FORESTRY LAND USE OF THE BUSK FORESTRY ENTERPRISE: HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES AND CURRENT STATE
Authors: Havryshok Bohdan , Syvyi Myroslav , Lisova Nataliya , Klapoushchak Ihor , Shmyhelska Khrystyna 
Published: June 2022

The research is devoted to the study of forestry land use in the zone of activity of the Busk forestry enterprise. A comprehensive geographical study of forests in the territory of Male Polissia as a whole and its individual parts is relevant both from an ecological and economic point of view. Its importance is growing in the context of the administrative reform and improvement of the land resources of the established communities and the consolidation of forestry enterprises announced in 2021. Today, Ukraine is not able to provide its own needs in timber and is one of the least forested countries in Europe. The territories of Male Polissia, including the newly formed Busk and Krasne and neighboring territorial communities, are promising for afforestation, in particular plantations.

The authors of the article believe that it is possible to understand the modern structure of land resources only through the prism of history. For these reasons, the study used cartographic materials of different times, which made it possible to trace the development of several forests from the end of the 18th century to the present. The study was carried out on four time slices: the map by Friedrich von Mieg of the late 18th century, the topographic map of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of the 19th century, the topographic map of the Military Geographical Institute of the 30s of the 20th century. and a modern satellite image of Google.

The zone of activity of the Busk  forestry enterprise fully covers the territory of the Busk and Krasne territorial communities and is partially located on the lands of the Dobrotvir, Novyi Yarychiv, Kamianka-Buzka, and Hlyniany communities. The forests of the studied region are part of nine forestries of Tadani, Hrabova, Verbliany, Polonychna, Kutkir, Ozhydiv, Sokolia, Neznaniv, Bolozhyniv.  The largest areas are Tadani - 3917 hectares and Verbliany - 3603 hectares of forestry, and the smallest is Polonychna  forestry, with an area of 1456 hectares. In the zone of activity of the study forestry enterprise, the forestry enterprise " Halsillis " also operates, uniting collective farm forests. The average forest cover of the study region is 20.9%. The highest forest coverage is observed in the north-west of the zone of activity of the Busk forestry enterprise.

In the process of research, the authors developed statistical and stock materials of the forestry enterprise. On the basis of these data, maps of the species composition, age structure and timber stock in the context of forest areas were built and analyzed. The geospatial features of pine, black alder and oak stands have been revealed. Based on the processing of the cadastral map, promising areas for afforestation are proposed.

As a result of the study, it was found that the characteristic features of forestry in the region are: uneven forest cover of the study area; significant fragmentation of the forest fund in the southern part of the forestry enterprise; location of large forest areas in the northwestern part of the forestry enterprise; dominance in stands of such species as pine, oak, alder; a slight increase in the forest cover of certain territories due to the creation of pine forest plantations on non-land areas and the active expansion of black alder forests on waterlogged pastures.

Analysis and generalization of taxation materials made it possible to establish that the age structure of forests is dominated by medieval (44.7%) and plantations - 24.5%, young forests occupy 19.4%, and only 11.4% of the area covered by forests falls on mature ones and overgrown plantings. Such an age structure indicates intensive forest management on the territory of the forestry enterprise over the past decades and the active work of foresters on the formation of the species composition of forests.

We have studied the division of the forest fund into categories. It has been established that the largest area of the forest fund of the Busk forestry enterprise is occupied by operational forests - 22202.1 hectares (87.8%). Protective forests account for 1.5% of the total forest area of the study region. The share of recreational forests in the structure of the forest fund is 9.5%. The forest supply of the population in the Krasne united territorial community averages 0.12 hectares/person, in Busk are 0.61 hectares/person.

The total stock of wood in the forestry enterprise is 4576.36 thousand m³. In the structure of reserves, 52.7% is occupied by conifers. Hardwood and softwood species each account for 23.7% of the wood reserves of the study region. In geospatial terms, the distribution of wood reserves is extremely uneven and correlates with forest areas.

Keywords: forest; wooded area; forestry enterprise; forest categories; forest tract; species composition; age structure of the forest.