Nature, plants and animals of Altai. Tape forest of the Altai Territory What forests are in the Altai Territory

Forest ecosystems occupy 28% of the Altai Territory and are very diverse in species composition, productivity, structure and age structure. The lands of the forest fund located on the territory of the region amount to 4434.0 thousand ha, including the area covered by forest - 3736.0 thousand ha, of which the area of \u200b\u200bconiferous stands - 153.0 thousand ha with a total wood supply of 535.0 million cubic meters with an average forest cover of 22.5%. The average stock of stands per 1 ha is 143, 0 cubic meters. The predominant species of the forest fund is deciduous plantations - 59.0%, coniferous species account for 41.0%.

In accordance with the peculiarities of forest growing and economic conditions, the intensity of forestry, the role and importance of forests, the forest fund of the Altai Territory is divided into four forestry districts - tape forests, Obstva forests, forests of the Salair ridge and foothill forests. Among the tree species growing in the Altai Territory, birch (34.4%), pine (29%), aspen (20%) predominate, as well as spruce, fir (8, 10%), larch (2.7%) , cedar (1%), other breeds and shrubs (4.8%).

What breed forms the most valuable stands in the region?

Most of the pine forests are located in tape and acquisition burs.  Growing in various soil and climatic conditions, pine forests are confined to places of ancient watercourses on powerful sandy river sediments. Pine forms the most valuable and productive plantings of the Altai Territory.  Within the region, common pine grows on dry and sandy, rich chernozems and swamp soils. The root system of the pine and its anatomical and physiological features make it an extremely valuable tree species in the silvicultural respect, capable of forming stands in such extreme conditions where none of the other species can grow. The forestry qualities of pine include drought tolerance, the ability to tolerate excessive moisture, wind resistance, rapid growth, as well as the diverse use of its resources.

What are tapes and how are they unique?

Forests in the region are represented by unique ribbon burs; formations of this kind are not found anywhere in the world. On the territory of the Ob-Irtysh interfluve there are five pronounced boron ribbons: the most northern - Burlin or Aleus90 km south of it - Prolaukho-Kornilovsky selection and Kulundinskaya tape, even lower by 30 km from Kulundinskaya - Kasmalinskaya and Barnaulskaya ribbons.

Burlinskaya and Kulundinskaya tapes extend 100 km from the Ob River to the Kulundinskaya Depression, located in the center of the Ob-Irtysh interfluve. The next two ribbons - Kasmalinskaya and Pavlovskaya begin in the ancient floodplain of the Ob River and stretch almost 400 km to the south-west with narrow parallel ribbons. On the border of the Altai Territory and the Republic of Kazakhstan, these ribbons merge with Loktevskaya, forming a vast forest island (Srostinsky Bor), and then in the form of a kind of delta of an ancient river reach Irtysh, where they merge with its terrace sands. The width of the hollows of the ancient runoff is different: 6-8 km in the north, 20-60 km in the south, at the place of their confluence.

In the northern part of the tape burs grow pine trees, a birch trees  - in pegs. In the south, they are large pine forests. Birch chippings are rare.

Fact

According to all the canons of geographical science here, in the steppe zone of the Altai Territory, there should not be forests.  Not only did the pine forests invade the steppes of the south of the West Siberian Lowland, they still have an unusual form of their distribution - forests stretched parallel to each other with ribbons of different lengths. That is why they got this name. The famous German traveler and natural scientist of the XIX century. Alexander Humboldt  was so amazed at the pine forests that he saw, he tried to give his explanation for this phenomenon. Currently, scientists adhere to the hypothesis that pine forests grow on sandy deposits in the troughs of the runoff of the water of a huge ancient reservoir that existed around 10 thousand years ago.

There is a legend that tells how the god of winds examined the lands and saw the beautiful girl Aigul. The beauty charmed the god of the winds, he grabbed the girl and went with her to his heavenly dwelling. Aigul's tears fell down, and where they broke on the ground, lakes appeared. Aigul also lost the green ribbons with which she tied her wonderful hair. In those places where the ribbons fell to the ground, forests appeared.

By the way

In the area of \u200b\u200bthe location of the tape burs created two state protective forest belts: Rubtsovsk - Slavgorod, with a length of 257 km with a total area of \u200b\u200b6142 ha, and Aleysk - Veselovka, with a length of 300 km and an area of \u200b\u200b6768 ha.

Ob, Salair, foothills

To the east of the Kulundinskaya steppe, the Predaltai forest-steppe extends. The Ob River divides the Pre-Altai forest-steppe into two unequal parts: on the left bank, occupied by a wavy priobsky plateau plain, and the right bank, where the Biya-Chumysh Upland is preceded by spurs in the northeast Salair Ridgeand in the south - altai foothills.

In the north-east of the region, the Biysk-Chumysh Upland is limited by the spurs of the Salair Ridge (up to 590 m above sea level). Ridges Salair Ridge  strongly smoothed and rounded. Exit to the day surface of stony rocks differs only in individual peaks. it growing area of \u200b\u200baspen and fir forests, which is determined by a rather humid climate and the distribution of loamy soils.

To the south of the Presalair forest-steppe, one or two ledges, with a height of 350-600 m and with individual ridges up to 1000 m, rise altai foothills. Altai foothills are occupied mainly forest-steppebut the slopes of the higher ranges are covered mountain forests. In the southwest, they are mainly composed of stands fir, birch, larch, in the eastern part, more moistened, are represented deciduous and black forests.

Forests not located on the lands of the forest fund

In the Altai Territory there are also forests located on lands of other categories, namely:

• on earth Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation  - 12.6 thousand ha;
• on lands of specially protected natural areas administered Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources  (Rosprirodnadzor) - 41.4 thousand ha (Tigireksky State Nature Reserve);
• on the lands of urban settlements (urban forests)  - 10.0 thousand ha.

Which areas of the Altai Territory are rich in forests?

All forests are located on the territory 59 municipal districts of the region. The distribution of forests in the region is extremely uneven, and an indicator of this is the forest cover of the territory. If the average forest cover of Altai Krai - 26.3%, which indicates a sufficient proportion of forest stands in the overall land balance, this cannot be said about a number of municipal districts in the steppe part of the region, which experience a clear lack of a protective role for forests. In municipal areas, forest cover ranges from 1% ( Annunciation, Pospelikhinsky, Kulundinsky, Slavgorod, Ust-Kalmansky) up to 62.1% ( Zarinsky, Solton) Above average, forest cover is noted in the southwestern regions of the territory: Uglovsky - 33.9% Volchikhinsky 41.7%, Mikhailovsky - 25.9%. This is due to the fact that in this part of the territory the tape forests are wider and significant forest areas are concentrated in them.

Very uneven forest cover in the Priobsky district. The largest proportion of forests takes place in Trinity District  - 46.1%, as well as May Day  - 42.0% and Talmensky district  - 38.1%. This is due to the distribution of the Verkhne-Ob Massif along the right bank of the Ob River. As you move away from the river, the forest cover decreases: Virgin— 8,4%, Petropavlovsk district  - 2.9%. Forest cover in the Altai-Sayan mountain taiga region ranges from 21.5% to 38.6%. In Altai-Sayan mountain-forest-steppe region, the highest forest cover is noted in Solton district - 53.6%, Krasnogorsk - 41.6%.  At the same time in Soviet district  it is equal to 3.7%.

The forest cover of Altai Krai by forestry areas is or optimal, or close to optimum. At the same time, due to the uneven distribution of forests across the territory, a number of steppe regions are experiencing great inconvenience due to insufficient forest areas and in this regard, their low environmental protection effect.

Three forest growing subareas

Some of the differences in geomorphology, soils, composition and productivity of forests, as well as climatic features, provide grounds for isolation within West Siberian subtaiga forest-steppe region  three forest growing subareas: ribbon burs, Priobskie burs and Salair ridge.

Woody vegetation tape burs  It is represented by narrow ribbons of pine forests unique in nature and isolated by small groups of birch plantations among the dry steppes.

To the north of the tape forests, the Ob River is located in a separate forest. Priobsky pine forests. In the Priobskie forests, forests are represented by relatively large massifs. island high-productive pine forests and small birch-aspen small tracts, located mainly on the lower saucer-like depressions. Pine forests are located mainly on the third and fourth sandy terraces of the Ob River, where they form relatively large massifs. These are the so-called fresh, or "sweaty", Priobsky pine forests.  In Priobye, sod-podzolic and medium-podzolic sandy and sandy loamy soils prevail, which are favorable for the growth of woody vegetation. Pine plantings growing on them achieve high productivity. Often found in Priobsky Bor admixture of larch and Siberian spruce.

