The effective performance of ameliorative functions by water protection plantations is largely determined by the development of the forest litter, its structure, capacity, quality composition, and degree of mineralization. Therefore, the aim of the study was to identify the features of the formation of the forest litter of pine plantations of the Ukrainian interfluves of the Dnipro and Desna. The study of forest litter was carried out on the accounting sites in all age groups of plantations, in which 22 test plots were laid. Litter samples were taken in between rows and directly in rows of forest plantations. During the analysis of the qualitative composition of the forest litter of young plantations, the dominance of the upper horizon of the inactive fraction, which consisted mainly of needles and branches, was revealed. Here, the share of inactive litter in the conditions of moist poor pine site and moist relatively poor pine site was 8.13 t/ha or 85.1% and 12.54 t/ha or 92.1%, respectively. A large amount of dust, which forms the active fraction, was recorded in the lower horizon. Its stocks were 5.3-5.6 times higher than the reserves of inactive litter. In general, in young pine forests in the conditions of moist poor pine site, the stock of inactive litter is 15.10 t/ha (28.1%), while its presence in of moist poor pine site is 17.91 t/ha, 36.5%. In middle-aged pine forests, the share of the active litter fraction increases, which is a consequence of the active action of its decomposition processes. The share of active litter is 79.3% or 155.29 t/ha in mature stands of the conditions of moist poor pine site. This is evidence of the intensification of the processes of mineralization and activation of the circulation of substances. Three horizons are clearly distinguished in the litter of plantations of older age groups, with a strong connection between them. The lower layer of the forest litter of water conservation plantations is permeated with physiologically active roots, which forms its dense type of structure. Under such conditions, during the separation of the lower layer of litter from the upper one, it does not fall apart and its structure remains dense. The presence of strongly intertwined physiologically active roots in the third horizon of the litter is evidence of the activation of microbiological processes, which are also accelerated by the interception of moisture and the accumulation of humus particles of the soil by the lower layers of the forest litter. To prevent the development of flood processes, the effective performance of water regulation and water purification functions, it is recommended to create water conservation plantations with the formation of the identified type of forest litter
During land unsoldering in Ukraine, so-called “self-seeded forests” appeared on lands that had not been used for agriculture for a long time. The purpose of the research is to find out the erosion control properties of self-seeded forests. Twelve locations of natural regeneration of various types of woody plants on the ravine-gully system of Cherkasy region were chosen as research sites. Self-seeded woods have a structure of different ages from 8 to 25 years. Most of them are represented by mixed stands, which increase their biological stability. They are better adapted to the current climate change. The formation of uneven-aged stands of natural regeneration with high resistance and erosion control properties was noted. According to the qualitative indicator of productivity, the natural regeneration turned out to be different, which was primarily caused by forest sites conditions, in particular, the steepness, the position on the slope, and the thickness of the humus horizon of the soil. The hardness of the soil was determined in the range from 17.1 to 19.0 kg/cm2, which corresponds to an average loose state. The hardness of the soil in the control was 23.9 kg/cm2, which corresponds to its compacted state. The water permeability of the soil under the studied stands was 11.1–27.3 (control – 8.9) mm/min, which characterizes it from the best to chasm. The obtained soil water permeability data confirm the rapid transfer of surface runoff to subsoil, which prevents the development of erosion processes. Natural regeneration on the slopes of the ravine-gully system is determined to be successful, although it requires considerable time for the formation of full-fledged plantations.
The aim of the research was to identify the influence of environmental factors inherent in the alluvial and displaced sands of the study region on the growth of the Jack pine and the prospects for its cultivation. We found that the success of growth of Jack pine seedlings on sandy soils depends on a set of factors, which include the presence or absence, in the rhizosphere of sand, of humus impurities and genetic horizons of zonal soils, silty or loamy layers, soil density and composition of pine stands formed in the cultivation. On alluvial sands, sparse forests of Jack pine and Scots pine with a density of 0.3 units were formed. The yield of seeds from Jack pine cones was 1–2% higher than the normative values, and the mass of 1000 seeds was 50% higher. Jack pine seedlings grow according to I class of productivity on displaced sands, with an admixture of humus mass and remnants of genetic horizons of zonal soils at the root depth. In the rhizosphere of the stand, the roots of Jack pine seedlings occupied 78% of the mass of all roots that inhabited a metre-thick sand. Jack pine seedlings that fall under the canopy of Scots pine fall out of the plantations due to drying, which indicates their demand for light and appropriateness of growing Jack pine in solitary plantings or in mixed low-density plantations with Scots pine.
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