Restoration of Main Forest Forming Species and Light Regime in Forest Belts of Stone Steppe

Abstract

With an increase in the anthropogenic load on agricultural landscapes and global climate change, the role of not only the forests of Russia, but also artificially created, man-made forest stands, especially systems of protective stands, is growing. The system of forest belts of the Stone Steppe consists of forest strips of different ages, species composition and width. The oldest stands are 126 years old, the youngest are 28 years old. After the drought of 2010, the death of birch, poplar and partially ash began in many forest belts of the southeast of the Central Chernozem region. Forest strips of the Stone-Steppe system were not an exception. The death of birch and poplar occurred not only in old plantings, but also in middle-aged ones. It is necessary to know their renewable potential to restore the protective functions of forest strips. Old-age forest belts have suffered more from drought. Therefore the article is devoted to the study of the main reserve of renewable potential - the presence of reliable undergrowth and the conditions of its existence under the canopy of the parent forest stand of forest belts aged 62 to 120 years. The article touches upon the concept of a new direction in agroforestry: the mechanism of spatial expansion of protective forest belts on arable land due to the appearance of forest edges consisting of maple and the role of forest edges in the forest-forming process of man-made strip stands have been shown