Study of Natural Regeneration of Sogdian Ash (Fraxinus Sogdiana Bunge) and Silvicultural Measures to Promote it in the Sharyn River Floodplain of Almaty Region

Abstract

The forests of Kazakhstan, and in particular the ash riparian forests of the Charyn National Nature Park, as part of the unique natural complexes of Almaty region, have special ecological, historical, scientific, aesthetic and recreational value. Moreover, the fraxinus sogdiana trees in the Charyn Ash Dacha are relict and specially protected. Against the background of increasing anthropogenic impact, general aridisation of ecosystems and xerophytisation of vegetation cover, preservation and restoration of these stands of trees is becoming a problem not only for the region, but also for the whole country. All this forms the relevance of the study.The purpose of the study was to investigate the regularities and characteristics of natural regeneration of fraxinus sogdiana on the banks of the Charyn River in the territory of the Charyn National Nature Park, to identify and analyse the main factors that can improve the rates of natural regeneration of riparian forest in Kazakhstan in the future. The theoretical basis of the study lies in the analysis of scientific works and highly specialised materials by Kazakh and foreign authors in the field of forestry, ecology and nature conservation on the subject of this study. The methodological approach to fulfilling the tasks set was based on general scientific Methods, in particular observation, measurement, evaluation, a systematic comparative analysis of the material obtained, as well as computational mathematical methods. Qualitative representative material of the expanded field experiment enabled to calculate the level of natural regeneration of fraxinus sogdiana on the control plots of the study area. In addition to the practical field work, an in-depth analysis of worldwide scientific publications on the topic under study was conducted to formulate possible solutions to the problem.