Forest Shelterbelts Research Articles

Root Biomass Distribution of Populus sibirica and Ulmus pumila Afforestation Stands Is Affected by Watering Regimes and Fertilization in the Mongolian Semi-arid Steppe.

Desertification of the semi-arid steppe of Mongolia is advancing very rapidly, motivating afforestation efforts. The “Green Belt” joint project (Government of Mongolia and Republic of Korea), which aims to mitigate soil degradation and develop agroforestry activities through the planting of a forest shelterbelt, is one such response. In these plantations, tree growth has been supported by different watering regimes (no watering, 2, 4, and 8 L h−1) and by two types of soil fertilization (NPK and Compost). The present paper analyses the effect of these techniques on soil chemistry and root biomass partitioning of Populus sibirica (Horth ex Tausch) and Ulmus pumila (L.) tree species. In July 2019, at the plantation site in Lun Soum, Tuv province (Mongolia), six trees were excavated by hand in each treatment, the root system was divided into taproot and five diameter classes (0–2; 2–5; 5–10; 10–20; > 20 mm), and the biomass was measured. Soil organic matter, macronutrients, and pH were also measured. The addition of fertilizers in the long-term did not enhance the soil chemical properties. The build-up of root biomass in both species correlated positively with increasing levels of the watering, while the application of fertilizers led to root growth suppression. For most of the root classes and both species, an irrigation level of 4 L h−1 was sufficient to yield the highest biomass and could be recommended for afforesting the semi-arid steppe of Mongolia. The root biomass of P. sibirica was more dependent on the watering regimes and of U. pumila was more negatively influenced by the application of fertilizers, indicating that U. pumila, due to the its lower water need, could be suitable for afforesting semi-arid environments. Our experiments suggest that afforestation practices in the semi-arid steppe of Mongolia should be supported by a prior analysis of plants' needs, soil type, dose, and type of fertilizers to be applied. Knowledge of the root response to the supporting techniques is necessary for choosing the best one for the plantation and, thus, to develop a sustainable and successful strategy to restore these degraded lands.

Study on the planting arrangement of <i>Camellia japonica</i> on the earthwork which called “Dote” and collecting utility of the seeds by residents for camellia oils in Izu-Oshima Island

We investigated the planting arrangements on an earthwork around a residence and the residents’ seed collecting activities on Izu-Oshima Island to understand how the use of Camellia japonica can transform the cultural landscape. At the study site, an earthwork was built around the residence in the first half of the 1900s when a resident settled there. A windbreak forest was then formed by planting the native species C. japonica and Cerasus speciosa on the earthwork. In total, 130 trees grew on the earthwork, which had a length of 96 m, among which C. japonica was the dominant species, accounting to 46%. Responses to a questionnaire indicated that many of the island’s residents collect the seeds of C. japonica from windbreak forests around their homes and fields and take them to oil extraction traders as a raw material for camellia oil. This collection activity serves as a small-scale business and provides additional income, which acts as a management incentive to plant C. japonica windbreak forests. We judged that this activity was a minor subsistence practice because it also gave other rewards, such as health and fitness benefits and bringing a sense of fulfillment. The windbreak forest dominated by C. japonica with the earthwork was one of unique cultural landscapes, and it was the feature to renew the landscape through resident's management and use of a Camellia.

ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF FUNCTIONING OF PROTECTIVE FOREST LANDS IN THE CONDITIONS OF FOREST STEPPE OF THE RIGHT BANK

