Institutional Impact of Forestry on the Economy

The problems of the forest sector identified by many researchers are primarily related to the quality of institutions and the lack of effective institutional relations in the industry, according to the authors’ opinion. The results presented in the article, which prove the existence of a causal relationship between the qualitative characteristics of institutions and institutional relations and economic results, are shown for the first time in the case of the forest industry. In order to achieve the objective, the economic interrelations between forest industry entities are analyzed in the context of their institutional environment. It is revealed that the existing institutional structure of the industry supports the conflict of incentives between the owner (state) and the user (tenant) of forest land. The theoretical aspects of the specification of property rights, minimization of transaction costs and costs of contractual relations in the Russian forest industry to increase its economic efficiency are investigated. The transformation of Russian forest industry institutions should be based on the comparative advantages of existing institutions, economic models of successful forest management, objective institutional and economic indicators of sustainable growth, such as the specification of property rights and the minimization of specific transaction costs.

CONCEPT OF MONITORING ECONOMIC SECURITY OF THE RUSSIAN FOREST COMPLEX

In a rapidly developing society, digital innovations and startups are thoroughly entrenched in various areas of economic activity, meeting the needs of time. The forest complex of Russia has repeatedly undergone various economic and legal transformations, but until now it is in a stagnant state, which is largely due to the existing forest management system. The growing demand for ensuring the economic impact and economic security of the forest complex indicates the relevance of the chosen topic. The author investigated key aspects of conceptual modeling, which made it possible to conclude that its basis is an idea, concept, design, which is used in various branches of knowledge, economics and industry. A method of monitoring the current state of economic security of the forest industry is proposed based on the use of a weighted average integral indicator of the current state of economic security. The obtained data confirm the existence of threats to the economic security of the forest industry and indicate the need to organize interdepartmental cooperation to form a single plan of measures aimed at their timely neutralization in the medium term. In this regard, the creation of a single information platform that allows to obtain reliable information and monitor the provision of sectoral economic security is a key aspect of the sustainable development of the Russian forest complex in the context of the transformation of the national economy.

Generic Model of Willow Stem Volume: A Meta-Analysis

Current scenarios of the consequences of global warming stimulate research on the carbon-depositing capacity of vegetation cover. The stem is the main part of the tree biomass, and the accuracy of its volume assessment determines the possibility of correct monitoring and forecasting of forest resources. In the Russian forest management system, willow was not among the main forest-forming species, and therefore there was no need to develop valuation standards for it. However, due to the increased relevance of assessing the carbon-deposing function of Russian forests and the requirement to take into account the contribution to the carbon balance of all types of vegetation, there is a necessity to develop such standards. The solution can be found in the development of a generic model (or table) that takes into account the morphology of willows within the Salix L. genus and is based on data published in different regions and countries. The object of our research is data on the volume of willow stems, which is published and freely available in Russia, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, and Norway in the form of tables or regression models. However, the extent to which each local model is applicable in other regions is unknown. To resolve this uncertainty, we used meta-analysis as a statistical procedure that combines the results of several independent studies in order to find a common pattern. As a result, we obtained a generic model of stem volume for the Salix genus, which is characterized by a high coefficient of determination and can be applied to estimate the stem volume of any species of this genus with minimum deviations from the calculated values. The results of the work are aimed at improving the accuracy of accounting deciduous stands during forest management and monitoring activities, valuation of stands on permanent and temporary trial plots. The implementation of unified standards for the use, reproduction, conservation and protection of willow stands with all the diversity of its species will solve a number of practical issues. For citation: Usoltsev V.А., Paramonov А.А., Tretyakov S.V., Koptev S.V., Tsepordey I.S. Generic Model of Willow Stem Volume: A Meta-Analysis. Lesnoy Zhurnal [Russian Forestry Journal], 2021, no. 3, pp. 49–58. DOI: 10.37482/0536-1036-2021-3-49-58

