Ptichnikov A.V.,  Martyniuk A.A. ABOUT ADAPTATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAND DEGRADATION NEUTRALITY INDICATORS FOR FOREST ECOSYSTEMS IN THE  DRY CONDITIONS OF RUSSIA // Arid ecosystems. 2020. V. 26. № 2 (83). P. 48-56. | PDF

The article is devoted to the large-scale problem of the deterioration of protective forest stands in the arid lands of southern Russia. The deterioration is mainly related to a sharp decrease of forest management level by forest service due to a reduction in funding, as well as relater to a change in land ownership of forest shelter belts. The worsening of forest stands is manifested in their pollution by household and industrial waste, damage by fires, illegal logging, diseases and pests, the development of processes of soil sodding, thinning and decay of forests. More than half of them now have unsatisfactory sanitary conditions, have reached the age limits, and are disintegrating. Given the scale of the problem, it is proposed to use LDN tools to monitor changes in such afforestation and, taking into account the existing practice, to supplement the set of global LDN indicators with a number of national indicators, including taxation characteristics of forest stands: stock, forest cover, and overall volume increase (taking into account the decline). It is also proposed to use an additional indicator in the form of the level of biological diversity (species diversity of trees and shrubs in protective forest stands). The LDN assessment should be carried out taking into account the presence of forest stands on public and private lands with different management objectives.

Keywords: forests in arid climatic conditions, land degradation neutrality, protective afforestation, taxation characteristics of forest stands.

DOI: 10.24411/1993-3916-2020-10095