Bialystok University of Technology protects wetlands and forests in cooperation with Lithuanian scientists

Researchers from the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences of Bialystok University of Technology met with academics from Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, with whom they have long been engaged in joint activities related to forestry and wetland protection. The meeting was also attended by foresters from the Lithuanian State Forest Enterprise and representatives of non-governmental organisations from the Lithuanian Foundation for Peatland Restoration and Conservation.

The aim of the meeting was to exchange experiences in adaptive forest management, nature-based forestry strategies, the dynamics of unmanaged forests, the effectiveness of natural regeneration, forest protection methods, FSC forest management certification, improving water resources in forest ecosystems, and wetland restoration. The visit programme covered forest ecosystems in the Augustów and Knyszyn Primeval Forests as well as peatlands in the Rospuda and Biebrza valleys.

– I have been studying wetlands for years and observing their decline. We are fully aware of the role wetlands play and how important they are – says Prof. Piotr Banaszuk, Director of the Institute of Forest Sciences at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences of Bialystok University of Technology. – They store carbon, filter water, protect our coastlines, and support biodiversity. Yet, wetlands and peatlands remain the most degraded and threatened ecosystems on our planet. We have lost over half of them worldwide, and we are still draining and filling them in. Every loss of wetland areas weakens our resilience to climate change, water stress, and food insecurity. Fortunately, people’s attitudes are gradually changing.

Researchers at Bialystok University of Technology are actively engaged in protecting wetlands and peatlands. They are currently working on the latest map of peatland wetlands across Poland, collecting data for the European Union that will help identify peatlands and determine their greenhouse gas emissions.

Both the research activities of the University’s academic staff and the forestry study programme at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences have a practical focus. Students gain knowledge through field classes in forest districts. Classes are taught by a qualified team of passionate scientists as well as employees of forest districts and national parks. Future foresters participate in projects for the protection of the natural environment. One of them is a research project on the restoration of the silver fir (Abies alba), carried out by scientists from the Institute of Forest Sciences.

Students involved in the activities of the Forestry Student Scientific Association and the Environmental Management Student Scientific Association also take part in work related to the conservation plantation of silver fir at the forest nursery.

The forestry study programme is offered at Bialystok University of Technology at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

– For these young people, working at the forest nursery is a great opportunity to acquire practical skills that they can use in their future professional careers – emphasises Konrad Wilamowski, MSc, Eng, from the Department of Forest Environment at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences of Bialystok University of Technology.

As part of the visit by our Lithuanian partners to the Podlasie region, a group of ten researchers and practitioners also met with employees of the State Forests National Forest Holding, Forest Districts of Szczebra and Czarna Białostocka. During roundtable discussions and field visits to selected forest districts, the participants discussed topics related to nature-based forest management.

The event was organised as part of the Life ForHabitatLT project by Dr Micheal Manton (Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas) and Andrzej Kamocki, phD, Eng. (Bialystok University of Technology). Expert support was provided by Prof. Gediminas Brazaitis (Department of Forest Sciences, Vytautas Magnus University) and Prof. Piotr Banaszuk (Director of the Institute of Forest Sciences, Bialystok University of Technology).

by mz