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Choosing a wood species. Broadleaf

07.05.2016 15:30

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Broad-leaved forests are located on the Russian Plain, occupying almost the entire territory up to the Urals. The wealth of these massifs is determined by the variety of tree and plant species growing here. Surprisingly, it is these forests that are most widespread in most regions of our country due to their adaptability to rapidly changing weather conditions and temperature regimes.

Only the broad-leaved forests of our country require a special climate for their full development and expansion of woodlands. They grow even in the south of the Far East, along the entire length of the climatic zone.

Certain tree species that can grow on the borders of various natural areas, the climate of which often changes very often. For example, spruce is such a species. She seems to draw the line between mixed and deciduous forests.

Another way to tell the difference between forests is to study what types of trees grow in them. For broadleaf forests deciduous varieties of trees are characteristic, the leaves of which can fall off depending on the season and temperature. Leaves also participate in the processes of photosynthesis, convert carbon dioxide, which is present in nature, into oxygen, favorable for life.

Forest-steppe also represents a certain border between forests. In these areas, trees practically do not grow, and the soil, due to the presence of special nutrient components, is painted in dark colors and shades.

Features of broadleaf forests in Russia

Often, deciduous trees grow on the territory of deciduous forests. Other breeds are sometimes found. But if they are here in an insignificant amount and do not exceed the total volume of deciduous trees, this forest is not classified as a mixed type.

Here you can find gray forest soil, which provides trees with all the nutrients necessary for their life. The rest of the components of the trees are taken from their own leaves in the autumn-winter seasons. When the leaves turn yellow and fall off, the trunk and root system the tree is preparing to overwinter, "wait out" unfavorable times for its growth.

But if the trunk is protected by bark, then the root system is more vulnerable in this regard. After all, the soil cools down in winter due to the lack of sun rays... Then fallen leaves save the situation. They rot and nourish the roots and trunk of trees in a state of "sleep".

Such natural processes as leaf rotting are able to maintain a certain constant temperature in certain areas of the soil, so the tree:

completely protected from cold weather,
does not lose its ability to grow further,
preserves nutrients in order to use them in the spring, when climatic conditions again become favorable for broad-leaved trees.

In the east of the most extended forest area, the heat supply is much higher than in the zone closest to it. mixed forests... Therefore, trees grow and develop fully here, much faster.

Rich vegetation of deciduous forests

Since the soils are rich in all the components necessary for the growth of trees and all kinds of plants, the vegetation of these places is quite diverse. After all, the period of its growth and development increases due to the temperate climate and low temperatures. However, in the spring, you can notice a decrease in humidity in some areas of broadleaf forests. Therefore, if we consider this array from a bird's eye view, we can see that its integrity is slightly violated in certain places visible "voids" not filled with trees. As mentioned above, there may be several reasons for such a natural phenomenon.

Recently, deciduous forests have significantly reduced the volume of their territories. This is because technological progress is developing at such a speed that forests simply do not have time to restore their massifs.

The forest needs help

Deciduous forests really need human help. No matter how paradoxical it sounds, but only he is able to reduce the destructive effect on nature.

plant seedlings in places where forests are interrupted for any reason,
to ensure the protection of deciduous and other types of forests from encroachments from poachers and irresponsible entrepreneurs who mercilessly cut down large areas this natural material,
create all conditions for buildings and cities to be at a certain distance from the forest.

All these conditions are not easy to comply with, since many of them are practically not controlled by the state. Industrial enterprises emit too large amounts of emissions into our atmosphere. Only forests can help with air purification. Therefore, their preservation is so important for the future of our planet.

Deciduous forests, like other woodlands, are the lungs of the Earth. Without forests, our planet could not exist in the form in which it functions and develops now.

All that is needed to maintain the ecological health of the planet is the protection of forests. This is not so difficult, considering that only in our country deciduous forests grow, which have practically no analogues in the length of their massifs in the world. Since such wealth grows in one area, it just needs to be preserved.

