Forest Typology and Settlement Characteristics of the Emerald Network “The Lower Part of the Uda River Valley” in the Kharkiv Region

The importance and significance of the conservation of the Emerald Object “The lower part of the Uda River Valley” (UA0000295) in botanical and general ecological aspects is discussed in detail. It is located on the outskirts of Kharkiv with an area of 13,381.0 ha. The studied area combines floodplains of regions occupied by meadows, shrub fragments and forest vegetation, and pine forests with artificial pine plantations. Areas of the loess plateau with arable land and deciduous forests, as well. List of the leading plant species, area's, main ecological and biotic features of identified habitats under Resolution 4 of the Berne Convention, in particular, C1.222, C1.32, C1.33, C3.34, D5.2, E1.2, E2.2, E3.4, F9.1, F3.247, G1.11, G1.21, G1.41, G1.8, G3.4232, G1.A4, G1.A1 for the Emerald Object are presented. The largest areas are occupied by biotops of lowland bogs with sedge and reed thickets without stagnant water (D5.2). There are plain hay fields (E2.2) and wet and moist meadows with a predominance of grasslands (E3.4) and deciduous forests in medium rich and rich soils (G1.A1), fresh and dry forests, and Sarmatian-type forests (G3.4232). The typological diversity of the forest of the territory, the area covered with forest vegetation is 11,585.0 ha, were outlined. Oak (Quercus robur L.) (8,091.5 ha, 69.83%) with a predominance in its plantations of fresh maple-linden oak and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) (2,529.8 ha, 21.84%) with a predominance of fresh oak-pine sedge are the main forest-forming species. Some species have appropriate conservation status in Ukraine (Botrychium lunaria (L.) SW., Dactylorhiza incarnata (L.) Soo s.l., Epipactis palustris (L.) Crantz, Anacamptis coriophora (L.) R.M. Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W. Chase (Orchis coriophora L.), A. palustris (Jacq.) R.M. Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W. Chase (Orchis palustris Jacq.), and several species are protected at the regional level (Centaurium erythraea Rafn., C. pulchellum (Sw.) Druce, Dianthus stenocalyx Juz., Inula helenium L., Iris pseudacorus L., Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim., Caltha palustris L., Geum rivale L., Parnassia palustris L., Sanguisorba officinalis L., Valeriana officinalis L.)

Russian Approaches to the Forest Type Classification

The results of researches characterizing the geographical distribution of forest-ecological, phytocoenotic, and genetic classifications of forest types in the Russian Federation nowadays are presented in the thesis. A comparative analysis was carried out for the following items: the inclusive concept of a classification unit (a type of habitat conditions; a type of forest); features of distinguishing the border of the classification units; classification features used to determine the type of habitat conditions; features of the classification of phytocoenoses used to determine the forest type; the degree to which the successional dynamics of forest stands are taken into consideration; the degree to which the influence of anthropogenic factors are taken into consideration; the level of implementation in forest management and forestry practice; regions of implementation. In the process of development of forest typologies, the concept of a forest type changed from understanding it as a forest area homogeneous by composition, structure, and appearance (homogeneity in space) in natural classifications to the concepts of a forest type, in which priority is given to homogeneity in origin (genesis), as well as developmental processes and dynamics (homogeneity in time) in genetic and dynamic typologies. Currently, there is the following forest type classification in the Russian Federation: forest-ecological, phytocoenotic, genetic, and dynamic. When classifying forest areas within the forest-ecological direction provided by E.V. Alekseev – P.S. Pogrebnyak, the priority is given to the characteristics of the habitat conditions. Within the phytocoenotic direction provided by V.N. Sukachev, the priority is given to the phytocoenosis characteristics. Within the genetic approach provided by B.A. Ivashkevich – B.P. Kolesnikov, a forest type is considered as a series of alternating phases – types of phytocoenosis within the same type of habitat conditions. In this case, phytocoenotic classifications can be a part of the genetic classifications for the climax forest phytocoenosis. And the dynamic approach provided by I.S. Melekhov is very close to the genetic one and is a superstructure over the classical phytocoenotic forest typology provided by V.N. Sukachev. The current use of forest typological classifications by forest inventory management enterprises in the Russian Federation was studied. A map of the geographical distribution of forest typologies of the above-listed directions of forest typology researches was created. Forest-ecological classifications are used mainly in the southern regions of the European part of Russia and the North Caucasus. Forest typologies created based on a genetic approach to the forest type classification are used in Western Siberia, in the south of the Far East and Eastern Siberia, and in some regions of the Urals. Phytocoenotic classifications of forest types are used in other regions of the Russian Federation.

