THE FORESTS OF THE CHONA OIL-GAS CONDENSATE MINE
Studies of the forests in the basin of the upper current of the Chona river (basin of the Lena, Irkutsk Region, Russia) were performed within activities on engineering ecology survey on the territory of Upper Chona oil-gas condensate mine. The study of the species compositions of the plant communities, including the forests, of the Chona oil and gas deposit, has allowed the authors to obtain a basis for indication of current status of the structural-dynamics organization and to assess the change in the vegetation structure that occurred as a result of long term deposit exploitation. In this case, a process of the native forests degradation may occur, with expansion of the areas occupied by derivative small-leaf forests both inside the oil-gas condensate mine just and in its vicinity. The authors monitored the formation vector of the forests and revealed the structural-dynamics organization of the condensate mine vegetation in space and time. It has been revealed that the spruce (Picea obovata), the cedar (Pinus sibirica) and the Siberian fir (Abies sibirica) make up the second tire, but prevail as undergrouth in the larch (Larix sibirica) and polydominate pine (Pinus sylvestris) – larch (Larix sibirica) forests on the territory in question. Probably, the reclamation of the forest formation trees is currently accompanied by a change in the dominate forest species from lightconiferous to dark-coniferous ones both on the territory of the oil-gas condensate mine and in its proximity.