Density of Scots Pine Wood in Drained Sphagnum Pine Forest

Abstract

The task of increasing forest productivity has been and remains one of the current interests of the European North of Russia, especially after the period of primary development of the forest areas. In the European Northeast, excessive humidity is observed at rather low average temperatures, which prevents active surface evaporation. In the twentieth century, the hydrotechnical reclamations were conducted on the large areas of swampy forests that increased the total productivity. The ecologists have an ambivalent attitude concerning forest draining. The supporters, who try to protect the undisturbed forest territories, counteract such activities. At the same time, the cultivation of highly productive forests of the right composition and quality requires measures for natural afforestation, or artificial forests must be created. Besides the total productivity of the stands, wood quality is an important factor in the hydroamelioration. It is mainly determined by density and the ratio between early and late wood. The influence of the landscape peculiarities of the drained forests on the quality of the wood was examined by the devotion of the areas according to the most typical groups of microrelief: flat areas, elevations, transitional areas. In cases of extensive humidity, the death of seedlings and artificial forest plantings was observed (soaking, frost extrusion, etc.). The creation of micro-elevations and the drainage of the excessive moisture guarantee the regeneration and establishment of the highly productive forests. The differences in the density of pine wood before and after the hydrotechnical reclamation were detected according to the landscape. The largest changes in the indicator were determined at the elevations and the flat areas, with the increase and the decrease, respectively. The trees that grow on the flat terrain after the reclamation show a relative excess of early wood over late wood, while at the elevations the presence of the late wood is predominant. For citation: Zagorodski M.A., Tretyakov S.V., Koptev S.V. Density of Scots Pine Wood in Drained Sphagnum Pine Forest. Lesnoy Zhurnal = Russian Forestry Journal, 2023, no. 2, pp. 160–171. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.37482/0536-1036-2023-2-160-171