Green-moss Pine Forests Research Articles

Elemental composition of <i>Vaccinium vitis-idaea</i> и <i>V. myrtillus</i> (Ercaceae) leaves in green moss pine forests under aerotechnogenic pollution in the Komi Republic

The paper aims at the impact of aerotechnogenic emissions from the largest in the European North pulp and paper production enterprise, namely JSC «Syktyvkar Timber Processing Complex», on the elemental composition (N, S, C, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Al, Fe, Mn) of lingonberry and blueberry leaves as the dominant dwarf shrubs in green moss pine forests. The leaves of blueberry and lingonberry growing in pine stands both in the background and contaminated areas were identified to have similar average values of the mass fraction of ash elements in 2009. The content of ash elements in the leaves of dwarf shrubs from the background pine forests was higher than that in leaves collected from the impact zone in 2018. The average values of the mass fraction of ash elements in blueberry leaves were found to access those in lingonberry leaves by 1,5 time both in the background and contaminated areas. There was no regular change in the content of elements in leaves of dwarf shrubs with distance from the source of emission. The differences in the sulfur content in leaves of dwarf shrubs for 2009 and 2018 were within the error limits. No significant differences were found in the values of the mass fraction of nitrogen in blueberry and lingonberry leaves for pine stands located at different distances from the emission source. The nitrogen content in lingonberry leaves was significantly lower than that in blueberry leaves for both observation periods. There was no significant difference in the total nitrogen content in blueberry and lingonberry leaves between 2009 and 2018.

Особенности лесных подстилок в разных типах среднетаёжных лесов

The article presents the features of forest litters of spruce, pine and aspen forests in the middle taiga subzone of the European north-east of Russia. Litter studies were carried out on the territory of the Lyalsky nature reserve (62 о15’N,50о40’E). The thickness, density, mass, fractional composition and carbon reserves in litter in different forest types were determined. The study showed an increase in humidity and litter reserves during the transition from non-swampy to swampy forest types, as well as high variability in the structure and properties of litter depending on the parcellation of forest biogeocenoses. In blueberry spruce forests the litter reserve in green moss parcels is about 49±17 t/ha, in sphagnum parcels is about 77.0±1.7 t/ha. In green moss pine forests the litter reserve in green moss parcels is 54±17 t/ha, and in microdepressions it reaches 67±15 (long-moss parcels) – 101±19 (sphagnum parcels) t/ha. In blueberry-sphagnum pine forests the litter reserve range from 90±16 to 150±25 t/ha. In aspen blueberry forests the above parameter is about 60±16 t/ha, increasing in long-moss plots to 71±27 t/ha. Carbon reserves in spruce forests are about 18 tC/ha, in green moss pine forests – 26 tC/ha, in sphagnum pine forests – 63 tC/ha, in aspen forests – 24 tC/ha. The litter parameters in the middle taiga of the Komi Republic are significantly affected by soil moisture. The relationship between litter stocks and their field moisture is described by the equation: y=5.3588ln(x)–20.56 (R 2=0.7537), where x is field humidity in the middle of the growing season, %, and y is litter stock, kg/m2.

Stages of Restoration of Components of Post-Agrogenic Pine Forest Ecosystems at the National Park “Smolensk Lakeland”

Rural depopulation in Russia was accompanied by the abandonment of arable lands and natural reforestation. The aim of the work was to study soils and phytocenoses of six stages of pine forest restoration on rocks with coarse granulometric composition in the north-west of Smolensk region. The research was carried out at 18 key sites, characterizing 6 stages in triplicates. Under agrocenoses and one-year-old fallow lands we found agrozemes (Arenosols (Aric)) with a thick arable layer and a minimum abundance and biomass of macrofauna, represented mainly by phytophages and saprophages. At the 2nd stage of fallow meadows, grey-humus soils (Arenosols) and sod-podzols postagrogenic (Entic Podzols) were found with unchanged morphological properties in comparison with the first stage. Here, the biomass of macrofauna is maximal due to intensive invasion of open biotopes by insects. Young (up to 30 years old) pine forests grew on similar to the Stage 2 regraded soils. During 10 years of a forest growth, litter and protohumus regrading horizons were formed. In middle-aged (70–80 years old) pine forests on sod-podburs post-agrogenic regraded (Entic Podzols), signs of an eluvial process are manifested. Macrofauna is characterized by a decrease in the biomass of a litter population. In forests older than 80 years, decay of pine stands with the formation of complex spruce forests have begun. In soils, even lower boundary of old-fallow horizon disappears without podzolic horizon formation. Here, the maximum biomass of litter macrofauna is revealed. The final stage is shrubby (lingonberry)-green-moss pine forests older than 90 years growing on podzols (Albic Podzols) with remains of old-fallow horizon. Among macrofauna, litter macrofauna prevail in terms of a biomass, but the biomass is lower than in the previous stage. Due to the different degree of morphological manifestation of the alfegumus process, the fifth and sixth stages can be considered as variants of the development of post-agrogenic soils under pine forests.

