The Region runs 3400 peat fields, which contain 29% of all peat reserves found on the territory of the Republic of Belarus. Total peat deposit is estimated at more than 1 bln tons.

1430 lakes have deposits of lake silt that have been exploited since 1989 with maximum annual volume of 250 thousand tons.

The deposit of bitter-spar is estimated at hundreds of mln tons. In the town of Rouba, the only in the Republic dolomite mill produces mineral fertilizers, fillers for producing steel and roofing material.

There are 200 locations of brick clay deposits with a capacity of 70 min cubic meters with annual mining of about 1 min cubic meters.

Land resources of the Region

As of January 1, 2006, land resources of Vitebsk region are 4004.9 thousand hectares (19.3% of all lands of the Republic of Belarus), of which 1598.6 thousand hectares (39.9%) are farming lands with 922.1 thousand hectares (23.0%) of arable lands; woodlands are 1639.7 thousand hectares (40.9%), scrublands are 206.9 thousand hectares (5.1%), marshes cover 210.1 thousand hectares (5.2%), underwater lands are 145,0 thousand hectares (3.6%); roads and transportation routes cover 58.2 thousand hectares (1.5%), public places take up 24.1 thousand hectares (0.6%), constructions take up 47.2 thousand hectares (1.2%), other lands are 75,1 thousand hectares (1.9%).

Agricultural enterprises occupy 39.5% (1581.9 thousand hectares), farms take up 1.2% (46.5 thousand hectares), residents take up 7.1% (285.6 thousand hectares).

There are 1.23 hectares of farming lands per one resident of the Region and 0.71 hectares of arable lands. About a half of all lands (47.8%) and 98% of the farming lands are taken up by agricultural enterprises and personal farms.

The quality of land depends on the composition of the soil layer, which vary throughout the Region. The prevailing type is sod and podsolic soil (43.3%), swamp sod and podsolic soil (28.9%); by texture, the types of soil are clay and clay loam (66.2%), sandy loam (27.1%), sandy (4.9%), and silty (1.8%).

Overall land cadastre rating of the arable lands is 25.3 and 24.8 of the farming lands. 

Forestry

Total area of Vitebsk forestry is 1617.7 thousand hectares (th. hcs.) with 1st class forests being 764.7 th. hcs. (47.3%) and 853.0 th. hcs. (57.2%) of the 2nd class; woodlands cover 85% (1369.1 th. hcs.) of the total forestry area. 

Average planting efficiency in the Region is 171 cubic meters per hectare (m3/hc) with average in the Republic being 181 m3/hc; with exploitable and overmature it is 217 m3/hc; Republic average being 207 m3/hc.

The area of saplings is 252.4 th. hcs. (19.0% of all woodlands) with a share of conifers being 58.5% (147.4 th. hcs.).

44.0% (595.7 th. hcs.) of the woodlands is taken up by middle-aged trees. Ripening plantings take 334.6 th. hcs. (25%) of all woodlands, exploitable and overmature take 168.6 thousand hectares (12%).

Pine plantings comprise 29.0% (395.5 th. hcs), fir-tree plantings comprise 17.0% (228.0 th. hcs), oak plantings take 0.5% (6.3 th. hcs), ash-tree plantings take 0.6% (8,5 th. hcs), birch plantings comprise 30,0% (404,1 th. hcs), aspen plantings take 4,0% (53,4 th. hcs), black alder plantings comprise 6,0% (84,2 th. hcs), grey alder plantings comprise 12,0% (169,1 th. hcs) of all woodlands.

Calculated overall cutting area of Region's forestry is estimated at 1628.2 thousand cubic meters.

Every year, 2.6 mln cubic meters of wood is harvested in the Region with 1.3 mln cubic meters of industrial wood. The harvesting uses only 57% of average annual wood gain, which gives good perspectives for the improvement of the wood stock and in the end, the improvement of the volume of future harvesting. 

In 2005, the Region exported timber worth of USD14.3 mln; this is 47.6% of the bulk production.

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