Silvicultural characteristics of medieval 40–50-year-old stands of pedunculate oak in Bilohrudivsky Forest

Autorzy

• Volodymyr Shlapak Uman National University of Horticulture
  Instytutska 1, Uman, Ukraine
• Ivan Mostoviak Uman National University of Horticulture
  Instytutska 1, Uman, Ukraine
• Svitlana Adamenko Uman National University of Horticulture
  Instytutska 1, Uman, Ukraine
  e-mail: svitlanka0613@ukr.net
• Iryna Pushka Uman National University of Horticulture
  Instytutska 1, Uman, Ukraine
• Natalia Komisarenko Uman National University of Horticulture
  Instytutska 1, Uman, Ukraine
• Myhaylo Yarosh Uman National University of Horticulture
  Instytutska 1, Uman, Ukraine

Abstract

The forest dacha Bilohrudivsky Forest was an educational and scientific production department of the Main School of Horticulture, now Uman National University of Horticulture, located in Uman District of Cherkasy Region in the Central Forest-Steppe Zone of Ukraine, near the northeastern outskirts of the city of Uman. The area of the forest dacha is 473.7 ha.
Based on the materials of forest management and our experimental studies, we analysed the distribution of forest vegetation by dominant species, as well as oak plantations by origin, forest types, age groups, growth classes, fullness and stem wood reserves. The dynamics of the main taxonomic indicators of medieval oak cultures are presented. Indicators of the use of forest vegetation potential by oak plantations of artificial origin in the most common forest type – fresh hornbeam oak forest (D2-hD) – were determined. According to the research, oak forests are the most common, accounting for 81.6% of the total area covered by forest vegetation. It was found that young trees account for 16.7% of the total area, that is, plantations under 20 years old. Medieval plantations account for the largest share – 68.0% of the total area. The smallest share is occupied by ripening (7.1%) and ripe and overripe (8.2%). Among oak forests, artificial plantations of the I, Ia, and II classes of growth, which have a completeness of 0.7 and 0.9 units, significantly prevail in terms of area. The age structure of oak forests is unbalanced, with a predominance of middle-aged plantations, which account for 68% of the area.
In the second half of the 20th century, the agrotechnological methods of creating cultures of pedunculate oak in the Bilohrudivsky Forest were reduced to three options, namely soil cultivation was carried out by cutting furrow to a depth of 30 cm by a mechanised method with a PKL-70 plough, followed by a two-fold loosening of the furrow ridges with a KLB-1.7 disc harrow into a plough ridge and breakdown in an aggregate with an MTZ-80 tractor; soil cultivation was carried out by cutting furrow by a mechanised method with a PKL-70 plough to a depth of 30 cm; soil cultivation was carried out according to the agrotechnological method in the form of lowering stumps to ground level in a strip 2–2.5 m wide, and then soil cultivation for forest crops on log cabins was carried out by cutting furrow to a depth of 30 cm with a mechanised forest plough PKL-70 and passing a cultivator KLB-1.7 for two to three Times into the plough ridge in an aggregate with a tractor MTZ-80.
It was found that the soil cultivation methods used in establishing forest cultures in 40–50-year-old plantations did not impact their productivity.
The main feature of forest crops is untimely felling, which has led to the emergence of complex plantations in some neighbourhoods with a share of low-productive trees of natural origin such as hornbeam, sharp-leaved maple, small-leaved linden and a low share of pedunculate oak in artificial plantations.
Proposals for implementing appropriate forestry measures to optimise the age structure, increase the productivity of oak plantations and enhance their important ecological and protective functions are presented.

Keywords

• artificial plantations
• agrotechnological methods of creating crops
• growth class
• fullness
• stock of stem wood
• forest type
• growth