Certified timber is often in higher demand on export markets.FSC and PEFC standards

Transactions, taxes and value

Selling a coupe (selling cutting rights): a transaction in which the owner sells the right to fell a specific, marked-out coupe while keeping the land. After the cut, the duty to regenerate remains with the owner unless the contract says otherwise.Civil Law; Forest Law s. 21
Selling a forest property: the sale of the land together with the stand growing on it. All encumbrances, restrictions and outstanding regeneration or tending obligations pass to the buyer.Civil Law; Forest Law
Encumbrances: restrictions on the use of the property registered in the Land Register or the cadastre — servitudes, protection belts, microreserves, protected habitats, mortgages. They materially affect the property's value and usability.Land Register Law; Protection Belt Law
Right of way (ceļa servitūts): the right to drive across another's land to reach one's own property. A forest property without legally secured access has a considerably lower market value.Civil Law
Real estate tax on forest: a tax calculated from the cadastral value of the forest land. In some cases land occupied by regenerated or newly established stands is exempt.Law "On real estate tax"; Cabinet Reg. No. 76
Taxes on forest transactions: personal income tax applies to income from selling standing forest for felling, from selling timber products, and from selling a forest property; in some cases individuals may apply deemed expenses. Current rates and conditions should be checked with the State Revenue Service or an accountant — the rules have changed several times in recent years.Law "On personal income tax"; VID
Forest as capital value: a forest property's market value is formed not only by area and volume but also by species composition, age structure, site index, forest type, access, encumbrances and the current timber market.industry valuation practice; Forest Law s. 4(4)
EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR): the EU regulation setting traceability and deforestation-free requirements for timber and timber products placed on the EU market. It affects documentation throughout the timber supply chain.Regulation (EU) 2023/1115
LULUCF and carbon sequestration: the land use, land-use change and forestry sector in climate accounting. Stands sequester carbon dioxide; deforestation compensation is also used to promote sequestration.Forest Law s. 42; EU climate legislation