All these forests are under the influence of two environmental factors of the opposite effect - the proximity of groundwater and the aridity of the steppe and forest-steppe air-temperature regime.

Farther north, along the border of the Novosibirsk and Kemerovo regions, plantations grow Salair Ridge. In Salair, despite its low height, the zonality of the vegetation cover is prominently expressed. Presalair piedmont plain is covered birch-aspen forests alternating with natural meadows. Closer to the watershed, the prevailing aspen and fir-aspen forests. The grass cover is distinguished by great height and powerful development. In areas occupied by forests, gray forest and sod-podzolic soils, as well as mountain forest gray soils, are widespread; on the western slopes of the low mountains - loamy and heavy loamy; in the east - thin loamy-gravel on bedrocks.

In the south and south-west along the border with the Altai Republic are common mixed forests of foothill Altai. The piedmont forest region of Altai Krai is part of the Altai-Sayan mountain taiga region of the South Siberian mountain zone.

Piedmont forests are developed by man over the past 150-200 years, and at present, the indigenous types of forests have practically not been preserved. Only in remote places inaccessible to technology can plantations be found cedar and fir. Secondary Forests of the Foothills composed of birch, fir, aspen, along the valleys of numerous rivers - willow thickets. In the lower part of the forest belt of the northern and western foothills, river valleys grow island pine plantations.

And if the tape forests and the Priobskie forests are typically flat forests, forests of the Salair Ridge grow at heights of 250-500 meters above sea levelthen forests altai foothills are distributed up to 1800 m above sea level and are typically mountain forests. Between these 4 large massifs there are a large number of birch spikes with an area of \u200b\u200b0.1 to 5 ha. They occupy mainly the forest-steppe. The intercolumnal spaces are plowed under the fields, and the uncultivated areas are covered with steppe vegetation.

Based on materials from the Forest Plan of Altai Territory, Barnaul, 2011

Fact

IN XVIII century  with development silver production  in "tapes" harvested wood for burning charcoal. Historians write that logging for coal was carried out using clear cutting, and thousands of hectares of pine plantations were cut down without observing elementary rules. Modern forestry also has not passed sad pages. Severe fires repeatedly erased thousands of green hectares from the face of the earth. Forests of the region began to "recover"  only after 1947, when a special Resolution was adopted on the restoration of the tape burs of Altai and Kazakhstan. Gradually, the area occupied by coniferous species began to increase, reaching in 2013 - 700 thousand ha.

Figures

4 out of 5existing in the world tape burs grow in Altai Krai

10 thousand years ago, according to scientists, in the place of modern "tapes" were ancient reservoirs

700 thousand hectares due to large-scale reforestation measures in 2013 reached the area of \u200b\u200btape burs occupied by conifers

Materials on the theme “Forest wealth of the Altai Territory”

Yesterday, April 9, Oleg Peregudov, the head of the department of the Altayles forest holding company, photographed a long-tailed owl. We managed to make successful shots in the evening in an fir-tree near the village. Southern city of Barnaul. As Oleg said, at first he heard the owl's hoot and decided to see where she was sitting. Taking a camera, an amateur researcher found a long-tailed owl in a tree. At first the bird was alert, but after a few minutes it calmed down and started [...]

On the eve of the Day of Forest Workers, the employees of Les Service LLC (part of Altayles Sports and recreation complex), together with students from Klyuchevskoy secondary school No. 1, held a large-scale sports and environmental campaign. The event was attended by about two hundred students along with their teachers. Viktor Karmash, the engineer for forest conservation and protection at Forest Service, spoke about the need to save forests before the start of the action.

View on Altapress.ru website

From September 2-4, in the village of Pavlovsk in the Pavlovsky district, the best forest firefighters, loggers, hydraulic manipulator operators and other forestry experts will be determined. About 500 participants will face off in professional nominations, as well as in sports and creative contests. The previous Olympics took place in 2011. The organizers are the Altayles Union of Forestry Organizations (a non-profit organization) and the Altayles Forest Holding Company.

The twenty-minute film about the activities of the Altayles forest holding company is a large-scale project, work on which began in the spring of 2015. For the film, exclusively fresh shootings were used, many of which were performed using a quadrocopter, that is, from a height of 50-70 meters above the ground. The goal is to show the viewer what the unique ribbon and acquisition burs really look like, which the company has preserved and [...]

The fund of fishery reservoirs of the region includes about 2000 water bodies with a total area of \u200b\u200b112 thousand hectares. Salt lakes, which have an annual limit of 300 t in the production of Artemia cyst, occupy an area of \u200b\u200b99 thousand ha. Of the 38 species of fish that live in the reservoirs of the region, 12 species are used for fishing.

Sushi bioresources

The Altai Territory has such a variety of zonal and especially intrazonal landscapes that it could not but affect the abundance and species diversity of the plant and animal world. Each of these landscapes has its own, to one degree or another, special world of animals and birds, plants.

Plants

Of the 3,000 species of plants growing in Western Siberia, in the Altai Territory, 1954 are species of higher vascular plants belonging to 112 families and 617 genera. The flora of the region has 32 relict species. This is Siberian linden, European hoof, fragrant bedstraw, giant fescue, Siberian brunner, floating salvinia, water chestnut and others. 10 species of plants growing in the Territory are listed in the Red Book of Russia: Siberian kandyk, Iris Ludwig, Zalessky feather grass feather, feathery feather grass feather, feathery feather grass, Altai onion, steppe peony, Hedgehog nesting, Altai gymnosperms, Altai stellofopsis. 144 species of plants are listed in the Red Book of the Territory. These are rare species, endemic, reducing their range, as well as relict. The species richness of the plant world of the region is due to the variety of natural and climatic conditions.

The vegetation cover in the territory of the region is subject to strong anthropogenic influence, especially within the steppe zone. The largest sections of the steppes are preserved along forest belts, along the fringes of the tape forests and individual pegs, and saline soils.

A significant proportion (up to 30%) in the flora of the region is a group of weeds found in gardens, fields, kitchen gardens, on road embankments, along river banks, vacant lots, and fallow lands. In recent years, fugitive plants have emerged that are actively introducing themselves into natural coenoses. So on the banks of rivers and forests often and abundantly found maple ash and echinocystis lobed. The share of introduced plants is steadily increasing from year to year, and currently their number reaches 70. Among them, plants from Central Asia and Kazakhstan, as well as from North America predominate.

Altai is rich in useful flora, numbering more than 600 plant species, among which there are medicinal - 380 species, food - 149, melliferous - 166, vitamin-bearing - 33, dyeing - 66, fodder - 330, decorative - 215. Rhodiola can be considered as especially valuable species. pink, raponticum safflower, forgotten penny, peony dodging, elecampane high, etc.

According to preliminary estimates, more than 100 species of lichens, 80 species of bryophytes, and about 50 species of macromycetes fungi are characteristic of the region. Among these objects there are rare, listed in the Red Book of Russia.

Of the nearly 2000 species of vascular plants found in the Altai Territory, 144 species are included in the Red Book.

In early spring, when it is still not so hot, the low yellow cattails bloom straight-horned, the alyssum is deserted, the ranunculus is ranunculus, and the groves are coperes. Occasionally, dark purple hazel grouse and tuberous valerian come across. Later, in the middle of summer, the feather grass blooms. Long panicles sway under the wind, giving the impression of running waves. Due to the plowing of the steppes, the number of its population has greatly decreased.

A wide strip of steppe and forest-steppe vegetation in the middle part is torn by several ribbons of pine forests. These are unique, not found anywhere else in the world, natural formations confined to the bottoms of ancient hollows of the flow of thawed glacial waters lined with twisted sands. Under the canopy of a pine, a shrub layer is developed, especially rich with approach to the Ob valley. Here, a bluehead grows flat-leaved, common meadowswort, meadow ranch, medicinal sweet clover, common bedstraw, gray veronica.

In the mountainous part of the region, altitudinal zonation is manifested in the distribution of vegetation. The types of this zonality, the degree of its severity and altitude limits reflect, depending on the position, features of either Western Siberia and Central Asia, then Mongolia and the mountains of Southern Siberia. It is no accident that N.K. Roerich called Altai the heart of Asia, the center of the four oceans.

The steppe belt is most developed along the northern and northwestern slopes of Altai; its individual fragments are widely found inside the mountainous country on the flat bottoms of river valleys and intermontane basins. The height of the steppe plots increases to the southeast of Altai, where peculiar tundra-steppes dominate at heights of more than 2,000 m. There are steppe areas on the southern, well-warmed slopes of the ranges.

