Strelchuk L. Ecological and biological features of reproduction and preservation of protective forest plantations on the territory of the Northern Black Sea Coast

This dissertation summarizes for the first time scientific-methodical and practical results of researches of ecological-biological features of reproduction and preservation of protective forest plantations on the territory of the Northern Black Sea Coast established on the example of completely transformed steppes of Kherson region and the part on Nikolayev region. Obtained results of many years of researches indicate an acute conflictive interdisciplinary and legal situation regarding field-safeguarding forest plantations, which indicates an urgent need for a deep scientific review of existing approaches to field and steppe forestation. Analyzed agroecological risks that occur in the Kherson region show that in the specific conditions of the plain steppes of the Lower Dnieper only in some areas remain relevant to the phenomenon of water erosion. It is to combat the latter that there is a network of slope-plane, ravine and water distribution plantations. For the vast majority of agricultural areas in the plains of the region there is a danger of wind-erosion processes, so the main forest reclamation measures aimed at protecting the steppe agro-landscape. Therefore, it is necessary to create a modern network of forest plantations. These are issues which concern the agroecological regularities of the existence and functioning of these protective forest plantations that served as the object of research carried out in the framework of this dissertation. According to the results of these researches the local specifics of regularities of dependence of functional characteristics and modern condition of forest plantations on their breed composition, construction of afforestation, soils, subsoil and agrarian and agrotechnical features of field land use were characterized. It is shown that the existing field protective forest plantations in the Kherson region are based on woody-shrub species that grow quite successfully in this area, are able to tolerate adverse temperature and arid conditions of the Southern Steppe, as well as tolerant to salinity relative to "poor" soils. It is defined that the total forest cover of the Kherson region is provided mainly by separate forest stands of a nonlinear type (or configuration). Thus, at forestry levels of 13-16 %, which have Oleshkivsky and Holoprystansky regions, the share of field-contour and field-protective forest belts in this area does not reach even 1 % of the total area. It is proved that the distribution of areas of protective forest belts in terms of districts of the region does not show any dependence on the level of potential danger of wind erosion phenomena in this area. The results of scientific researches on the topic of the dissertation show the situation of almost complete loss of control of the forest protection system, but at the same time indicate the urgent need to develop the latest theoretical foundations of agricultural production in climate instability while preserving and reproducing biodiversity in the context of sustainable development region.