The influence of surface fire on radial and height growth of Pinus sylvestris L. In forest-steppe in Ukraine

Abstract

The article presents the results of the research on the peculiarity of response of Pinus sylvestris L. growth in height and diameter in young pine forest stand of the Left-Bank forest-steppe of Ukraine under the influence of surface fire that happened in May 2011. Forestry taxation, comparative ecology, standard dendrochronological methods were used. Response of trees was different for the height growth and the radial increment in the year of fire (2011). The radial growth got depressed in the year of fire; at the same time, the height of trees showed positive trend of growth against the background of favourable weather conditions. The growth in height was more ductile and completed its recovery to a particular level in 2014, unlike the radial growth, which recovered only in 2016. The relationships between radial growth on one side and stand sanitary state and height of bark char on the other were approximated by quadratic and cubic regression equations. Dynamics of pine growth depends on climatic factors also. Percentage of the late wood should be used to assess the condition of stands after fire. Research of post-pyrogenic development of forest ecosystems will allow more effective planning of forest management measures, and also allow the adjustment of the monitoring duration for pine forest stands damaged by fires.