Natural Reforestation Patterns at the Felling Sites of Blueberry Spruce Forests in the Southern Part of the Timan Ridge (Komi Republic). P. 44–59

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630*231(470.13-924.82)

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https://doi.org/10.37482/0536-1036-2026-5-44-59

Abstract

Understanding natural reforestation patterns in anthropogenically disturbed areas is crucial for forest management and predicting the development of secondary stands under current conditions of increasing human impact and climate change. The reforestation dynamics patterns have been found in the felling areas (different age) in the South Timan Ridge of the European Russia Northeast (Komi Republic). Natural reforestation at the felling areas was surveyed on permanent sample plots sized 50×50 m, with observation plots (2 and 10 m2 radius) laid out there. Siberian spruce and Siberian fir (with an overall density ranging from 2,500 to 6,200 trees per hectare) and a small admixture of birch (up to 1,100 trees per hectare) predominate under the canopy of blueberry spruce stands and in first-year felling areas as part of the undergrowth. The number of young birch trees increases to 11,000 per hectare in the regeneration area by the fourth year after felling, and the population of this species reaches 46,000 trees per hectare after 8–11 years. Regeneration of the spruce next generation is slow and insignificant. Regeneration does not occur or proceeds very slowly, even 18 years after the harvest when logging sites become contaminated with logging debris. The best regrowth occurs along the edges and in the spaces between the skid trails, where the mixing of mineral and organic horizons, combined with the artificial drainage created during timber skidding, results in the most favorable conditions. Throughout the entire observation period (18 years), high height variation (<40 %) was observed among coniferous and deciduous undergrowth, indicating that they are actively colonizing the felling areas.

Funding: The work was carried out as part of the government-funded research projects No. 125020501547-8, entitled “The Environment-Shaping Role and Productivity of Forest and Wetland Ecosystems in the European Northeast of Russia”, and No. 125021902454-1, entitled “Soils and Soil Resources of Northeastern European Russia in Modern Climate Change Conditions, Anthropogenic Pressure, and Socioeconomic Challenges”.

Authors

Ivan N. Kutyavin^1*, Doctor of Biology; ResearcherID: P-9829-2015, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7840-1934
Roman A. Nechaev^1,2, Laboratory Research Assistant; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1237-8473
Yuriy A. Dubrovskiy¹, Candidate of Biology; ResearcherID: P-9741-2015, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7219-054X
Olga N. Tyukavina³, Doctor of Agriculture, Assoc. Prof.; ResearcherID: H-2336-2019, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4024-6833
Alexey A. Dymov¹, Doctor of Biology, Assoc. Prof.; ResearcherID: P-9571-2015, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1284-082X

Affiliation

¹Institute of Biology of Komi Science Centre of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Syktyvkar, Russia; ivan.kutyawin@yandex.ru*, roman11lxsn@mail.ru, dubrovsky@ib.komisc.ru, aadymov@gmail.com
²Syktyvkar Forest Institute – Branch of Saint Petersburg State Forest Technical University, Syktyvkar, Russia; roman11lxsn@mail.ru
³Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Arkhangelsk, Russia; o.tukavina@narfu.ru

Keywords

Middle taiga, blueberry spruce forests, felling sites, natural reforestation, undergrowth, Komi Republic

For citation

Kutyavin I.N., Nechaev R.A., Dubrovskiy Yu.A., Tyukavina O.N., Dymov A.A. Natural Reforestation Patterns at the Felling Sites of Blueberry Spruce Forests in the Southern Part of the Timan Ridge (Komi Republic). Lesnoy Zhurnal = Russian Forestry Journal, 2026, no. 5, pp. 44–59. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.37482/0536-1036-2026-5-44-59

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