Transformation of shrub-sphagnum pine under prolonged drainage in the northern forest area

In the development of forest-swamp complexes after drainage, ecosystem changes occur in all tiers of biogeocenosis, which requires their comprehensive study. We have studied the effect of a long (more than 80 years) drainage carried out in the shrub-sphagnum pine forest in the northern forest district (Arkhangelsk region), on the stand and the state of the lower tiers of biogeocenosis: natural renewal, living ground cover and properties of peat soil. Drainage reclamation was carried out in 1940 by hand, care felling (1976) was carried out on part of the area – clearing in order to regulate the density of planting and improve the growth conditions of trees of the main breed. The facility has been stationary since 1990. (Northern NIILH), in which 3 trial areas are laid – drained pine forest, drained pine forest with care cabins and nondrained control plantation. The study of the stand, natural renewal, living ground cover and soils was carried out according to generally accepted methods. On the drained area, soil and soil conditions positively affected the overall productivity of forest stands: the stand is characterized by high productivity, bonus class II, whereas on the non–drained trial area – Va. There are also significant differences in the stock of trunk wood (246 and 63 m³ /ha, respectively). Felling of care against the background of drainage reclamation slightly contributed to an increase in the productivity of the stand, primarily due to redistribution by species. Natural renewal in drained pine-birch plantations is weak, represented by birch (200 pcs./ha), which appeared after logging. In the living ground cover, as a result of drainage, the number of species decreased, their ecological and cenotic composition changed: xerophytic species completely disappeared, the proportion of mesophytes increased by 2 times. The similarity between non-drained and drained plantings is low, the Jacquard index is 0.153–0.233. Logging of care carried out against the background of drainage somewhat equalize the level of biodiversity and increase it, compared with the drained plantation. The type of shrub-sphagnum forest noted earlier and corresponding to the control planting has changed to blueberry (moist), in which a typical autotrophic moistening forest litter has formed. In peat deposits (upper layers): the degree of decomposition and the density of peat addition doubled, the total borehole decreased, but the borehole aeration increased. At the same time, the ash content and acidity of peat have changed slightly. The ecosystem of shrub-sphagnum pine during long-term drainage reclamation has undergone significant changes concerning the lower tiers of biogeocenosis towards their exit from the sphagnum group of forest types, which also causes an increase in the productivity of planting.

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