A large climate forest with a Danish footprint is taking shape in Latvia

By Alberte Gry Thomsen
Photos: Christian Agerskov Munk

Forester Mārtiņš Jānis Sūrums crouches down and gently straightens the small, horizontal birch sapling into an upright position. With his hands, he presses the soil firmly around the plant to anchor it securely in the mound of earth. In the background, birds are singing as if they’re announcing that the cold season is coming to an end. The sun stands high in a clear sky. It’s an unusually warm Latvian spring day in early April, with the temperature creeping up to 18 degrees.

He rises and calmly continues walking, while his gaze sweeps over the many thousands of small birch trees planted atop what looks remarkably like oversized molehills. The young forester is out inspecting the saplings on the large, and otherwise empty, field which will, in time, grow into a vast climate forest. He monitors the forest closely, especially in spring and autumn, the planting seasons.

Since graduating last year with a degree in forestry from the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Mārtiņš Jānis Sūrums has been working for Dalgas’ Latvian branch, which counts nine employees.

He leads the afforestation project together with his colleagues Jānis Vuguls, the country manager, and Vita Ikauniece, the forest manager. The project is owned by the Danish sourcing and service company Solar.

Solar has purchased a total of 677 hectares in Latvia, of which approximately 277 hectares were already mature forest. Since the spring of 2024, Mārtiņš Jānis Sūrums and his colleagues have been working on planting new forest. The work is set to be completed in 2026. By then, over 400 hectares of forest will have been afforested across three locations. The climate forest, located a few hours’ drive from the company’s main office in the capital, Riga, will consist of birch, spruce, pine, black alder, larch, cherry, and beech.

Walking beside the forester is his Estonian colleague and customer relation manager for the Baltics, Kristi Nigul, who has been with Dalgas for the past 12 years. She has the overview of activities in the region and is the one her colleagues turn to with questions, big or small. Together, the two are out assessing the status of the largest climate forest project Dalgas has been involved in to date.

^{Customer relation manager Kristi Nigul and forester Mārtiņš Jānis Sūrums have a leash on the extensive afforestation project in Latvia.}

Planting a climate forest

In terms of land area and employment, forests play a central role in Latvia, which is roughly one and a half times the size of Denmark. Over half of Latvia is covered in forest, compared to just 15 % in Denmark. This is also reflected in the traffic, where it’s common to see trucks hauling timber. Birch, pine, and spruce are the three most dominant tree species in the country.

And the importance of forests becomes clear to air travelers even before they set foot in the country. In the national airline airBaltic’s in-flight magazine, there is a page on how to behave responsibly in the forest, with respect for nature, fellow visitors, and forestry workers.

When it comes to afforestation, the choice of tree species is anything but random. Every decision is assessed and carefully planned based on an enormous amount of data about the local conditions that could affect the afforestation.

- The first step, once you know the location of a planned afforestation project, is to gather information on which tree species are already present in the area. The new trees should ideally fit into the existing ecosystem, otherwise they may struggle to survive with time. The next step is to check all the digital maps we have access to, such as soil types and groundwater levels. We plan by using those maps, combined with our knowledge of what already grows in the area, explains forester Mārtiņš Jānis Sūrums.

Before the trees are planted, the soil must be turned to give the saplings the best chance to take root and absorb nutrients. This has been done in two ways. In some areas, a planting machine has been used to remove the soil, place the sapling, and cover it again. In other places, a hole has been dug mechanically, with the soil from the hole placed beside it.

Visually, the mound looks like an ambitious molehill. And the sapling is placed right on top of this oversized molehill to give it a height advantage over the weeds that will eventually grow alongside it.

But once the sapling is in the ground, the job isn’t over, the forester emphasizes.

But even if plant care goes strictly by the book, there are still risks that can’t be avoided.

Mārtiņš Jānis Sūrums and Kristi Nigul bend down to look at a birch sapling that has been nearly chewed down to the ground; only a small stub remains. The same fate has befallen its neighbors. Their prime suspects are deer, known for nibbling on low-growing plants.

They’re attempting to counter the problem by applying Cervacol, a white, glue-like paste mixed with sand, to the tops of the saplings, which the deer are known to dislike.

- The survival rate of trees planted in afforestation areas depends on various factors, such as soil quality, weather conditions, planting techniques, follow-up care, and fungal or wildlife disturbance. Not everything can be prevented. In general, you can expect that 5–20 % of the planted trees won’t thrive as hoped. That means replanting is often necessary, but if nature is generous, the area may regenerate on its own, says Kristi Nigul, who, alongside her work, is pursuing a PhD in forestry at the Estonian University of Life Sciences.

Afforestation at a distance

This is not the first time Solar has established a climate forest. In 2023, the company afforested 38 hectares of former farmland not far from its headquarters in Vejen, Denmark.

But the current project in Latvia is on a completely different scale: 677 hectares. Still, the size of the forest hasn’t made much of a difference for the company, says Mette Bredkjær, Vice President of Sustainability.

- Once you’ve done one afforestation project, it’s the same things you have to consider again, just on a larger scale. For us, it hasn’t made a big difference, because we’re once again working with Dalgas as our partner.

