Restoration of Forest Live Cover and Understory in Pinetum of Former Agricultural Lands

The article presents the study of the restoration processes of vegetation in stands of pine and spruce on lands formerly used for agricultural purposes. The standard methods used in phytocenological and pedologic studies are used. It is noted that a high content of organic matter can not be a limiting factor in the growth and development of living soil cover and does not affect its projective cover. Depending on the care of stands by applying fertilizers and using herbicides, the species composition of forest live cover varies while the dominant species are preserved. The number of woody species is considerably large in pure pine cultures in comparison with those of experimental sites, where fertilizers and herbicides were applied and understory is completely absent. It should be noted that more intensive recovery is observed in pine stands treated with herbicides. In cultures of old-age pine and spruce, the natural recovery of spruce is constrained by the vegetation of understories and the canopy of forest stand. After the formation of the closed canopy of forest stand, forest site factor and heterogeneity of the soil cover are mitigated by low light under the canopy. Thus, forest live cover becomes more uniform