RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST SCIENCE, 2021, No. 6, P. 593–608


HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAFIC FACTORS OF INTEGRITY OF THE NON-DISTURBED DARK CONIFEROUS FORESTS OF NORTHERN URAL
A. A. Aleynikov
Center for Forest Ecology and Productivity of the RAS
Profsoyuznaya st. 84/32 bldg. 14, Moscow, 117997, Russia
E-mail: aaacastor@gmail.com


Received 05 April 2021
Searching for possible solutions to the problem of global climate change has led to rethinking of the role of undisturbed/primary/virgin forests, which have been subject only to natural disturbances for a long time. One of the priorities of the world environmental policy is the preservation of large unfragmented forests that perform ecosystem functions at the global level. However, to assess individual ecosystem functions, it is necessary to identify and thoroughly study the best preserved forest ecosystems, taking into account the history of traditional nature management. This article, based on historical and archival materials, describes in detail and localizes the main types of land use in the upper reaches of the Pechora River (Komi Republic) and identifies territories that have not been affected by economic activity over the past few centuries. Some areas were used by the indigenous population for hunting and as deer pastures. The extremely late date of settlement by Russian farmers and the a low population density led to the fact that only small plots (less than 0.2% of the area of the model basin) were transformed for agricultural needs. The lack of roads, developed markets and a sufficient amount of labor force constrained the growth of logging, and the creation of the Pechora-Ilychsky nature reserve in 1930 stopped the further forest transformation. At present, the most transformed areas include light coniferous forests around former settlements, which have experienced repeated fires and reindeer grazing, as well as areas of overgrown farmland. The most powerful factors of forest transformation were anthropogenic fires that affected 8% of the area of the Upper Pechora river basin. The preserved intact forest ecosystems with a growing age of at least 600 years, located far from settlements and navigable rivers possess the greatest research value there. The results once again emphasize the role of historical information in understanding the modern forests dynamics and in assessing their conservation significance.
Key words: boreal forests, Northern Ural, Pechora-Ilychsky natural reserve, undisturbed forest territories, ecosystemic heritage, nature management, slash-and-burn agriculture, forest fires, forest deer pastures.
Acknowledgements: The study has been carried out within the framework of the State contract with CEPF RAS (ААА-А18-118052400130-7) and with a financial support of the RFBR (project 19-04-00609).
DOI: 10.31857/S0024114821060036


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