Scientific publications

Results of transect surveys, analysis of archival materials and long-term monitoring over reforestation of felled areas in permanent sample plots were used to develop the classification of felled areas, constituting a part of the dynamic forest classification and based on the following major principles: 1) like forest types, felled area types are confined to certain distribution ranges; 2) there exists a regular correlation between felled area types and forest types (site conditions), but the former are more numerous in similar habitats; the distinguished associations of plant communities in felled areas, just like climax community types, show a pattern in the distribution along soil moisture and richness gradients; 3) plant communities in felled areas correlate in a regular way with the age of the felled tree stand (depend on the development stage at which the forest community was felled); 4) the structure of the plant community forming in a felled site changes over time in a regular way, with 2-3 succession stages until the closure of the tree layer canopy; 5) destruction of the tree layer removes its leveling effect, and the structural development of the plant community in the felled site is determined by the set of anthropogenic (degree of the soil cover disturbance, silvicultural activities, drainage, etc.) and natural (topography, soil conditions) factors.