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Pedunculate oak stands in the catchments of the river Vorskla’s tributaries Cover

Pedunculate oak stands in the catchments of the river Vorskla’s tributaries

Open Access
|May 2020

Abstract

The aim of the study was to analyze the origin of oak stands within the catchments of the Vorskla’s tributaries and to describe their state. Covering 60,900 ha, pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) stands prevail and cover 51.1% of the total forest area of 119,200 ha in the catchment areas of the River Vorskla’s tributaries. The way oak stands are distributed in regards to trophotopes points at favourable conditions for their growth, as 81.7% of the area is a fresh fertile oak forest site type. Forest stands aged 41–80 years (39.8 % of the total area) and 81–120 years (50.4%) are prevailing. Natural oak stands cover almost 66.5% and planted ones grow at 33.5%. Distribution of oak stands in regards to the functional categories of forests shows a significant predominance of the protective forests. They cover 46.6% of the total area. The commercial forests cover 23.0%, the recreational ones make 18.8% and the forests with conservational, academic, historical and cultural purpose cover 11.6 %. Distribution patterns of oak forests in the catchments of the River Vorskla’s tributaries should be considered in the forest management in order to conserve their biodiversity and enhancing the performance of important environmental, protective, recreational and other functions. The article contains results of the study on the natural regeneration of Quercus robur and other wood species under the canopy of oak stands and on felling sites. The further research perspectives are a thorough study of the stand characteristics and the typological structure of forests in terms of certain wood species in the catchments of rivers all over Ukraine. It will help developing principles for the catchment and landscape zonation.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/foecol-2020-0009 | Journal eISSN: 1338-7014 | Journal ISSN: 1336-5266
Language: English
Page range: 70 - 80
Submitted on: Jan 20, 2020
Accepted on: Apr 5, 2020
Published on: May 13, 2020
Published by: Slovak Academy of Sciences, Mathematical Institute
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 2 issues per year

© 2020 Viktor Tkach, Oleksandr Bondar, Maksym Rumiantsev, published by Slovak Academy of Sciences, Mathematical Institute
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.