Soil-taxational survey of roadside forest strips of squat elm (Ulmus pumila)

To conduct research on the Volgograd - Salsk - Tikhoretsk highway (R-219), test sites were laid within the Volgograd region.The condition of the stands of roadside forest stands was determined by the forest suitability of the soil cover in the right-of-way lanes of highways. he main forest-forming species in the composition of roadside forest strips on light chestnut saline soils in dry sub-grass conditions is squat elm. They have a dense structure, are represented by stands of pure composition, the age of which on average ranges from 25 years and older. The studies were carried out on 5 test areas (VPP) laid in roadside forest strips of squat elm. The density of the remaining trees on the PP is from 80 to 630 pcs/ha with the same dense structure of the forest belts. They were created according to the planting scheme of 3 ´ 1.5 m. The initial density of seedlings in the forest belt was 2 200 pcs/ha. The preservation of stands in roadside forest strips varies from a maximum of 28,2% to 3,6%. According to their structure, the bands are represented by 5-8 rows. The width of which is mostly 15-30 m. TIn elm stands of the third age period, which have reached the age of ripeness (n 11 years), the relative completeness does not exceed 0,7. On light-chestnut soils in the composition of roadside forest strips, farming should be focused more on elm trees. It should be taken into account that elm reaches ripeness in these forest-growing conditions already older than 11 years, in connection with which regular renewable logging in biologically stable stands is necessary for the formation of a growth generation. In decaying elm trees, continuous sanitary logging is necessary, followed by artificial restoration.