Deciduous forests and industry

Surprisingly, these tracts are the main raw material in the timber industry. They are a versatile material for processing, which is able to recover its resources.

The industry even uses production waste. That is, the secondary processing of already processed raw materials has been established in our country. But at the same time, the volume of deforestation is not reduced. To remedy this situation, it is necessary to carry out a complete reorganization of the enterprises involved in this stage of work with wood processing.

Potential of deciduous forests

Due to the fact that in these forest areas there is an active biological cycle of all natural elements, the soil is constantly "working", renewing its natural potential.

In addition, thanks to such metamorphoses, deciduous forests are cleared of all kinds of pollutants that have settled on the leaves and branches of harmful chemical elements.

Thanks to the vital activity of all microorganisms, plants and animals present in a given territory, the composition of calcium in the soil is renewed, which is simply necessary for the growth of trees.

Thus, the following accumulates in the ground:

fertilizers useful for trees,
mineral substances that ensure the expansion of the boundaries of the forest,
humus, which maintains all chemical processes and reactions in the soil at an optimal level for the life of trees.

Sometimes in the deciduous forests of our country, in certain climatic zones, you can find black soil. Thanks to him, trees grow much faster, and the flora and fauna of these areas is very rich and diverse.

Animals in similar forests live mainly herbivores. After all, the leaves of some trees are the main "dish" for many ungulates. Deer and roe deer can be found in broadleaf forests. For such places, the wild boar is very adapted, which feeds on oak acorns and other fruits that fall at the time of one of the stages of the tree's growth.

In fact, the fauna of these forests is quite rich, but of the same type due to the peculiarities of the climate. During winter periods of time, some birds fly south due to the lack of food necessary for their vital activity, and animals hibernate or search alternative sources for getting food.

On the Russian plain, there is a certain anthropogenic transformation to which deciduous forests have undergone. The oak forests, which for several centuries adorned most of the territory of the plain up to the Urals, have practically disappeared.

Most of the soil on which it grew was cultivated and plowed up. Frequent use of useful various mineral fertilizers and other nutrients for trees soils have reduced their natural potential. It will take decades to restore its resources and expand its broadleaf forests.

And all that a person had to do was to use the riches already existing in nature reasonably, not to cut down forests thoughtlessly, as if they were eternal, but there are an unlimited amount of such natural resources on Earth.

What has already been done cannot be changed, it remains only to try to correct this tendency towards the reduction of deciduous forests in our country. For this, it is not necessary to plant new trees on plots of land already used for industrial purposes. You can act differently and preserve the forest tracts that are still available.

Deciduous forests nowadays represent a unique ecosystem capable of self-healing. It is possible to develop natural resources on its territory only if it is organized correctly.

To do this, experts determine which of the trees can be classified as suitable for felling, and which cannot be touched due to their age and ability to create new trees.

Then the trees are marked, and the process of felling and harvesting wood begins. It must be carried out at a certain time of the year so as not to violate natural processes flowing in the trees. After cutting down, a break is taken and the broadleaf forest... If this area is gradually being restored, then you can proceed to selective felling on another. Complete deforestation is prohibited due to the fact that young trees are sometimes cut down along with trees suitable for processing. Due to their potential, the territories of deciduous forests are expanding.

If you give nature time, then the layer of humus in the soil will return to its previous level. After all, the rate of growth of broad-leaved trees and their further development depends on this. Therefore, the protection of forests is now the main issue on which not only the development of the Russian forest industry depends, but also the health of our planet as a whole.

