In the Forest Experimental Station of the Russian State Agrarian University–Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, since 1862, experiments have been carried out to study the methods of planting, the geographical origin of seeds, methods of thinning for forest growth. Over 150 years, significant changes have occurred in the climatic conditions of the Forest Experimental Station. There have been changes in the species composition of the forested area of the Forest Experimental Station. At the time of the first forest inventory in 1862, there were 5.7 units for pine, 1.6 units for birch and 1.4 units for oak. In the subsequent dynamics of the species composition of forest stands, there is a decrease in the share of pine to 3.9 units and an increase in the share of birch (1.6 units), oak (2.3 units) and larch (1.8 units) by 2009.

Urban forests have great ecological value as facilities for maintaining a favourable environment for the life of citizens. The development of industrial production and increased traffic flows lead to air pollution in cities, which contributes to a decrease in the productivity of tree stands, an increase in their decline and a decrease in their growth. The aim of this paper is to analyze the growth and productivity of larch stands under different anthropogenic influences and to develop recommendations for increasing their stability and durability. The materials for the study were data from the repeated measurements of permanent inventory plots at the Experimental Forest District of the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow ‘Timiryazev’ Agricultural Academy and forest areas of the Moscow Region. The growth of stands of mean height in the permanent inventory plots does not correspond to the scale of site class determination: first, the forest site index is upgraded, and then it is declined. The results of the analysis of growth and productivity of larch stands have shown that these trees can be recommended for use in urban landscaping as they demonstrate high resistance to adverse effects. Mixed pine-larch stands are the most promising for urban landscaping. Key words: Larch stands, urbanized environment, growth, productivity.

Scots pine is one of the most widespread tree species in Eurasia, which determines its confinement to different growing conditions. The origin of the planting material influences the variables of forest stands. According to the data of long-term experiments in the Forest Experimental District of the Russian State Agrarian University - Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, it was revealed that the most promising are the stands grown from seeds of local origin. Such stands are characterized by maximum wood quality, durability and productivity.

No abstract

Remote sensing of the Earth data and the results of their thematic interpretation are of great importance in monitoring forest biodiversity. Using the example of the Kologrivsky Forest Nature Reserve, a thematic interpretation of Landsat 5 images was carried out. The best quality classification of natural objects was achieved using the Random Forest and CatBoost algorithms. For the period from 1984 to 2011, thematic maps of prevailing tree species were obtained, according to which the main directions of changes in the vegetation cover were identified.