This year, the Nordic-Baltic LIFE Platform Project Meeting took place in Riga from 16 to 18 September, bringing together more…
This month saw the completion of extensive field work on the Salac and its tributaries – nature experts surveyed the 100 km of the river on foot and by boat, and assessed it according to a previously developed methodology. This is one of several activities in the large-scale “Life is Salaca” project, which is being carried out by the State Forestry Institute Silava, the Nature Protection Agency (DAP), the Latvian Centre for Environment, Geology and Meteorology, the BIOR scientific institute and the “Salackrasti” fishing association. The project, which was launched last autumn, includes a number of measures to improve the quality of the rivers in the Salaca sub-basin and conserve its natural values in the long term. We talked to representatives of DAP – Life is Salaca coordinator Lauma Vizuli-Kahovska and leading biotope expert Linda UZULI about the project and what it involves.
Cooperation and multilateral evaluation are essential
Life is Salaca will run until 2028. Various activities are planned during the project, including the management of riparian forests, the restoration of rapids, as well as the development of a conservation plan for the Salacas Nature Park based on the results of the project, the preparation of guidelines for the environmentally friendly management of riparian forests, and better practices for the restoration of rapids. This time we are talking more directly about research in the project area and the collection of large-scale data for use in future Life is Salaca activities.
The nature experts involved in the project have been doing a lot of work this summer, surveying and mapping the rivers along a total length of 100 km. This is the first time that such an extensive and comprehensive data collection has taken place in the Salaca basin. The team of experts is very broad – ecological quality of habitats, fish, water, invertebrates and other specialists. – This collaboration is invaluable to the project as it allows the rivers to be assessed as comprehensively as possible. For example, BIOR experts use the composition of the river bed, its width and depth to determine whether the river is suitable for salmonid fish, whether there are possible spawning grounds, and also note the obstacles that could interfere with them,” says L. Uzule. By identifying the places where fish habitats will be restored, it is guaranteed that the most suitable places for potential salmonid spawning will be selected for management works.
The preparations for surveying the rivers were no less extensive. Maps had to be studied and access points to the rivers identified. In the case of the Salaca (surveyed by boat), it was necessary to know where to launch the boat and where to land. Sometimes we had to walk several kilometres with all the necessary equipment to the place where the experts could be picked up. It was also necessary to plan which experts would work at which stages. Modern technology is a great help – it is much easier to check maps and keep track of where you are. The work of the experts is varied, interesting and full of challenges. But a lot depends on the weather. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining outside or if it’s +30 degrees, they have to stick to the pre-arranged schedule. Stings, mosquitoes, beaver burrows, stinging nettles up to the armpits and other things are a normal phenomenon in the daily life of these specialists. On our side of the river it is also advisable to watch out for bears.
The river shows what is happening in the watershed
Such a thorough survey of watercourses is carried out in order to collect various characteristics of rivers, parameters that allow us to understand what the quality of the river is, with special emphasis on the hydromorphological side, that is, its physical characteristics. L. Uzule explains that this project has developed a new methodology for assessing the health status of rivers – the unified or harmonised biotope and hydromorphology protocol. It is designed and coordinated in such a way that it can be used equally by all the organisations involved in the project, each of which previously filled in its own specific protocol when assessing a section of the river. In Korge and rivers of a similar size, it is filled in every 500 m, while in Salac it is filled in every kilometre of the river. The report is several pages long and contains a range of information (what is the river bed, is the water straight or meandering, what are the banks – reinforced or natural – and what are the obstacles to the flow of the river, for example artificial dams, stone piles or alluvial deposits, is there any vegetation on the banks, how complex or uniform is it). In addition, a very detailed assessment is made of all the vegetation found in a 100-metre stretch of river – both surface and floating plants and submerged plants, including mosses and algae.
Project coordinator Lauma explains: – Aquatic plants are one of the best indicators of river conditions. For example, pink algae are only found in clean water, but if there is a lot of green algae, more nutrients are entering the water than the river can handle. It is polluted. Such a protocol can very well ‘tell’ how the river feels – whether everything is fine or whether someone has affected it through economic activity. So we can understand and think about whether the river needs help and how to give it.
L. Uzule emphasises that the river shows what is happening in its catchment area. – Every river has a catchment area from which it collects all its water. Everything that happens in the watershed is reflected in the river. So not only those who live on the banks of the river are responsible for the overgrowth in Salaca, but in its entire catchment area. This needs to be talked about and told more, and this is one of the aims of this project.
