Abstract
V.V. Moroz*, Y.A. Nykytiuk, P.A. Nykytiuk, M.M. Kliuchevych and O.M. Komorna
According to the signed climate Paris Agreement, Ukraine is faced with the task to prevent the global average air temperature from rising above 2.0°C in order to avoid an increase in droughts, extinction of certain species of plants and animals, drying up and diseases of tree species, etc. To preserve and increase the number of natural carbon sinks, scientists pay attention in particular to the system of improving forest, soil, and other natural resources management. Among thirty main forest-forming species in Ukraine, Scots pine (Pinus silvestris L.) is the predominant tree species. In the Ukrainian Polissya, in particular, its amount is 1686,2 thousand hectares, which is 59,5% of all tree plantations. To establish the carbon absorption capacity of pine plantations of the Ukrainian Polissya we have laid temporary test squares (CCIs) in state-owned enterprises: Volyn Forest Breeding and Seed Center; Volodymyr-Volyn Forestry and Hunting Enterprise; Kovel Forestry; Lyubomlske Forestry; Manevichi Forestry; Specialized Forestry Agricultural Enterprise Rozhyscheagrolis; Turiysk Forestry, Baraniv Forestry; Belokrovichi Forestry; Gorodnitsky Forestry; Emilchinskoye Forestry; Zhytomyr Forestry; Korostensky Forestry; Malinsky Forestry; People's Specialized Forestry; Novograd-Volyn Experimental Forestry; Ovruch Specialized Forestry; Olevsky Forestry; Slovenian Forestry of APK, Ivankiv Forestry, Polissya Forestry, Teterysh Forestry, Gorodnya Forestry, Dobryansk Forestry, Koryukivske Forestry, Nizhyn Forestry. According to the analysis of the distribution of forest land areas designated for pine plantations in the Ukrainian Polissya, the overwhelming majority is occupied by pine forests of category IV (operational), accounting for 63% of the pine plantations in the Ukrainian Polissya, so their carbon absorption capacity is higher. Climatic changes during 1968-2018 were analyzed and a tendency was found for the average annual air temperature to rise by 2.0оС within the measured regions. It was found that the pine forests of the Ukrainian Polissya annually absorb 70,9 to 71,2 thousand tonnes of carbon from the air, which is approximately 5,8–16,6% of the annual carbon emissions released into the atmosphere, which in turn has a positive environmental impact on the research area.