The positive agroecological impact of field-protective forest plantations on the state of agricultural land is noted, which is manifested in the cessation of the development of water and wind erosion, the accumulation of moisture in the soil, the creation of a favorable microclimate in crops, an increase in the general biodiversity, which leads to an increase in the yield of field cult by 20%, the productivity of pastures - up to 25%, dairy production - up to 12%. However, in recent years, the functional properties of field-protective afforestation have sharply decreased due to an unbalanced ratio of arable land, natural hayfields and pastures, forests with a significant predominance of arable land; strengthening of the negative impact on agricultural landscapes and their biological component, in particular climate change in the direction of aridity, aridization, technogenic load, and the like; deterioration of the silvicultural state of field-protective forest plantations of a linear type, a decrease in their areas, a decrease in protective and reclamation functions, a violation of their optimal age and species structure; the inconsistency of the structures of field-protective forest plantations with certain types of agricultural landscapes, reduces their ameliorative impact on agricultural land; the absence of completed systems of protective forest plantations of the linear type; application of simplified technologies in agriculture, weakening the ameliorative influence of protective forest plantations of a linear type on agricultural land; decrease in the volume of creation of agroforestry plantations over the past decades; lack of targeted systemic government measures for protective forest plantations of the linear type; insufficient total area of various categories of protective forest plantations of the linear type; reduction of the area of protective forest plantations of the linear type due to illegal economic activities; liquidation of agroforestry services; a significant decrease in the amount of funding for scientific research on agroforestry; lack of legal norms that provide for liability for inefficient land use. Analysis of the current degree of completeness and completeness of systems of field-protective forest plantations and the need for their optimization showed that field-protective forest cover in Ukraine is only 1.5% of the total land use area, in particular, in the Steppe zone - 2.2%, in the Forest-steppe - 1.0 and in Polesie - 0.4%. The area of forest shelter belts for various purposes, as well as forests, which, in turn, perform protective functions, is insufficient to stabilize the environment and create conditions for normal management. The total and field-protective forest cover of agricultural land in Ukraine is significantly lower than the established standards, which are about 3%. At this time, the situation with field-protective plantations is as follows: lands under field-protective forest belts no longer belong to the lands of the forest fund, but have become agricultural lands with the status of non-agricultural lands; lands under forest shelter belts are in communal ownership; lands for forest shelterbelts are transferred for permanent use and lease; permanent use of land for field protection plantations is transferred exclusively to specialized enterprises of communal and state forms of ownership; any natural or legal person can get a lease of field-protective forest belts, provided that the lease agreement includes the obligation to maintain and preserve such belts and ensure that they perform the functions of agroforestry reclamation; the rules for the maintenance of shelterbelts must be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

Detecting Forest Degradation in the Three-North Forest Shelterbelt in China from Multi-Scale Satellite Images

Detecting forest degradation from satellite observation data is of great significance in revealing the process of decreasing forest quality and giving a better understanding of regional or global carbon emissions and their feedbacks with climate changes. In this paper, a quick and applicable approach was developed for monitoring forest degradation in the Three-North Forest Shelterbelt in China from multi-scale remote sensing data. Firstly, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI), Leaf Area Index (LAI), Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR) and Net Primary Production (NPP) from remote sensing data were selected as the indicators to describe forest degradation. Then multi-scale forest degradation maps were obtained by adopting a new classification method using time series MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images, and were validated with ground survey data. At last, the criteria and indicators for monitoring forest degradation from remote sensing data were discussed, and the uncertainly of the method was analyzed. Results of this paper indicated that multi-scale remote sensing data have great potential in detecting regional forest degradation.

Forest shelter belts in organic agricultural landscape: structure of biodiversity and their ecological role

Abstract The aim of this article is to assess the structure of biodiversity of field protective forest shelter belts to determine the directions of increasing their reclamation and conservation potential in the organic agricultural landscape. Methods of comparative ecology (synecological approach, assessment of α-diversity), forestry, geobotany, ornithology and statistical analysis are used. Changes in species diversity of plants and birds in forest shelter belts around organic fields are characterized. It is established that plantations with developed undergrowth and under-storey are transformed due to the loss of up to 43.5% of trees, liquefaction of the edificatory tier. Transformer species with a wide phytocenotic range predominate in the tree stands. The grass tier is dominated by ruderants (36.5%) and adventive species (24.5%). The share (60%) of species with a mixed life strategy indicates changes in moisture conditions and soil trophism. A 2.4% of shade-loving plants and the presence of 14.7% nitrophils indicate an imbalance in the structure of forest shelter belts. Depletion of species composition, ecological and trophic structure of bird groups testify to the decrease in the capacity of forest shelter belts and their statio diversity, reduction of protective, environment-creating functions and other ecosystem services. In the three-tiered dense forest shelter belts with developed undergrowth and understorey, 10–27 species of birds nest. In general, avifauna is represented by 2 ecological groups (93.1% dendrophiles, 6.9% sclerophiles), divided into 5 types of nesting strategy (with a predominance of hollow-nests 37.0–53.3%), and 5 types of feeding (with a predominance of entomophagous 70.4–90.0%). Twenty-nine species have been identified on nesting, 27 of which are subject to protection at the level of international agreements. There are no adventive species, the index of synanthropization of avifauna is high – 0.85–1.0. For organic technologies to increase the potential of biological protection of fields from entomological pests by attracting insectivorous birds is relevant.

