Assessment of changes in tree and shrub vegetation in the bison nursery of the Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve

Large herbivores are an active part of forest biogeocenoses, participating in trophic and topical activities, as a result of which they are considered key species, as they can make significant changes in the processes of landscape dynamics and functioning. The aim of the study is to identify long-term changes in tree and shrub vegetation (tree stand, young forest trees and undergrowth ) as a result of the impact of ungulates in the bison nursery of the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve. The object of the study is the forest lands of the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve. The materials for the study were the data of forest inventory descriptions for the territory of the nursery and adjacent areas for 1946 and 2016, visual route surveys. The study made it possible to assess numerically the impact of bison on the quantitative characteristics of the components of forest phytocenoses. In the bison nursery, from 1946 to 2015, there was a decrease in the forested area (from 92.4 to 83.2%) and the proportion of stands with a predominance of pine and aspen. A decrease in areas with distinct layers of young forest trees and undergrowth, as well as a decrease in their species diversity and density, was revealed. The most vulnerable were such forage species as spruce, buckthorn, rowan, and euonymus. In the conditions of suppression of natural regeneration by bison, in the coming decades, in places of tree loss in overmature stands, processes of formation of open landscapes with single trees and a further decrease in forested area will occur. Bison in the zone of coniferous-broadleaf forests have a strong impact on the composition and structure of plant communities. When reintroducing bison to different soil and climatic conditions, further research is required to monitor their impact on the components of forest biogeocenoses.

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