In the chernozem, chestnut, and chernozem-meadow soils of the belt, a variety of grass-grass cover is developed, interspersed with thickets of shrubs of caragana, meadowsweet, honeysuckle, and dog rose. The higher the steppe sections rise, reflecting the growth of the continental climate, the poorer the vegetation becomes.

Here feather grasses, breadgrass, fescue, bluegrass grow. External aloofness is somewhat diversified by yellow alfalfa, Siberian sainfoin, Siberian adonis, sticky cinquefoil. Among plants of stony steppes of mountain slopes, feather grasses, astragalus, asters, cloves, wormwood are found. Most of the summer, the steppe plots are monochromatic, dull. Only in the spring, for a short time, the steppe is transformed, adorned with the multicolor grassy decoration.

The harsher the conditions, the more adapted and outwardly the plants become coarser and tougher. Wormwood, fescue and cinquefoil dominate in the Chuy depression. Common feather grass, pebble desert, sedge, astragalus. Plants are stunted, flowers are usually small, spines on many of them - everything speaks of a lack of moisture and a strong influence of the cold.

Forests occupy about half of the mountains, being the main type of vegetation. The nature of forests is not the same and depends on the conditions of moisture and heat supply. In Salair and near Lake Teletsk dominated by black forests, the northeastern and western outskirts of the mountains are occupied by dark coniferous taiga, and the low mountains of northern Altai are occupied by pine forests. As you move deeper into the mountains, dominance in the stands passes to larch.

Within the mountainous region, the forest belt is often interrupted, steppe plots appear on the southern slopes, and alpine vegetation in the upper part. Through the Salair black forests, the mountain taiga merges with the lowland West Siberian. The lower border of the forest belt in the north is 400-600 m, the upper one changes quite significantly: in the ranges surrounding Lake Teletskoye it is 1800-1900 m, in the Central Altai - 2 100-2 200 m, and in the southeast, individual massifs rise up to 2,450 m. They consist mainly of Siberian fir, Siberian cedar, Siberian larch, Scots pine, Siberian spruce.

The most common is larch, adapted to severe frosts and scanty soils. Individual specimens reach a height of 20-30 m, in girth - 2-3 m. Giant larch trees are especially impressive among verdant meadows and fields. There are good park larch forests, light, with a low shrub undergrowth and rich forbs. Larch is a long-liver and a big lover of light. Its wood is extremely durable, difficult to process.

Pine forests are confined to low mountains with its dry valleys and sandy soils. Pine does not rise above 600-700 m.

The Altai forests are adorned with cedar - a tree species with many virtues that have long been appreciated by man. Cedar wood with a pleasant pinkish tint has high resonant qualities and is used for the manufacture of musical instruments. Cedar needles contain essential oils, carotenes, vitamins. Gum, pine nuts, for which cedar is called a taiga bread tree, are no less valuable. Nuts - the food of many birds and animals, are widely used by man.

For black taiga, Siberian fir, aspen, bird cherry, mountain ash, and viburnum are predominant in combination with tall grass. Representatives of relict flora meet here. This is sweet woodruff with modest white flowers and whorled leaves, European ungulate with hoof-like dark green leaves, woodland cleanser with soft hairy leaves and lilac flowers, Siberian Brunner with large, heart-shaped leaves on long petioles and pale blue flowers, like forget-me-nots. The ground moss cover is poorly developed.

Dark coniferous forests of cedar, Siberian spruce, Siberian fir usually cover the northern slopes of mountain ranges. Mosses, shrubs, and shrubs — honeysuckle, blueberries, and lingonberries — grow here. Larch forests dominate in Central Altai, where along river valleys and slopes they form park thickets without undergrowth, with a closed grass cover dominated by grasses (reedweeds, Siberian bluegrass, hedgehog, meadow foxtail, etc.). On the northern slopes, where there is more moisture, undergrowth developed undergrowth from the Siberian rhododendron, middle meadowsweet, Altai honeysuckle.

Meadows are widely distributed in the forest belt, confined to fairly moist, leveled areas, clearings and burns. Significant areas of alpine meadows in Central and Western Altai. In subalpine meadows, red deer root, common thistle, white geranium, and swimsuits are common. Alpine meadows have a low grass cover. The catchment is common, gentian is large-flowered, Bellardi cobresia. The combination of simultaneously blossoming orange lights, blue watersheds, dark blue gentians and snakeheads gives alpine meadows extraordinary colorfulness.

The upper altitudinal zone of mountain vegetation is represented by various tundra groups — gravelly grassy, \u200b\u200bbryophyte, stony, shrubby, in which large-leaved birch, Alpine bison, Johnny broom, whole-leaved lagotis, and cold gentian are common.

In general, within the region there are about 3 thousand species of higher plants: medicinal, food, fodder, poisonous.

The group of medicinal plants used in the pharmaceutical industry includes about 100 species. However, in traditional medicine this list is much wider. In the steppe zone, Ural licorice, spring adonis, medicinal marshmallow, elecampane tall, creeping thyme, sandwort immortelle, multifilament wolf, lanceolate thermopsis, and wormwood are collected.

In the forests grow elecampane tall, swamp white-headed, golden wattle, common oregano, peony Maryin root, Lobel's hellebore, St. John's wort perforated, medicinal blood pot. In the coastal zone of the water bodies, calamus marsh, marsh rosemary are common, the shift is three-leafed, the yellow capsule is genuine.

Maral root, Rhodiola rosea, and frangipani are confined to the alpine zone.

Many plants can be used as food during summer trips. Among them are sorrel, young nettles, young leaves of a quinoa, dissected cow parsnip, the medunka is the softest, chick, fry (rabbit cabbage), bracken fern, leaves and roots of dandelion, etc. The best known among food plants are wild garlic (bulb), onion-slime. Some plants (wild mint, thyme, peasant highlander) can be used for seasoning. The leaves of lingonberry, black currant, oregano, wild strawberry, leaves and inflorescences of meadowsweet, leaves of fireweed (Ivan tea) are suitable for preparing camp tea. Altai tea has long been known for tea from the dry leaves of frankincense.

Travelers should remember about poisonous plants, such as bleached, hellebore, wrestlers, black eye. Along the banks of water bodies there is a poisonous milestone, carnivore, speckled hemlock, and guards. And many medicinal plants used without sufficiently reliable knowledge and recommendations of a doctor can have a negative effect on the body. The first warning when meeting with most poisonous plants is the beautiful, often bright color of flowers and fruits.

Studies of botanists revealed more than 100 plant species found only in Altai. These are the so-called endemic species that have arisen here in the process of evolutionary development. Especially endemic to the south-east of Altai. The famous botanist P.N. Krylov noted that in the recent past this region served as an arena of glacial processes, which is why the formation of flora continues here.

In addition to the Altai proper endemic, such as the Altai bathhouse, Alpine edelweiss, subalpine violet, lilac bathhouse, there are endemic species in Altai with a wider, Altai-Sayanian range. Together with them, the total number of endemic species, according to A.V. Kuminova, reaches 212.

Intensive use of vegetation leads to a depletion of the species composition and to a decrease in the population of certain species. Botanists noted 120 species of plants in need of protection. In recent years, thickets of Rhodiola rosea (golden root), raponticum safflower (maralia root), old-spring of the spring, water walnut (chilim), and Ural licorice have significantly decreased. Venus shoes, orchids, lyubka, kandyk, tulips, frying (lights, swimsuits), peonies, backache, St. John's wort became rare.

Among the plants listed in the Red Book of the USSR in Altai there are: a large-flowered shoe, a true and spotted shoe, an Altai wolf, water nut, Altai woodsia, single-leaved guilder, Siberian kandyk, Siberian and tiger saffron grass, feathery feather grass, and cucumber lily Altai, leafless chin, peony Maryin root, steppe peony, chess grouse, etc.

Most of us do not know what these plants look like. Therefore, it is important during the preparation for the trip to get acquainted with them in reference books and herbaria, to meet with specialists. There is a botanical garden in Altai University in Barnaul, where many rarities of the plant kingdom of the region are collected. Visit him before setting off. It is advisable to find a place in the backpack for a small book by I.V. Vereshchagina, “The Green Miracle of Altai”, published by the Altai Book Publishing House.

And most importantly - do not tear (do not destroy!) The flower, branch, grass you like. It must be remembered: the resources of the plant world are not infinite, we are all responsible for the flowing carpet of Altai grasses, taiga cedar splendor and lush greenery of deciduous forests for future generations.

Animals

About 100 species of mammals, more than 320 species of birds, 7 species of reptiles, 6 species of invertebrate animals and 7 species of amphibians live in the region. In rivers and lakes of the region 35 species of fish live.

