0767-B2

Secondary Forestry School “Adonis” Assists Burns Reforestation on Sakhalin Island (The Russian Far East)

Alexei Zhukov^[1]

ABSTRACT

The problem of forest fires and reforestation of burns is very important for Sakhalin Island, as for many other regions of the world. There are many thousands of hectares of burns where natural reforestation is extremely hampered, and the area that needs artificial reforestation is constantly growing on the island.

At the same time, one of the important tools for forest fire prevention is education of communities. We are helping children to learn about the beauty of the forest, its vulnerability and the work of foresters through attracting the help of volunteers for artificial reforestation of burned areas near forest communities.

The Secondary Forestry School “Adonis” is helping Tymovski Forest Management unit to overcome the consequences of catastrophic forest fires on Sakhalin. This school is the only one of its kind on Sakhalin. Currently 23 kids from 7 to 15 years old attend the school. Activities on reforestation are an integrated part of a complex approach that includes lessons on ecology, acting, art, interactive games and local tourism. The main objectives of the activities are to preserve fertile soil and to stop soil erosion. We develop protection against excessive sunlight and preserve humidity by sowing seeds of perennial herbs, including oats, and by planting fast-growing trees and bushes as forerunners for conifers. Planting cuttings of willow and poplar twigs prevents soil erosion on slopes. A group of three kids can plant up to 200 cuttings in four hours. After three years children plant larch on these prepared sites. Our school has been running for five years and we estimate the total quantity of planted trees at 80 000. We believe that the public initiative of our Secondary Forestry School benefits not only the environment, but also more importantly, the consciousness of the children involved and of their parents.

The frequency of fires in the forests of the Far East has led to an increase in burned-out areas and residues, in which the processes of natural renewal of tree species follow various courses. Many areas that have suffered from forest fires are in need of special management aimed at new planting taking into account the type of burned-out area and residue and the characteristics of their origin and of re-growth of vegetation.

In the territory of the Tymovsk forestry enterprise there were enormous burned areas after the fires of 1998, with complete destruction of tree stocks and partial erosion of the soil covering. According to experience in past years, in time these areas become meadows or brushwood thickets. Small sectors become overgrown with brushwood and trees from the sides of the surviving forest in 15-20 years, but in extensive areas the growth of coniferous species is not renewed at all, or such renewal is extremely unsatisfactory.

Action to restore the forest on the sites of the most catastrophic fires is being taken in the territory of the Tymovsk forestry enterprise with assistance from the “Adonis” School Forestry Project.

Felling is not such a danger to the Far Eastern forest as fires. They are the principal reason for areas where young and intermediate spruce and larch plantations can grow become unproductive willow beds and birch woods or, which is much worse, land with no forest cover. However, not all forests catch fire with equal ease. For example, in deciduous forests fires are relatively infrequent, and stands of mature conifers are relatively immune to fire, unless there is much litter. The highest fire risk is to young conifers. Scientists have calculated that the probability of losing them due to failure to take proper fire precautions is 25-30 times greater than in a mature forest. Felled areas and already restored burned areas often catch fire several times, leading to almost irreversible consequences.

Burnt ground loses its fertile layer and its ability to regenerate a covering of vegetation independently. After fires and the disappearance of vegetation, the land suffers severely from all kinds of erosion and in places dies completely, leaving only the parent rocks on the surface.

Very high vulnerability to erosion is characteristic of the soils in all the oblasts and krais in the Far East. The density of the gully network in the region is 1-1.5 km/km², and up to 3-5 km/km² in places. This network is increasing every year. The vulnerability of far eastern soils to erosion is due to the low water-resistance of their structure. Due to the slow thawing of the ground almost everywhere in the Far East the snow run-off is very dangerous, with a risk of new centres of water erosion.

Large-scale felling and fires are also increasing wind erosion at an alarming rate. At wind speeds above 12 m/s an enormous weight of solid particles may be detached from the ground surface and carried for hundreds of kilometres. Exogenous processes - the disintegration and deposition of rocks and minerals - also increase.

