ANALYSIS OF QUERCUS SELECTION OBJECTS IN VORONEZH AND THE VORONEZH REGION

Ecosystem services provided by forest ecosystems are diverse: improving microclimate formation, storing carbon, reducing storm flow, and absorbing pollutants from the air. One of the scientific tools aimed at reforestation and obtaining high-quality forest products is forest-seed nurseries and selection objects. We analyzed the materials of world and Russian scientific research on forest tree selection. The most frequently used approaches to forest selection, aims, as well as data on oak selection objects in the Voronezh region are highlighted. According to international practices, promising selection objects were selected and the possibility of their further use was evaluated. The following parameters of breeding objects were studied: creation aims, origin of breeding material, species, age of breeding objects, fruiting. In the practice of world forest breeding, the consequences of the introduction of non-native tree plantations on natural ecosystems, the need to integrate artificial plantations, the question of breed (species) forest plantation composition, prevention of invasion of plantation species, morphophysiological assessment of geographical crop responses, the role of genetic adaptation and physiological plasticity, as well as test crops, selection of the most productive individuals. The following oak selection objects were selected in the Voronezh region: geographical crops, forest-seed plantation, clone archive, plus trees. All these objects are in good condition, productive and produce seed progeny. Thus, they can be implemented in modern scientific research of forest genetics and breeding in accordance with the tasks of the forest industry.

Aspects of Habitat Use by Birds during Spring in Natural Forests and Non-Native Plantation Forests in the Lower Siret Meadow (Eastern Romania)

The Lower Siret Meadow forest habitats have been altered from natural structure because of commercial forestry operations, activities that are defining the forest management from previous decades. Afforestation programs aimed to test the introduction of exotic tree species in order to increase wood production and to reduce harvest time intervals. These commercial influences reflect in the decrease of natural forest areas, aspect that could influence the birds presence. Studies on the ecological impact of plantations on birds are scarce, and no studies were found regarding this aspect in the region. Using six different sample areas both in native and non-native tree plantations, we investigated how bird presence is influenced by the support capacity offered by both natural or non-native plantations and which vegetation variables are related to our results. We compared the data from the surveyed areas to relate birds presence and dependence on certain characteristics of the habitats. Our results pointed out that species diversity is higher in natural forests with local tree species and vegetation characteristics like forest canopy density, shrub coverage, and herbaceous layer.