The Red Book includes 134 species of animals in need of protection. The largest number of bird species is 82. About half of them are listed in the Red Book of Russia (Demoiselle Crane, Saker Falcon, Ptarmigan, Eagle Owl, etc.), 10 species are included in the IUCN Red List (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources). These are extremely rare species, such as, for example, bustard, burial ground, peregrine falcon, as well as those with a zero category (probably extinct) strepet and thin-billed curlew.

In addition to birds nesting in Altai, the Red Book of Altai Territory includes species that appear during spring-autumn flights (small swan, small goose), as well as random vagrants (curly and pink pelicans, flamingos, black cranes, white-headed vultures, etc. .).

Chipmunk, flying squirrel, otter, ermine, sable live in the forests. There are also moose, musk deer, almost everywhere - brown bears, lynx, wolverine, badger. Marmots, ground squirrels, jerboas live in the steppes, you can meet the steppe ferret, fox, wolf, in the Kulundinskaya steppe hare and hare live. The muskrat is found in the acquisition ponds, and the beaver lives in almost all the upland, lowland rivers.

Among forest birds there are a lot of predators, the most aggressive are hawks (goshawk and sparrowhawk), night birds - owl and eagle owl are widespread. On the shores of the lakes you can see the Demoiselle Crane and the Gray Crane. Sandpipers, white wagtails, river terns are numerous on the banks of the rivers. Rivers and lakes of the region are rich in fish; pike, ide, burbot, sterlet, perch, dace, chebak, ruff are found in them.

Mammals in the Red Book of 17 species. These are mainly insectivores and rodents (big-eared hedgehog, jerboas) and bats (there are 9 species of them, including the sharp-eyed night-eye included in the Russian Red Book). Two representatives of the Kunih family entered here - an otter and a dressing (also included in the Red Book of Russia).

The Red Book includes 26 species of insects. This, including relic butterflies - Askalaf motley, mother of pearl mating, as well as endemic to Western Altai, possibly extinct at the present time, ground beetle Gebler, etc.

In addition to birds, mammals and insects, the book includes 3 species of reptiles (takyr round-headed, multi-colored lizard, steppe viper), 2 species of amphibians (Siberian coal-toothed, common newt) and 4 species of fish - lenok apparently disappeared from the rivers of the region, endemic species Siberian sturgeon, nelma and taimen.

In addition to the main part, the Red Book of Altai Krai includes 30 species that require special attention. This, for example, musk deer, gray goose, small gull, quail, carpenter bee and other species.

The objects of hunting are several dozen species of animals, representatives of four orders of birds.

The formation and development of animal resources in the region occurs under conditions of increased anthropogenic impact. Decreased pasture bioproductivity due to overgrazing, water and wind erosion of soils, deforestation lead to a change in animal habitats and a reduction in the number of squirrels, groundhogs, otters, musk deer, Siberian mountain goats, etc. The snake-eater, Sitrepet, and bustard have disappeared partially or completely. From year to year, the number of waterfowl decreases, with the exception of the gray goose. The number of small mustelids, field and pine forests decreases due to changes in forage and nesting conditions for their existence. The intensive development of the resources of ungulates, especially moose, requires a reduction in its prey, increased protection and control over prey, and in some areas a complete ban on hunting.

At present, in the Altai Territory, initially, natural landscapes were practically not preserved; all of them are affected by economic activity or the transfer of substances by water and air flows. Currently, there are no active reserves or national parks in the region. There are 33 reserves in the territory of the region. Their total area is 773.1 thousand hectares or less than 5% of the region’s area, which is significantly lower than the average for Russia and insufficient to maintain the landscape-ecological balance in the biosphere.

In 1997-1998, the production amounted to wild boar - 7, bear - 11.

The number in 1998 was: moose - 10930, wild boar - 430, roe deer - 11000, bear - 500.

The number of rare species: snow leopard - 39-49 pcs., Pallas - 250-350 pcs., Dzeren - herds of 4-5 individuals, Altai mountain sheep - 370-470 pcs.

Each of the Altai landscapes is characterized by a specific species composition of animals.

The fauna of the steppe and forest-steppe plain parts of the region is the least rich. Rodents predominate here: red and red-backed voles, red-cheeked ground squirrel, steppe pika, large jerboa. After plowing virgin lands, the field mouse became especially numerous. Of the large mammals, there are a wolf, a fox, a steppe polecat, a white hare, a corsac, a badger, and sometimes a brown hare; you can also see an elk in spikes.

Of the birds after plowing virgin land, rook, magpie, crow, jackdaw prevail; Of the small passerines, the largest are the field lark, yellow wagtail, and black-headed mint. Numerous and diverse waders roam the marshes and along the banks of the ponds, ducks, gray goose and gray heron nest. There are many ducks, coots on the lakes, grebes are common, especially a chomga. There are often numerous colonies of gulls (silver, gray, lake).

The fauna of the flat forests is much richer. They are inhabited by various species of shrews, voles and mice. Numerous chipmunk and teleutk protein. Typical forest inhabitants are mole, hedgehog, weasel, ermine, columns and badger. White hare and fox are common; wolverine, wolf, lynx and brown bear, beaver, roe deer and elk are less common.

The world of small forest passerines is colorful and diverse: tits, warblers, warblers, redstart, thrushes, forest horse, finch - finch, tap dance, yurok, lentils, cross-spruce, carduelis. Common cuckoo, goat, woodpeckers - black, large and small variegated, three-fingered, spinner. Of the small predators, the most common falcons are the chyglok, ternary and small-billed falcon. There are hawks - a goshawk and a sparrowhawk, a black kite, a buzzard, a bore owl, a long-eared owl, and less often an eagle owl. In the lowland and foothill zones of Altai, the gray crane is not uncommon. Of the reptiles, the common snake, viper, pallas, muzzle, fast and viviparous lizards are characteristic. There are few amphibians: these are mainly muzzle and grass frogs, gray and green toads.

The mountain steppes of Altai are characterized by norniks: red-cheeked and long-tailed gophers, Altai and Mongolian marmots. Of small rodents, numerous voles are numerous. On rocky placers on the outskirts of mountain steppes, Daurian and Mongolian pikas are common. In addition, in the Chuiskaya steppe there live a jerboa, a jungle hamster and a tolai hare, which does not change color in winter (there is very little snow on semi-desert landscapes).

The species composition of birds is very small: larks - field and steppe, Kamenka - bald patch and dancer, steppe horse, hoopoe, steppe harrier, kestrel. However, the fauna of the Chuyskaya steppe is much more diverse and original: these places are characterized by a cinderfish, Indian mountain goose, silver gull, black-throated loon, black stork, whooper swan, Altai gyrfalcon, griffon vulture, black vulture, and bearded lamb. Only here you can meet bustard, saj, thick-billed snake, remez.

The world of mountain dwellers is especially diverse. This is facilitated by the variety of natural conditions in the region. 62 species of mammals live here, more than 260 species of birds, 11 species of amphibians and reptiles, 20 species of fish.

The fauna of mountain forests is made up of almost all species found in lowland forests. This flying squirrel, chipmunk, sable, bats - a mustachioed nightlight, Siberian tube-bearer, nightlight Ikonnikova, ginger evening and ushanka. There are numerous hoofed animals that feed on woody-shrubby vegetation, such as elk, deer, roe deer, musk deer, and reindeer are much less common.

Of the large predators, brown bear, lynx, wolverine, otter and badger are common. Small predators from the marten family feeding on mouse-like rodents are common: weasel, ermine, solonga, colony and American mink. Everywhere there are burrowing insectivores - mole, shrews. Numerous Asian forest mice; Humid habitats are preferred by water and dark voles.

From birds everywhere in the forests of Altai there are jays, kukshi and pine forests. Important commercial chicken species, such as capercaillie and hazel grouse, are also common in the taiga zone. In the foothills, along the edges of the forest, black grouse is common.

Few species of animals are adapted to the harsh conditions of alpine open landscapes. This is the Siberian mountain goat, argali (mountain sheep), snow leopard (snow leopard) - a beautiful and very rare predator. In the summer, the Alpine belt is visited by red deer, bears, wolverines, ermine, pika, narrow-skull and alpine Siberian voles, fox, and white hare are also found.

Of the birds in the lower part of the alpine zone (shrub tundra), partridge, dark-throated thrush, polar oatmeal, and bluethroat are common. Red-backed Redstart, Altai Ular, live almost at the very snow.

Pike, ide, burbot, sterlet, perch, dace, Siberian roach, ruff, bream, and gudgeon live in the rivers of plains and foothills. During the spawning period, nelma and sturgeon rise here. In lakes and elders in the river valleys, crucian carp and tench prevail.

