Environmental functions of protective forests in Amur Oblast

Abstract

The total area of protective forests in Amur Oblast in 2022 was 2.51 million ha, of which 1.72 million ha (68.5 %) was forested, 0.18 million ha (7.2 %) was unforested land, and 0.61 million ha (24.3 %) was non-forest land. The share of protective forests in the forest fund of Amur Oblast is 5.6 % for forested lands and 8.2 % for all lands. For most of the post-Soviet period, the area of protective forests in Amur Oblast was characterized by a constant area: in the period 1998–2022, the total area of protective forests was in the range of 2.50–2.52 million ha. According to the contribution, the forbidden strips of forests located along water bodies are the most represented (47.9 % of the forested lands and 49.6 % of all protective forest lands). Spawning belts of forests are in second place in terms of representation (29.0 % of forested lands, 27.2 % of all lands). The third place in terms of contribution is occupied by protective forest belts located along public railways, federal public roads, public roads owned by the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (20.7 % of forested lands, 20.9 % of all lands). The prevailing categories of protective forests quite logically correspond to the economic specifics of the regions of Amur Oblast. The water protection services of the protective forests of Amur Oblast need to be strengthened. Under the conditions of climate warming, it is recommended that the regulatory recognition of forest services to prevent the degradation of permafrost is recommended.

Keywords

• forest fund lands
• forest management units
• water protective forests
• spawning forest belts
• permafrost