Variability of Silvicultural Characteristics of Forest Shelterbelts in Krasnodar Krai

Modern shelterbelts of Krasnodar Krai do not fully protect arable land and often have different sanitary state. Under these conditions, the preservation of forest shelterbelts and their protective functions in the system of agroforestry and other complex continues to be relevant. The research was carried out in the main and auxiliary forest shelterbelts within the boundaries of the Ust-Labinsk district of Krasnodar Krai. The purpose of the research was to determine the ecological state of the forest shelterbelts by identifying their integrity and implementation of forestry and land reclamation assessment. In order to obtain more complete information on their state, a remote assessment of the tree canopy integrity of the shelterbelts was carried out. It follows from the remote assessment analysis that about 42.5 % of the area surveyed in the key plots of plantations has an average degree of integrity of tree canopy, high – 22.3 %, low and very low – 35.2 %. Lower indicators of the tree canopy integrity are observed in the auxiliary forest shelterbelts. The percentage participation of each group of forest shelterbelts allowed us to rank the ranges of integrity corresponding to a certain forestry and land reclamation assessment (units). The range of the tree canopy integrity from 0 to 25 % corresponds to grade 1, from 25 to 50 % – 2, from 50 to 70 % – 3, from 70 to 100 % – 4. Based on this, the shelterbelts were devided into 4 groups: norm, risk, crisis and disaster. The results of determining the ecological state of the forest shelterbelts by ground and remote methods in the Ust-Labinsk district of Krasnodar Krai showed that a significant part of the surveyed plantations has a dense structure and requires silvicultural care. The group of the forest shelterbelts “disaster” needs reconstruction. This will significantly improve the environmental condition and reclamation efficiency, as well as increase the service life of the systems of forest sheltebelts.

Районирование водосборов малых рек юга Приволжской возвышенности по водоохранно-защитной роли лесов

The article presents the results of the spatial distribution analysis of protective forest plantations within the catchment basins of in the south of the Volga Upland (within the Volgograd region). The data obtained are important for planning agroforestry and land reclamation. The interpretation of 133 reservoirs using satellite images and large-scale (Scale – 1:100 000) isolinear mapping of forest cover in the key areas allowed us to find that for the majority of catchments the low forest cover of the central part of the basin, caused by agricultural land use, is typical. The main environment protection function is performed by large forests of natural (growing in floodplains, uplands and steppe ravines) and artificial origin (forest shelterbelts), localized near the source (in watersheds) and the mouths of small rivers. Depending on the type of plantations and their presence or absence near the source or mouth of the river 6 types of forest cover of catchments in the south of the Volga Upland have been identified: I – river source and mouth have maxima (relative to the rest of the catchment basin) of natural forest cover; II – the source has a maximum of artificial forest cover, the mouth has a maximum of natural forest cover; III – there are no plantations at the source, there is a maximum of natural forest cover at the mouth; IV – there is a maximum of natural forest cover at the source, there are no plantations at the mouth; V – there is a maximum of artificial forest cover at the source, there are no plantations at the mouth; VI – there are no plantations at the source and mouth. It is found that the largest area within the south of the Volga upland is occupied by catchments of the III type (38.3 %), the relief of which is characterized by the predominance of gentle slopes, which have been exposed to the greatest extent to plowing and destruction of natural forest vegetation. Together with catchments of the IV–VI types, having no afforestation in the lower stream, about 59.2 % of plantations of the south of the Volga Upland are not protected from the processes of water erosion and deflation.