TREMATODE FAUNA OF WILD UNGULATES

In the Russian forest zone, from 15 to 30 species of helminths were recorded in the European elk and roe deer in the areas of the habitat of wild artiodactyls, according to researchers. The purpose of our work was to study the trematode fauna of helminths in elks and roe deer caught in hunting farms of the Central region of Russia. The study objects were wild artiodactyl animals, the European elk (Alces alces), the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and the wild boar (Sus scrofa). Biological material for research (gastrointestinal tract, liver of animals, etc.) was collected during the licensed hunting period on these artiodactyls in hunting farms in the period of 2020 and the beginning of 2021. 39 animals of artiodactyls were examined (by the method of incomplete helminthological dissection), of which were 9 elks aged from 3 to 7 years, and 26 roe deer aged from 2 to 5 years, and 4 wild boars of 2–3 years old. Among wild animals, according to the results of postmortem examination, the Fasciola invasion was found in two roe deer. The prevalence of the invasion was 7.6%. When examining the liver of elks and wild boars, the causative agent of fascioliasis was not found.

Soil invertebrates of the Russian forest-steppes (review of XX-XXI century publications and the revision of the results)

The review describes the main stages of the formation and development of soil zoology as a science at the intersection of zoology, ecology and soil science, approximately over a century, i.e. from the beginning of the 1920s until now. The analysis of soil-zoological work carried out in the forest-steppe zone, the subject of which was the fauna and population of soil protozoa, worms, molluscs, microarthropods and larger arthropods, collectively referred to as mesofauna. The forest-steppe was chosen as the topic of the review because it is well-studied and because most of the work on this biome was published in Russian, and little is known abroad (which is not surprising, since more than 80% of the forest-steppe territory is located in Russia). The authors reviewed about 170 the most significant works inventorying soil fauna, analyzing its ecological structure and the functional role of its various components, as well as the studies of the anthropogenic impact on soil animal populations. The works are presented on a territorial basis: the west of the European part of the USSR (Russia), the Volga region and West Siberia. The high species richness and originality of the soil fauna in the forest-steppe, its high resistance to natural and anthropogenic influences were shown. At the end, the review indicates some promising directions for soil fauna research in the Russian forest-steppe.

The forest department as a state-legal institution of the Russian Empire: formation and development

The article highlights the formation and improvement of Russian forest management during the XVIII–XIX centuries. The birth, functioning and main stages of the state legal institute of the Russian Empire-the Forest Department. The contribution of the leaders of the empire to the improvement of forest legislation, the development and improvement of forest state policy is noted, the activities for the conservation, protection and restoration of forests of the Russian Empire are considered. The main legislative initiatives and changes in the forest industry, improvement in the management structure of the Forest Department are monitored. The imperial decrees and resolutions of a forest nature, on the creation of a forest management system, the organization of the forest guard, the recruitment of the forest department are considered, the emperor’s desire to ensure the integrity of forests is emphasized. The main stages of the forest department’s activity are analyzed, highlighting special achievements in the field of forest legislation and state measures for the implementation of forest management and forest protection works

Reliability and Integrity of Forest Sector Statistics—A Major Constraint to Effective Forest Policy in Russia

Russia owns one-fifth of the world’s forest-covered area but has never been the leader of the global forest sector nor in gross output or relative productivity. The issues of the Russian forest sector have attracted research attention, but for many topics, this is still a green field on the map of sectoral studies. We developed a novel approach to understand the primary causes of the inefficiency of the Russian forest policy through the qualitative assessment of completeness and reliability of forest sector-related data. The main output of this paper is a thorough overview of the available sources of data with an assessment of their quality, completeness and reliability. We show that the Russian official forest sector statistics provide only basic indicators for very short periods with few observations being incomplete and inconsistent. Besides a critical analysis of the official statistics, we also discover some known, but still underemployed, resources of information on the Russian forest sector: textual information of official public bodies and companies, accounting records, remote-sensing data, etc. Finally, we discuss the possible ways to improve the data procurement of the forest sector in Russia to support future decision-making. We are convinced that a prerequisite for the implementation of effective forest policy in Russia is a significant expansion and improvement of the volume and quality of statistics on the dynamics of Russian forests and forest economy. Integration of existing and new data sources is necessary to achieve synergistic effects, both in terms of deepening the understanding of key business processes in the industry and in the sense of solving strategic tasks of its development.