European Russian Forests

Description

The European Russian forests are described within the boreal, hemiboreal and nemoral forest regions; floodplain forests are also characterized. The book presents a classification and description of forest vegetation, soil characteristic and assessments of plant diversity and successional status of forest plant communities. Structure and composition of vegetation in early- and late-successional forests are analyzed with an emphasis on forests in State Nature reserves. Features of the historical land-use, such as slash-and-burn, forest cutting, grazing, influence of fires on forest ecosystems, etc. are discussed for each forest region. The book contains an analysis of the general dynamics of the forest cover during the last two decades based on satellite image processing. The main stages of transformation of forest landscapes in European Russia during the Holocene are briefly reviewed in connection with the development of the production economy of people. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiv Natural Conditions and General Descriptions of Forest Vegetation and Forest Soils (O. V. Smirnova, M. V. Bobrovsky, L. G. Khanina, I. S. Voskresensky, N. V. Zukert, S. S. Bykhovets et al.)....Pages 1-32 Methods of Investigation (O. V. Smirnova, M. V. Bobrovsky, L. G. Khanina, L. B. Zaugolnova, S. A. Turubanova, P. V. Potapov et al.)....Pages 33-57 Boreal Forests (O. V. Smirnova, M. V. Bobrovsky, L. G. Khanina, L. B. Zaugolnova, V. N. Korotkov, A. A. Aleynikov et al.)....Pages 59-203 Hemiboreal Forests (O. V. Smirnova, M. V. Bobrovsky, L. G. Khanina, L. B. Zaugolnova, A. I. Shirokov, D. L. Lugovaya et al.)....Pages 205-332 Nemoral Forests (O. V. Smirnova, M. V. Bobrovsky, L. G. Khanina, T. Yu. Braslavskaya, E. A. Starodubtseva, O. I. Evstigneev et al.)....Pages 333-476 Floodplains (T. Yu. Braslavskaya)....Pages 477-507 Forest Cover Dynamics at the End of the Twentieth and the Beginning of the Twenty-First Centuries (P. V. Potapov, S. A. Turubanova, A. Yu. Tyukavina, A. M. Krylov)....Pages 509-513 Development of the European Russian Forests in the Holocene (O. V. Smirnova, V. N. Kalyakin, S. A. Turubanova, M. V. Bobrovsky, L. G. Khanina)....Pages 515-536 Back Matter ....Pages 537-564