In mountain rivers, the species composition changes dramatically: taimen, lenok, grayling, char, minnow, spike, variegated, and Siberian sculpin live here. In the upper reaches of small mountain rivers grayling, char and char are found. In the Teletskoye Lake, 13 species of fish were recorded, of which two species - the Teletsk whitefish and Pravdina whitefish - live only in this reservoir. In numerous mountain ponds in the south of the Altai Territory, Ottoman lives mainly.

The species composition of the Altomian entomofauna is very diverse. Travelers coming here should remember that some insects (mosquitoes, ticks) pose a real danger, being carriers of infectious diseases. Currently, ten species of ixodid ticks have been identified that can be carriers of tick-borne rickettsiosis and tick-borne encephalitis pathogens. Therefore, before you go on a trip, you should make the necessary vaccinations.

During the period of greatest danger of a tick bite (May - early June), basic precautions must be observed: to have appropriate clothing that impedes the penetration of ticks to the body, to systematically examine yourself and your comrades.

The maximum risk of infection is peculiar to the indigenous dark coniferous and deciduous forests of the low mountains of Altai and Salair with their rich grassy vegetation.

The development of the region’s natural resources is accompanied by a reduction in the area suitable for animal habitation, and, as a result of this, their number is being reduced, and the species composition is becoming poorer. On the territory of the region, 6 species of mammals and 34 species of birds listed in the Red Book of the USSR were recorded. This is argali, dzeren, snow leopard, red wolf, dressing, manul; from birds - Altai Ular, black stork, mountain goose, osprey, steppe eagle, Demoiselle crane, etc.

If you look at the map of Russian forests, the forest area of \u200b\u200bthe Altai Territory is extremely small - only 3.36 million hectares. Forests are located in four separate areas. First of all - it is unique in nature - tape burs, which have no analogues in the world. Their area is 1.1 million hectares. The Priobsky pine forests cover an area of \u200b\u200b0.84 million ha, the forests of the Salair Ridge, the so-called “Black Taiga” - 0.58 million ha, and the mixed forests of the Altai foothill zone - 0.83 million ha. The average forest cover of the Altai Territory is 21%. All the forests of the region are unique in their own way, they perform important environmental and protective functions, their role in the natural complex of not only Siberia, but Russia, is very important. They have historically intensively conducted forestry and, above all, logging.

With the seemingly homogeneity at first glance, these are completely different forests, differing primarily in the conditions of growth and origin. It was these circumstances that left their imprints on the species composition, sustainability and productivity of the plantings growing in them, and, accordingly, on the individual approach to forestry for each of these forestry areas. Without a doubt, forestry is necessary on a scientific basis to competent and professionally trained specialists in various fields of activity.

Tape burs of the Altai Territory stretch in the Ob-Irtysh interfluve in parallel strips from the north-east to south-west and cover an area of \u200b\u200b1.1 million hectares.

The northernmost belt is Alleuskaya, with a length of 110 kilometers, with 25 passing through the Novosibirsk region. The belt is 5-7 kilometers wide, and the Burla River flows along it, in the floodplain of which there are pine forests and areas of deciduous forest.

Kulundinskaya stretches 120 kilometers south of the Aleeu ribbon with a maximum width of 8 kilometers. For the most part, the Kulunda River flows. There are many forest lakes in the tape. 30 km from the Kulundinskaya forest strip, Kasmolinskaya flows 200 kilometers long and parallel to it, 10 kilometers the largest belt - Barnaulskaya - 220 kilometers long. The width of these tapes is from 5 to 10 kilometers. In the area of \u200b\u200bVolchikh, the Kasmalinskaya and Barnaulskaya ribbons are connected, forming a pine massif 45 kilometers wide. From the eastern part of this massif, pine forests with one ribbon up to 25 kilometers wide go already to Kazakhstan, and the southwestern part of the Volchikhinsky pine forest passes to Mikhailovsky, and even further north to Klyuchivsky pine forests. The continuation of the Altai tape burs is the burs of Kazakhstan, which consist of separate massifs of various sizes and shapes.

In the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan, there is the Loktev ribbon 40 kilometers long and about 5 wide. Previously, it was 80 kilometers longer and extended to Rubtsovsk. Between the Aleus and Kulunda ribbons, there are three small pine bumps in the Baevo region and a large number of birch pegs around them. It is assumed that here along the tributaries of the Kulunda River there was previously another small belt 70-100 kilometers long.

Tape burs are a unique natural phenomenon on Earth, and their origin is associated with the last, third glaciation. With the general warming of the climate and the beginning of the melting of huge masses of ice, the retreat of the glacier to the north began. The glacier-loaded waters rushed back along the left tributaries of the Ob towards Irtysh. They carried with them a mass of sand that was deposited in river beds. As the glacier retreated, water flows moved north. At first, the water flowed along the current Barnaulka River, later - along Kasmala, and even later along Kulunda and Burla. Powerful deposits of sand formed on the places of these water flows, on which pine forests began to grow in the form of individual ribbons.

The vast territory of the tape forests is characterized by a sharply continental climate and lack of precipitation. If in the extreme south-west near Topolnoye 250 milliliters of precipitation falls annually, including not more than 200 in the warm season, then with the advance to the north-east the amount of precipitation increases, and in the Barnaul region it already falls 450 millimeters, the climate becomes more humid, and forest conditions are much better. In the summer, however, dry winds are frequent.

Very few tree and shrub species are able to grow in such extreme climatic conditions - these are, first of all, pines, willow salmon, broom, acacia (in the lowlands), birch near the water. In the ribbon bores, the unique ecological properties of pine trees are fully manifested. Growing on loose sands, pine plantations do not allow them to move under the influence of wind, they hold sand, which heats up on hot summer days, sometimes up to 70 degrees. That is why foresters, when laying new arrays, rely on pine. Every year they take special care of the seeds.

So, pine is the dominant tree species in the tape forests, it occupies 82 percent of the area, but the participation in the composition of plantings in different parts of the tapes is different. So, in the Barnaul area, plantations contain 68 percent of pine, Volchikhi - 85, and in the extreme south of the region - near Topolny - almost - 97 percent. At the same time, the participation in the composition of hardwood is reduced from 30 to three, and mainly birch.

And in terms of productivity, pine forests differ very much, and the bonitet class is an integral indicator of forest productivity. Under the conditions of the place of growth, pine forests reach class I and even class Ia, and in the worst, class V. So, on average, for all pine forest pine forests, the bonitet class is II, 6, while at the Barnaul leskhoz it is I, 8, in Novichikhinsky - II, I, in Lebyazhensky - II, 3, and in the south, at the Topolinsky leshoz - III, 1st grade boniteta. In a word, with the advance to the south and with the deterioration of forest vegetation, the productivity of pine forests decreases, but it remains higher in comparison with the plantations of birch and aspen under the same conditions.

The pine bore pine bears fruit almost daily, and its self-sowing often appears in large numbers. However, the climatic conditions of the growing season are so unsatisfactory that in the summer months, pine shoots die almost completely. They are better preserved in the cones of the shade of mature trees. Under the canopy of birch and aspen, pine self-seeding develops better than under the canopy. Near the tape forests, air and soil humidity increases by 20–25 percent compared with the steppe, and the amount of precipitation during the summer rises by 30–50 millimeters.

The conservation of tape burs and the restoration of individual tapes, which have enormous soil-protective, agronomic and climate-regulating significance, this unique natural monument, is a matter of state importance. Meanwhile, there is cause for concern. As a result of forest fires and excessive logging, especially for the needs of the mining industry, tape burs were extremely upset. The forested area was only 63 percent, and burned areas and wastelands occupied 21 percent of the area; ripe and overripe plantations accounted for only 8% of the area. This state of tape burs was 45 years ago, and at present, the forested area is 78 percent, the burnt areas and wastelands occupy two percent, and the ripe and mature stands are 21 percent. These indicators indicate that a strict position was maintained with regard to the tape forests, both in terms of preserving them from fires and in reforestation on numerous areas of fires.

The division of forests into three groups provides for the difference in types and volumes of forest use. Reforestation felling can be carried out in the forests of the first group in order to produce ripe wood while preserving the water protection, protective and other properties of forests and to improve the forest environment. In reserves included in the first group and other forests, only thinning and sanitary cutting are allowed.

In the forests of the second group, main felling can be carried out, i.e., timber can be harvested in forests with ripe and mature stands, provided valuable species are restored to preserve the protective and water-protective properties of the forest.

In the forests of the third group, the main cuttings are concentrated under the condition of efficient and rational exploitation of the forest. All methods and types of logging, depending on forest groups and protection categories, are provided for by the Fundamentals of forest legislation of the Russian Federation.

