Raitis Rieksts-Riekstiņš

• Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava"

The study investigates the long-term impact of Lophodermium needle cast on open-pollinated Scots pine progenies in Latvia. A significant impact of cumulative needle cast damage on growth and survival was found. Notably, 51% of trees experienced severe damage after the 4th growing season. Genetic factors played a role in survival at 12 years. Height...

Productive Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stands in the Baltic region ensure high-quality sawlogs for the timber market and contribute to carbon sequestration. Spike knots are serious stem defects, which reduce the proportion of valuable timber; therefore, the extent of genetic control of their occurrence and relationship with other traits must b...

The breeding of economically important forest tree species in the Baltic Sea region has contributed notably to the availability of quality wood for bioeconomy. Accordingly, the altered stand dynamics of improved trees should be identified and incorporated in growth models to accurately reflect these gains. Such advanced models can be used for asses...

Key message After 5–6 decades since inflicting resin tapping wounds, overmature (> 120 years old) Pinus sylvestris stems remain undecayed and vigorous. Abstract Overmature trees of Pinus sylvestris bearing large wounds made by resin tapping decades ago are still present in woodlands of south-eastern Baltic Sea region. The aim of the present study...

Beech is expected to expand its range into the territory of Latvia due to climate change, but we lack information on its stem and wood quality as a measure of its economic importance. We studied external stem quality traits in beech stands with age of 69 to 131 years. Nine trees were cut and sampled to determine internal wood quality and the propor...

Increasing resistance against biotic and abiotic factors is an important goal of forest tree breeding. The aim of the present study was to develop a root rot resistance index for Scots pine breeding and evaluate its effectiveness. The productivity, branch diameter, branchiness, stem straightness, spike knots, and damage from natural infection of ro...

Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Dougl.) is one of the few exotic tree species that has been successfully used in forestry in Northern Europe. Considering the increasing demand for energy wood and timber, this species could be applied in plantation forestry in Latvia; however, knowledge about its growth dynamics in relation to environm...