Forest Changes by Precipitation Zones in Northern China after the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program in China

China launched the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program (TNSFP) in 1978 in northern China to combat desertification and dust storms, but it is still controversial in ecologically fragile arid and semi-arid areas, which is partly due to the uncertainties of monitoring of the spatial-temporal changes of forest distribution. In this study, we aim to provide an overall retrospect of the forest changes (i.e., forest gain and forest loss) in northern China during 2007–2017, and to analyze the forest changes in different precipitation zones. We first generated annual forest maps at 30 m spatial resolution during 2007–2017 in northern China through integrating Landsat and PALSAR/PALSAR-2 data. We found the PALSAR/Landsat-based forest maps outperform other four existing products (i.e., JAXA F/NF, FROM-GLC, GlobeLand30, and NLCD-China) from either PALSAR or Landsat data, with a higher overall accuracy 96% ± 1%. The spatial-temporal analyses of forests showed a substantial forest expansion from 316,898 ± 34,537 km2 in 2007 to 384,568 ± 35,855 km2 in 2017 in the central and eastern areas. We found a higher forest loss rate (i.e., 35%) in the precipitation zones with the annual mean precipitation less than 400 mm (i.e., the arid and semi-arid areas) comparing to that (i.e., 25%) in the zones with more than 400 mm (i.e., the humid areas), which suggests the lower surviving rate in the drylands. This study provides satellite-based evidence for the forest changes in different precipitation zones, and suggests that the likely impacts of precipitation on afforestation effectiveness should be considered in future implementation of ecological restoration projects like TNSFP.

Photosynthetic activity of spring barley crops in the zone of forest belts influence in the Volgograd region

Protective afforestation has a significant impact on the morphometric parameters of spring barley. It increases the number of grains per spikelet and the number of spikelets per spike. As the grain crops approach the field-protective forest belt, the length of the stem and the mass of 1000 grains increase. In fact, the yield increase at a distance from the protective belt is 3.0 c / ha. The influence of forest shelter belts is traced throughout the growing season on the development of Medicum 139 barley and is reflected in such indicators as leaf area, photosynthetic activity of crops, the amount of dry phytomass and net productivity of photosynthesis. The results of the study indicate the important role of forest belts. The area of application of the developments is the zone of soils of the Lower Volga region.

Development of Forest Shelterbelts Considering Statistical Forecasts Modelling of Local Weather

This work aims to study the effect of high temperatures and phytopathogenic bacteria on different types of trees in the forest shelterbelts. Therefore, in 2018, 17 tree species were studied from 50 sample sites in the Moscow oblast (Russia). Leaf scorching, diseases caused by phytopathogenic bacteria, and heat damage to the crowns were examined in 5224 tree species. Based on the degree of crown damage, the studied tree species were divided into four classes. It was found that the heat damage to tree crowns was identical between the three sampling aspects (correlation coefficient 0.99). The plant species composition must be considered when developing forest shelterbelts. A long-term forecast on structural changes of planted areas is possible, considering the species composition and climatic characteristics of the region. Class 5 includes only chestnut; class 4 includes three species; class 3 is represented by seven species. Class 2, includes six species, and is the most suitable in developing forest plantations. No tree species in class 1 were found (trees with no damage). There is a connection between pathologies and heat injuries in trees from classes 4 to 5 (correlation 0.89).

Climate indicators for forest landing and evaluation of forest shelterbelts

Forest shelter belts are one of the effective approaches in the fight against wind erosion, improving the microclimate of fields, protecting roads and reservoirs. The problem of assessing forest plantations and prospects for their creation is relevant for many countries of the world, due to the problem of desertification, water and wind erosion, as well as the global food crisis. The carried out analysis of scientific literature has shown that the existing assessments of forest shelter belts with insufficient degree are being taken into account the modern methods of remote sensing.Therefore, the problem of assessing forest shelterbelts from satellite imagery is relevant.The main part and research results. During the summer period of 2019, in the territory of the protective forest plantations of Fergana Valley of the Republic of Uzbekistan there were laid 170 testing plots. Then 20 test sites, which were used as reference for thematic mapping, there were laid with the collection of additional information: location coordinates and bookmark location.The purpose of the study is to assess the area of forest shelter belts zones of the Republic of Uzbekistan using remote sensing.The object of the study is forest shelter belts of Fergana Valley of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Conservancy of forest shelter belts in Russia and the Rostov region as one of the factors of transition to a green economy

