Latvia is a European country of large trees. Lante Olympian with a circumference of 6.5 meters

Latvia is a European country of large trees. We are second only to Great Britain in terms of the wealth of our trees. By the end of last year, nearly 14,800 trees of national importance were registered in the “Oaks” data system and more than 1,400 new trees of national importance were discovered. Guntis Eniņš, one of Latvia’s most well-known big tree researchers, went to Lantes manor in Ropaži to share his knowledge on how to study trees and when we can call them big trees.

For four years, Andis Pikāns took care of Lantes manor, which is located only 35 minutes from Riga. It once belonged to Baron Jaime von Wolff, later to Brange and his family. The manor is known for the fallen big oak, which was measured and recorded by Stanislavs Saliņš, who is considered the father of big trees, in the early 1970s. Pikāns: “At that time, Lante dižozol was the third largest in the Riga region. We call it an Olympian with a circumference of 6.5 meters.”

Not far from it is the 350-meter-long Baron’s Alley. And one of the versions is that it was planted at the same time as the construction of Lante Manor. Pican: “I think the alley might be about 150 years old. Then there are some trees that have already reached the status of big trees. I understood this while reading Guntas Eninis’s books, becoming more and more interested in big trees.”

The Nature Protection Board identified four large trees in the alley and five in candidate status. On the other hand, during the visit of Guntas Eniņas, he discovered another big tree – linden. The researcher says that opinions are still divided about the correct study of large trees. “I need to measure one meter thirty from the height of the chest, the cavity corresponds to me, from the ground. Not like it’s messed up now. There is some stupidity in the ministry. Written from the neck of the roots. In Europe, one does not measure from the roots. See, I’ll stay dynamic already. It is harmful.”

The researcher does not deny that it is quite difficult to measure a big tree without making mistakes. Therefore, it should be measured again after several years. And it is very likely that the tree will have grown. Eniņš uses a pin for measuring, which many have called Eniņš’s button. He admits that he has experienced several times when he had to justify such a method. But the researcher says that the biggest damage to big trees is lightning, it leaves scars on the trees. “It can be from five centimeters, 50 centimeters, it can be all five meters, that half of its bigosol has been kicked.”

Therefore, you should not hurry with cutting trees, as many people sometimes do. Small branches that are already falling need to be cut, while if there is a large dead branch, it is said to be wealth and the value of nature. Because, for example, they can be used by large birds when building nests. In Latvia it is often a stork. Eniņš: “A stork has to spend most of the day cleaning its feathers. A stork will squat on the ground, not on a rock. He does it in a tree.”

Big trees also have a cultural-historical, educational and scientific function, as well as an important role in the preservation of the general biological diversity.