From the Experience of Expert Assessment of Illegal Logging of Forest Stands

The article presents the results of an expert assessment of the thinning out of forest stands on the territory of the N district of the Kirov region based on field studies. Fieldwork consisted of recalculating and measuring the diameters of stumps left after felling trees, establishing their species composition and quality condition to determine the volume of harvested wood in the context of species. The stumps found were identified as pine (70 %), spruce, birch, and aspen.The authors reveal that the release forest cutting was carried out within the boundaries of the designated cutting area with an excess of the established volume of wood harvesting for the prime breed (pine). The volume of felled pinewood exceeded 2.5 times; for other species, these data is more than 70 % lower than declared. At the same time, the total actual volume of the withdrawn wood does not exceed the data of the forest declaration. Based on the revealed violation of the forest legislation and the relevant regulatory documents, the authors have calculated the amount of damage caused to the forest plantation due to illegal logging of pine wood in the volume of 297 m3. The damage amounted to more than 4 million rubles.

The larch forest of the “Bastak” State Nature Reserve (Jewish autonomous region)

The article presents the information about the current state of the larch forests of the “Bastak”. State Nature Reserve The area, ecological and cenotic conditions of growth are determined, the classification of the studied plant communities is presented, a brief description of the forest structure is given. The current state of the larch forests of the “Bastak” State Nature Reserve can be assessed as fairly stable. Currently, larch forests occupy within 25 % of the forested area. The most widespread area is occupied by lowland larch forests (94 %). Mountain larch forests are derived plant communities formed after forest cutting in fir-spruce forests.

Soil fauna of cut and burnt forest areas in the Khibiny Mountains

In the framework of monitoring the restoration of anthropogenic disturbed soil cover and its invertebrates fauna in the polar mountains, a study of pine forest cut and burnt forest areas have been conducted in the inter-mountain valley of the Khibiny Mts. Changes of edaphic factors that determine the diversity and abundance of soil fauna were revealed five years after exposure the fire: decrease of soil pH (from 3.8 to 4.2), and content of total carbon and nitrogen, and a steady increase of humidity in the upper soil horizon in the felling and in the burned pine forest. In soil samples at four sites, representatives of 20 taxonomic groups of invertebrates have been taken into account, with greater diversity and minimal numbers in the burnt pine forest. A significant reduction of soil fauna number has been detected as a result of all types of anthropogenic impact, with insignificant differences in this parameter between disturbed sites (burnt pine forest, forest cutting, and burnt forest cutting). In a pair of control pine forest and a burnt pine forest an increasing differences in the structure of the soil fauna has been revealed in comparison with the study of these territories in 2015 or two years after a ground fire. The importance of a vegetation layer confirmed for preserving the soil fauna and maintaining the hydrothermal regime favorable for its recovery. The attraction of light- and thermophilic species of ground beetles and staphylinids, which are not typical for Khibiny Mts has been revealed on the burning felling and burning pine forest. Thus, burnt territories enrich the local fauna of this Polar Mountain Massif and the fauna of the Murmansk region as a whole.

Influence of forest cutting down on runoff and nutrient removal from forest catchment of Karelia (according to mathematical modeling)

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of forestry activities on the runoff and nutrient removal from the forest catchments of Karelia using mathematical modeling. The catchment area of the Big Velmuksa river in Karelia with an area of about 139 km2 has been chosen as a research object. It is a part of the catchment of the Vodla river - one of the largest tributaries of Lake Onega. Almost the entire catchment area of the Big Velmuksa river is forested (94%). The main direction of economic activity in the forest catchment areas in Karelia, including the Big Velmuksa catchment, is cutting down and growing new forest. In this study a simple model of runoff and nutrient removal from the forest catchment has been proposed. The purpose of this model is to describe the dynamics of the studied processes both during the natural development of the forest and in the process of reforestation after cutting down. It is shown that when forestry activities are carried out in accordance with forestry regulations rules, significant changes in runoff and nutrient removal are not recorded. The obtained result is explained by the fact that the volume of cutting down is approximately equal to the volume of growth, the level of variation in runoff and removal of chemicals depending insignificantly on human forestry activities. In addition, a simulation of the effects of hypothetical cutting down of 50 and 100% of the forest area on an experimental catchment has been carried out, allowing to assess the interval of possible extreme changes in runoff and nutrient removal. The results show the increase in runoff from the catchment to be 48 mm / year and the decrease in nutrient removal - 14.3 tN / year and 0.35 tP / year after 100% deforestation. Subsequent reforestation and the associated increase in nitrogen and phosphorus removal will continue for about 80 years