Depending on the prevailing area of \u200b\u200bforest use, it can be divided into protective (first group and other protective plantings), raw (operational second and third groups) and hunting (reserve and other, not used for raw and natural-protective purposes).

The quality of forests is largely determined by their natural composition. Of greatest economic value are forests with a predominance of conifers. They are more durable than hardwood, give high quality wood and, as a rule, more effectively affect the environment. The qualitative composition of Russia's forests is very high. Non-coniferous species account for up to 80% and only 20% for hardwood. In the European part of the country, the share of coniferous species in the forest fund is significantly lower (63.5%) than in the Asian part (up to 74.2%).

In the total stocks of coniferous wood in the country, larch accounts for 42%, pine - 23.5, spruce - 18.8, cedar - 11.4%. The distribution range of larch is from the Urals to the Pacific coast. In Siberia and the Far East, the main reserves of pine and cedar are concentrated, while spruce and deciduous forests are concentrated in the European part of the country.

The total estimated cutting area, i.e., the number of mature and mature forests intended for logging, is about 1.4 billion m3 in Russia. In areas with a high population density, the estimated cutting area has been fully developed, and in places with excess, while 90% of the total estimated cutting area is used very poorly, since the vast majority of forests are located in hard-to-reach areas, far from communication lines.

The total annual growth of wood in the forests of Russia is 830 million m3, of which approximately 600 million m3 is in coniferous forests. The average annual increase in timber reserves per 1 ha in the European part of Russia ranges from 1 m3 in the north to 4 m3 in the middle lane. In the Asian part, it ranges from 2 m3 in the south to 0.5 m3 in the north, which is explained by harsh climatic conditions, a high age of plantations and the consequences of forest fires (high fire hazard due to weather conditions develops primarily in the Irkutsk region, the Republic of Sakha and Krasnoyarsk Territory).

Since the forest is a system of components interconnected with each other and with the external environment: raw materials of wood and non-wood plant origin, animal resources and multilateral useful functions - and the effect of using individual components manifests itself differently in different spheres of the national economy, the economic forest assessment should be presented as the sum of the effects of the use of all types of forest resources and utilities for an unlimited long term of use. Methods for assessing all types of forest resources and forest utilities are not well developed, therefore, simplified economic assessment of the forest is expressed through one of its resources - wood.

Forest resources act not only as a source of raw materials, but also as a factor in ensuring the necessary unchanged environment for society.

2. 2.   The value of the forest industry in the national economy of the Altai Territory

The Altai Territory occupies the southern part of Western Siberia and includes four natural zones: steppe, forest-steppe, low-mountain taiga of Salair and the mountain taiga of Altai. About 28% of the Altai Territory area is occupied by forest ecosystems, which are very diverse in species composition, productivity, structure, age structure.

The importance of forests can hardly be overestimated, and the main thing is to stabilize the gas composition of the planet’s atmosphere, which ensures the normal course of all life processes in the animal world and man. Forests serve as a source of wood and non-wood resources, the special value of which lies in their renewability. The role of the forest in preventing water and wind erosion of the soil, in regulating the climate and water balance of the territory is invaluable.

To meet the growing demand for forest resources from year to year only by increasing the productivity of forest ecosystems, and this is the main task solved by forestry.

All forestry activities are aimed at solving three main tasks: protecting forests from fires and harmful insects; reproduction and use of forests.

In the forest sector, the formation of the main component of wood has been going on for many decades, however, even in the period between the “harvesting of the main harvest” people have long imagined the forest as a testing ground for the diversity of the annual economic activity of man in the forest.

Altai, like many regions of Western Siberia, owes much to the development of many industries, including forestry, logging and woodworking, to the Petrine reforms and the Demidov pioneers. Mineral deposits and forest wealth of Altai gave impetus to the development of mining and smelting production.

Altai forest faithfully served post-revolutionary Russia, suffice it to say that the thousand-kilometer Tursib is built on Altai sleepers.

During the Great Patriotic War and in the postwar years, Altai wood timber and products of its processing were used to restore many dozens of factories and factories evacuated from the West, to develop the industrial and production potential of the region and Central Asian republics.

Having become a separate industry in the post-war years, forestry has gone through a difficult development path and enterprises engaged in forestry have become centers of forest culture.

The forest fund of Altai Krai occupies a total area of \u200b\u200b436.4 thousand ha, or 26% of the total area of \u200b\u200bthe region, of which 3,827.9 thousand ha are forest lands. The area covered by forest is 3561.5 thousand ha, or 81.6% of the total forest area (according to the forest fund accounting as of 01.01.98). The forest cover of the Altai Territory is 21.1%.

Forest cover varies from 54.6% to 1 percent or less in districts. The highest percentage of forest cover in the Zarinsky district is 54.6%, in the Talmensky district - 52.9%, in the Troitsky district - 45.4%. Less than one percent of forest cover is in Tabunsky, Slavgorodsky, Pospelikhinsky areas.

The total timber stock is 395 million m3, the share of fires from the total forest area is 0.141%, the percentage of felling from the total forest area is 1.08%.

Forests are unevenly distributed. They are mainly located in the northeast and east of the Altai Territory. On the sands and sandy soils in the floodplain of the river. Ob and riverbeds for hundreds of kilometers stretched unique ribbon burs. Significant areas of mountains and foothills are occupied by taiga massifs.

Forests of the 1st group occupy 2918.9 thousand ha. Forests of the 2nd group occupy 818 thousand ha. Forests of 3 groups occupy an area of \u200b\u200b625.6 thousand ha.

According to the natural and forestry conditions, the role and importance in the forests of the State Fund, 4 forestry districts have been identified:

Tape-pine forest - forest pine forests, all forests are classified as "especially valuable forests", the total area - 1123.5 thousand hectares, including the forest-covered area - 880.1 thousand hectares;

Priobsky - Priobye forests are assigned: total area of \u200b\u200b837.7 thousand ha, including the area covered by forest - 661.1 thousand ha;

Salair - forests of the Salair black taiga are assigned, the total forest area is 583.3 thousand hectares, including 515.6 thousand hectares covered with forest;

Piedmont - Altai foothill forests, the total forest area is 836.3 thousand ha, including 646.6 thousand ha covered with forest.

The predominant species in the forests of Altai Krai are coniferous - 54% (including cedar - 1.9%), small-leaved - 46% (see Appendix No. 2). The average age of the forests of the Goslesfond is 66 years, including conifers - 80 years and deciduous - 48 years. The timber stock of the entire forest fund is 494.85 million m3, including the State Forest Fund - 400.08 million m3.

The average annual growth reaches 6.5 million m3, of which 3.5 million m3 are coniferous and 3 million m3 are deciduous (see Appendix No. 2).

The estimated cutting area for main use is 2040 thousand m3, including for coniferous farming - 331 thousand m3.

The intensity of forest use is reduced annually, so in 1994 gtys. m3, in 1995 gtys. m3, in 1996 gtys. m3, in 1997, 3 thousand m3.

Forests of the Altai Territory are divided into fire hazard classes into 5 classes. The forests of the 1st and 2nd class of natural fire hazard include mainly bore forests (middle class 1.8) and Priobskie forests (middle class 2.6), in which a large number of coniferous stands of dry forest types, conifers are concentrated young growths and forest crops.

As a result of the intensive exploitation of forests, especially the Acquisition massifs, the areas of coniferous young growths have decreased, the areas of ripe and overripe plantings have increased, and there has been a dangerous phenomenon of change of conifers by less valuable deciduous ones. In close connection with it, standard house-building, the production of furniture, matches, plywood, fiberboards and chipboards, etc., received widespread development.

First of all, the forest provides commercial wood. The economic importance of wood is very great, but to the greatest extent it is applied and used in construction, industry and transport, in agriculture and municipal services. Wood is easily processed, has a low specific gravity, is quite durable, and its chemical composition allows you to get a wide range of useful products from it.

But at the same time, the forest is the source of many products for various purposes. These non-wood products of plant and animal origin serve to satisfy the multilateral needs of the population. The forests have great potential for food and feed resources, the most valuable of which are stocks of various varieties of nuts. The forest gives mushrooms, berries, birch and maple juices, medicinal plants. These resources can also be procured in significant volumes, although the unevenness of their territorial concentration and large fluctuations in yield over the years affect the degree of their economic use. In addition, the forest is the habitat of numerous animals of commercial importance.