Beam, log, bar, deadwood, borel, windbreak, firewood, core (dryuk), druchin, druchok, club, dyla, dyl, deck, stake, mast, stump, shaft, oryasina, stump, block, log, post, tes , stamen, brushwood, block; smut, firebrand. Collecting.: ... ... Synonym dictionary

Or a tree; pl. trees, trees, trees, wood cf. the largest and most vigorous plant that expels one stump or forest from the root and consists of wood, wood fibers, giving it density and strength. Smaller trees not reaching ... ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

- (arbor), plant with perennial, decomp. degree of woody, branched or unbranched main stem, the trunk, which persists throughout the life of the plant, and the crown. A typical crown from branches is formed in conifers (from gymnosperms) and ... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary

A fundamental cultural symbol representing a vertical model of the world, semantically based on the idea of binary oppositions (both cosmologically and axiologically articulated). In traditional culture, it is the fundamental ... ... History of Philosophy: An Encyclopedia

wood- WOOD, and, wed, and in the sign. tale. (or hello, tree, full tree, african tree). Stupid person, stupid, mediocre. He is a complete tree, he confuses the multiplication table with the laws of the Octobrists. See also cork ... Dictionary of Russian argo

TREE, a large perennial plant with one highly developed lignified main stem (trunk) and smaller branches. The trunk grows annually in diameter; the leaves can be either EVERGREEN or DROP. The biggest of ... ... Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

Wood- in graph theory, a connected graph without cycles having the following basic properties (which are mathematically equivalent): if n is taken as the number of vertices (elements of the graph), then it contains exactly n 1 edges and has no cycles; if you add ... ... Economics and Mathematics Dictionary

WOOD, wood, pl. trees, trees, and (obsolete region and special) wood, trees, cf. 1. A perennial plant with a hard trunk and branches forming a crown. 2. Log, timber (region, special). Thirty trees went to the barn. 3.units only. Wood, ... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

WOOD, ah, pl. trees, iev (obsolete tall trees, trees, trees), cf. 1. A perennial plant with a hard trunk and branches branching from it, forming a crown. Coniferous, deciduous trees. 2.unit. The same as wood (in 2 values). Furniture… … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

WOOD ... First part compound words... Introduces zn. word: tree. Wood processing, wood cutting ... encyclopedic Dictionary

A perennial plant with a lignified main stem (trunk) that persists throughout its life, and branches that form a crown. Height from 2 to 100 m, sometimes more. Some species (eg, bristlecone pine) live up to 3,500 years. Trees… … Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Books

Tree, Kazarin Yuri Viktorovich. A new book Yuri Kazarin includes poems created in 2013-2017. Poems are located in chronological order twenty-two notebooks each. Addressed to everyone who ...

Deciduous evergreen crops always create a good microclimate, improve the ecology, and are always planted in places where people live. Deciduous trees are different big amount decorative characteristics. You can find crops with a large and beautifully colored crown, attractive inflorescences and unusual fruits... Deciduous big trees it is best to plant on the territory of a park or a public garden, and slow-growing dwarf ones - in summer cottages. It is important to know what deciduous trees are and their names.

Growing features

Deciduous wood is light and easy to process, so it is also often used in the woodworking industry and construction... Some useful components of such plants are widely used in medicine. Many of them give a person a large number of fruits and berries, while others attractively decorate summer cottages and free space, creating unusual compositions.

List of common plants

Trees are divided into two main groups: soft-leaved and hard-leaved. The first group includes the following names of deciduous trees: birch, poplar, alder, linden. The names of the trees in the city are ash, oak and maple. In the conditions of our country, birch, poplar, ash, maple, bird cherry, linden, cherry and apple trees are best adapted.

