Forest Cover Changes in the Center of East European Plain Over the Last 150 Years

Abstract

Changes in forest cover in the center of the East European Plain (Central Russian Upland) from the end of the 19th century to the end of 20th century have been assessed. Over that period, forest cover has increased in the northern part of the studied territory and declined in the southern part. After the end of the 1990s and beginning of 2000s, increases in forest cover occurred within the subzones of mixed coniferous–broad-leaved forest, while in the southern regions it has hardly manifested at all. The fallow land overgrowth rate, without any anthropogenic interference, has been determined for the Central Russian Upland (from 10 to 50% of fallow area has been covered by forest vegetation over a period of 10 years), decreasing gradually in from west-northwest to east-southeast. Special attention is paid to the forests that grew on nonforested lands over a period of 150 years. This process occurs everywhere in the northern part of the Upland and along the river valleys in the southern part. The forest structure of newly formed forests is studied as well (deciduous, mixed, pine, and spruce). In the southern parts of the Central Russian Upland, the newly grown forests are mostly pine plantations. The analysis of the field data suggests that, in the Central Russian Upland, within the broadleaved forests subzone, fallows are usually overgrown with birch (Betula pendula), or, less frequently, with aspen (Populus tremula). On the western and southwestern slopes, the overgrowth occurs with broadleaved (Querqus robur and Acer platanoides), small-leaved (Populus tremula), and steppe species (Prúnus spinósa, Malus praecox, and Pyrus pyraster). In the south, overgrown fallows are dominated by steppe or adventive species (Acer negundo).