Impact of underground mining of oil shale in northeastern Estonia on scots pine and Norway spruce growing thereon

Abstract

In the Kohtla mine, NE Estonia, Scots pines and Norway spruces were dendrochronologically studied to see if and how underground mining has impacted the trees. Pine and spruce show different species-specific increment patterns in the pre-mining as well as in the post-mining period. Tilting of trees was the most obvious appearance in the forest. This has led to compression wood in the tilted trunks that was more remarkable in spruce than in pine. It amounted to 3-4% of the trunk diameter. After the impact year 1998, the radial increment of spruce on all sample plots has notably increased whereas increment of pine has changed only insignificantly. Temperature and rainfall are of minor influence on the growth of these trees. © 2009 Estonian Academy Publishers.