In connection with the reform of agriculture in Ukraine, the problem of using postagrogenic soils (fallows) arose. As a rule, spontaneous vegetation growth (reforestation) or artificial planting of forests occurs on these soils.
In short, spontaneous reforestation could involve a phase of weedy plants that nobody may find desirable. A nearby forest patch of the abandoned forest may be helpful in establishment of desirable plants. Afforestation raises the question what species/provenances combination to plant. Monospecific forest plantations seem undesirable for most purposes. Current climate climax tree species, predicted climate climax tree species, pioneer tree species? Climax tree species may not always do well as first generation forests on anthropogenic impoverished soil. Of course, herbivores and fire (conifers) need attention at the design phase. Some experience with spontaneous reforestation versus afforestation exists in temperate Europe, but not much.
However, first of all the aim of the forestation needs to be set (e.g. biodiversity, biomass for energy, sustainable paper industry, control of erosion/dust.....).
There are two central dimensions: (1) which species are most adapted to reclaim / repopulate the abandoned land (this should include, besides plants, the study of beneficial microorganisms such as mycorrhizal fungi and N-fixing bacteria)? , and (2) what are the environmental services that need to be provided by these new forests: benefits for water retention and filtration, soil protection / rehabilitation, promotion of biodiversity (including functional biodiversity such as pollinators, birds and mammals as seed distributors etc.)? Advances in the two directions will allow to prioritize future interventions geared at optimizing regrowth and the provision of environmental services.
You can compare biodiversity in plots using the two different types of growth
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Microbiology
- Scientific Research