Evergreen acacia

Acacia can be classified as an evergreen crop. There are 400 different species in the genus of this plant. Culture is negative about low temperatures, therefore, it grows only in subtropical and tropical climates. Acacia species can be tall or short. Some crops reach a height of 25 m.

what trees grow in a broadleaf forest?

oak
Linden
cln
ash
elm
Rich enough in broadleaf forest and species composition shrubs. In the Tula serifs, for example, there are hazel, two types of warty euonymus and
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Then there are herbs and mushrooms.
The look of the deciduous forest is constantly changing. There are a lot of primroses in the spring.
The broad-leaved forest is characterized primarily by a great variety tree species... This is especially noticeable when you compare it with the coniferous forest, with the taiga. There are much more wood species here than in the taiga, sometimes up to a dozen of them can be counted. The reason for the species richness of trees is that deciduous forests develop in more favorable natural conditions than taiga. Tree species that are demanding on the climate and soil can grow here, which do not tolerate the harsh conditions of taiga regions.
You can get a good idea of the diversity of broadleaf forest tree species if you visit a well-known forest area called the Tula Zaseki (it stretches as a ribbon from west to east in the southern part of the Tula region). In the oak forests of the Tula notices, there are such trees as the pedunculate oak, the small-leaved linden, two types of Norway maple and field maple, common ash, elm, elm, wild apple, wild pear (we will consider the main ones in more detail in the future).
For a broad-leaved forest, it is characteristic that the various tree species that make up its composition have different heights, forming, as it were, several groups in height. The tallest trees are oak and ash, lower Norway maple, elm and linden, even lower field maple, wild apple and pear. However, trees, as a rule, do not form clearly defined tiers, well delimited from each other. Oak usually dominates, the rest of the tree species most often play the role of satellites.
The broad-leaved forest is characterized primarily by a large variety of tree species. This is especially noticeable when you compare it with the coniferous forest, with the taiga. There are much more wood species here than in the taiga, sometimes up to a dozen of them can be counted. The reason for the species richness of trees is that deciduous forests develop in more favorable natural conditions than taiga. Tree species that are demanding on the climate and soil can grow here, which do not tolerate the harsh conditions of taiga regions.
You can get a good idea of the diversity of broadleaf forest tree species if you visit a well-known forest area called the Tula Zaseki (it stretches as a ribbon from west to east in the southern part of the Tula region). In the oak forests of the Tula notices, there are such trees as an English oak, a small-leaved linden, two types of Norway maple and a field maple, an ordinary ash tree, an elm, an elm, a wild apple tree, a wild pear (we will consider the main ones in more detail in the future).
For a broad-leaved forest, it is characteristic that the various tree species that make up its composition have different heights, forming, as it were, several groups in height. The tallest trees are oak and ash, lower Norway maple, elm and linden, even lower field maple, wild apple and pear. However, trees, as a rule, do not form clearly defined tiers, well delimited from each other. Oak usually dominates, the rest of the tree species most often play the role of satellites.
The species composition of shrubs is also rich in deciduous forest. In the Tula notices, for example, there are hazel, two types of warty and European euonymus, forest honeysuckle, brittle buckthorn, wild rose and some others.
poplar, oak, aspen ..
The broad-leaved forest is characterized primarily by a large variety of tree species. This is especially noticeable when you compare it with the coniferous forest, with the taiga. There are much more wood species here than in the taiga, sometimes up to a dozen of them can be counted. The reason for the species richness of trees is that deciduous forests develop in more favorable natural conditions than taiga. Tree species that are demanding on the climate and soil can grow here, which do not tolerate the harsh conditions of taiga regions.
You can get a good idea of the diversity of broadleaf forest tree species if you visit a well-known forest area called the Tula Zaseki (it stretches as a ribbon from west to east in the southern part of the Tula region). In the oak forests of the Tula notices, there are such trees as the pedunculate oak, the small-leaved linden, two types of Norway maple and field maple, common ash, elm, elm, wild apple, wild pear (we will consider the main ones in more detail in the future).
For a broad-leaved forest, it is characteristic that the various tree species that make up its composition have different heights, forming, as it were, several groups in height. The tallest trees are oak and ash, lower Norway maple, elm and linden, even lower field maple, wild apple and pear. However, trees, as a rule, do not form clearly defined tiers, well delimited from each other. Oak usually dominates, the rest of the tree species most often play the role of satellites.
The species composition of shrubs is also rich in deciduous forest. In the Tula notices, for example, there are hazel, two types of warty and European euonymus, forest honeysuckle, brittle buckthorn, wild rose and some others.
Do not know
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Closer to the south, it gets even warmer. Mixed forests are replaced by broadleaf forests.
These are heat-loving plants, so they have large leaves, they shed their foliage for the winter.
The main difference between these forests is multi-tiered. In these forests oak, linden, kln, ash, elm grow - this is the upper tier.
Below there are cherry, wild apple and pear, hawthorn.
Hazel-hazel, viburnum, buckthorn grow even lower. This layer is called the underbrush.
Rosehip, raspberry and other low bushes are located under it.
Then there are herbs and mushrooms.
The look of the deciduous forest is constantly changing. There are a lot of primroses in the spring. oak
Linden
cln
ash
elm
OH MAY GAT