Application of fuzzy and classical Multi-Criteria Decision-Making methods in assessing the forest area preservation level of Romania’s counties

With over a quarter of its territory covered by forest, Romania stands out as a European country with a medium forest area extension. Despite the fact that the forest area has increased since 2008, there are counties that are affected by forest loss caused by outlawed forest cutting and other factors. This calls for improved knowledge and critical spatial planning of the forest area at county level. The aim of this study is to assess the forest area preservation level of Romania’s 41 counties using fuzzy and classical Multi-Criteria Decision-Making methods. The paper includes inferences regarding the distribution of the illegal forest cutting cases at county level, that link forest management issues with the forest area preservation level. Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) is applied to weigh factors related to the changes of forest provisions, forest loss and forest regeneration processes, dimensions of forest exploitation and illegal forest cutting cases using forest data referring to 1990-2017. The alternatives are represented by the 41 counties of Romania and are evaluated by the use of Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). The results are integrated with GIS and the choropleth map may serve as a powerful visual and practical tool for identifying the counties with pressing forest loss issues. Results show the counties with the lowest levels of forest area preservation were Argeș, Prahova and Gorj. Harghita, Brăila and Suceava counties recorded the highest levels of forest area preservation. While some of the counties that rank among the least in terms of forest area preservation are also altered by massive illegal forest cutting, there are others that serve as counter-examples. The discrepancies are explained by the provisional character of the illegal forest cutting data. Our study shows significant practical importance, pointing out the administrative units of Romania that need to take urgent action in order to mitigate the problem of forest loss and to better their forest management. Keywords: forest area preservation, Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process, Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution, forest management, illegal forest cutting, Romania.

Tree Pruning in Electrical Network: Topic and Fundamentals in Machines and Robots

This paper presents a current literature and techno¬logical revision of tools and equipment for tree pruning or forest cutting in the electricity and telecommunications lines, showing a research methodology based on consultation of patents and databases of national projects, selecting the more representative.In the end, it proposes a panorama of the market and identifies possible innovations and suggestions for news and better machines for the area.

Red List of Estonian lichens: revision in 2019

The second assessment of the threat status of Estonian lichens based on IUCN system was performed in 2019. The main basis for choosing the species to be currently assessed was the list of legally protected lichens and the list of species assigned to the Red List Categories RE–DD in 2008. Species that had been assessed as Least Concern (LC) in 2008 were not evaluated. Altogether, threat status of 229 lichen species was assessed, among them 181 were assigned to the threatened categories (CR, EN, VU), while no species were assigned to the LC category. Compared to the previous red list, category was deteriorated for 58% and remained the same for 32% of species. In Estonia, threatened lichens inhabit mainly forests (particularly dry boreal and nemoral deciduous stands), alvar grasslands, sand dunes and various saxicolous habitats. Therefore, the most frequent threat factors were forest cutting and overgrowing of alvars and dunes (main threat factor for 96 and 70 species, respectfully). Eesti samblike punane nimestik 2019 2019. aastal viidi läbi teistkordne IUCN süsteemil põhinev Eesti samblike ohustatuse hindamine. Hinnati liike, mis on riiklikult kaitstud ning liike, mis 2008. aasta hindamise järgi olid Eestis kas regionaalselt välja surnud, kriitilises seisundis, väljasuremisohus, ohualtid, ohulähedased või puuduliku andmestikuga (kategooriad RE–DD). 2008. a-l kategooriasse Soodsas seisundis (LC) kuulunud liike ei kaasatud uude hindamisse. Kokku hinnati 229 samblikuliigi ohustatust, nendest 181 kuulusid ohustatud kategooriatesse (CR, EN või VU); ükski hinnatud liik ei sobinud kategooriasse LC. Võrreldes eelmise punase nimestikuga tõusis kategooria 58% liikidel ning jäi samaks 32%-l. Ohustatud samblikuliigid asustavad Eestis peamiselt metsi (eriti palu- ja salumetsi), loopealseid, liivikuid ning erinevaid kivi-kasvupindu. Seetõttu on sagedasemad ohutegurid metsaraie ning loodude ja liivikute kinnikasvamine (oluline tegur vastavalt 96 ja 70 liigile).