Запасы и структура фитомассы древостоев северотаежных сосняков Республики Коми

The research aims at estimating phytomass reserves of northern taiga green-moss and sphagnum pine forests growing in the Komi Republic. The study was carried out in pine forests at the Zelenoborsk forest research station of the Institute of Biology of Komi Science Centre of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IB Komi SC UB RAS) in 2016–2019. We analyzed sample trees data and derived power equations of the dependence of the individual fractions weight on the stem diameter at the breast height (1.3 m) for the main forest-forming species (pine, spruce, larch, and birch) of green-moss and sphagnum forest are characterized by rather large phytomass reserves, 136–211 t/ha. While in sphagnum pine forests there are 89–96 t/ha of phytomass. Despite the admixture of other wood species, the leading pool is represented by pine trees, and the main fraction (46–56 %) is wood of stem. The input of stem wood and stem as a whole (bark and wood) is greater in green-moss pine forests compared to sphagnum pine forests, while the share of roots in these two types is approximately the same. Participation of tree crowns (needles/leaves and branches) in the total phytomass reserves of pine stands on automorphic soils is significantly lower (17 % on average) than in communities on semihydromorphic and hydromorphic soils (22 % on average). The relatively greater mass of needles and leaves resulted in a high LAI, which varied from 8.8 to 17.8 and from 7.7 to 9.8 ha/ha, respectively, in green-moss and sphagnum pine forests. We found a high reliable (R = 0.88; p = 0.004) relationship between LAI and the tree basal areas sum, whereas it is statistically insignificant with density and wood supply. The conversion factors were calculated to convert timber volume into phytomass reserves of both individual fractions and species as a whole. The presented data are useful for assessing the productivity of pine ecosystems in different growing conditions during forest monitoring (including remote sensing methods) and also when planning forest management measures in order to increase the productivity of pine forests.

Natural conditions of the formation of the monument of Maly Gonbinsky Kordon-2 of the Odintsovo Culture of Altai in the 4th–8th centuries A.D.

The study is aimed at reconstructing the natural and climatic conditions of the Upper Ob River region (south of Western Siberia) in the early Middle Ages (4th–8th centuries A.D.), based on the paleosol data obtained from the fortified settlements of Maly Gonbinsky Kordon-2/11 and Maly Gonbinsky Kordon-2 / 6-3. Settlements are located on the terrace of the right bank of the Ob River. The fortification elements are represented by a horse-shoe-shaped system of a ditch and a rampart, adjacent to the edge of the above-floodplain terrace, inside which there were dwellings and outbuildings. Archaeological investigations of the settlements permitted to study the sediments of the first terrace above the floodplain and to select core samples for palynological analysis. Applica-tion of this method allowed reconstruction of the vegetation during the occupational period of the complex of monuments MGK-2. For interpreting of the actual data, the method of landscape analysis was employed. The need for its application for carrying out paleogeographic reconstructions is warranted by the presence of the relict elements in the morphological structure of the landscapes. To establish their paleogeographic status, within the framework of this study, there was determined the percentage ratio of the amount of pollen and seeds of plants extracted from the deposits of the first above-floodplain terrace, corresponding to the existence of the Odintsovo Culture and belonging to different ecological groups. As the result, the dominance of sparse birch forests and forb dry meadows in the landscape structure of that time was established, whereas the vegetation associations featu-ring pine forests were in the status of progressive elements of the landscape structure. Also, supersedence of birch forb forests by green moss pine forests was revealed. The use of the landscape approach allowed recon-struction of natural conditions of the territory occupied by the complex of fortified settlements of MGK-2. On the basis of the digital elevation model, 3D visualization of the surface of the sediments overlapping the cultural layer of the monuments was rendered, which shows the location of the objects at the lowest elevations of the surface I above the floodplain terrace and the effects of the surface water flow. This necessitated construction of a drai-nage system, the main elements of which might be represented by shallow ditches.

