How to Read a VMD Record: Fields S10, A10, G, H, D, BV — Owner's Guide

TL;DR

• A VMD register extract contains 25+ fields with cryptic short codes. Most values are compact numbers with no description: `S10=1`, `A10=152`, `G10=16`, `H10=27`, `D10=41`, `BV10=0`, `ZKAT=10`. Without a key, the document is unreadable.
• The fields that drive valuation: S10/A10 (species and age of the dominant stand), G10/H10 (basal area and height — these set the volume), D10 (mean diameter — this sets the assortment mix), BV10 (damage), ZKAT (zone category), JAATJAUNO (regeneration obligation).
• Standing volume is computed as V = G × H × F, where F is the form factor (0.40–0.45 depending on species). The result is m³ per hectare. Merchantable volume is gross stock minus transport, sorting and tax losses (15–25%).
• Inventory date (GTF) is often 5–10 years older than the date you read the document. Between VMD field rounds the recorded state and reality drift apart. Always check data freshness before a transaction.
• This article walks through every meaningful field with a real example — cadastre 62720050379, Padures pagasts, Kuldīgas novads. After reading it, you will read any VMD record in under a minute.

What a VMD record is and how to obtain one

VMD (Valsts meža dienests, the State Forest Service) maintains the public register of every forest in Latvia — Meža valsts reģistrs. Each individual forest compartment (nogabals) has a unique record with a full set of attributes: species, age, dimensions, damage, activity history and regulatory obligations.

You can obtain a record in several ways:

Most owners only obtain a record when closing a transaction (the buyer asks for it) or when filing a sanitary felling request. It is worth pulling your own record once a year for control purposes.

• Through the personal account at vmd.gov.lv — the owner signs in with eParaksts or Smart-ID and sees every compartment they own. Free of charge. The document can be downloaded as a PDF.
• Through a regional VMD branch — a personal visit, with a certified copy where required. Often needed for a cirsma (felling rights) contract.
• Through open data on data.gov.lv — bulk geospatial dumps covering all private and state-owned compartments. Quarterly releases, SHP/DBF format. This is the source MezaData runs on.
• On the VMD website — a public search by cadastre number reveals a limited set of base fields without login.

Structural fields: ID, kadastrs, kvart, nogabals

These are the keys that identify a compartment and link it to other registers.

Full address of any plot: `region/adm1/adm2/kvart/nogabals` — for example, `kurzemes/Kuldīgas novads/Padures pagasts/272/15`.

• `id` — internal compartment identifier inside the register. Unique within a compartment block and stable across releases.
• `kadastrs` (Kadastra apzīmējums) — cadastre number of the land parcel the compartment belongs to. A single cadastre may contain hundreds of compartments. The link to the Land Book (Zemesgrāmata) runs through this number.
• `kvart` (kvartāls) — forest compartment block. An administrative unit of VMD inside a forestry district. It has geographical boundaries, typically a 1 km × 1 km rectangle in a standardised grid.
• `nogabals` — number of the compartment within the block. Unique for each natural zone with a homogeneous stand.

ZKAT: zone category

The `zkat` field defines what the compartment actually is.

The first sanity check on any property is the ZKAT distribution. If your cadastre is 100 ha but only 60% sits in ZKAT=10, you only have 60 ha of merchantable area. The remaining 40 ha are categories 14, 21 or 31. This single fact rewrites the revenue model.

Species composition: S10/S11/S12 and shares

A forest stand is rarely monospecies. VMD distinguishes four tree layers (primary through quaternary), each with its own species, age and dimensions.

VMD species codes:

A10: age of the dominant stand

The `a10` field records age in years. It is measured against Silava growth tables on a sample stem during inventory.

Reference rotation ages under Latvian regulations (MK noteikumi Nr. 935):

If `a10` ≥ the regulatory rotation age, the stand is classified as mature and final felling is permitted under plan. Below the threshold, only thinnings and sanitary felling are allowed.

