Home – Home – Jornals – Siberian Journal of Forest Science 2022 number 1

Nowadays, internationally recognized voluntary forest certification schemes are widely used in Russia: more than a third of all forests leased to loggers are certified according to international standards. At the same time, the State Duma of the Russian Federation has made a proposal to develop a domestic forest certification system to protect national interests. The purpose of this article is to identify the similarities and differences between the requirements that are stated in Russian forest legislation and international forest certification standards in the example of The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) National Forest Stewardship Standard of Russian Federation. This, in turn, will explain on what basis it is advisable to form a set of rules for the Russian national forest certification system. As a result of the research, we found that at the conceptual level, Russian legal acts in the field of forest management and related areas mostly coincide with the requirements of the FSC and can form the basis of the Russian national forest certification system. Both of the systems aim to protect forests from pollution and to preserve the every kind of forest resource; however, FSC requirements are more stringent in terms of how the aforementioned procedures are to be managed - according to these requirements, loggers must develop guidelines containing ecological rules for forest use and educate their workers about these rules. FSC regulations that are connected with pest control are stricter in comparison with the regulations of Russian legal documents (the former emphasises the use of mostly non-chemical methods); the same is true for FSC regulations connected with biodiversity and the maintenance of high conservation value forests, including intact forest landscapes. It is in the preservation of intact forest landscapes that the FSC scheme differs from the requirements of the Russian legislation the most. The FSC scheme sets the percentage of forested areas in which felling is permitted. With respect to social aspects, both systems set a high bar in the area of the rights of workers and work conditions, but FSC regulations are more stringent in terms of considering the interests of the local communities and, in particular, indigenous populations. During the formation of the Russian forest certification system, it is reasonable to consider mechanisms that take into account ecosystem services of forested areas.

The paper presents data on the content of 32 chemical elements in the needles of the Siberian larch Larix sibirica Ledeb. trees growing at different distances from the Irkutsk aluminum smelter (IrkAS), as well as in the background areas. It is shown that a pronounced imbalance in the content of elements is observed near the plant in the needles of larch, as evidenced by an increase in the concentration of F by 2.1 times, S by 1.9 times, light metals (Al, Li, Ti, Sc) by 2.4-5.3 times compared to background values. In the group of heavy metals and metalloids, the concentrations of Be, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Fe, La, Pb, V, Zn, Y - changed to a greater extent-their increased level in the needles was noted at a distance of up to 40 km from the smelter. The concentrations of Ba, Si, As, Ni increased significantly in the industrial zone, while in the rest of the territory they were within the background values. The amount of biogenic macroelements (N, K, Ca, Mg, P, Na) in the contaminated needles increased by 17-23 %. The imbalance in the elemental composition of needles is evidenced by the indices of biogeochemical transformation, the high values of which were found in the industrial zone, the average values - at a distance of up to 5 km from the smelter, in the rest of the territory changes in the elemental composition of needles are less pronounced, and the transformation index corresponds to the minimum level. Disturbances in the work of the photosynthetic apparatus of the needles of contaminated trees are manifested in a decrease in the content of chlorophylls a, b and carotenoids, F v /F m , while the background fluorescence of chlorophyll F₀, increases compared to background values. Revealed inverse correlations between the content of S, F, as well as a number of heavy metals in needles and the level of pigments in it ( R = -0.59-0.87) indicate a significant effect of emissions on the pigment complex of trees, especially in the industrial zone of the smelter and at a distance of up to 5 km from it.

The main objectives of the work are: to determine the presence and to assess the nature of relationship between the asymmetry of root system structure and the twisting of tree trunk; to study the nature of relationship between the morphological characteristics of the first order lateral roots, of the trunk and of the layer of sapwood for Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris L.) trees growing under the extreme hydrothermal conditions in the upper bog (Middle Urals, Russia). In two groups of trees (twisted and non-twisted) of the VI class of age (32 and 38 trees in each respectively), there were measured: trunk diameters without of bark at the root collar layer and at the distance of 1.3 m from it; the heights; the angles of inclination of wood fibers; the length of the twisted part of trunk and the height at which it begins; the number of lateral roots of the first order and the perimeters and the angles between them. In the analysis of the structure of root system there were used the indices of its asymmetry in terms of the location in space and of the radial growth. Values of indices were calculated for each tree as the average proportions of the difference between either the angles among individual roots or perimeters of roots from the average value. It was found that the variability of morphological characteristics of roots and the nature of their relationships differ in twisted and non-twisted trees. The evaluation of relationships between individual characteristics made it possible to identify 5 differences between two studied groups in the presence of statistically significant correlations ( R = 0.34-0.52). The twisting of the trunk arises during the growth of tree and is not directly dependent from the structure of the root system. The appearance of the twisted layer is facilitated by a relatively small number of lateral roots and low spatial asymmetry of the root system. There are positive correlations between trunk twisted layer length and root growth characteristics, including maximum root thickness and asymmetry in root perimeters.

