Abstract
The article examines the dynamics of forest management in the Arkhangelsk region for the period from 2008 to 2020. Over the past three years, about 44 million m3 of marketable timber has been cut (57.6% of the permissible harvest). The withdrawal of marketable timber (within the allowable cut) increased by almost 1.5 times (from 10.24 to 14.86 million m3). The maximum volume of harvested wood falls on 2018 and 2020, respectively. The share of soft-leaved wood cut down during the period under review increased from 19.1% to 31.1%. This increase is due to the transport accessibility of secondary deciduous plantations located in close proximity to logging roads. The average share of marketable timber harvested by non-clear felling was 14.4%, the maximum volume of timber harvested by these fellings was recorded in 2020 - 2.6 million m3 or 17.4%. The total area involved in economic activities increased by 38.5%, from 100.8 thousand hectares to 138.9 thousand hectares. On average, 22.6% was allotted for partial cutting, and 77.4% for clear cutting. Spatial analysis of partial cuttings in the total volume of timber harvesting showed a very low percentage (up to 10%) in 14 forestries. This is due to the logging of the last century, the structure of the forest fund, the presence of wet and swampy areas, the lack of road infrastructure, etc. The distribution of forestries by the intensity of forest use showed that a high intensity of harvesting of marketable timber (over 500.1 thousand m3) is observed in 13 forest districts, mainly concentrated in the south of the Arkhangelsk region. The dynamics of the forest fund testifies that modern forest management has made adjustments to the distribution of the areas of forest plantations in the context of age groups and household sections. For example, the area of coniferous forests decreased by 649.2 thousand hectares (3.8%), while the area of soft-leaved forests increased by 471.95 thousand hectares or 9.1%. Past and modern forest management is reflected in the age structure of forests. A very small percentage of ripening stands in the future will not make it possible to compensate for the felled ripe and overmature stands at their expense. It is possible to level the age structure of the forest fund and form a so-called continuous forest taking into account the current trends in forest management, when on average about 60% of periodic yield is cut down
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