COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE STATE OF RECREATIONAL PLANTATIONSIN ULAN-UDE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BURYATIA
The problem of modern recreational forest management is quite relevant. It is especially acute in cities where urban and suburban plantations are intensively used for recreation. The population of the city of Ulan-Ude , the capital of the Republic of Buryatia , totals more than 400 thousand people , who may be potential recreants to one degree or another. Plantations that are subject to similar types of anthropogenic impact for a long time, gradually degrade , lose their stability and stable state. Based on the study of the response of each component of the forest to the negative external impact and the receipt of a comprehensive assessment of their condition , we can recommend a certain system of measures to improve the current situation. A set of measures should be formed taking into account the stages of plant degradation and , ultimately , aimed at preventing the transition to the stage of final decay of forest phytocenosis. The purpose of the work was to identify the effects of recreational loads of varying intensity on the state of living ground cover , forest litter , natural regeneration , and forest stand. These data made it possible to approach a comprehensive assessment of the state of pine plantations and determine the stages of their degradation for the subsequent determination of measures to improve their condition and increase stability. The objects of research were the pine plantations of the City Forestry of the Republic of Buryatia , which are actively used by the population for both summer and winter types of recreation. We studied ripe mixed grass pine trees experiencing recreational loads of different intensities ( degree of trampledness - from 10 to 40% of the territory ) in comparison with the control. The reaction of the most vulnerable component of the forest community - living ground cover - was manifested in a decrease in the projective cover ( from 100 to 40% ) compared with the control , modification of its composition by the introduction of non-forest species that are more resistant to trampling , and the disappearance of forest species , down to 4 times stocks of phytomass. Clear degradation of forest litter was noted. This is manifested in a decrease in its reserves and power , a change in the fractional composition in the direction of increasing the proportion of difficultly decomposing components. In all studied stands , an unsatisfactory course of natural regeneration was noted. This is due either to the high completeness and well-developed tier of the grass stand ( control ), or the effect of recreation. Signs of degradation are also observed in the most stable component of the forest - the tree layer. There is a tendency to a deterioration in taxation indicators , especially a decrease in the density of the stand with a simultaneous decrease in the number of healthy trees and an increase of up to 5 times the proportion of weakened and drying out. The obtained experimental data allowed us to approach a comprehensive assessment of the state of these pine plantations with assignment of stages of recreational digression.