Today forestry in Russia is going through one of the most difficult periods in its history, which has resulted in decades of extensive wasteful land use. So, change of climate can bring desertification of some territories and various forms of degradation (desertification) cover about 60 percent of the land in the Rostov region, and the rest is potentially dangerous in this regard. The reasons are anthropogenic impact, drought, erosion, deflation. Despite the fact that in recent years Russia has been developing forestry legislation and has taken a course towards the development of sustainable growth and "green" one, the regions are taking measures aimed at protecting lands from degradation and preserving soil fertility, soil-destructive processes and desertification are increasing many times over. An inventory of forest resources in Russia was carried out in 2019 and it showed that the forest cover in Russia tends to decrease, and on the territory of the Rostov region, forest inventory was carried out in 2006, only 40% of all forests were taken into account - about 240 thousand hectares of protective forest plantations, from of them 125.8 thousand hectares are shelter belts. It’s imperative to enact urgent measures for reforestation and landscaping of territories and annually reconstruct forest belts and create new ones to improve environmental conditions in regions with low forest cover, otherwise in 10-15 years their mass natural death may occur.

ВЛИЯНИЕ ЛЕСОМЕЛИОРАТИВНОГО ОБУСТРОЙСТВА НА ПРОДУКТИВНОСТЬ СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННЫХ УГОДИЙ В УСЛОВИЯХ СУХОСТЕПНОЙ ЗОНЫ

Purpose: to assess the state of dry steppe agroforestry landscapes in Volgograd region, to analyze changes in the values of the vegetation index of sown areas in relation to the width of the favorable protective effect of forest plantations to identify the possibility of using Earth remote sensing data to assess the yield of arable land in agroforestry landscapes. Materials and methods. The object of research is agroforestry landscapes of the dry steppe zone. The studies were carried out in Kalachevsky district Volgograd region. The research methods are based on the aerospace survey technique in combination with geoinformation technologies, interpretation and computer modeling in agroforestry landscapes. The analysis of arable land and the impact of protective forest plantations on arable land productivity was carried out using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Results. Dynamics of vegetation indices for the period 2017–2019 showed the relationship between the zone of favorable influence of the forest shelter belts and their level of degradation, which affected the state of winter wheat crops grown in the dry steppe zone, namely the NDVI values. The regularity of changes in the vegetation index is monitored when the safety of protective forest plantations changes. It is possible to determine the estimated yield of the field by the regression equations, applying the relationship between the vegetation index and the safety of forest belts, according to their zone of favorable influence. Conclusions: field-protective forest belts with high forest stand preservation form favorable protective conditions in the fields for growing crops at a distance of up to 300 m for the dry-steppe zone of Volgograd region, which is confirmed by high yields in the zone of influence of these forest plantations.

Development of automatic extraction methods of windbreak forests by using SPOT6 image

Development of automatic extraction methods of windbreak forests by using SPOT6 image

ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SOIL QUALITY OF ROADSIDE AREAS USED FOR GROWING CROPS

This paper presents data on the content of heavy metals in the road-side soils (transport lands) along the Orenburg-Orsk motorway and the Saraktash-Kuvandyk motorway in Orenburg Region, Russia. The objects of the study were two agricultural fields (wheat and barley) located between the motorway and the forest shelterbelt. The purpose of the study was to find the total content and the active form of heavy metals in the studied soils, to assess their quality by the degree of ecological adversity, and to determine the possibility of using them for cultivating crops. The comprehensive chemical pollution indicator (CCPI) and the ecotoxicological soil quality indicator (ESQI) were used to assess the ecological condition of the studied fields. The soil samples were tested to find the content of cadmium, zinc, lead, manganese, iron, copper, chromium, cobalt, and nickel. Cadmium had the highest active form percentage (9-17%) in the total heavy metal content in soils, sampled along the Saraktash-Kuvandyk motorway, while lead content was the highest (5.7-11.5%) in samples collected along the Orenburg-Orsk motorway. According to the CCPI and other established criteria, the entire territory along the motorways is in the critical environmental condition (16 < CCPI < 32), and the territory six meters away from the Orenburg-Orsk motorway is in the condition of environmental emergency (32 < CCPI < 128). The ESQI data was analyzed differentially for substances of various hazard classes. As for hazard class I metals, the environmental emergency has already developed throughout the territory under study, except for the areas located six and sixteen meters from the Orenburg-Orsk motorway that are in the state of environmental disaster. Therefore, the analysis of the ecological state of the studied road-side areas showed that, by the total content of toxic hazard class I metals, they can be categorized as environmental emergency and environmental disaster zones, and crops, used for producing foodstuff and livestock feed, must not be cultivated in these fields.

