Forest Club model projects and sites

Issue 15, Sept. 2000

Russian travelers in Germany, especially foresters, are delighted with cleanness in forests, which remind of our groves and gardens. There are no branches lying around neither in old forests nor inyoung forest plantations. As far as topwood, brushwood or windfallen trees, which are usual for Russian forests, are concerned, they were present in German forests, when unsettled Germany was covered with primeval forests. There is a lack of forested areas in many parts of Russia, however, a lot of topwood, brushwood and litter is left to decay there. Let us look into reasons of that in order to decide whether our peasants should be engaged in cleaning of forests, where and in what case. When Russian landowners see how clean German forests are or hear about that, .any of them think that cleanness of forests is directly connected with good forest management and expect maintenance of cleanness from their peasants. It often leads to loss of profit of the estate and it is just useless. Some foresters think that young growth grows betted in cleaned forest plantations and felling areas, they also assume that it is necessary for fire safety.

Cleanness of forests in Germany depends on great value of forest products and proper cutting area work. At areas of final, so-called “clearing” of felling sites, works are carried out in the following order: first, casewood is removed, then timber trees and, at last, firewood is harvested out of remaining thin and crooked trees, out of tops and even small branches. Firewood is bound with the help of twigs like a sheaf of cut ears, it is also sold to farmers at a round price. If any waste wood, such as knots and small twigs, is left at the felling site, it will be picked up by poor people, who cannot afford to buy firewood and will take wood residues and carry them away in their baskets. Young trees are planted at the so cleaned sites out of proceeds from sale of firewood. Thus, soon cutting areas will be covered with young and clean groves. Peasants are not allowed to cut trees and poles sporadically in growing young and old forest plantations in Germany as it is practiced in our forests. Cutting-downs are joined at certain places and only few people fell trees under supervision of forest guards. There it is easy to keep cleanness. Top wood and brushwood, which is left after correct felling, does not lie dissipated at large areas, but it can be collected and removed. Besides, there is one or two days, which are set for poor people purposely, when they can walk freely in all state and common forests and collect all twigs and branches, which fell from trees or were left after felling. Peasants are prohibited to take axes or other tools, which can be used for harvesting of fresh wood. They can be fined for an axe.

There are also such places in Russia, especially at areas where forests possess great value and are needed. There, forests are clean from any wastes, especially if forests are situated near villages. I know some estates in Central part of Russia, where pine cones from nearest pine forests are sold to peasants (each peasant gets carts of cones according to a number of furnaces). There heating of peasant's log huts with the help of topwood and stumps of cut trees is considered as luxury. However, even in the Central part of Russia and in the North of the country where there is need in forests, they are often considered of no value.

This strange from the first sight circumstance should be explained. Precious jewels, silk, tea, alcohol and other goods, which are easy to transport, cost the same high price all over the world, as their prices do not depend on transportation. However, heavy forest products, which are difficult to transport, are quite another matter. Even if there is a great demand for timber products in the country or a region, but forests are situated far from floatable rivers or not distributed evenly among their consumers and peasant communities, in such cases forests are of no value. That is why, even large forests of high quality do not bring in return to their owners and peasants also do not benefit from them. Piles of topwood and brushwood decay in forests and peasants, who live far from them, often sit in cold houses if they are not given several good logs worth of efforts and transportation from the nearest growing large forest. If there is a forest nearby, then peasants can be habituated to heat their houses with fallen trees and brushwood, though such firewood produce less heat than stem wood and do not warm enough houses, especially which do not have furnaces. However, if a peasant has to carry fallen trees and brushwood from a forest situated 20-40 km away, it will be too difficult for him. Our short summer provides peasants little time for harvesting firewood out of fallen trees and brushwood, as it is covered with snow in winter. Moreover, some poor peasants do not have a horse.

There are many forests in Germany, but there is less need in them. Despite of that, their price is high and forests bring in large income as they form separate forested sites, which are small in size but dense. Moreover, they are located near towns and villages with developed industries. There each top of a tree, each pole and branch is used as timber should not be transported far away, so it can be carried by hands. Of course, there are vast forested areas in Germany, but mainly they are located in mountains, where there are many floatable rivers and suitable roads, and transportation of logs along them is not difficult.

Let us again speak about cleanness of our forests and consider whether it is necessary from a forest management point of view, i.e. for fire safety and growth of young forest plantations. I insist that wood residues in forests including topwood and brushwood, if it cannot be easily and profitably used, do not have to be collected and removed from the forest. It is even bad for forests and thereare just few exceptions from this rule.