Invertebrates, such as clams, are another species that should be included in the research protocol. – Even better than plants, they can show how the river feels. Invertebrates stay in the water longer. For example, the northern river sparrow, which can be found in only a few rivers in Latvia, can live up to a hundred years or more in favourable conditions and in the environment it likes. In nature, everything is closely connected. Mussels are filter-feeders that can filter up to 80 litres of water a day. If there is a lot of sedimentation in the river, too many soil particles from the surrounding areas, the mussels can become clogged and die. When we see a lot of dead mussels, it is clear that something is wrong in the river,” explains the leading habitat expert.
Everything is connected
The first overview of what has been achieved in the project this summer will already be available in the autumn of this year. L. Uzule, a habitat expert, says that the situation in the rivers of the Salaca basin is changing. In places in Salac itself, there are shallower sections that are heavily overgrown with various aquatic plants. In these places, above-water plants – lake reeds – dominate. The root systems of these plants are so deep and dense that the resulting growth is of no interest to any other living organism. – This indicates that too many nutrients have reached the site. In Salaca’s case, the problem is Burtnieks, which is itself quite polluted. Salaca has to fight both its problem and everything that happens at the level of the river basin – concludes L. Uzule. From a hydromorphological point of view, Korģe is a very beautiful river, which with its stones sometimes resembles a watercourse not of Latvia, but of some high mountain region. The expert points out that in some places in Korge there are quite large tree falls, in front of which other drifts form. Beaver dams can also be seen occasionally. The same is true for Svētupe – there are very beautiful stretches where everything seems to be in order and the helping hand of man is not needed, but in certain places the river is significantly overgrown, there are fallen trees or beaver dams. It should be noted that these are only the first impressions of the nature experts on the rivers of the project. The protocols completed by the experts will later be entered into databases, where various quality indices will be calculated, analyses will be carried out, ecological and habitat quality will be assessed, etc. All this will give a much more detailed picture of the situation in the rivers.
The coordinator of Life is Salaca emphasises that the key word for a valuable natural river is diversity. There must be different conditions for the mosaic to form, both above water and submerged plants, shallower and deeper places, stones and gravel, as well as shady and sunny parts of the banks. It is important for the river that it is neither completely overgrown nor completely shaded, because then there is no aquatic vegetation, which means that there is no food base for small aquatic organisms, invertebrates and therefore fish.
A chain is formed. Everything is very complex – by changing one part, we can either help or make things worse. So we need to understand where, what and why we are doing what we are doing. We will try to carry out the planned management works as well as possible, in a nature-friendly way, in order to preserve what is valuable in Salac and to help the river, – explains L. Vizule-Kahovska.
Succession is important
Already this year, the restoration of the rapids in three sections of the Salaca is planned to begin, which will be carried out by the Salackrasti Fishing Club. In the following years of the project, a total of 20 ha of habitat will be restored (16 ha in Salaca and 4 ha in Jaunupe). – That’s why it’s so important to collect data this year, so that all subsequent actions are data-based and scientifically sound,” says the habitat expert. The great advantage of Life is Salaca is that the team of experts will be working side by side with those doing the practical work throughout the project, communicating, discussing and working together to find the best solutions.
Based on the data collected on the hydromorphological quality of the river, a new approach to freshwater management will also be developed, combining the requirements of two directives (Water Structural Units and Biotopes). This will allow for a more rational monitoring system to determine the ecological quality of waters and habitats. As a result, more effective resource management will be promoted, which will reduce the overall cost of state monitoring. In addition, the quality of the data obtained will be improved and will be mutually comparable.
Based on the data collected on the hydromorphological quality of the river, a new approach to freshwater management will also be developed, combining the requirements of two Directives (Water Structural Units and Biotopes). This will allow for a more rational monitoring system to determine the ecological quality of waters and habitats. As a result, more effective resource management will be promoted, which will reduce the overall cost of state monitoring. It will also improve the quality of the data obtained and make it comparable between countries.
In 2026, the development of the Salacas Velluja Nature Protection Plan is expected to begin, which will be the final activity of this project, as it will include the results of the entire project, the information obtained and will provide indications of possible and desirable measures for the development of the area. – Succession is important in projects. If someone wants to write another project, he will certainly be able to do it on the basis of the data obtained here, – emphasises L. Vizule-Kahovska. – The Nature Protection Plan will also make a big contribution. It will identify specific areas in the river where restoration measures are needed. Based on this, it will be easier for a particular municipality to get funding. There will be no need for additional surveys, no need for separate expert opinions, – says L. Uzule.
Source: Līgas Liepiņa, regional newspaper of Limbažu district “Auseklis
