Forest Club model projects and sites

Issue 8-9, Nov. 1998

The attitude towards the forest can be different and may change as time goes. The forest can be the environment for living, providing food and shelter, or, obviously, it can be the foe world, wilderness, against which we should fight for a living space; or it can be the eternal source of almost free timber and other useful resources. In the past century, a new approach to the forest as a component of the environment, indispensable for human survival and nature preservation has developed in the world and, partly, in Russia. The official forestry science and government authorities seemingly agree with this point of view, at least several documents declare the necessity of “multipurpose, continuous and non-depleting use of forest resources, … conservation of the biodiversity and protection of areas of historical, cultural and nature heritage”. However, when one or another area of natural significance requires efforts for conservation, the attitude of authorities drastically changes, and the forest from a complex of natural ecosystems capable of infinite development and maintaining many essential functions — conservation of biodiversity and water quality, maintenance of healthy environment for humans — turns into the “forest” — the set of growing logs, which should be cut, otherwise this “forest” will become overmature, fall down and go to waste.

Regretfully, the attitude towards the forest as natural ecosystems providing many useful for human and nature functions still having a declarative character in the Russian legislation. The really acting legislation — mostly represented by departmental forestry decrees, which directly regulate the use of forest resources and silvicultural activity — is build upon the idea that the forest is a timber factory. The consequence of this situation is the absolute predominance of group II and III forests traditionally regarded as a free source of timber and the fact that advance (or regress) of the forest industry is mainly measured by the volume of harvested timber. The majority of departmental decrees disregard the most important types of protected areas and its protection regimes, while clear cutting — the cheapest way to yield timber without taking any care about the territory — predominates throughout Russia. In the forests, “which are mainly destined for water protection, preservation, health maintenance and other functions” quite intensive thinning cuts similar to selective cuts used during final felling are permitted. Practically, there is no real mechanism for exclusion even of the most valuable forest areas (except zapovedniks, which occupy the relatively small area relatively to the whole area of the country) from forestry activities.

The interpretation of natural mortality of trees by presently acting regulations is very important. In the best case, it is considered as a unavoidable disaster, while, in the worst one, as a result of poor management by forestry organs. However, the statement that “the forest will become overmature, fall and go to waste, if we do not cut it ” is correct only when harvested wood, but not the whole forest itself, is considered as the end product of silviculture. This means that forestry is treated as a branch of agriculture, similar cultivation of cereals or gardening. At the same time, if the end product is the forest itself — as a natural ecosystem and an element of human habitat that is completely right when speaking about forests especially valuable because of their natural and environmental features — then the removal of timber of old trees from the forest should account for functions of dying trees in the natural dynamics of forest ecosystems. There is a lot of such functions, many of them are essential:

• deadwood is the most important source of organic matter in soil and on its surface — the main reserve of fixed carbon (temporally excluded from the atmospheric cycle), thus affecting the role of forest in regulation of climate;

• the amount and composition of deadwood are main factors regulating water-holding capacity and heat conductivity of top soil layers and of growing vegetation;

  Fig. 1.  Large lying logs are the main basis for vegetation recovery (text) Photo by A. Yaroshenko

  
  

• lying logs, hillocks of rotten wood and windfall mounds are the main substratum for forest reproduction (fig. 1) and the most important elements of the heterogeneity of ecological conditions under the forest canopy, thus providing high biodiversity;

• deadwood on the soil surface and mound-and-depression topography resulted from windfall form specific microrelief, which slows down the direct runoff during spring snowmelt and rainstorms and facilitating the replenishment of soil water reserves and increases the water protection capacity of forest;

• continuos dying of old trees creates a complicated light mosaic under the forest canopy especially typical for spruce-fir and mixed deciduous-coniferous forests; it is absolutely necessary for the maintenance of highly diverse conditions under the canopy and for the survival of the most species of forest fauna and flora.

When speaking about this side of natural tree mortality — of course, when it does not result from the breakup of even-aged forests formed on the place of extensive clearcuts, burns and abandoned fields. The removal of old trees from the forest should be considered as an obstacle to normal functioning of forest ecosystems and prevents fulfillment of basic functions of the forest in water protection areas and especially valuable natural forests.

Fig. 2.  Fir affected with root disease Photo by A. Yaroshenko

The current system of forestry decrees in Russia is directed at growing of the “healthiest” forest and at “disease and pest control” everywhere, including protected areas. However, it is clear now that wood-destroying fungi are one of the most important components in normal functioning of forest ecosystems by regulating the life span of the trees (fig. 2), the rate of generation turnover, size distribution of trees and fallen wood, the rate of deadwood decomposition, the character of gap dynamic — the dynamic connected with fall of trees or a group of trees. Removal of this key factor is a very rude intervention in the natural forest dynamic on the protected areas and territories of special value. Thus, selective sanitary cuttings (thinning) aimed at growing of “healthy forest”, in reality, prevents the fulfillment of main functions of the forest. Now it has become more obvious that we should not treat the forest as a garden, concentrating on growing one type of production (logs) and considering the rest of the species to be weeds or pests. In forests of natural significance, protected and water conservation areas, the natural dynamic of forests intentionally undisturbed by any management related to tree removal should be considered as normal. Forestry and foresters should view natural forest ecosystems, at least within forests primary oriented at nature conservation and maintenance of environmental functions, as the main product of their activity, since these forests are vitally necessary for humans and are capable of long-term self-maintenance. Timber taken from these forests is just a by-side product. As a result of its removal from the ecosystem, the forest may fail to perform its main functions.