Russian researchers assume that natural regeneration of cedar forests is impossible. They came to this conclusion as a result of long-term observations of the wood development on the trial lots at the Verkhne-Ussuriysk biogeocenological permanent establishment, Institute of Biology and Soil, Far-East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. These trial lots were laid in the cedar and birch-tree wood twenty years after the 1963-66 felling took place.
Formerly, cedars used to grow in those areas, the cedar trunks exceeding one meter in diameter, besides that the birch, spruce, silver fir, lime-tree and sometimes the maple could be found there. Currently, the basis of the 'adult' forest consists of the birch and lime-tree remainder and some conifers, but there are no cedars among them. Under the cover of the old forest a new stand was formed, the stand consisting of twenty wood species. The broad-leaved trees are prevailing in the stand - the birch, poplar, willows, aspen, bird cherry tree, maple and lime-tree. The cedars are few in this wood. The cedar's primary competitor is the silver fir. Its shoots grow up much faster than the cedar's ones, and the young cedars that lag behind in growing simply die off. Among the underwood trees the conifers make the large part, but the cedars are much fewer than silver firs and spruces.
However, the cedar has prospects for regeneration. Longevity is its advantage over other species. The scientists consider further woods development as follows. First, the dominant position will be taken in the upper layer by the fast growing species - white birch (Betula alba) and Korean poplar (Populus koreana). As the conifers grow, their crowns become dense and close up. As a result, of light-requiring deciduous trees will cease their regeneration. Then the conifers will start to die off, the silver fir being the first among other conifers to disappear, this is to occur approximately at the ninetieth year after the felling. The process will cause strengthening of the cedar and spruce. The spruce will fall out of the competition in about one hundred and twenty years after the felling. And then, the long-lived cedar will become a prevalent species again. However, the content of the wood will be different from the one before the felling.
Several centuries will be required to reiterate the initial view of the wood. The foresters can help the cedar growth if they fell the spruce and silver fir, which prevent the cedar underwood from growing up. In addition, the cedar should not be felled in the areas where it is still growing. But in the current economic conditions the researchers can hardly even dream about such approach.
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This is good news. In addition to restoring a species that is diminishing, it has another benefit. Cedar is a natural pesticide. It is poison to most species of insects. So, forests populated heavily with cedar have fewer insect-related problems overall.
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