Deciduous forests are distributed mainly in the European part Soviet Union, they also occupy small areas in the Far East. In Siberia, both Western and Eastern, there are no such forests. This is explained by the fact that broad-leaved trees are quite thermophilic, they cannot stand the harsh continental climate.

Let's take a closer look at the broadleaf forests that are common in our country. European plain... The most characteristic tree of these forests is the oak, as a result of which such forests are usually called oak forests. The bulk of deciduous forests are concentrated in the strip that begins in Moldova and goes to the northeast, approximately in the direction of Kiev - Kursk - Tula - Gorky - Kazan.

The climate of these regions is rather mild, moderately continental, it is largely determined by the relatively warm and humid air masses that come from the west, from the Atlantic Ocean. The average temperature of the warmest month (July) ranges from about 18 to 20 ° C, the average annual rainfall is 450-550 mm. A characteristic feature of the climate of this area is that the amount of precipitation falling per year is approximately equal to evaporation (the amount of water that evaporates per year from a free water surface). In other words, the climate cannot be called either excessively dry (as in the steppe and desert) or too humid (as in the taiga and tundra).

The soils under deciduous forests are sod-podzolic, gray forest, some varieties of chernozem. They contain a relatively large amount of nutrients (this can be judged by the dark coloration of their upper horizons). Another feature of the considered soils is that, although they are sufficiently provided with moisture, they are at the same time well drained and do not have an excess of water.

What are the broadleaf forests themselves, what are their specific features, what plants are included in their composition?

The broad-leaved forest is characterized primarily by a large variety of tree species. This is especially noticeable when you compare it with the coniferous forest, with the taiga. There are much more wood species here than in the taiga - sometimes up to a dozen of them can be counted. The reason for the species richness of trees is that deciduous forests develop in more favorable natural conditions than taiga. Tree species that are demanding on the climate and soil can grow here, which do not tolerate the harsh conditions of taiga regions.

You can get a good idea of the diversity of broadleaf forest tree species if you visit a well-known forest area called the Tula Zaseki (it stretches as a ribbon from west to east in the southern part of the Tula region). In the oak forests of the Tula notices, there are such trees as the pedunculate oak, small-leaved linden, two types of maple - common and field maple, common ash, elm, elm, wild apple, wild pear (we will consider the main ones in more detail later).

For a broad-leaved forest, it is characteristic that the various tree species that make up its composition have different heights, forming, as it were, several groups in height. The tallest trees are oak and ash, the lower ones are Norway maple, elm and linden, even lower trees are field maple, wild apple and pear. However, trees, as a rule, do not form clearly defined tiers, well delimited from each other. Oak usually dominates, the rest of the tree species most often play the role of satellites.

The species composition of shrubs is also rich in deciduous forest. In the Tula notices, for example, there are hazel, two types of euonymus - warty and European, forest honeysuckle, brittle buckthorn, wild rose and some others.

Different types of shrubs vary greatly in height. Hazel bushes, for example, often reach a height of 5 - 6 m, and honeysuckle bushes are almost always shorter than human growth.

