Patterns of Reforestation Successions on Abandoned Agricultural Lands of the Bashkir Cis-Urals

Abstract

The analysis and forecasting of the course of restoration successions on abandoned agricultural lands of the Bashkir Cis-Urals are presented. It was shown that the consequences of the complex influence of various economic uses of arable land after the cessation of plowing remain for a long time in the successional series. This maintains the differences between the communities of each fallow and is the reason for the high phytocoenotic diversity. Subsequently, strong shading as a result of active reforestation leads to a decrease in species richness, leveling of floristic differences between fallow communities and convergence of phytocenoses. The rate of succession and the dynamics of the floristic composition of communities are the highest in the first 12–15 years after the withdrawal of land from agricultural use before the onset of the formation of long-derived phytocenoses with a dense tree canopy. It is predicted that succession on the fallows will be influenced by the forest vegetation directly in contact with the fallows after the formation of a dense forest stand. However, the final formation of the floristic composition of the lower layers may take more than 100–150 years.