The paper summarizes results of long-term observations of the state of roadside tree and shrub plantings of Ulmus parvifolia, Tamarix ramosissima, Calligonum aphyllum and Haloxylon aphyllum in the arid conditions of the Northern Caspian. All said species show high survival on sandy loam soils, are drought-resistant and long-living (40 and more years). Studies have shown ecological and ameliorative effect of plantings on the vegetation cover of adjacent pastures and protection of the route Astrakhan-Volgograd from sand drifts and snowstorms of East and South-East directions.
The article presents the current state assessment and suggests the methods for additional moisture supply of soils under stable tree plantations of Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila L.) on brown soils of semi-desert. The research area belongs to the arid zone. This is a treeless zone of dry steppe and semi-desert, where about 1,000 ha of plantations with a predominance of elm of different species have been planted since 1949–1953: shade clumps, pasture protection strips, massifs, separated forest stands. The soils are brown desert-steppe alkaline sandy loam and light clay-loam in combination with solonetz (10 %). Siberian elm stands form plantations of different ages and for different purposes. The research is based on biomonitoring materials and field experiments using standard forest inventory techniques. Test sites of a rectangular shape with an area of 0.4 ha were laid out in order to study the Siberian elm stands. We described in detail the location of the test sites, the soil composition thereon, and gave a comprehensive assessment of the growth and durability of the plantations. It is shown that the stand state is determined by 2 sets of factors: zonal-edaphic and pastoraleconomic. Viable stands of Siberian elm at the age of 57–64 have been preserved on sandy loam and dark-colored soils located in micro- and inter-hill depressions. The dynamics of soil moisture under plantations is largely independent of the tree location method. Satisfactory indicators of growth and durability of plantations depend on the level of availability of soil moisture and the degree of its salinity. The moisture supply of soils under elm plantations can be increased by using melt water runoff in hollows and micro-depressions and increasing the growing space of a tree to 25 m2. Formed elm plantations respond positively to the presence of resting animals. The “alliance” relationship between the stand and livestock does not arise immediately, but rather from a certain age of the stand and the moment it forms a certain structure of the tree layer, which should be provided by forest cultivation and silvicultural measures in conjunction with the regulation of pasture load. There is a positive effect of resting animals at the appropriate load on the growth, state and durability of the Siberian elm stands.
Haphazard use of pastures has become one of the factors of disturbance of their natural vegetation. Therefore, forest reclamation works were carried out and significant areas of strip plantations of shrubs were created in the Caspian Sea region in the mid-20th century. In the arid zone of Russia, one of the most important tasks in the field of scientific provision of protective afforestation is the improvement of methods and techniques of arrangement, increasing longevity and environmental, agricultural, and utilitarian efficiency of plantations. This study aims to determine the long-term impact of afforestation on the functioning of pasture ecosystems. The influence of tree and shrub layer on biodiversity and productivity of vegetation cover of pastures was also studied. The research objects are plantations growing on the reclaimed pastures. The research is based on the materials of biomonitoring and field experiments using standard methods of forest inventory and geobotanical survey. Rectangular-shaped test plots of 0.25–0.30 ha were laid out for the study of forest plots. Test plots were used for a detailed description of the location, soil composition, time, method, and technology of plantation development, as well as a comprehensive assessment of the growth and longevity of tree and shrub crops. Data from key plots were used to study the successional processes of vegetation cover. The research results have shown that deep plowing preparation of soil to obtain high results in rooting, preservation, and growth of shrub species has an advantage over other soil preparation technologies in the semi-desert zone. It was found that the shrub layer up to 45 years old retains its productive and generative abilities. Pasture protection belts from Haloxylon aphyllum and reclamation and fodder plantations from Krascheninnikovia ceratoides and Calligonum aphyllum have a high cenosis potential and stability. In this case study, in semi-arid regions, afforestation with shrubs is the best way to improve and restore pastures. For citation: Rybashlykova L.P., Lepesko V.V. Assessment of Natural and Forest Reclaimed Forage Lands in Semi-Desert Conditions in Southern Russia. Lesnoy Zhurnal [Russian Forestry Journal], 2021, no. 3, pp. 37–48. DOI: 10.37482/0536-1036-2021-3-37-48
The article provides a predictive assessment of longevity of Ulmus pumila L. stands in the Astrakhan Zavolzhye. The effi and expediency of renewable logging for rejuvenation and increasing the longevity of plantings in the semi-desert were confi The classifi of ecotopes of the Astrakhan Zavolzhye on suitability for cultivation of protective and shadow elm plantings on pasture lands was developed and presented. In the Caspian region, Ulmus pumila became widespread in forest reclamation of semi-desert lands in the 1950s. Since then, till the beginning of the 1990s, Bogdinskaya research agroforestry experimental station laid on the sandy massifs about 1 thousand hectares of Ulmus pumila L. plantings, which currently amounts to 1824 %. The long-term practice of using protective shade Ulmus pumila umbrellas has shown their signifi ecological effect on functioning pastures. The aim of the research was to develop an improved technology for creating long-lived protective shade stands of Ulmus pumila on degraded pastures of the Astrakhan Zavolzhye. The research was carried out using generally accepted methods of stand forest taxation by A.P. Anuchin (1961), 1. Bitvinskas (1974) and A.S. Manaenkov (2001). Soil conditions were studied by drilling sounding to 3 m depth. The results of the research revealed that the longevity of wood species in the dry-steppe zone was determined mainly by two factors: productive moisture in the soil and salinity level. The most favorable growing conditions for Ulmus pumila were unsalted (to a depth of at least 3 m) brown sandy soils, sandy loam soils, dark-colored swale soils with periodic redistributed accumulation of moisture. In arid conditions of the Astrakhan Zavolzhye in island plantations (group of trees, umbrellas, 0.51 ha parts of forest area) and optimal growing conditions without logging and reforestation, Ulmus pumila lives up to 6070 years.
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