In a broad-leaved forest, the grass cover is usually well developed. Many plants have more or less large, wide leaf blades. Therefore, they are called broad oak grass. Some of the grasses found in oak forests always grow as single specimens, never forming dense thickets. Others, on the other hand, can almost completely cover the soil over a large area. Such massive, dominant plants in the oak forests of Central Russia most often turn out to be common, hairy sedge and yellow zelenchuk (they will be described in detail below).

Almost all herbaceous plants living in oak forests are perennials. Their life expectancy is often measured in several decades. Many of them reproduce poorly by seeds and maintain their existence mainly due to vegetative propagation... Such plants, as a rule, have long aerial or underground shoots, which are able to quickly spread in different directions, capturing new territory.

The aboveground part of many representatives of broad oak grass dies off in autumn, and only rhizomes and roots that are in the soil hibernate. They have special renewal buds, from which new shoots grow in spring. However, among the species of broad oak grass, there are also those in which the aerial part remains green and in winter time... Plants of this kind include clefthoof, hairy sedge, zelenchuk.

From the previous story, we already know that in coniferous forests shrubs, especially blueberries and lingonberries, play an important role. In a broad-leaved forest, on the contrary, there are usually no shrubs at all, they are completely not characteristic of our oak forests.

Among the herbaceous plants developing in Central Russian oak forests, the so-called oak ephemeroids are of particular interest. An example of them would be different kinds corydalis, goose onions, buttercup anemone, spring cleaver. These small, relatively stunted plants surprise us with their extraordinary "haste". They are born immediately after the snow melts, and their shoots sometimes make their way even through the snow cover that has not yet melted. It is pretty cool at this time of year, but ephemeroids nevertheless develop very quickly. A week or two after birth, they already bloom, and after another two to three weeks they ripen fruits with seeds. At the same time, the plants themselves turn yellow and lie on the ground, and then the above-ground part of them dries up. All this happens at the very beginning of summer, when, it would seem, the conditions for the life of forest plants are the most favorable - enough heat and moisture. But ephemeroids have their own special "development schedule", not the same as in many other plants - they always live only in spring, and by summer they completely disappear from the vegetation cover. Early spring is most favorable for their development, since at this time of the year, when trees and shrubs have not yet covered with foliage, it is very light in the forest. There is enough moisture in the soil during this period. And the high temperature, such as in summer, is not necessary for ephemeroids at all.

All ephemeroids are perennials. After their aerial part dries up at the beginning of summer, they do not die. Living underground organs are preserved in the soil - some have tubers, others have bulbs, and others have more or less thick rhizomes. These organs serve as repositories of reserve nutrients, mainly starch. It is due to the "building material" stored in advance that stems with leaves and flowers develop so quickly in spring.

Ephemeroids are characteristic of our Central Russian oak forests. There are up to a dozen species in total. Their flowers have a bright beautiful color - lilac, blue, yellow. When there are many such plants and they all bloom, a motley colorful carpet is obtained.

In addition to herbaceous plants, mosses are also found in oak forests on the soil. However, in this respect, oak forests are very different from taiga forests. In the taiga, we often see a solid green carpet of mosses on the soil. This never happens in oak forests. Here, the role of mosses is very modest - they are occasionally found in the form of small spots on piles of earth, thrown out by a mole. It is noteworthy that in the oak forest are common special types mosses are not at all those that form a continuous green carpet in the taiga. Why is there no moss cover in the oak forest? One of the main reasons is that leaf litter, which accumulates on the soil surface in a broad-leaved forest, has a depressing effect on mosses.

Let us now get acquainted with the most important plants of oak forests. First, we will talk about trees. It is they that form the upper, dominant layer in the forest and determine many of the features of the forest environment.

English oak ( Quercus robur). This tree grows wild in our country over a large territory - from Leningrad in the north to almost Odessa in the south and from the state border in the west to the Urals in the east. The area of its natural distribution in the USSR has the form of a wide wedge directed from west to east. The blunt end of this wedge rests against the Urals in the Ufa region.