Spatial Distribution of the Components of Carbon Cycle in Soils of Forest Ecosystems of the Northern, Middle, and Southern Taiga of Western Siberia

In the course of studies in typical forest ecosystems of the northern, middle, and southern taiga of Western Siberia performed at the peak of the growing season, the spatial variation of soil CO2 emissions and their relationships with the content of extractable and microbial soil carbon and soil hydrothermic parameters were estimated. The studied parameters of the soil carbon cycle are characterized by the high spatial variability in all the studied ecosystems. This fact indicates the need for a detailed investigation of the greenhouse gas soil emission in all ecosystems typical of a given natural zone. There is a statistically significant difference between the soils of the green-moss pine forests and the soils of the lichen pine forest of the northern taiga. In the green-moss pine forest, the carbon content of microbial biomass is 1.5 times higher (195 ± 24 and 127 ± 16 mg C/kg soil, respectively), the content of extractable carbon is 4 times higher (157 ± 25 and 41 ± 5 mg C/kg of soil, respectively), and the CO2 emission is 1.7 times higher (324 ± 20 and 190 ± 10 mg CO2/(m2 h), respectively) than those in the lichen pine forest. In the northern taiga zone, carbon dioxide emissions from soils in the green-moss pine forests are largely determined by the soil temperature; the role of soil moisture is less significant. In the soils of lichen pine forests, the CO2 emission is mainly controlled by the content of extractable carbon. Significant factors influencing the soil СО2 emission in forest ecosystems of the taiga zone are the content of extractable and microbial carbon and hydrothermic parameters of the soils.

Синтаксономия растительности карьеров на месте сведенных сосняков лишайниковых и зеленомошных (среднетаежная подзона европейского северо-востока России)

Синтаксономия растительности карьеров на месте сведенных сосняков лишайниковых и зеленомошных (среднетаежная подзона европейского северо-востока России)

РАСТИТЕЛЬНОСТЬ ООПТ «БОЛЬШЕСИТОВСКОЕ БОЛОТО» (ПЕРМСКИЙ КРАЙ)

The results of studying the vegetation of the specially protected natural area "Bolshesitovskoe swamp" are presented. Several types of forest, meadow, and bog associations were identified on the territory of the surveyed area. The predominant types of forests in this area are light-coniferous (pine forests): green moss pine forests (lingonberry pine forests and blueberry pine forests), sphagnum pine forests, small areas of moss-lichen pine forests are noted. Dark coniferous forests are represented by green moss spruce forests, horsetail spruce forests, sphagnum spruce forests, large-fern fir-spruce forests, and green moss fir-spruce associations. Pine-spruce green moss forests are found. Mixed forests are represented by pine-birch and birch-pine forests, spruce-birch herb and horsetail associations. Swamps are represented by upland, low-land and transitional types. Meadow vegetation is present only in areas disturbed by humans and in the floodplain of the river. Yaiva (very small areas of floodplain meadows). Depending on the degree of mois-ture in disturbed areas, barren meadows and boggy meadows (close to lowland or raised bogs) are formed.

Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Soil Respiration in Cryolithozone: Quantifying the Contributions and Methodological Approaches (The Case of Soils of the North of Western Siberia)

In the course of research performed in the continuous and discontinuous permafrost zone of the north of Western Siberia, the values of autotrophic (root) and heterotrophic (microbial) soil respiration and their ratio were estimated for typical ecosystems of the area. The data were obtained on the basis of a complex of field, laboratory, and calculation methods: shading, the root exclusion technique (comparison of emissions at similar sites with and without vegetation), the method of component integration or separate incubation, and the regression method. For soils of plateau palsa, the root contribution to total soil respiration was 16–30% with the use of the shading method and 14 ± 6% under the application of the component integration method. The contribution of root respiration was 60% for soils of shrub–green-moss pine forests and 30% for lichen pine forests. It may be assumed that, in forest ecosystems of the studied area, the contribution of root-derived respiration is even higher, which is related to the undercounting of respiration of tree roots and/or of rhizomicrobial microorganisms and priming effect by some methods. The contribution of root respiration in soils of mound palsa averaged 40%. For tundra with frost-boil ecosystems, the variation in the contribution of root respiration was 15–70%, depending on the location on microelements of cryogenic topography (boils and interboils). All the methods are characterized by disadvantages and some assumptions. These require additional studies to check or correct the data. The interpretation of the results is not always obvious. When using different techniques, similar results were obtained at a large number of replications of experiments during several seasons. The work also presents data on the absolute values of the specific root respiration for different species and size fractions, the value of the root biomass, and the microbial respiration of soils of different permafrost landscapes.

