Work on forest restoration has intensified in Russia

In Tatarstan, since the beginning of 2022, forests have been restored on an area of ​​2861.1 hectares. It is reported by NIA “Ecology”.

As part of the work, forest crops were planted on an area of 1.4 thousand hectares, natural reforestation was carried out on 1.3 thousand hectares, and more than 110 hectares were revived through afforestation and combined reforestation.

As Ilgizar Zaripov, First Deputy Minister of Forestry of the Republic of Tatarstan, explained, natural reforestation of another 754 hectares is to be carried out by the first decade of September.

This method of reforestation involves the creation of conditions for undergrowth (a young generation of trees that has grown under the forest canopy or in a forest-free place) of valuable species due to soil mineralization and the preservation of shoots during felling of adult trunks.

The deputy minister added that forestry specialists will take care of crops in forest nurseries and collect seeds for new reforestation seasons.

Reforestation is carried out within the framework of the federal project “Preservation of forests” of the national project “Ecology”. Recall that the federal project has been implemented since 2018 and, according to the plan, should end in 2024. The aim of the project is the complete restoration of the lost forest area due to forest fires or logging.

This year, Tatarstan received 108.5 million rubles for the implementation of the tasks of the national project. Of these, 89.5 million will be used to increase reforestation. Residents of the region and volunteers are involved in the work on the forest crops.

According to Tatar-inform, 300 kilograms of birch seeds are now mined for reforestation in Tatarstan, which will then be used for afforestation on agricultural lands. The collected seed material will be sent for testing to the Forest Protection Center of the Republic of Tatarstan. And in total this year it is planned to collect at least 11.4 thousand kilograms of seeds in the republic. In the third decade of August, industry specialists will start harvesting linden and ash seeds, and in September they will start collecting acorns, as reported by the press service of the Ministry of Forestry of the Republic.

In total, the total forest area in Tatarstan is 1.3 million hectares. Forestry workers, with the active support of the inhabitants of the region, continue to increase forest areas. According to the government of the republic, last year 58% more forests were restored in Tatarstan than were cut down or burned down. These results allowed Tatarstan to enter the top 3 regions of the Russian Federation in terms of the amount of forest planted as part of the “Garden of Memory” and “Save the Forest” campaigns.

But in addition to the new forest, much attention in the republic is also paid to the old forest fund. In 2022, work will be carried out in Tatarstan on a forest pathological examination of forest plantations on an area of ​​37.6 thousand hectares.

Cover photo: ArtistGNDphotography / iStock