Integrated Assessment of Raw Material Resources of Birch Forests

The research is aimed at a comprehensive assessment of the forest site resources deposited in a birch blueberry forest. The relevance of the work is based on the increasing interest of countries and regions in the diversity of forest ecosystem resources. A material and financial assessment of the major types of resources of the forest site with a birch stand is given for the first time. The stand composition is as follows: birch, 65 %; spruce, 21 %; aspen, 8 %; alder, 3%; elm, 2 %; and maple, 1 %. The stand is described by the following parameters: the relative density – 0.6; the quality class – II; and the growing stock – 344 m3/ha. Food and medicinal resources, wood and forest chemical raw materials, honey plants and birch sap, and household products were taken into account in the comprehensive assessment. The composition and reserves of the forest site reserves were assessed on the 10 m2 circular survey plots in accordance with the patent no. RU 2084129 C1 “Seedling Growth Registering Method”. The commercial species reserves of edible, technical and medicinal plants were estimated using the mowing method; berries – by a single collection during the ripening period. The sap production of the birch forests was determined empirically, based on the stand parameters. The prices for all types of resources were used as of 2019. It is shown that the cost of timber on the forest site is about 15 % (200,840 rub/ha) of the total cost of the other recorded types of resources, i.e. totally 2,643 rub/ha in terms of one year. The stock is dominated by firewood – over 36 %; the share of industrial wood is 34 %. The sap productivity of the birch forest is more than 12 ths L/ha per season. With an average birch sap cost of 20 rub/L, the income from the sale of seasonal sap volume per 1 ha can be more than 257 ths rub. By-products account for the largest share of revenue, ranging from 70 to 85 % depending on the season of the year. The share of edible and medicinal plants is about 10 %. The total income from the sale of the recorded types of resources of this forest site is estimated to be 1.2 mln rub/ha. The most important feature of this kind of resources is their ability to regenerate themselves without human participation. The main types of resources in the birch forest can be used annually during the entire period of reforestation. The obtained results can be used when drafting an agreement on the lease and a project for the development of a forest site where integrated utilization of forest resources or their individual types is assumed. For citation: Gryazkin A.V., Tran Trung Thanh, Vu Van Hung, Prokof’yev A.N., Hoang Minh An. Integrated Assessment of Raw Material Resources of Birch Forests. Lesnoy Zhurnal [Russian Forestry Journal], 2022, no. 1, pp. 23–35. DOI: 10.37482/0536-1036-2022-1-23-35