The Risk Assessment of Pine Forest Degradation Under Various Conditions of Moisture and the Nature of Precipitation in Kerzhensky Reserve

Abstract

The relationship between the degree of moisture content of the territory and the nature of precipitation with linear growth of Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) was investigated on the area of the Kerzhensky Reserve located in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The main positive effect on the linear growth of Scots pine was exerted by heavy convective showers in the spring and early summer period, when the most intensive growth of trees was observed, with the exception of swampy biotopes, where the plants experienced water stress. The same negative impact on the linear growth of Scots pine was exerted by stratiform precipitation in all studied biotopes. Thus, an increase in the moisture content of the territory caused by the observed climatic changes will be positive only for pine stands of dry biotopes and can lead to degradation of moist and fresh pine forest ecosystems, especially with an increase in the amount of stratiform atmospheric precipitation.