The use of environmentally-friendly stimulants (humates) is one way to realization of the principle that the annual area of reforestation is equal to the area of fellings carried out, as well as the timely supply of quality planting stock to forest users at an acceptable cost. The purpose of the research is to study the extent to which the humic specimen stimulates growth and development of softwood ball-rooted seedlings. The influence of solutions of various concentrations of humic preparation «Ecorost» as a plant food on growth of pine ( Pinus L.) and spruce ( Picea L.) seedlings in containers in the forest nursery of the Arkhangelsk Oblast for 2 years was analyzed. In addition, the Norway spruce seed preparation product was considered. The results of the work confirmed the possibility and prospects of using humic preparations in the production of softwood planting stock. The yield of standard plants for the Dvinsko-Vychegodskiy forest district increased by 36.9 and 34.6 % respectively for pine and spruce with a 10 ml by 10 l water solution for watering. The weight of seedlings increased on experimental versions as compared to control, and the substrate became more resistant. The germinating energy increased by 10.0-13.0 % by virtue of pre-plant soaking of spruce seeds compared to control, the germinability increased by 9.3-12.3 %, seed germination reduced from 8 to 6 days. Further research on the use of such stimulants in forest production is recommended, considering the positive effect of humic specimen on pine and spruce seedlings.

The results of studies on rooting in vitro of European cranberry Oxycoccus palustris Pers. plants of Dar of Kostroma cultivar and hybrid form 1-15-635 during clonal micropropagation on a WPM 1/4 nutrient medium and its adaptation to non-sterile conditions. With an increase in the concentration of IAA from 0.5 to 1.0 ml/l and with the addition of Ecogel at a concentration of 0.5 mg/l the number of roots of European cranberry plants of the Dar of Kostroma cultivar increased by 36.7 %, of the hybrid form 1-15-635 - by 7.4 % at the stage of rooting in vitro. Substrates from high-moor peat are used with the addition of mycorrhizal-type ecological preparations (Mycorrhiza, Biomikoriza, Mycogel) at the stage of adaptation of European cranberry to non-sterile conditions ex vitro . The maximum survival (98-100 %) of cranberry are observed when using a peat substrate with the addition of Mycorrhiza. The timing of transplantation had a significant impact on the survival rate of cranberry plants. The best survival rates (84-86 %) are observed in plants of both cultivars transplanted in May. The survival rate of plants is high (92-96 %) in the first year of cultivation after transplanting European cranberry to a high-moor peat plot under natural conditions. Yield data has a high values.

The article includes a biographical essay of Professor Akira Osawa (Japan) and a brief analysis of his scientific legacy. A. Osawa was born and raised in the post-war period, which became the period of the formation of a sovereign Japanese state and its tremendous economic growth (Japanese economic miracle). He was educated and received a Doctor of Philosophy Degree at the prestigious Yale University (USA), where he gained the first experience of an international scientific cooperation. Knowledge in the fields of general and forest ecology, forestry and environmental protection A. Osawa successfully applied carrying out research projects, preparing his articles and books, reviewing manuscripts of the other authors as well as teaching university and postgraduate students and conducting international environmental assessments of the Japanese Government. His scientific research was focused on self-thinning phenomenon, stand growth and development, natural catastrophic disturbances and their consequences, and ecosystem carbon dynamics. Boreal forests in North America, Siberia and Scandinavia have been the major subjects of his studies. The main achievement of A. Osawa’s investigations was the new method proposed for quantitatively (stand density and stem parameters) reconstructing structural development over time of even-aged monospecific forests and applied to a larch ( Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Rupr.) stand in the permafrost zone of Siberia. It relies on samples obtained from one-time observation that is of great importance for vast Siberian territories. Akira Osawa was the author and co-author of many scientific articles and chapters of monographs published in leading world journals and publishing houses, an active member of professional scientific communities and organizations. A. Osawa’s biographical data were listed in Marquis Who’s Who in the World (1995). The article contains a list of his main scientific publications, which gives an idea of the research topics, their geography and significance.