Analysis of Ecological Functions of Birch and Oak Stands in the Conditions of an Urbanized Environment Based on the Materials of Long-Term Observations

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze the productivity and ecological functions of birch and oak stands growing under various anthropogenic influences. The objects of the study are birch and oak stands in permanent test plots of the Forest Experimental District of the Russian State Agrarian University—Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy. It is revealed that oak stands are more productive than birch stands in the conditions of the city of Moscow. The contribution of both tree species to the formation of a positive oxygen balance of cities is approximately the same. Analysis of leaf surface index values shows that crowns of birch stands are capable of retaining more solids suspended in the air than oak stands. To maintain the ecological, aesthetic, sanitary-hygienic, and oxygen-producing functions of stands in the conditions of the city of Moscow, it is necessary to carry out economic measures aimed at the formation of mixed, uneven-aged coniferous- deciduous forests.