Snowfalls affect national forest fund of Moldova

Chisinau, 21 April /MOLDPRES/ – Snow has affected the national forest fund and has damaged to some extent the ecosystems in Moldova in previous 24 hours, said Ion Talmaci, technical vice-director of the Institute for Research and Forestry Development (ICAS).

"It is the first time in the recent years when heavy rainfall in April is recorded in the form of snow and sleet. Recent monitoring in forestry enterprises shows that tree breaks and damage have occurred. Due to this, in forestry managed by "Moldsilva" Agency were stopped the wood harvesting works, to help the forest regeneration. Also, the aerial combat of the pests, scheduled for 17-25 April, was also suspended," said Ion Talmaci.

According to the quoted source, the process of air disinfestations of forests in Orhei and Soldanesti districts, according to the work plan for 2017, will return immediately as the weather normalizes. "We will have to reassess the situation and update the planned measures because after snowfall we will have a different state of affairs since many pests have frozen," said the ICAS’s deputy director.

Asked about the fauna situation, Talmaci specified that a certain imbalance in nature would occur. "Mostly will suffer birds, which have laid eggs and are actually more vulnerable. The animals will bear the consequences of the unexpected cold easier, but generally the wild nature is quicker to accommodate the meteorological conditions and the weather, however bad it would not be," specified the specialist for the agency.

In the context, Ion Talmaci pointed out that a similar situation when the forest suffered from the rainfall was noted in November 2000. "Then the chill affected more than 50,000 hectares of forest space, predominantly in Soldanesti, Soroca and Rezina districts. As a result, almost all of the forestry technology was changed in these localities," informed the deputy director of ICAS.

(Editor L. Grubii, editor L. Alcaza)