It follows from the above that the natural formation of a new forest generation is impossible in hundreds and thousands of hectares in the immediate future without human intervention. Active measures to assist natural processes and partial forest cultivation on dying forest land are essential.

A group of enthusiasts, Ado-Tymovsk forest protection staff and children in the school forestry programme, have been working along these lines for five years. The general task is to create mixed fire-resistant plantations capable of fulfilling all the functions of a healthy forest in burned-out areas where the tree stocks have been completely destroyed.

We regard the preservation of the fertile soil layer and checking all forms of soil erosion as far as possible as a vital aspect of the work. This can be achieved under local geographical conditions only by sowing and planting. In view of the fact that all the work is done by children, manual labour must be relied on. We regard the second stage of the work as the creation of shade-producing and moisture-retaining zones by using quick-growing trees.

In the third stage - in 2-3 years - after the preparatory plantings, we make partial plantings of coniferous species. The fixing of the fertile soil layer, shading it, the formation of a forest floor and the creation of an additional food supply for animals and birds as well as micro-organisms are the result of sowing mixed grasses and oats - perennial quick-growing grasses. By using solar energy, carbon dioxide, water and mineral salts, green plants can form organic material, bringing an enormous number of food elements into the biological cycle. As a vital factor in soil formation, the plant cover affects the environment in a variety of ways, preventing run-off and soil erosion and altering the temperature and moisture content of air and soil. The cultivated plants, being a food source, also contribute to the spread of seeds by birds and animals to land areas that have not yet become overgrown. The seeds are sown in autumn at the rate of 15-20 kg per hectare.

Gully perimeters and bottoms are reinforced and shade-producing and moisture-retaining zones are produced by planting cuttings of willow and poplar, Far Eastern species that grow quickly and are undemanding in terms of soil and climatic conditions. Two- to three-year-old 25-30 cm woody cuttings are taken in winter and stored prior to planting in snow pits covered with sawdust. They are planted with a spade at 0.5 m intervals, with 2 metres between the rows. Planting is carried out by teams of up to three members.

The quality of the wood in these plantings is lower than in plantings grown naturally from seed, but the young trees grow much more quickly than from seed and perform their protective and forest-generating functions in the first stage in the best possible way.

After all the forest improvement work, partial crops of conifers consisting of spruce, fir and larch are produced in two years in these areas. Preference is given to Dahurian larch, as the most light-loving and quick-growing Far Eastern Species; it is frost-resistant and undemanding as regards soil conditions. The larch is planted in early spring in clumps of two or three at the rate of 2.5-3 thousand per hectare, in rows between deciduous species. Planting is by teams as with cuttings, but a Kolesov tool is used.

Large deciduous seedlings, as well as coniferous seedlings, including experimental Siberian cedar (pine) and Korean cedar (pine) seedlings, are planted in small sectors with the greatest potential. The planting stock is grown from seed by the children in the school nursery. The cedars are giving good results, with hope of good growth in the future.

All the plantings are observed and recorded; it can be said that the results are positive. The work requires modification and quality checks over longer periods of observation.

In five years of school forestry project work, the total number of plantings is 80000 deciduous cuttings and coniferous seedlings.

Education work with the population is one of the most important tools in the prevention of forest fires. We help youngsters to learn about the beauty of the forest, its frailty and the work of the forester, enlisting them on a voluntary basis for work on artificial forest restoration in burned areas near built-up areas.

The “Adonis” School Forestry Project was set up in 1998. It has 23 permanent students (two groups) aged from seven to fifteen. Of course, the forestry work is not limited to planting trees. One of the principal priorities in children's forestry work (as a public initiative) in the support of forestry - is to instil in people an intelligent careful approach to nature and to the region in which they live, to the environment and to each other. The work with children is interactive - graphic art, theatricals, walks and games. Working with the rising generation provides an opportunity to exert a positive influence on the adult population. School forestry takes an active part in the social life of the region.

We hope that our school forestry work is vital, not only for the environment but also for shaping the outlook of the children themselves and of their parents.

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