Oak is a relatively thermophilic tree species. He cannot stand the harsh conditions of the taiga regions. Oak is also demanding on soil fertility. It will not be found on very poor soils (for example, on sand dunes). Oak also does not grow on waterlogged, waterlogged soils. However, it tolerates the lack of moisture in the soil well.

The appearance of the oak is quite characteristic: a lush, curly crown, twisting branches, a dark gray trunk covered with thick bark with deep cracks.

An old oak tree that grew in an open place from a young age is never tall. The crown of such a tree is very wide and starts almost from the ground itself. An oak that has grown in the forest looks completely different. He is tall, slender, and his crown is narrow, compressed from the sides and starts at a rather high altitude... All this is a consequence of the competition for light that takes place between trees in the forest. When trees are close to each other, they stretch strongly upward.

In the spring, the oak blossoms late, one of the last among our trees. Its "slowness" is a useful property: after all, young leaves and stems of this tree, which have barely been born and have not yet had time to grow enough, are very sensitive to cold, they die from frost. And in spring, frosts are sometimes quite late.

The oak blooms when it still has very small leaves, and the trees seem to be dressed in thin green lace. Oak flowers are very small and inconspicuous. Male, or staminate, flowers are collected in peculiar inflorescences - thin yellowish-greenish hanging earrings that slightly resemble hazel earrings. These earrings hang down in whole bunches from the branches and almost do not differ in color from the young, still very small leaves.

The female, or pistillate, oak flowers are more difficult to find. They are very tiny - no more than a pinhead. Each of them looks like a barely noticeable greenish grain with a crimson-red top. These flowers are located singly or 2-3 at the ends of special thin stems. It is from them that acorns familiar to all are formed by the fall. After flowering, a small cupped wrapper first grows, and then the acorn itself.

Acorns are very capricious: they absolutely cannot stand drying. As soon as they lose even a small part of the water, they die. Acorns are sensitive to frost. Finally, they rot very easily in warmth. Therefore, it is rather difficult to store them in artificial conditions for a long time. But sometimes forestry workers need to keep them alive for sowing for many months - from autumn to spring. There is no such problem in nature. Acorns that have fallen in the forest in late autumn hibernate in a damp bed of leaves under a thick layer of snow, which protects them from drying out and frost.

Germination of an acorn is peculiar and resembles the germination of a pea: the cotyledons do not rise above the soil surface, as in many plants, but remain in the ground. A thin green stalk rises upward. At first, it is leafless, and only after a while on its top you can see small, but typically oak leaves.

Oak is capable of multiplying not only by seeds. Like many other deciduous trees, it produces growth from the stump. After the oak tree (of course, not very old) is cut down, many young shoots soon appear on the bark of the stump. Over time, some of them grow into mature trees, and the stump is completely or partially destroyed.

On the surface of the saw cut of a fresh oak stump, it is clearly visible that almost all wood, with the exception of the narrow outer ring, has a brownish color. Hence, the trunk of the tree is mostly darker wood. This part of the trunk (the so-called core) has already served its age and does not participate in the life of the tree. Dark color wood is explained by the fact that it is impregnated with special substances, which, as it were, preserve tissue and prevent the development of rot.

The lighter, almost white outer layer of the wood is called sapwood. On a tree stump, it looks like a rather narrow ring. It is along this layer that the soil solution that the roots absorb - water with a small amount of nutrient salts - rises up the trunk.

If the stump is smooth enough, it is easy to see many tiny holes on the surface of the sapwood, like pricks from a thin needle. These are the thinnest tube-vessels cut across, which run along the trunk. It is along them that the soil solution rises. There are the same vessels in the dark heartwood, but only they are clogged, and water does not pass through them.

Vessels are not randomly located on the surface of the stump. They form clusters in the form of thin concentric rings. Each such ring corresponds to one year of the tree's life. The rings of vessels on the stump can be used to calculate the age of the oak.