Многолетняя динамика заболачивающихся сосняков в условиях

The results of studying long-term dynamics of the Darwin State Nature Biosphere Reserve forests happened to be in changed environmental conditions due to the influence of the Rybinsk reservoir are presented. Multi-year reservoir influence has significantly changed the environment of coastal areas, which resulted in necessity of studying the state of coastal forests. Dynamics studies of the forests were based on the principles of dynamic typology tested by I.S. Melekhov under study of early stages of anthropogenic forest life. The data we have obtained for mature and old growth forests bring in the significant changes to a concept of forest type stability at a stage of mature forest stand or formed type of forest. The studied forests do not remain their uniformity even throughout a single generation. The study object was waterlogging berry green moss pine forest growing in the indirect reservoir influence zone. Detailed description and analysis of various components of the studied forest type have been carried out for the purposes of studying the direction and speed of growth and development processes. The main attention was paid to the changes of forest live cover as an indicator of soil and hydrological conditions, forest stand, undergrowth and understorey. Conclusions on the direction and speed of changes in soils, their hydrological regime, the phytocenosis were drawn on the basis of data analysis obtained for the 70-year period on dynamics of different components of waterlogging berry green moss pine forest at the initial stage. It is essential in terms of dynamic typology to consider the studied forest type as a stage of relatively accelerated formation of blueberry green moss sphagnum pine forest at the middle waterlogging stage with a well-defined tendency to replacement of pine with spruce in new generation. These conclusions confirm the principles of I.S. Melekhov’s dynamic typology and have a significant meaning for forest science and practice, as well as carrying out the monitoring researches in the reserve. For citation: Mukhin A.K. Long-Term Dynamics of Waterlogging Pine Forests under the Reservoir Influence. Lesnoy Zhurnal [Forestry Journal], 2019, no. 3, pp. 17–31. DOI: 10.17238/issn0536-1036.2019.3.17

Влияние густоты древостоя на формирование кроны и рост по диаметру сосны обыкновенной (Pinus sylvestris L.)

Crown size determines tree’s life space formation, its growth and development. The research object was a middle-aged pine stand spatially included in the Krasnoyarsk island forest-steppe. The permanent trial plot of 0.15 ha size with over 300 trees was established in high-yield green moss pine forest. Each tree on the plot was mapped and assigned with an individual number; its diameter at breast height was measured. A large-scale survey of the trial plot with resolution of 25 cm was acquired using the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The trial plot identification on the image and its matching with the land-based mapping data were performed in ArcMap. In this program crowns of all trees are outlined and areas of their projections are calculated using GIS-technology methods. The data analysis showed a close correlation between crown projection contours and areas and the field data. Dominance area (SОД) was used as an available resource valuation for a tree in the competition conditions in a forest stand. Dominance area is defined as an area, where each individual tree has dominating influence in space around it and obtains light and soil resource in assumption that this influence is directly proportional to sample size and inverse to squared distance to it. It was found that crowns of rare and medium density with projection area (Sкр) of 2…6 m2 are formed in case of a low dominance area (less than 6 m2). Crowns with SОД of 6…12 m2 have high density and projection area up to 10 m2 and length more than 40 % of tree height. The dynamics of tree radial increment after thinning at the age of 37 was studied depending on the dominance area increase. During 4 years after thinning, annual radial increment increases up to 2 times with increase of available resource. Regression analysis has shown strong correlation between crown projection area and dominance area with a correlation coefficient R = 0.84. Use of UAV is a promising, low-cost and effective technique of distance studying the tree stand structure. Office analysis of images allows to obtain crown projection area characteristics. These data can be used in improvement thinning and forming of even-aged pine stand canopy, which provide the maximum use of lightand soil resource and effective ecological forest functioning. For citation: Ivanov V.V., Borisov A.N., Petrenko A.E. Influence of Stand Density on Crown Formation and Growth along the Diameter of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Lesnoy Zhurnal [Forestry Journal], 2019, no. 3, pp. 9–16. DOI: 10.17238/issn0536-1036.2019.3.9 Funding: The research was carried out within the framework of fundamental scientific research programs of the Russian Academy of Sciences no. 0356-2016-0706. State Registration (TsITIS) no. АААА-А17-117101940014-9 “Theoretical Foundations for the Ecological and Resource Potential Conservation of Siberian Forests in the Conditions of Increasing Anthropogenic Pressure and Climatic Anomalies”. Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to Rubtsov A.V. for the provided aerial photographic image of the forest site.

