cultivating material

The Act amending the Plant Propagation and Plant Variety Rights Act and the Forest Act

The aim of the amendment to be made to the Bill is to achieve a situation as a result of which the authority responsiblefor supervision of cultivating material has information on where and which tree species are grown for the purpose ofcarrying out the trials (e.g. coordinates of cultivation, area, basic material, and origin).

The availability of relevant information will enable to obtain information on the cultivating material introduced fromanother Member State for performing trials in Estonia and on the places where they are grown and, if necessary, to takeappropriate measures to prevent the spread of potential pests or plant diseases in Estonia. The implementation ofappropriate measures will also contribute to preventing the spread of alien species, the marketing of cultivating material ofuncontrolled origin and thereby causing environmental and economic damage.
It is known that in Estonia, in addition to universities and research and development institutions, the undertakings engagedin forestry in Estonia are engaged in forest breeding or trials with cultivating material. From a forestry point of view,cultivating material that is genetically and phenotypic suited to the site of growth of that plant should be used in order toimprove the economic viability of the conservation, preservation of plant health and forestry activities.
Whether or not cultivating material is suitable for a given area is determined by performing trials. Furthermore, theinformation obtained through trials is also important for adapting to climate change.
Foreign tree species are used to a very small extent in the case of reforestation, and in the case of reforestation in Estonia,cultivating material of domestic origin is predominantly used. At the same time, the economic operators in the field offorestry have recently become more interested in performing trials with cultivating material (including alien species)introduced into Estonia, for which it is not known how the origin of the cultivating material affects the growthcharacteristics of the stands and their adaptation to climate change. Pursuant to subsection 24 (9) of the Forest Act, theminister responsible for the field establishes by a regulation (Regulation No 69 of the Minister of the Environment of 4December 2016 ‘List of alien tree species permitted to use in reforestation’) the list of alien tree species permitted to usein reforestation. This list may not be sufficient from the perspective of climate change. The trial aims to determine thegenetic and phenotypic compatibility of tree species with Estonian growing conditions. Subsection 57 (1) of the NatureConservation Act does not prohibit planting and sowing in nature of species of non-native trees permitted to be grown asforest trees under the Forest Act.