The important role of multifunctional forests in society: a methodology for stands delimitation

Forest planning and management must be conceived in accordance with the circumstances and needs of the moment. Nowadays, the forest does not have a single and exclusive productive use but responds to multiple demands. The stand management method, with a broad approach, is has been recently well adapted to this type of multipurpose management. This study proposes a methodology for delimiting stands which led to manage different uses in forests in protected areas. The methodology consists of six phases: (i) create permanents units (ii) initial identification of forest typologies, (iii) image analysis, (iv) identification of tree types within the forest typology, (v) detailed inventory and (vi) formation of stands. An example is presented for the “Monte Paris” forest, located a few kilometers from Madrid, which combines protective, livestock and recreational use. For the protection use, pruning and thinning will be carried out, for the livestock use, supplementation, meadow sowing and enclosures, and for the recreational use, the design of an environmental center and five ecological trails are proposed. The organization in time and space of the activities planned in the stands allows a correct and satisfactory management of the multiple uses that occur in this forest.

Assessing Forest Structural and Topographic Effects on Habitat Productivity for the Endangered Apennine Brown Bear

Any forest management potentially affects the availability and quality of resources for forest-dwelling wildlife populations, including endangered species. One such species is the Apennine brown bear, a small and unique population living in the central Apennines of Italy. The conservation of this relict bear population is hampered by the lack of knowledge of the fine-scale relationships between productivity of key foods and forest structure, as this prevents the design and implementation of effective forest management plans. To address this issue, we sampled the main structural stand attributes within the bear’s range and used multivariate generalized linear mixed models in a Bayesian framework to relate forest structural attributes to proxies of productivity of key bear foods. We found that hard mast was positively associated with both forest typology and high forest system, but negatively related to both the time elapsed since the last forest utilization and the amount of deadwood. The availability of soft-mast producing species was positively related to past forestry practices but negatively associated with steep slopes historically managed with high tree densities and a low silvicultural disturbance. Our findings also suggest that herb cover was negatively affected by terrain steepness and basal area, while herb productivity was positively affected by northern and southern exposure. Additionally, richness of forest ants was associated with forests characterized by low volume and high density. Our findings confirm that the productivity of natural bear foods is strongly affected by forest structural and topographical characteristics and are relevant as preliminary information for forest management practices to support the long-term conservation of Apennine bears.

Recreational and health forests of Kremenets district, Ternopil region

The article presents the results of the research of recreational and health stands in Kremenets district of Ternopil region. The total area of these forests is 5868.2 hectares. Studies of the typological structure of the forests were carried out according to the methods of AlekseevPohrebniak Forest Typology of Forestry Ecological School. MapInfo Professional 12.0 and a vector map of Ukraine were used to construct a map-scheme of the research region. The typological variety of recreational and health-improving stands is represented from subors (В) to dubravas (D). Thus, dubravas are the largest share among them (72.9% of the total area covered with forest vegetation). The share of the area of sudubravas is 17.7% of the total area covered with forest vegetation; the rest is subors (9.4%). Forest managers have identified 14 types of forests on the territory of the research facility. Thus, there are only 2 types of forest in the subors, 8 types of forest in the sudubravas and 4 types of forests in the dubravas. The most common type of forest in Kremenets district is fresh hornbeam forest represented 71.6% of the total area covered with forest vegetation. The share of fresh hornbeam-oak-pine forest reaches 17.1%; a slightly smaller share is represented by fresh oak-pine subors — 9.4%. The forest species diversity is represented by 22 species of trees. Thus, among these tree species, the largest area is occupied by Common Oak (Quercus robur L.) — 40.6% of the total area covered with forest vegetation, and 29.1% — by Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Stands of artificial origin (78.0% of the total area covered with forest vegetation) are dominant; the rest of stands have natural origin (22.0%). The age structure of stands is unbalanced. Middle-aged stands dominate (57.9% of the total area covered with forest vegetation). The share of maturing, young and matured forests ranges from 9.0 to 14.9% of the total forest area. In terms of relative completeness, stands with a density of 0.71–0.8 dominate which is 37.7% of the total area covered with forest vegetation. The share of stands with completeness of 0.61–0.7 (29.9%) and 0.81–0.9 (14.5%) is slightly smaller. The bonitete classes are dominated by stands of the I bonitete class — 51.3% of the total area covered with forest vegetation. Thus, the share of II, Ia and III bonitete classes varies from 7.1 to 23.3% of the total forest area