• Pine (s10=1): 100 years (low site index — 121 years, high — 81 years).
• Spruce (s10=3): 80 years (low — 101, high — 61).
• Birch (s10=4): 70 years (low — 81, high — 61).
• Black alder (s10=8): 50 years.
• Aspen (s10=6): 50 years.
• Oak (s10=10): 121 years.

G10, H10, D10: stand dimensions

This is the key triple for volume math.

D10 is especially important for the assortment mix: at D10 ≥ 30 cm most pine flows into premium sawlog (€90–105/m³); at D10 < 24 cm almost everything heads to pulpwood (€30–35/m³). For birch the veneer-grade threshold is D10 ≥ 32 cm with a straight stem.

• `g10` (laukums šķērslaukums) — total basal area of stems per hectare, in m²/ha. Typically 10 to 35.
• `h10` (vidējais augstums) — mean height of dominant stems in metres. Typically 15 to 35.
• `d10` (vidējais caurmērs) — mean stem diameter at 1.3 m, in centimetres. Typically 10 to 50.

Computing standing volume: V = G × H × F

Volume of wood per hectare in cubic metres is computed as:

V (m³/ha) = G10 × H10 × F

where F is the form factor:

Example: pine with G10=22, H10=29 → V = 22 × 29 × 0.45 = 287 m³/ha. That is the gross standing stock on the stump.

To convert to merchantable volume, subtract:

On average, the net merchantable share is 80–85% of gross stock. For the example above: 287 × 0.82 ≈ 235 m³/ha of merchantable timber.

• Pine, spruce, oak, larch: F = 0.45
• Birch, alders, aspen: F = 0.42
• Mixed: F = 0.40
• Transport losses (top trims, breakage during felling): 5–8%.
• Sorting losses (low-quality wood, knots): 10–15%.
• Minimum diameter cut-offs (<6 cm is not commercial): species-dependent.

BV10: damage

The `bv10` field (bojājumu veids) is the damage code for the primary tier. `0` means "no damage". Any other value is a flag to investigate.

If the record shows `bv10=621`, that is heart rot, typical for mature spruce. `bv10=515` is bark beetle on spruce. `bv10=100` is windthrow. Each code has consequences for the assortment mix — damaged logs drop into pulpwood at a discount.

JAATJAUNO, ATJ_GADS: regeneration obligations

After felling or natural mortality, the compartment moves to `zkat=14` (izcirtums) and the owner has a duty to regenerate it.

Failure to meet a regeneration obligation triggers a VMD fine of up to €1,400 for an individual plus forced regeneration at the owner's cost. When buying a cadastre, check both fields: if `jaatjauno=1` and `atj_gads` is in the past, you have inherited an overdue obligation.

• `jaatjauno` (jāatjauno) — 1/0 flag: whether regeneration is required. Under § 11 of Meža likums, regeneration is mandatory within 3 years after felling.
• `atj_gads` (atjaunošanas gads) — the year by which regeneration must be completed. A value of 0 means there is no obligation (either the stand is still active or it has already been regenerated).
• `plant_audz` (planta audze) — 1/0 flag: the stand was planted artificially (versus natural regeneration).

P_CIRP, P_DARBG: management activity history

These fields record what has been done to the compartment and when.

These fields are the proxy for stand fatigue. If a cadastre shows `p_darbg=2018`, the last visit was 6 years ago, and you can see mature spruce with `bv10=515` (bark beetle), the stand has likely already degraded. A fresh independent inspection is required before any deal.

• `p_cirp` — year of the last planned felling. `p_cirp=2018` means the last felling was 6 years ago.
• `p_darbg` (pēdējās darbības gads) — year of the last activity of any kind on the compartment. In our sample, 821,326 compartments have `p_darbg=0` (no activity recorded) and 114,407 had their last activity in 2025.
• `p_darbv` — type of activity. Codes cover final felling, thinning, sanitary felling, planting, road work.