Продуктивность и природоохранная роль полезащитных лесонасаждений Robinia pseudoacacia L. Прикубанской равнины

Works on protective afforestation are carried out in order to protect agricultural land from degradation processes, as well as to improve the microclimate of land. The research purpose is to study the bioproductivity and environmental role of Robinia pseudoacacia L. forest shelterbelts in the conditions of the Kuban lowland. The approved and generally accepted methods of forest valuation, forest land reclamation, botany, and mathematical statistics were applied. Plantings were created according to the standard technology for the steppe zone of the Russian Federation. The area of forest shelterbelts is 62.4 ths ha, including 5 % of the young growth (I state class), 80 % of middle-aged forest plantings (II state class), 10 % of maturing plantings (II state class), 5 % of mature and overmature plantings (III state class). Living ground cover is formed by the following species: Koeleria pyramidata L., Poa pratensis L., Festuca pratensis H., Elytrígia repens L., Dactylis glomerata L., and Phlum pratense L. Aboveground phytomass is 100–300 g/m2; height is 25–32 cm. Plantings are characterized by the quality classes: young growth – I and II; middle-aged and maturing – III; mature and overmature – IV. At the age of natural maturity (70 years), the Robinia trunk reaches the average height of 15.1 m with the average diameter of 22.1 cm. The total stock of wood reaches 18, (ths m3), including (ths m3): young growth – 68 (ths m3); middleaged plantings – 14,871 (ths m3); maturing plantings – 2,187 (ths m3); mature and overmature plantings – 1,314 (ths m3). Aboveground phytomass in young growth is 20.2 t/ha; in mature and overmature plantings it is 391.2 t/ha. In the region it is estimated at 17,070 ths t, including (ths t): young growth – 64; middle-aged plantings – 13,753; maturing plantings – 2,032; mature and overmature plantings – 1,221. The share of stem mass reaches 84.5–80.8 %; woody greenery – 4.2–1.5 %; branches – 11.3–17.7 %. Recalculation coefficients of the stock into aboveground phytomass are the following for: young growth – 0.936; mature and overmature forest shelterbelts – 0.929. Phytosaturation of forest shelterbelts varies within 0.314–2.474 kg/m3. Forest shelterbelts have accumulated 8,534 ths t of carbon, which is estimated at 145.1 mln dollars. The sphere of application of the research results is the Krasnodar Krai forestry, which is recommended to create an additional 60 ths ha of forest shelterbelts, which will provide a normative protective forest cover of arable land of 5 % and annual carbon sequestration up to 3.4 t/ha.

Изменчивость высоты дуба черешчатого (Quercus robur L.) и клена остролистного (Acer platanoides L.) в полезащитной полосе