Originally, Solar wanted to plant forests in countries where it already operates, for example Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Poland.

However, it proved impossible to find suitable land that met the necessary criteria within those business countries, so the company began exploring nearby alternatives. The choice fell on Latvia, where land prices were also more favorable.

- That also meant we were able to acquire larger areas and thereby contribute more significantly to climate efforts, says the sustainability executive. She explains that the company’s motivation for afforesting a climate forest is both to support climate improvement and to strengthen Solar’s reputation.

And even though the afforestation is happening remotely, it doesn’t make much of a difference, says Mette Bredkjær.

Of course, we can’t just drive out there, but we hold regular status meetings with Dalgas and receive updates on the work. In that way, the distance doesn’t really matter.

The CO₂ equation

Mārtiņš Jānis Sūrums and Kristi Nigul have both noticed a growing interest from companies that either purchase or establish forests in knowing the forest’s CO₂ uptake, so they can include it in their climate accounting. The same is true for Solar. But there was yet no large-scale CO₂ calculation model available for Latvian forests.

That’s why Mārtiņš Jānis Sūrums reached out to the Latvian State Forest Research Institute, Silava, which had developed a model capable of calculating CO₂ uptake for one hectare of forest. 

The institute’s model accounts for different tree species in various age compositions and the number of trees, but only for a single hectare. And that wasn’t sufficient for this task.

Together, Mārtiņš Jānis Sūrums, Kristi Nigul, and the research institute developed a model that can calculate CO₂ uptake for a Latvian forest without area limitations.

Their Danish colleagues were also involved, with support from Dalgas’ Head of Forest Sustainability, Michael Glud, who had previously contributed to the development of the Danish CO₂ model, validated by the University of Copenhagen.

The reason the Danish model couldn’t be used in Latvia comes down to differing factors, such as soil types, climate, and tree growth conditions. All these variables vary from country to country, so a reliable result always requires a model tailored to each country.

With the new model, Solar can now obtain an estimate of the forest’s annual CO₂ uptake far into the future. The calculated figures are also verified retrospectively to ensure they align with actual carbon sequestration. This verification is handled by the UK-based certification body Soil Association Ltd., through their representative in Denmark.

The Latvian CO₂ model has been submitted for review by Soil Association Ltd., who will determine whether it can be approved as a valid calculation method. If validated, it will serve as an officially recognized model for estimating CO₂ uptake in all Latvian forests.

Benefits beyond borders

There are many benefits to afforestation and forests in general. The most obvious is, unsurprisingly, that forests absorb and store CO₂.

- Forests offer us many things, including better air quality. The roots of the trees help hold the soil together, which reduces erosion — that is, the loss or displacement of topsoil. Trees also provide habitats for animals and plants. They help fight global warming by cooling the air, and, of course, there’s the all-important benefit of CO₂ absorption. I like to say, ‘Plant a tree, and you’ll be happy,’ says Kristi Nigul.

With the new calculations, Solar, Mārtiņš Jānis Sūrums, and his colleagues can track the forest’s yearly CO₂ uptake. And even though the young trees are still no thicker than twigs, the planted area is going to absorb 290 tons of CO₂ this year.

- And the forest’s CO₂ absorption will soon start to rise exponentially. Next year, it’s estimated the planted area will absorb 720 tons, and the year after that, it’s 1,315 tons. But it’s when they hit their “teenage years” at age 15–20 that they really start to pick up, says Mārtiņš Jānis Sūrums.

Kristi Nigul has no doubt that the positive effects of a climate forest go beyond the country it’s planted in.

More forest in the future

As EU member states, the Baltic countries are also part of the European Union’s broader forest strategy. In 2020, the EU Commission launched the European Green Deal, a set of initiatives with the overarching goal of making the EU climate neutral by 2050. One of these initiatives is to plant three billion trees by 2030.

Denmark also faces a major land-use transition. Agricultural land will need to be taken out of production, and the country’s forest cover must increase from around 15 % to about 20 %. The green tripartite agreement aims to make that happen. For it to succeed, 250,000 hectares of new forest must be planted — about one billion trees.

Just like Solar’s climate forest, it will require careful planning and expertise to succeed. Both Kristi Nigul and Mārtiņš Jānis Sūrums believe there’s something to learn from Latvia.

- We have a long history of forest management, and something many other countries don’t have, which is data, data, and more data, collected over many years. Latvia’s forests are divided into small one-hectare plots, each with detailed records. That allows us to plan right from the office, because we can learn a lot about the sites from our computer screens. Of course, we still visit the sites, but I think it’s less often than in countries that manage forests in a more old-fashioned way, explains Mārtiņš Jānis Sūrums.

The forester climbs into the pickup with Kristi Nigul, and they let the bumpy forest tracks lead them back toward civilization. The young trees appear to be doing fine; only a few had withered or been nibbled down. But even with the temperature at 18 degrees, frost is forecast for the weekend, so they leave with a touch of concern for the saplings.

Thorough calculations and professional expertise provide a solid foundation for nature-based projects. But in the end, it’s nature’s own processes that decide how things will unfold.