Useful functions of the forest are very diverse. A significant place among them is occupied by water protection and soil protection. The forest regulates spring floods, the water regime of rivers and soils. It has a positive effect on river, lake and groundwater, improving their quality, cleansing of various harmful substances. Climate change in fields protected by forest belts contributes to higher (15-25% higher) yields

The use of forests for social needs — recreation and health of a person, improvement of his living environment, is becoming increasingly important. The recreational properties of the forest are very diverse. The forest produces oxygen and absorbs carbon dioxide: 1 hectare of pine forest at the age of 20 years assimilates 9.34 tons of carbon dioxide and gives 7.25 tons of oxygen. The forest absorbs noise: the crowns of deciduous trees reflect and disperse up to 70% of sound energy. Forest humidifies the air and weakens the wind, neutralizes the effects of harmful industrial emissions. It produces volatile, killing pathogenic bacteria, has a beneficial effect on the human nervous system.

CHAPTER 3. The structure of the forestry complex and the importance of the forest sector in the economy of the Altai Territory

3.1. The structure of the timber industry of the Altai Territory

Industries associated with the harvesting, processing and processing of wood raw materials are combined in a group under the general name - forest industry, it is also called the forest complex

The forest industry is the oldest in Russia and the Altai Territory. It distinguishes about 20 industries, sub-sectors and industries. The most significant include logging, woodworking, pulp and paper and wood chemical industries.

The importance of the forest industry in the economy of the Altai Territory is determined by significant timber reserves, but the forests are unevenly distributed and by the fact that at present there is practically no such sphere of the national economy wherever timber or its derivatives are used. If at the beginning of the twentieth century. 2-2.5 thousand types of products were made from wood, then at the beginning of the XXI century. industry products include over 20 thousand different products.

The following sectors are distinguished in the structure of the timber industry complex:

· logging, sawmill - the main areas of sawmilling: Kamen-on-Ob - Kamensky timber processing plant, Topchikhinsky district;

· furniture production - Barnaul, Biysk, Rubtsovsk, Novoaltaysk, Zarinsk, Slavgorod;

·   standard house building - Topchikhinsky district, Kulundinsky and Mikhailovsky districts;

· Pulp and paper industry - Blagoveshchenka;

· chemical-mechanical wood processing - Shipunovsky district.

Sawmill industry located mainly in the main areas of logging and in the nodes of highways, at the intersection of railways and rafting waterways. The largest sawmills are located in Barnaul.

Furniture manufacture   concentrated mainly in the largest cities of the Altai Territory, the consumer factor is influencing.

Standard house building located in Topchikhinsky district, Kulundinsky and Mikhailovsky districts.

The most important branch of chemical processing of wood is pulp and paper industry. Various types of paper can be produced from sulphite pulp with the addition of wood pulp. A variety of types of paper are produced (for banknotes, capacitor, cable, insulation, photoconductor, paper for transmitting images at a distance and fixing electrical impulses, anti-corrosion, etc.) Some types of paper produce yarn for making twine, twine, coarse fabrics, burlap, also paper for wrapping and bitumen pipes. Technical grades of paper and cardboard are widely used for the production of corrugated cardboard, book bindings, in the auto and electrical industries, and radio engineering, such as electrical, thermal, sound insulation and waterproof materials, for filtering diesel fuel and purifying air from harmful impurities, for insulating power cables as spacers between machine parts, in the construction industry for the production of dry plaster, roofing materials (roofing, ruberoid), etc. When processing highly porous paper with concentrated a thief of zinc chloride produces fiber, from which suitcases, containers for liquids, helmets for miners, etc. are produced. As a raw material for pulp and paper production, sawmill waste and mechanical processing of wood, as well as lower-quality wood of small-leaved species, are widely used.

Pulp production requires a large amount of heat, electricity and water. Therefore, when placing pulp and paper enterprises, not only the raw material, but also the water factor, and the proximity of the source of energy supply are taken into account. In terms of production scale and economic importance, the second a place  among the branches of wood chemistry after the pulp and paper industry hydrolysis industry. During hydrolysis production, non-edible plant materials are used to produce ethanol, protein yeast, glucose, furfural, carbon dioxide, lignin, concentrates of sulphite of distillery stillage, heat-insulating and personally building stoves and other chemical products. As raw materials, hydrolysis plants use sawdust and other waste sawmills and woodworking, chopped wood chips.

Chemical-mechanical processing of wood includes the production of plywood, chipboard and fiberboard. The plywood mainly processes wood of the least scarce hardwoods - birch, alder, linden. Several types of plywood are produced in Russia; glued, facing, thermal, fire-resistant, colored, furniture, decorative, etc. A plywood factory is located in Barnaul.

The role of the raw material factor in the distribution of forest industries is enhanced by the integrated use of wood, on the basis of which a combination of production occurs. In many forest regions of the Altai Territory, large forestry complexes have arisen and are developing. They are a combination of logging and many wood production, interconnected by a deep and comprehensive use of raw materials.

3.2. Forestry sector in the economy of Altai Krai

The forest industry has always been one of the important sectors of the economy and determined the development of the socio-economic component of the regions, increasing the state's foreign exchange reserves due to timber export.

The forest sector plays a significant role in the economy of the region and is of great importance for the socio-economic development of more than 50 administrative regions, and also ensures the development of close cooperation of Altai with the countries of the Asian region and neighboring constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

Modern forestry should ensure the integrated and rational use of resources and beneficial properties of the forest, measures to protect, protect forests, reproduce them, preserve biodiversity and increase the sustainability of forest ecosystems.

The use of forests for timber harvesting by organizations of the Union is currently not sufficiently effective. The free stock of timber for harvesting is about 0.9 million m3 and is represented mainly by hardwood.

In 2007, the development of estimated volumes for all types of logging amounted to 83%. At the same time, coniferous wood was harvested, which led to the accumulation of ripe and overmature hardwood, and this, in turn, can lead to negative environmental consequences.

The main reason for the low level of development of the estimated hardwood cut is the lack of deep processing of low-grade wood. The existing production facilities for processing wood raw materials are fully loaded and there are no reserves for mechanical processing of wood. The lack of chemical and mechanical processing capacities does not allow the full use of the estimated softwood cutting and logging waste from coniferous stands in the amount of 1.8 million m3.

Forest losses from forest fires, pests, industrial emissions and illegal logging remain high. Over the past 10 years, forestry workers in the Altai Territory have created forest crops on an area of \u200b\u200b57.1 thousand ha and on an area of \u200b\u200b12.1 thousand ha, measures have been taken to promote the natural regeneration of forests. At the same time, as a result of insufficient financing of reforestation measures in the areas covered by large forest fires in the years, 42.5 thousand ha of burned areas remain treeless areas, and artificial reforestation is carried out mainly at the expense of own funds of forestry organizations, which does not allow increasing annual volumes planting of forest crops, as a result of which the restoration of cinders is stretched for many years.

The strategic goal of the development of forestry is to create conditions that ensure sustainable forestry, compliance with the principles of continuous, multi-purpose, rational and sustainable use of forest resources with modern high-quality reproduction of forests and their conservation of ecological functions and biological diversity.

To achieve the strategic goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

· ensuring the rational use and reproduction of forests;

· creation of new directions in the use of wood raw materials based on advanced technological solutions;

· the formation of growth points in various areas of the forest complex;

· designation of the goals of long-term environmental and economic development of the forest complex;

· identification of the main factors and restrictions on the development of all types of forestry activities in the long term;

· increasing the intensity of forestry taking into account environmental and economic factors;

· increasing the competitiveness of goods of woodworking organizations of the region with their further promotion to foreign markets;

· development of a program to restore the production of consumer goods, including souvenirs, children's toys and wood chemistry products.

The prospect of a qualitative improvement in the state of forests should be a deep chemical-mechanical processing of wood of deciduous species (birch, aspen).

The strategy for the development of woodworking in the forest industry consists in the transition to an innovative type of development of production, in the structure of which high-tech products play a leading role. Innovative activity associated with the development of new technologies and markets, updating the range of products, increasing the use of raw materials, will dramatically expand the range and quality of goods.

In conclusion, we note that, despite the favorable conditions for the development of the forest industry, the production and trade of timber leaves much to be desired due to a lack of funds. Reforms of the forest sector of the Altai Territory economy cannot be successfully carried out if they are carried out separately in forestry and in the timber industry. All the more important is the common understanding that attempts to pull the timber industry out of the crisis, based on building up export potential, cannot be successful due to the situation on the world markets. It all depends on the actions of the Government of Russia in relation to the forest sector as a whole, and not in parts; today a systemic solution to the issue is required

CHAPTER 4. Problems and prospects of development of the forest complex of the Altai Territory

4.1.   Problems of the forest sector of the Altai Territory

There is such a concept in ecology - slightly disturbed forest territories. It is deciphered as follows: large tracts of forests, swamps, coppices that have experienced minimal impact of civilization. These territories could well be the pride of the Altai Territory. Valuable highly productive (reproducible) forest species and many rare species of flora and fauna are preserved there.