Nine years ago, at the beginning of my practice in silviculture, I had the contrary opinion. It was prejudice, which I brought from Germany, where I had traveled a lot in clean and well managed forests, that I considered as an ideal for forest management in Russia. I was also enthusiastic about opinion, which was common among our foresters. There was a rule in one of forested estates located along the Tosna river in Novgorod province, which declared that all topwood, branches, brushwood and wood residues at areas of clear felling had to be burnt in fire or, at least, staked in piles. Lumbermen, who logged timber to be floated to St. Petersburg, expected deduction of timber price for maintenance of cleanness. Moreover, their wishes were fulfilled! Peasants were overburdened with the innovation and complained, but the landowner also liked cleanness, whereas the forester considered cleanness in forests as necessary condition for growth of natural regeneration, which grew densely and seemed to cry out to be released from under brushwood. However, despite of efforts of forest guards, there was a thick layer of coniferous branches left on the ground in many places, which covered underbrush. Experience had shown in three years time that clearance of forest from brushwood, which many peasants stood up against, in fact was harmful to forests, but profitable to peasants. Some seed trees, which had been left for replenishment of natural regeneration, were scorched during burning of fires on cleaned felling sites, whereas many young trees were burned down on fireplaces. Forest undergrowth, that was suddenly released from under old trees and was not covered with brushwood anymore, was badly injured with heat and frost. Moreover, many shepherds brought their herds into clean wood-cutting areas; cows ate growing herbage and if there was a lack of grass, cows gnawed at birch regrowth on stumps or bit off buds of coniferous trees. Finally, when cutting areas got covered with abundant herbage in the third or fourth year, peasants started to mow grass and extirpated young coniferous undergrowth which was found in the grass with their scythes. It was necessary to keep special guards, who would have to protect forested sites from such aggressions. The situation at wood-cutting areas, which had not been cleaned from brushwood, topwood and other litter, was quite the contrary: brushwood protected undergrowth from heat and frost in the first year; cattle did not go into the forest as grass did no tgrow under the brushwood, though when needles fell off the branches and brushwood became thicker, the grass started to push through. However, brushwood and topwood still prevented mechanically cattle from entering wood-cutting areas, eating grass and nibbling young trees. A peasant does not have enough time to remove litter in order to make use of herbage, moreover it is illicit – a cleaned haymaking area would be taken away from the peasant. However, it is not difficult for a peasant to mow grass at a clean wood-cutting area as he does not think of damage to the forest. Much time will pass and many young trees will disappear irrevocably until peasant communities are taught with the help of fines.

Topwood and brushwood left in forests is covered with snow in winter and overgrown with grass and undergrowth in summer, so it soon falls into decay and forms forest fertilizer, which supplies forest soils with fertility and serves for faster growth of young forests. To remove and destroy forest litter means to reduce fertility of forest soils, to damage forests.

Thus, many forests in Germany are damaged with forced cleaning from litter. There all leaves and needles, almost the whole topsoil layer is raked up with shovels and rakes by peasants, so all roots of trees are exposed. This litter is transported to farm-yards to be used as bedding or to make compost for fertilizing of fields and vineyards. So Russian forestry specialists should be glad that most our managers and peasants have not learned about forest fertilizers and have not used them on their fields, otherwise our forests, where soils are poor due to disadvantageous distribution of forests, will become even less valuable.

When thin layers of soils, especially lime ones, which lie on bed rocks in mountains, on their south-western slopes become exposed and cleaned from old fallen trees and brushwood, soils deteriorate quickly and underbrush dies. Sunlight dries out topsoil and chernozem, while rainwater carries it away to lower plains. Snow does not keep on cleared soil and it can be easily blown off by winds in winter. So there brushwood, topwood and other forest litter is the only remedy of soil fertility conservation and growing underbrush. Snow protects young trees from frost in winter, brushwood keeps them protected from direct sunlight in summer, fallen trees prevent water from washing chernozem off the soil and while decaying they form fertile topsoil. It is necessary to mention that if once mountainous rocky-lime soil, which is dried out by the sun and winds and washed by rainwater, losses its vegetation, then it will be impossible to plant any trees or crops there despite of any efforts and expenses.

It is quite bad to remove forest litter from sandy soils both in mountains and plains. Rainwater does not remain in sandy soils for a long time, and the sun warms it up. Thus, vegetative remains, which keep fertility and moisture of sandy soils, are necessary for successive growth of young forest plantations on such soils. Grooves are easily formed by water in exposed sandy soils in mountains, they increase year by year; bare sandy hills are gradually washed away with rain-water. Then loose sands are formed, so in order to consolidate them a forester has to bring countless amounts of brushwood, which he has called “forest litter” before and made everything to destroy it. It is easier to destroy than to create, so it takes a man centuries to improve something, which has been damaged in forests for decades.

Conservation of sources, which feed ponds, is very important for plants, factories and mills, that use water from ponds. Sources are formed mainly either by springs, which come out of the ground, or by swamps through mechanical accumulation of water and its drainage along shallow gullies. Conservation of forests and forest litter is necessary in both cases. While lying on moist ground, often in water or in moss, topwood, brushwood and other tree remains decay very slowly and absorb moisture, they return it back to soil in drought; forest litter prevents snow from fast melting in spring. Therefore springs and swamps do not dry up even in hot summers. After heavy rainfalls swaps hold water, thus they prevent floods and high water in ponds, which can be bad. Swamps serve as reservoirs in droughts, and the water flows out very slowly. Almost all factory owners and even peasants know that forests preserve springs with their shadow. Thus, peasants in almost every village in the Urals in woodless areas leave a coppice (a grove) near each spring. The coppice can consist of a few trees and it is left not for walking, as our peasants do not like walking in groves, but for the purpose of protecting springs from dryout. They learned that from experience and common sense, which had not been spoiled with excessive reasoning and theoretical fantasies.

