Ecologic and genetic classification of forest types based on ecologic and genetic series of development of biogeocenoses

Abstract

As a result of half a century (1970–2017) studies of recovery and age-related dynamics of different types of pine forests in foreforest-steppe and other subzones of Western Siberia and the Urals we have worked out a concept and scheme of their ecologic and genetic classifications based on ecologic dynamic series of biogeocenoses development (EDS BGC) within native autochthonous types of forests. Unlike the monolinear variation of biogeocenoses in course of time within one type of forest site and native forest type in classical genetic Ivashkevich-Kolesnikov typology, we consider the native type of forest as a «bunch» of divergence-convergence of chorologically and ecologically separated types of EDS BGC arising after different forest ecological catastrophes, such as fires, windfalls, pest invasions, tree fellings, stubbing, ploughing up, etc. The main real form of existence and development and syntaxonomic unit of adequate ecological-genetic classification of forest types is the type of EDS BGC as a homogeneous series of their restoration-age-related and century-long plant successions within one native forest type as an ecosystem of higher rank. The general scheme of forest classification based on the EDS BGC as well as dynamic parameters of their structure and diagnostics, are exemplified by predominant forest types relating to moss pine forests in the foreforest-steppe of the Western Siberia. The proposed approaches and methods of chorological ecological-genetic classification of forest types can be applied in forest science and forest management to get a lot of new systematic quantitative information on forest dynamics for its evaluation, development projection and forest management.

Keywords

• ecological-genetic forest typology
• native forest type
• ecological catastrophe
• restoration-age-related dynamics
• classification