Genetic Forest Typology as a Scientific and Methodological Basis for Environmental Studies and Forest Management

Abstract

Paper describes key elements of a genetic approach to classification of forest types – one of the original forest typological research directions in Russia summarizes the results of research over the hundred-year period of formation and development of this promising (from the point of view of sustainable management of natural resources) scientific direction. Authors provide a map of current forest type genetic classification use in the Russian Federation, and outline key perspective directions in the development of genetic classifications within a framework of the described approach. Modern genetic forest typology is an interdisciplinary science. It uses forestry, soil science, biogeography, and landscape ecology, allow you to reflect the processes of forest vegetation dynamics in syntaxons and on maps. Therefore, it gives excellent results for systematizing not only primary forests, but also a variety of secondary plant communities with extremely variable composition. Authors believe that there are the following main avenues of genetic approach to forest type classifications development: improvement of forest zoning technologies based upon assessment of environmental factors’ quantitative values, including development of spatial models for estimating factor values; development of new automated quantitative assessment methods for forest site conditions and tree stands’ parameters using high spatial resolution data obtained from aerial drones; development and verification of the rules for combining forest areas with relatively close parameter values, i.e. with similar forest-growing conditions, in one spatial unit; development and verification of the rules for combining spatial units with relatively different forest-growing conditions into larger units according to applied silvicultural practices; Improvement of existing and development of new forest typological schemes reflecting changes in climate conditions that can be applied for zones with high levels of anthropogenic impacts; development of silvicultural practices and logging technologies considering classification schemes of forest type dynamics; Genetic studies of the populations that compose forest communities. Genetic forest type classification is based upon the origin (genesis) and development of forests. Therefore, genesis studies of forest communities based on genetic analysis of the populations will become the core theme of the future fundamental research in this area.

Relationship between stand and regeneration of Picea obovata Ledeb. and Abies sibirica Ledeb. in the primary and secondary forests of the Southern Ural Mountains

“…Generalizing research results are shown in Figure 3. The research results are given in more detail in our earlier publications [7,24,26]. This report is generalizing.…”

Experience of Forest Ecological Classification in Assessment of Vegetation Dynamics

“…Natural classifications, including ones based on forest ecology and concepts of Sukachev's biogeocenosis, consider forest type from the point of view of spatial homogeneity of the characteristics (composition and structure) displayed by forest community components [15,16]. For these approaches, the forest type includes sites that are uniform in terms of characteristics (composition and structure), so the forest type is determined on the basis of the forest site spatial uniformity criteria [5,12]. In genetic classifications, the spatial uniformity criteria for forest sites are replaced with criteria that determine similarity in genesis, dynamics, and development (i.e., temporal uniformity) [5,30,31] (Table 1).…”

“…The experience of the Russian forest typology is no less interesting and useful [5,12]. Ecological-silvicultural classification, phytocoenotic forest typology, genetic forest typology, and dynamic forest typology are actively used in modern forestry in the Russian Federation.…”

Forest typological features of herb species abundance distributions of pine forests in the Ural Mountains

“…Potential vegetation is represented by various types of southern taiga forests, among which pine forests with birch and larch in the composition predominate. The systematization of forest types is carried out on the basis of geographical and genetic typology [9,10]. A brief description of the forest types is given in the catalog [8].…”