The density of stands remains a controversial issue to this day, requiring a practical solution in terms of the optimal liquefaction of plantings without a significant loss of the quantitative productivity of the trunk stock of wood and the stability of forest stands. Only as a result of focused efforts can the patterns of natural liquefaction or the process of self-regulation of complex biological systems, to which the forest belong, be achieved. Natural liquefaction of forest stands is an extremely complex process due to its multifactorial nature, to the manifestation of which climatic, soil, biological conditions and many other mutual influences are involved. In forest biogeocenoses, the edifacatory role belongs to the main stand. This tier represents a group of tree species in a phytocenosis, which determines its structure and, to a certain extent, composition. In this study, it is proposed to evaluate the functional load by an indicator of the tension of the living space of the plantation. Since Scotch pine is one of the most common edificators, widely used in the creation of anti-erosion plantations on soils of varying degrees of washout, substantiation of the indicator of tension is carried out on its example. The formula for calculating the tension indicator of the living space, characterizing the growing conditions of the plantation, is given. The indicator of the tension of living space is the ratio of the average height of plantings to their absolute completeness. The verification of the proposed indicator was carried out using tables of the course of growth, highlighting the patterns of the structure of tree stands. A graphic interpretation of the static research of forest stands is carried out. If the values of the tension indicators coincide with the distribution curve obtained from the standard tables of the sum of the cross-sectional areas of tree trunks with a completeness of 1.0, this indicates the optimal use of living space by plantations. The values of the indicators placed above the curve indicate the intensive use of living space. If the values of the indicators are located under the curve - it is incomplete use of living space. Since there is continuous forest management in Ukraine, and for timely forestry measures, it is necessary to constantly monitor the state of plantations. For successful cultivation of anti-erosion plantings of sufficiently high productivity and convenience of monitoring their condition, the proposed indicator can be used.

At present, high-level attention is paid to the issues of the role, significance, optimal use of soils, their protection and combating degradation. By introducing the Sustainable Development Goals at the national level, Ukraine is obliged to introduce new programs and projects that, in practice, will have macroeconomic stability, ecological balance and social cohesion. During scientific research on the multifunctional role of protective forest plantations, which at one time were created on eroded territories, which include gully-ravine lands, to revive the properties of soils, work was carried out to substantiate their regenerative function. To achieve this goal, 90 soil-forest typological stations were established in erosion control plantations of various periods of plant growth and development with the selection of 270 soil samples. A study of their water-physical and agrochemical properties was carried out with the processing of the data obtained by statistical methods. Based on the analysis of scientific literary sources, the study of successful production experience and our own research on anti-erosion plantations to determine their impact on soil properties and the environment, qualitative stages of the ecological restoration of eroded soils have been developed. Changes in the age periods of growth and development of woody plants in protective forest plantations created on gully-ravine lands lead to a gradual step-by-step ecological restoration of eroded soils. Thus, a clear correlation of the age periods of growth and development of woody plants with the qualitative stages of ecological restoration of eroded soils was obtained. The selection of research objects provided for taking into account the same technology for creating anti-erosion plantings, growth and development in the same conditions, corresponding to five age periods of growth and development of woody plants. In each age period, qualitative changes occur during the growth and development of the vegetation cover, as well as quantitative changes in indicators characterizing the properties of the soil, which are presented in comparison with the control, which is the pasture. The main functions of these plantings are presented. Attention is paid to all age periods of growth and development of anti-erosion plantings in terms of forest measures for the successful cultivation of anti-erosion plantings and their effective action. The stages of ecological restoration of eroded territories are clearly consistent with the identified age periods. The prospects for understanding the process of restoring protective vegetation cover, including forest plantations, and their direct impact on the properties of eroded soils are opening up. Keywords: erosion processes, eroded soils, anti-erosion role, periods of development, qualitative stages, soil properties, hydraulic roughness.

The article analyzes the indicators that can be used to assess the biotic and ecological stability of forest stands. For breeding facilities, this issue is of relevance when prescribing reforestation measures in forest genetic reserves, assessing the stability when selecting plus stands, assessing selected permanent forest-seed plots to determine the volumes of their formation and tending activities in them and, in the future, their transfer to plus stands, as well as, in general, for isolation of a reserve fund from the forest environment. The methods for assessing the stability of forest stands are based on determining the indicators of forest stand stability, calculated on the basis of tree mensuration in the study area (based on a trial plot) and the sanitary state of the trees. The basis for the determination is the complete tree enumeration and the scale of sanitary state used in production operations (SanitaryForestsReg.Ukraine). The assessment of stand stability is based on the method of calculating the loss of stability (BC)), which was proposed to determine the stability of secondary spruce forests in fertile beech forest types (BlystivV. I. 2006) and later adapted to assess the formation of the stability of hornbeam-beech stands (Blystiv V. I., 2012). The issue of assessing the tension of a stand, using the growing space of the forest is addressed in the methods section of the dissertation work by V.M.Malyuga, 2020. Using the values of the above indicators (KC, ВбС, ВеС), stands can be divided into 3 categories of stability: stable, conditionally stable and unstable. Appropriate forestry activities are proposed according to the categories. They require a special numeric-expressed substantiation, both in relation to the economic group of forest types, forest category, and for targeted activities or research areas - in this case, loss of stability of breeding facilities. Tension studies have shown that by using factors of environmental impact, the conditions are assessed as normal, non-tensioned and tensioned. To assess the indicator values of normal and weakened states, the basic scale of the assessment of biotic stability by stand indexes will be used. For the weakened state, three indexes are identified for the purpose of detailed planning of possible activities. In forest breeding, the selection and formation of forest stands for stability will require parameter-defined indicators, in this case, the forest stand stability coefficient is used. The protective properties of the forest environment, identified with the preservation of genetic diversity, determined by the amount and quality of natural regeneration and associated with ecological stability, can be effectively assessed by its loss according to the above method. The studies on the stand tension, using the factors of environmental impact, have shown that stands growing under tension are those that are somewhat overstocked ones. Pine stands grow optimally when they have a density range of 0.7-1.0. The rest of the stands grow without tension, but they do not make full use of growing space due to varying degrees of stand density. Such medium-stocked stands can be effectively used as selected and appropriately formed permanent forest-seed plots. Assessment of the stand state by impact factors makes it possible to record quantitative changes. The dynamics of areas in accordance with the changes of these indicators by periods characterizes the ecosystem changes (stages of development by successive process) and is important for the facilities of preservation of genetic diversity - especially forest genetic reserves.