Особенности строения сосновых древостоев на острове Большом Соловецком

Abstract

The studies were carried out on Bolshoy Solovetsky Island in the White Sea. The research purpose is to identify the features of pine forests in the most frequent growing conditions on the island. For this purpose, 34 sampling areas were laid out in the prevailing types (cowberry, blueberry, and sphagnum) of pine forests. In each sampling area reference trees were selected and measured, and core samples were taken from 64 trees for age determination. The paper shows that the stands are characterised by low quality class and therefore low timber stocks. The quality class in cowberry and sphagnum pine forests is Va; and in blueberry pine forests it is V. Timber stock in cowberry, blueberry and sphagnum pine forests is 92, 90 and 53 m3/ha, respectively, with a fairly close average age of 109–114 yrs. The average diameters in the stands are relatively high, while the average heights, on the other hand, are low. The diameter in cowberry and blueberry pine forests is 21 and 22 cm, respectively, and the height is 12 and 14 m, respectively. Forest stands are mostly unevenaged. An even-aged pine forest was found in only one sampling area, which is 3 % of the total amount; 21 % of stands are relatively uneven-aged, and all the rest are uneven-aged. Absolute age difference and cyclical age difference are the most typical. There is a significant share of relatively uneven-aged pine stands in blueberry and sphagnum forests. Trees in all forest types have a very low relative height. On average, it is equal to 63 cm/cm for cowberry pine forests, 61 cm/cm for blueberry pine forests, and 55 cm/cm for sphagnum pine forests, i.e. for every centimeter of diameter, trees grow in height by 55–63 cm depending on the forest type, and 36–45 % lower than the relative height in mainland pine forests. This indicates that the trees on Bolshoy Solovetsky Island are highly tapering. A negative correlation between relative height and age has been found. For citation: Sobolev A.N., Feklistov P.A. Features of the Structure of Pine Stands on Bolshoy Solovetsky Island. Lesnoy Zhurnal [Russian Forestry Journal], 2022, no. 1, pp. 77–87. DOI: 10.37482/0536-1036-2022-1-77-87