Ufimtsev V. I. An Experience and Contemporary Status of Forest Recultivation in Kuzbass

Abstract

How to cite: Ufimtsev V. I. An experience and contemporary status of forest recultivation in Kuzbass // Sibirskij Lesnoj Zurnal (Sib. J. For. Sci.). 2017. N. 4: 12–27 (in Russian with English abstract).

DOI: 10.15372/SJFS20170402

© Ufimtsev V. I., 2017

Reforestation is the main method of rehabilitation of lands degraded by the coal industry. The substratum of dumps of the coal industry is characterized by a sharp deficiency of elements and the expressed xeromorphy. During more than 40 years, on the dumps where over 15 thousand ha of wood plantings were created, the agrotechnological and scientific foundation of forest recultivation is laid. Biological features of several tens of types are studied and their suitability for the purposes of afforestation of dumps is estimated. Scots pine Pinus sylvestris L., a common sea-buckthorn Hippophaë rhamnoídes L. and a silver birch Betula pendula Tristis appeared certainly suitable, 10 more types are recognized as the perspective. In 1989 and 2005, under the leadership of L. P. Barannik, are prepared and approved for application at the regional level of the recommendation about reforestation. Now experiments on selection of types proceed, work on optimization of technologies of forest re-cultivation taking into account an assessment of the created plantings of the I-II class of age is conducted. The main square of reforestation, about 11 thousand hectares, the scots pine which is capable to grow on the highest classes of site class without decrease in growth processes in the older age groups borrows. Pure sea-buckthorn plantings are created on an area of about 3 thousand hectares where they are used by berry-pickers. The ecological value of a sea-buckthorn consists in fast development of a surface of dumps. Joint landings of these two tree species are widely used. The birch hung, along with a birch fluffy, is presented, mainly, in the form of natural renewal. In recent years, in connection with reduction of nurseries on cultivation of seedlings of a pine, the birch began to be used actively in artificial afforestation of dumps, especially in urban areas. The main problems of forest re-cultivation are: non-selective formation of dumps, unsatisfactory parameters of preparation of sites at a mining stage of re-cultivation, high density of the created stands, weak formation of the subordinated circles and slowed-down soil formation, inflammability of the mixed landings of a pine and sea-buckthorn and the small range of the used cultures, absence of due consideration to the above problems.