Afforestation of abandoned agricultural land in the Novosibirsk region

The aim of the study was to determine the peculiarities of the forest formation process on abandoned agricultural land in the conditions of Western Siberia. A comprehensive assessment and analysis of biometric indicators of stands, living ground cover, and soils was carried out, which allows to determine the genesis of the formed phytocenoses and predict the dynamics of their development in the conditions of the Novosibirsk region. The study was conducted on former arable lands with different degrees of fertility located on the right bank of the Ob River, on constrictive-alluvial accumulative II-III terraces. The overgrowth of the site with woody vegetation, determined by GIS-description, is 60 %. Diagnostic studies of phytocenoses were carried out at 19 descriptive points, reflecting the full range of growing conditions of stands in the area under consideration. At the designated points, in the most characteristic and homogeneous areas of the ecosystems, comprehensive sampling plots with taxation, geobotanical and soil sampling were laid during the field survey. Analysis of the obtained data made it possible to determine the genesis of ecosystem development and to classify the post-agrogenic phytocenoses into 2 classes requiring different types of activities during their introduction into economic turnover. The characteristics of the class of post- agrogenic high-density stands at the studied site are as follows: composition – 8Р2B, average age – 25 years; average stock – 216 m3 /ha; relative fullness – 1.3; average growth – at least 7 m3 /ha per year. The stands are of grade Ia bonitet. The average characteristics of the class of post-agrogenic low-density forest stands at the studied site are: composition 6Р4В, average age – 21 years; average stock – 84 m3 /ha; relative fullness – 0.5; average growth – not more than 4 m3 /ha per year. The plantation develops according to the II class of bonitet. At the same time, forestry activities are most appropriate in the post-agrogenic high-density plantation class, while in the post-agrogenic low-density plantation class, combined forestry and agricultural activities would be more effective.