Analysis of species diversity of forests on the territory of Kharkivska Oblast

The paper presents the findings of a study of species diversity of forests in the Kharkivska Oblast. The study was conducted on the territory of ten forestry enterprises and the State Enterprise Kharkiv Forest Research Station and the Homilsha Woods National Nature Park on an area of 282.3 thousand ha (area is subordinated to the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine). The purpose of the study was to analyse the species diversity and typological structure of forests in the Kharkivska Oblast. The study of species diversity was carried out based on analysis of the subcompartment database of the VO Ukrderzhlisproekt. The plantations were classified by the trophotope on the territory of the research facility in accordance with the main methodological provisions of the Ukrainian forestry and forest typology. A diagrammatic map of forests and dominant species (common oak and Scots pine) was compiled using the MapInfo Professional 12.5 software package and a vector map of 12 forestries in the Kharkivska Oblast. It has been established that 56 species of trees grow in the Kharkivska Oblast. Among these tree species, the predominant ones are common oak (53.4%) and Scots pine (32.7%). The distribution of plantations by trophotope is characterised by certain features. For example, dubrava conditions prevail in the stands (65.6% of the total area covered by forest vegetation), subor forests are 3.5 times less represented, and sudubravas and pine forests are the least common. Among the forest types, the most common are fresh maple-linden dubravas (43.7%) and fresh oak-pine subors (18.9%). The practical significance of the study is that the analysis of species diversity and typological structure of forests must be taken into account during the planning, organisation, and conduct of forestry activities in the Kharkivska Oblast

Peculiarities of diameter distribution and dynamics of marketability structure of alder stands in Slobozhanskyi forest typology district

A review of literary sources on the diameter distribution of trees and marketability structure of black alder stands in the Slobozhanskyi forest typological district and the whole of Ukraine is carried out, the relevance of this study is established. Comparison of forest typological and forest management zoning is presented for a clearer identification of the study region, as a prerequisite for the creation of regional standards for forestry. The analysis of the distribution of black alder in the forest fund of the study region is carried out and the forestry and evaluation indicators of the alder forest stands are studied. The distribution of black alder stands of the region by origin, forest types, density of stocking and productivity has been evaluated. The evaluation indicators and marketability structure of black alder stands in the study region are considered. Models of the diameter variability of the modal stand, the ratio of the variability of the industrial timber part to the total dimensional variability of the stand, taking into account the minimum and maximum diameters in the modal stand, have been calculated. The relationship between the proportion of industrial timber and the age of modal alder stands of coppice origin has been established. The tables of the marketability structure dynamics of modal alder stands were created, taking into account the distribution of the volumes of industrial timber by dimensional classes, consistent with European approaches to round timber measurement. When compiling the standards, the previously developed yield tables of modal black alder stands of coppice origin of the Slobozhanskyi forest typological district, a comparative analysis of the dynamics of the output of industrial timber in modal black alder stands according to different standards is carried out. When comparing the standards developed for the Slobozhanskyi forest typological district with the standards developed for the whole of Ukraine, it was found that in the latter the output of industrial timber is significantly higher, which is primarily associated with the forest site conditions of the region and the coppice origin of forest stands.

Growth and yield of modal scots pine stands in the Chornobyl exclusion zone

In the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, Scots pine stands, which cover an area of over 80,000 hectares, perform an important environmental function, in particular, they serve as a significant natural factor influencing the regional carbon balance of the region’s forest ecosystems. The efficiency of production of this function significantly depends on the balance of management decisions regarding forest management and rational use of forest resources within radiation-contaminated areas. The information base for ensuring sustainable forest management, including monitoring of radionuclide migration in forest ecosystems of the Exclusion zone, is represented by a set of reference and information support, an important component of which are yield tables for modal stands. In order to supplement this complex with information on the peculiarities of Scots pine stands growth, mathematical models of dynamics of biometric indices are proposed and forest typology-based yield tables of modal pine stands of Chernobyl Exclusion Zone are developed within this work. The information basis of the research is presented by information from the database of IA “Ukrderzhlisproekt”, which contains the biometric assessment characteristics of Scots pine stands in the study region, as well as data from 18 temporary sample plots. In course of modelling, power and exponential growth functions were used. As a result, mathematical models of mean height, mean diameter, sum of basal area, growing stock and total productivity of pine stands of the studied region are proposed. These mathematical dependences serve as a basis for the development of forest typology-based yield tables for modal Scots pine stands. In particular, yield tables for modal pine stands growing in dry infertile pine sites, fresh infertile pine sites, fresh fairly infertile pine-oak sites, moist fairly infertile pine-oak sites and moist fairly fertile hornbeam-oak-pine sites are proposed. The developed mathematical models describe the dynamics of biometric indices for more than 90 % of the area of Scots pine stands in the study region.