People should not fell forests or remove brushwood, even if they can derive benefit from it, near springs and in areas, where waters are accumulated or flow out of sources, which feed rivers and ponds. The most harmful thing is to clear haymaking meadows in such places, as herbage is usually abundant there due to high moisture of soils. Profit from timber and hay will be consumed with great damage caused to factories due to decrease of their effective mechanical forces.

Brushwood should not be removed near springs and streams; moreover, it is necessary to litter forest soils in such places in purpose. If there is an old growth forest with no underbrush in it, which can serve as re growth of the forest, then such forest should be thinned. Some trees should be cut down and left to decay, which is done for the purpose of propagation of new forests according to rules of seed regeneration.

On one hand, forest litter helps to hold and increase moisture and dampness of forest soils and it is of benefit for the forest; however, on the other hand, removal of brushwood and top wood is important means of bog reclamation in places, where special drains are dug out for the purpose of drainage.

At the same time, one cannot deny that forest litter, especially wind-fallen trees, contributes to spreading of fires in forests, where it is accumulated in quantity.

Sometimes the whole plantations of trees are overturned with a wind in primeval forests, then areas are covered with impassable wind breakage, which can cause great fires. However, nobody thinks of cleanness in forests and to remove wind fallen trees for this purpose. In convenient forests, where trees are cut down for firewood and timber, there is not much topwood and branches lying around, so that it can cause fire; moreover, brushwood, which is left in the forest after chopping trees, decays quickly so it cannot be considered as the main cause of forest fires, if there are no other reasons.

Compact soil covered with fertile topsoil, litter and turf remains moist even in hot weather. Growing forests can burn there only on condition if they are too dense. In such case, they are burnt with crowning fire, which does not depend on forest litter lying on the ground. Main forest fires are surface (ground) fires, as those horrible fires, that ravage our forests, are caused and originate from soil covered with moss or peat, which get dried out in hot weather and become like tinder. Fires destroy roots of stand trees and then they wither. Of course, forest litter also burns down, but fire spreads in the very soil.

While topwood and brushwood, which lies around the felling site, is not dangerous from the fire safety point of view, but when it is pilled up and left unburned, then it can serve as a cause of fires for a longtime, as it decays very slowly in piles and after brushwood has been pressed with snow, piles can act as seats of fire in droughts. Fire can live in such piles of brushwood for a long time, and it can be carried away with a wind. Thus, if somebody wants to clear felling sites from wood residues and brushwood, he should remove brushwood from the forest, if it can be used, or he should burnit. The latter measure is taken in factory forests in the Ural region and in so-called “kurens”, i.e. at areas of clear felling, where firewood for charcoal-burning is harvested and stored in stacks for drying during one or two summers. After factory management has spent capital on felling of hundreds kilometers of firewood, it does its best to eliminate any possible causes of fire. Brushwood usually lies compactly, as much space should be cleared providing ground for many stacks of firewood and for coal-burning, it is obvious, that fire hazard at such sites encumbered with firewood and brushwood is great. At the same time, brushwood prevents transportation of firewood and other works. In short, scavenging at such forested sites is necessary.

There is one more case, when removal of forest litter is also necessary. The litter should be cleared away at forest rides and cutting sites.

These rides and sites are provided in forests for the purposes of dividing a forest into plots of land and for passage of forest guards, transportation of timber and allocation of foresters for fire extinguishing, etc. Thus, cleanness of rides and cutting sites from forest litter and undergrowth is the primary condition of their purpose.

On the whole, it should be mentioned, that if this article gives advice to leave forest litter in forests for soil enrichment and better growth of underbrush, then it refutes the opinion, that forest litter is harmful to forests in any case and it should be removed even regardless of expenses. Of course, nobody advises to leave topwood and brushwood only for forest soil enrichment, if it can be profitably used or collected by peasants in order to preserve existing forest plantations, or in case that a landowner wants to have his forests cleaned for pleasant view.

Thus, cleaning of forests from topwood, wind-fallen trees, brushwood and other forest litter is:

1. necessary:

   1. at forest district and fire rides as well as at cutting sites;

   2. in “kurens”, where much firewood is stored for drying in summer;

2. Needed:

   1. in case that there is a lack of growing forest stand and at profitable use of top wood and brushwood as firewood;

3. Useful:

   1. at damp soils, which are planned to be drained;

4. Useless and burdening for peasants:

   1. in large forests, where selective cutting of banded trees and firewood is carried out;

5. Unprofitable:

   1. when a manufacturer sells forest stand and firewood for rafting and further transportation;

6. Harmful:

   1. at areas of clear cutting, where undergrowth is found;

   2. at areas, where peasants are used to usurp meadows and forested sites for haymaking without allocation, which leads to damage of forest integrity;

   3. on mountainous, fined soils, especially lime soils;

7. Especially harmful:

   1. on sandy soils, which tend to form loose sands;

   2. at head rivers and near springs, which feed streams and ponds.