Spatial variation of pine tree-ring growth in the Solovetsky Islands

The paper presents the results of an analysis of the spatial variability of pine tree-ring growth in the Solovetsky Islands. As a result of the field work, tree-ring network containing 14 dendrochronological pine sites in various habitats were developed. For each site, a local tree-ring width pine chronology (from 472 to 271 years) is obtained, representing pine growth features in different habitat conditions. A comparison between chronologies revealed synchronious growth of pine in various habitats in the late 17th, in the first half of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries. The use of cluster analysis allowed to identify several groups of chronologies with similar characteristics. So, trees growing on swamps, on a sandy substrate and in a green-moss pine forest or in a mixed forest are allocated in separate clusters. This clustering is also confirmed by the results of a dendroclimatic analysis of local chronologies. It turned out that the increase in the pine’s growth in the mixed forest and in the green-moss pine forest depends on the July air temperature variation. Inside this group, samples from pine forests have a common feature – a positive relationship of growth with the precipitation of September. The only site located on the sands showed a different climatic signal than the other chronologies, namely, the dependence on the temperature of August.

Structure of the Species Diversity of Soil Springtails (Hexapoda, Collembola) in Pine Forests of the Caucasus and the Russian Plain: a Multi-Scale Approach

The structure of Collembola diversity in green-moss pine forests in the Caucasus Mountains and the Russian Plain was compared. The study was based on intensive multi-scale sampling ranging from several square centimeters to a hundred square meters. Repeated samplings in similar habitats in different localities and regions allowed us to compare the springtail diversity structure in geographically remote areas despite incomplete knowledge of their faunas. Species richness on all the spatial scales was found to be about twice as high in the mountains as on the plain. According to additive partitioning, differences in species composition in differently sized areas increased in proportion to the distances between them. Differences in springtail species composition in similar habitats within a region were mainly related to species replacements, while variation between different regions occurred due to different species richness values. The ratio of regional to local faunal species lists was higher in the mountains than on the plain. Nevertheless, the forest springtail fauna in the Caucasus seems to have lost some of its original diversity. The rarity of endemic springtail species even in natural reserves suggests a high level of incompleteness of the regional species pool on the Russian Plain. Since the same widespread species are numerous in both regions while the species richness is higher in the Caucasus, the montane forests of the latter region probably served as a source of colonization of the Russian Plain’s forests by Collembola in the Holocene.

Influence of Vegetation on the Lability Characteristics of Sandur Areas of the Bryansky Les Nature Reserve

We have assessed the influence of vegetation on the labile characteristics (acidity, total carbon and nitrogen content, and available nutrients) of automorphic soils of polydominant coniferous–broadleaf forests and dwarf-shrub–green-moss pine forests of the Bryansky Les Nature Reserve. Despite the comparable gross and grain size compositions of soil-forming rocks, the differences of soils of these forest types are determined by the influence of vegetation, mainly by its ability to form litters of different quality and to regulate the amount of precipitation percolating through the forest canopy and contributing to the nutrient removal. Soils of pine forests have a higher acidity and lower contents of total nitrogen, organic carbon, and available nutrients than do soils of coniferous–broadleaf forests. The stand of pine forests has a low crown density, which leads to more intensive nutrient removal by atmospheric precipitation infiltrating through the soil.

Многолетняя динамика зеленомошных сосняков в зоне косвенного влияния водохранилища

Многолетняя динамика зеленомошных сосняков в зоне косвенного влияния водохранилища

Trail system in red wood ants (Formica rufa Group) under recreation press

The influence of recreation press on the forager trail system in red wood ants was examined. The model settlement of these ants was situated in green moss-pine forest, comprising areas with a different degree of the recreation press. In 2007, trail systems of 36 anthills were mapped (a total of 136 trails). In 2009, two nests from each group at each digression stage were selected as model objects. These nests possessed close to average values of the cupola diameter (d) and the number of trophic trails (n c ). In these 6 model nests, trail systems (a total of 33 trails) were re-mapped and the strength of columns was estimated. It had been found that the recreation press decreases the population number in families of red wood ants. Trophic trails become shorter, their structure is simplified, and the number of trees with aphid colonies decreases. When the size of the family decreases owing to irregular decrease in the population number of separate columns, columns possessing non-ramified (less “efficient”) trails disappear first. Weakening of the family decreases the mobility of the trail network; trees with aphid colonies become more important.

The dynamics of vegetation on and around Formica rufa nests

The species composition and structure of plant communities related to the activity of Formica rufa ants were studied in green moss pine forests located in Nerusso-Desnyanskoe Polesye (Bryansk Province). Four types of microsites were established and examined: (1) the mound of an active ant nest, (2) the soil bank around an active ant nest, (3) the mound of an abandoned nest, and (4) the soil bank around an abandoned nest. The background plant community was considered as the fifth type. According to MRPP method, all pairs of microsites except (3–4) were different both in plant species composition and species abundance. The microsites created by Formica rufa increase the habitat capacity and β diversity of the plant communities due to the appearance of meadow species requiring richer soils.