One of the most pronounced negative consequences of forestry activities in the Priobsky forests of the Altai Territory is a change in their composition. After clear cutting of the 60-80s, there was a reduction in the area of \u200b\u200bconifers and an increase in the area of \u200b\u200bbirch forests and aspen forests. In the process of felling, the coniferous undergrowth was completely destroyed or it was absent in the mother stands. In addition, the change in the species composition was facilitated by large forest fires, after which there was a rapid population of burned soft-leaved species. As a result, deciduous stands appeared at the place of coniferous species growth. This is clearly seen in the Upper Ob region. If in the 50s of the last century the share of conifers here accounted for more than 70 percent of the total composition of plantations, by the year 2000, about 30% remained.

Such a change of species led to a sharp reduction in the estimated cutting area for conifers.

Reforestation measures to prevent the change of species, namely the production of traditional pine plantations, have not paid off due to the insufficiently high production culture, insufficient care and damage by wild animals - in particular, moose. Under such conditions, plantings eventually turn into low-value deciduous stands.

In recent years, in the region’s forestry, chemicals have been used to combat unwanted vegetation. But since the expensive process is difficult to apply, despite the effectiveness of this event. For further work in this direction, financial resources are needed: on average per hectare, costs range from 6 to 8 thousand rubles.

2. In accordance with the 62nd article of the Forest Code, on the leased lands of the forest fund, reforestation is carried out by the tenant. What to do with the restoration of forest areas that were formed earlier (before the lease), due to natural disasters (forest fires, vetoed), economic activity. Tenant funds are not enough, federal support is needed.

Article 19 of the LC has to introduce direct norms providing for the conclusion of agreements on the protection, protection and reproduction of forests in accordance with forest legislation (through forest tenders), as well as the qualifications of participants in forest tenders (legal and individuals with a certain experience in the implementation of the above works).

In addition, the implementation of the contract is foreseen for one year, and reforestation measures cannot be carried out in such a short time. It is necessary to provide for a longer period for the implementation of these measures, so that the forest user has the opportunity and time to grow planting material, create forest crops, carry out cares, and transfer to a forested area. Throughout the contract, the contractor should be responsible for the quality of the work.

4. It is necessary to provide for the introduction of technical acceptance and inventory of forest crops. In addition, to monitor the reforestation work performers, it is necessary to develop guidelines for all types of reforestation activities.

With the disappearance of forests, the habitat of many animals is reduced. Forests cut roads, too many settlements, people whom wild animals are afraid of. Whole species fall out of the millennial equilibrium of the Moscow region nature. Without old forests, with snags, hollow, rotten trees and dead wood, a variety of animals and plants cannot exist. For example, some species of bats have disappeared. The degradation of nature is imperceptible, but true. "

  4.2. Protection of the forest complex of Altai Territory

Forest resources protection is a system of scientifically based, biological, forestry, administrative, legal and other measures aimed at saving, rational use and reproduction of forests to enhance their environmental, economic and other beneficial natural properties. [ 1]

Speaking of forests, it is impossible to overestimate their role and importance in the life of the biosphere and humanity that inhabits our planet. Forests perform very important functions that allow humanity to live and develop.

Forests play an extremely important role in the life of mankind, and their significance for the whole living world is great.[ 1 ]

However, the forest has many enemies. The most dangerous of them are forest fires, pests and fungal diseases. They contribute to the depletion of resources and often serve as the cause of death of forests.[ 1 ]

According to the Forest Code of the Russian Federation, the forest legislation of Russia is aimed at ensuring the rational and non-depleting use of forests, protecting and reproducing forest ecosystems, increasing the ecological and resource potential of forests, meeting society's needs for forest resources based on scientifically based multi-purpose forest management.

Forest management activities and the use of the forest fund should be carried out by methods that do not harm the environment, natural resources and human health.

Forest management should provide:

Preservation and strengthening of environment-forming, protective, sanitary-hygienic, health-improving and other useful natural properties of forests in the interests of human health;

Multipurpose, continuous, non-exhaustive use of the forest fund to meet the needs of society and individual citizens in wood and other forest resources;

Amazing mesmerizing landscapes of pristine nature, carefully preserved by local residents, the cultural and historical heritage, which generously gifted this region, more and more attract tourists from other territories and even from foreign countries.

This is a beautiful Altai Territory. The nature of the region is surprisingly rich and multifaceted.

general information

This subject of Russia is part of the Siberian Federal District (southwest). It borders with Kazakhstan, the Kemerovo and Novosibirsk regions, the Altai Republic. The administrative center is the city of Barnaul.

Until 1991, the region also included the Gorno-Altai Autonomous Region, but at the moment it is an independent subject of the Russian Federation.

The Altai Territory is presented in more detail below. The nature of the region, the history of its development are of interest to many tourists and travelers coming here. Today, about 120 nationalities live in the region. Most of them are Russians (93.9%). Well represented here are also Ukrainians, Germans, Kazakhs.

How did it all start?

Russians began to populate the foothills of Altai and the Upper Ob region in the second half of the 17th century. The development of Altai began after the Beloyarskaya and Bikatunsky fortresses were built here, respectively in 1717 and 1718, to protect against the nomadic Dzungars.

In order to explore ore deposits in Altai, search lots began to be equipped. It is believed that their discoverers were the father and son of Kostyleva, later these results were used by Akinfy Demidov, a Ural breeder.

Geography, relief

Before we describe the rivers of the Altai Territory, we will consider its geographical location. The region is located in Western Siberia. In the south and west, its territory borders with the regions: East Kazakhstan and Pavlodar, in the north-east and north - with Kemerovo and Novosibirsk. It borders with the Republic of Altai in the southeast.

The area of \u200b\u200bthe territory is 167850 sq. kilometers. From west to east, the length is 600 km, from south to north - 400 km. The distance from Moscow to Barnaul by direct air is 3 thousand 600 km.

The relief of the Altai Territory is the most diverse. Its territory belongs to two physical countries - Altai-Sayan Mountains and the West Siberian Plain. Its mountainous zone covers a flat surface from the southern and eastern sides. These are the foothills of Altai and the Salair Ridge. The central and western parts of the territory are mainly represented by plains - Kulundinskaya steppe, Biysk-Chumysh Upland and Priobskoe Plateau.

The land is represented by almost all natural zones of Russia - mountains, taiga, steppe and forest-steppe. Moreover, the plain surface is characterized by steppe and forest-steppe territories, with forests, beams, ravines, spikes and lakes.

Rivers

Water resources in the region are represented by both underground and surface sources. The largest rivers of the Altai Territory: the Ob, Katun, Biya, Charysh and Alei. Their total number, together with shallow streams, totals 17 thousand. There are about 13,000 lakes here, the largest of which is Kulundinskoye (area - 728 sq. Km).

The Ob River is the main waterway. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: Katun and Biya. Its length is 493 kilometers. It should be noted that the basin of this great river occupies an area equal to 70% of the entire territory of the region.

The variety of zonal landscapes of the region contributes to the diversity and species composition of the animal world. There are lynxes, brown bears, wolverines. Muskrats and river beavers live in reservoirs. About 90 species of mammals and 320 species of birds live in the Altai Territory.

About 2,000 different higher vascular plants grow here (2/3 of the species throughout Western Siberia). Especially valuable: Rhodiola rosea, evasive peony, red root, maral root, St. John's wort, oregano, Ural licorice, elecampane high.

Forests occupy 26% of the region. The Altai Territory is rich and beautiful.

Nature

Currently, the natural landscapes of the region are negatively affected by the results of economic activities. In order to preserve the diversity of fauna and flora, today it is planned to create protected natural areas: wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, reserves, natural monuments.

On the territory at the moment there are only 33 reserves (an area of \u200b\u200b773100 ha), occupying 5% of the entire territory, which is not enough to maintain the ecological-landscape balance in the biosphere of the region.

In any case, the Altai Territory is magnificent. The nature of the region is protected by law. Numerous natural monuments have been created. These are protected irreplaceable natural objects of both scientific, cultural and historical value (mineral springs, caves, waterfalls, geological outcrops, paleontological objects, ancient centuries-old trees).

In total, there are 100 monuments in the region, 54 of them are geological, 14 are botanical, 31-water and 1-complex.

Conclusion

Beautiful and rich Altai Territory. The nature of the region includes the habitats of rare plants and animals, which are endangered species and are especially protected. Therefore, a decision was made in the province to create the Tigirek and Kulunda state reserves. Unfortunately, the organization of work in this direction is delayed by a lack of funding.