Resources of birch trees and their productivity for honey collection in conditions of the Leningrad region

Abstract

The Leningrad Oblast has a rich food base for bees on forest land. Still, currently, there is no regulatory basis for assessing the honey resources of birch forest land at the regional level. Therefore, forest areas with woody, shrubby or herbaceous plants as part of the woody, shrubby or herbaceous layer are used as a forage base for bees. The birch forests of the Leningrad region are the second largest in terms of the area covered. The research aims to carry out an inventory of honey resources and determine honey productivity for the primary honey plants under the birch canopy and forest edges. We used a proven survey methodology for counting plants of the understorey at the experimental sites. The study presented 71 species from 31 families of melliferous plants of blueberry, wormwood and herb-meadow birch forests. Significant melliferous plants under the birch canopy are Aegopodium podagraria L. (herb-twine and sagebrush birch, 57 kilograms/hectare); Vaccinium myrtillus L. (birch bilberry and acidic birch, 27 kilograms/hectare); Veronica chamaedrys L. (acidic birch, 24 kilograms/hectare). Rubus idaeus L. (107 kg/ha) has maximum honey production in the forest margins. The honey yield of Frangula Alnus Mill. and Chamaenerion angustifolium (L.) Scop is 50-60 kg/ha; the honey yield of Trifolium medium L. is 32 kg/ha. The evaluation of the birch woodlands showed that the studied components of the forest phytocenosis are characterized by a significant number of honey-bearing plant species that have a wide range of honey productivity.