The organizing framework of adaptive landscape agriculture is protective afforestation. The study of the shelterbelt state is necessary for detection of their protective height due to the dramatically changing climatic conditions. The research purpose is to carry out the distribution of trees of English oak (Quercus robur L.) and Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) with height for the stand structure evaluation, as well as to propose the measures for the condition improvement of English oak. The shelterbelt, the spatial structure of which was studied, is located in the vicinity of the village of Zolotarevka (65 km from the city of Lugansk). Archival data on the creation time and age of the studied forest shelterbelt were not revealed. Shelterbelts in the Lugansk region were created in accordance with the “Great Plan for the Transformation of Nature”, which was designed for 1949–1965. Sampling areas were laid out in accordance with the industrial standard OST 56-69–83. The composition of the shelterbelt, the diameter and average height of the trees were determined based on the results of enumerative valuation. The coefficients of skewness and kurtosis of stands of the studied species were calculated by the standard methods of biometrics. The distribution of Norway maple and English oak trees with height was checked with the normal distribution of trees in the plantation according to the Shapiro-Wilk test. The authors revealed that arithmetic and valuation mean heights of the stands of English oak and Norway maple on two permanent sampling areas differ slightly. It was found that the stand of Norway maple on the first and second sampling areas is characterized by positive right-side symmetry and positive kurtosis. Analyzing the stand condition, it is arguable that the coefficient of skewness of the English Oak stand on both areas is not the same in sign and numerical value: on the first sampling area – leftside negative (As = –2.026) and on the second – right-side positive (As = 0.973). The authors pay particular attention to the fact that the value of the coefficient of kurtosis of the English Oak stands is the highest on the first sampling area – 3.044. On the basis of the Shapiro-Wilk test it is shown that the curve of distribution of the Norway maple stands with height on the first and second sampling areas does not correspond to the normal distribution curve for the plantations. While the curve of distribution of the English Oak stands with height on the second sampling area is close to the indicator of the Shapiro-Wilk test for normal stands and is 0.823 (for p = 0.05, W = 0.842, n = 10).

Обоснование средства защиты растений от вредителей, зимующих в полезащитных лесополосах

The results of research on the justification of equipment for a boom sprayer intended for high-performance protection of marginal field cultivated plants against pests wintering in forest shelterbelts are provided. The truncated design of a conical nozzle for an axial fan and the hydraulic resistances during the movement of air from the fan along the inner region of the nozzle and the air jet leaving it are determined. The speed and flow rate of air flow for transporting pesticide solutions in the form of an air-droplet flow to the location of pests have been calculated.

Introduced poplar varieties and new hybrids for protective afforestation

The volume of actual protective forest stands in the Central Chernozem Region is presented, and the need for their additional creation is shown. It is noted that in recent years, side by side with the main forest tree species competitive cultivars of euramerican poplars varieties and some new hybrids obtained by domestic breeding have been introduced in the forest shelter belts and protective stands, which in the reclamation fund of the Voronezh region reached a height of 15 m at 20 years, 25 m at 30 years and 30 m at 42 years. After many years of testing in various soil and climatic environments of the region the selection of promising poplars varieties, hybrids and clones for protective afforestation was carried out. The following euramerican cultivars have been recommended: ‘Vernirubens’, ‘Robusta’, ‘Regenerata’, ‘Sacrau-59’ etc. From domestic hybrids ‘Pioneer’ and ‘E.s.-38’ (Elite seedling No. 38) can be recommended, which grow well in the floodplain conditions in dry steppe zone in Volgograd region. At 30 years, they reached a height of 24-25 m; and diameter – 28-31 cm. For comparison, similar growth indices (height about 20 m, diameter – 28-30 cm) oak shelter forest plantations in Kamennaya Steppe reached only by the age of 75 years.

Methodology of Economic Assessment of Forest Resources, Concerning Forest Conditions and Their Impact on Wood Quality

The present study aims to develop a methodology for forest economic assessment using forest protection strips as an example. Environmental (soil composition) and biological factors (tree species) effecting the wood quality in the south European part of Russia are taken into account. The studies were conducted from 2010 to 2017 in six regions of the south European part of Russia. In this area, a total of eight dominating tree species lying in forest shelterbelts were examined. The wood price in different natural zones was determined by two factors: stem wood volume (maximum volume and price in the forest-steppe, minimum in the dry steppe) and edaphic conditions. Stand wood compared to the forest have a high price, since the former consists mainly of one species that dominates in the upper tier whereas the forest usually includes a minimum of two to four species. The natural zone is of paramount importance for the formation of the economic potential of eight species studied. We observed maximum indices for oak and larch under conditions of a forest-steppe, two to eight times greater compared to the species present in the steppe. The same type of plant (oak), depending on conditions, can produce wood of different values based on different natural zones, with a difference in prices varying two to five times than the original price.