Evaluation of artificial reforestation efforts in the ribbon forest zone of Altai Krai

Abstract

The ribbon forest zone of Altai Krai is located in the Kulunda Steppe and on the Priobskoye Plateau. The climate of this region is characterized by extreme aridity. Due to the harsh climate and the importance of the ribbon forests for the environmental sustainability of the region, artificial reforestation is an integral part of the regional forest management. Forest stands of artificial origin currently occupy a large area within the ribbon forest zone, as evidenced by forest inventory data. However, due to the fact that surveys are not conducted simultaneously on the whole territory of Altai Krai, and that they miss some of the forest management units, forest inventory data do not provide an up-to-date assessment of artificial reforestation efforts. Our project attempted to update the existing data of forest resource assessments and evaluate the results of artificial reforestation efforts in the ribbon forest zone of Altai Krai. This article presents data on the distribution of the artificially reforested area by predominant species and type of growing conditions, and the distribution of the growing stock of the artificially established stands by age and type of forest growing conditions. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.