ZKAT vs MT: forest type vs zone category

The `mt` field (meža tips) is the forest type under the Silava typology. It is a classification of soil and climate conditions, not a legal category. It distinguishes:

Knowing `mt` tells a forester which species will be most productive on a given site. It is critical at replanting — after felling, regeneration must respect `mt` or the new planting will not survive.

• 1–4 = mixed dry forests on sandy soils (priežu mežs)
• 5–8 = fresh loamy forests (egles, bērza mežs)
• 9–14 = wet and bog (purvāji, slapji)
• 15–20 = floodplain and waterlogged

SAIMN_D_IE: management restrictions

The `saimn_d_ie` field (saimnieciskās darbības ierobežojumi) is a flag for the presence of restrictions. These include:

If `saimn_d_ie=1`, the record should detail the specific restrictions. When buying such a compartment, expect a discount of 30–50% off the base price.

• Nature protection zones (specially protected territories, Natura 2000) — felling restricted or banned.
• Water protection zones — buffer strips along water bodies with limited felling.
• Biotopes and micro-reserves — oak groves, beaver settlements, bird nesting sites.
• Buffer zones around archaeological monuments.

Real example: 62720050379, Padures pagasts

In our VMD dataset, cadastre 62720050379 contains 98 main compartments. Take one of the oldest — a 152-year-old pine in the first tier:

FAQ

How often is the VMD record refreshed for my compartment?

The state register is refreshed quarterly (batch ingests), but each individual compartment is re-inventoried only every 8–10 years. Between field rounds the actual state and the registered one can diverge, especially after windthrows, pest outbreaks or unrecorded private felling. If your record shows `gtf=2018`, the real age and condition in 2026 are 8 years out of step with the document.

What if the record contains an error?

You can file a correction request at a regional VMD branch with supporting documents (a fresh independent forest taxation report, photographs). The procedure takes 30–60 days. Until the correction is registered, the existing register data remain official.

I don't see `gtf` in my record — what is that field?

The `gtf` field (gada taksācijas fonds) records the year of the last forest taxation (inventory) of the compartment. It sometimes appears under another name (`takse_gads`, `inventarizacijas_gads`). If the field is missing in your record, check `p_darbg` or the document date.

What does an "inventory" actually involve on the ground?

A VMD inventory officer walks the compartment, selects 8–12 sample trees, measures their diameter and height and reads age from a stem core (svetla pieaugums). Mean values for G, H, D and A across the whole compartment are derived from these samples. It is a statistical sample, not a full enumeration, so the real stand differs from the recorded one by ±10–15%.

Why are G10/H10/D10 in my record integers with no decimals?

VMD rounds to whole numbers in the printed extract for readability. The geospatial dumps in VMD open data may carry decimal values. The rounding error is around 2–3% on volume — not material for valuation.

Related reading

These articles round out the topic and place it in broader context.

• What to plant in Latvia
• Tax on cirsma sales in Latvia
• 10 pitfalls buying forest land

Sources

This text is a reference manual for interpreting VMD record fields and does not replace an official VMD consultation on a specific document. Before any transaction, always verify the record against the actual condition of the parcel through an independent forest taxation. All numbers cited from the register are a snapshot at the 2026 Q2 release date; your data at the moment of reading may differ.

• VMD (Valsts meža dienests) — register field specification 2024 (vmd.gov.lv).
• MK noteikumi Nr. 935 "Mežaudzes ciršanas noteikumi" — regulatory rotation ages (likumi.lv).
• Silava (Latvian Forest Research Institute "Silava", Latvijas Valsts mežzinātnes institūts "Silava") — site index tables, forest type typology.
• Meža likums § 11 (regeneration obligations) (likumi.lv).
• VMD Meža valsts reģistrs, release 2026 Q2 (our sample: 3,054,862 compartments; cadastre 62720050379 — real example).