Oak is a valuable tree species. Its heavy, sturdy wood has many uses. It is used to make parquet, all kinds of furniture, barrels for beer and wine, etc. Oak firewood is very good: it gives a lot of heat. From the bark of oak, tannins are obtained, which are necessary for tanning leather.

Small-leaved linden(Tilia cordata). Wild linden can be found in many areas of the European part of the country, except for the Far North, as well as the south and southeast. It even exists in some places beyond the Urals. The area of natural growth of this tree species is somewhat similar to the corresponding area for oak. However, linden is much farther than oak, spreads to the north and especially to the east, that is, to areas with a more severe climate: it is less thermophilic.

In contrast to oak, linden has great shade tolerance. This can be judged even by the appearance of the tree alone. The main sign of shade tolerance is a dense, dense crown.

Linden buds are arranged alternately on the branches. They are quite large, ovoid, perfectly smooth and shiny. However, they have one distinctive feature- each kidney is covered with only two scales. Such buds are not found in our other trees.

Linden leaf blades have a characteristic, so-called heart-shaped shape, and are noticeably asymmetric: one half of the leaf is slightly smaller than the other. The edge of the leaf is finely serrated, it is serrate, as botanists say. Linden leaves fallen to the ground, unlike oak leaves, quickly rot. That is why there is almost no litter on the soil in the linden forest in summer. Fallen leaves of linden contain a lot of calcium needed by plants, as a result of which they improve the nutritional properties of the soil in the forest. This is a kind of forest fertilizer.

Linden blooms much later than all our other trees - already in the middle of summer. Its flowers are small, pale yellow, inconspicuous, but have a wonderful aroma and are rich in nectar. This tree is one of our best honey plants. Linden flowers are also valuable for their healing properties. Infusion of dried flowers, linden tea, drink for colds.

Linden fruits are small, almost black nuts. They do not fall from the tree one by one, but several at a time on a common branch. Each branch has a wide, thin wing. Thanks to this device, a twig with fruits, breaking away from the tree, spins in the air, which slows down its fall to the ground. As a result, the seeds spread further away from the mother plant.

Linden seeds, once on the ground, never germinate in the first spring. Before germinating, they lie for at least a year. To acquire the ability to germinate, the seeds must undergo a fairly long cooling at a temperature of about zero and, moreover, in a moist state. This process, as we already know, is called stratification.

Linden sprouts look very peculiar. They are tiny plants with a thin stem that is no longer than a pin. The stem bears at the end two small green cotyledons of the original shape. They are deeply incised and somewhat resemble the front paw of a mole. In such a strange plant, few people recognize the future linden tree. After a while, the first true leaves appear at the end of the stem. But they are still not very similar in shape to the leaves of an adult tree.

In the recent past, linden was widely used by humans for various household needs. From its spongy bark, rich in strong fiber, bast was obtained, which was necessary for weaving bast shoes, making matting, and washcloths. Soft linden wood, devoid of a kernel, was also widely used - spoons, bowls, rolling pins, spindles and other household utensils were made from it. Linden wood is still used for a variety of crafts.

Norway maple(Acer platanoides). Maple is one of the most common trees in our broadleaf forests. However, its role in the forest is usually modest - it is just an admixture to the dominant tree species.

Maple leaves are large, rounded-angular in shape, with large sharp protrusions along the edge. Botanists call these leaves palate-lobed.

Maple leaves are beautifully colored in autumn. Some trees turn lemon yellow, others reddish orange. Maple autumn outfit always attracts attention. You will never see any damage done by caterpillars and beetles on maple leaves - for some reason insects do not touch the foliage of this tree.

Maple is notable for the fact that it is one of the few trees in our country that has a white milky sap. The release of such sap is characteristic almost exclusively of trees with more warm countries- subtropical and tropical. V temperate latitudes it is a rarity. To see the milky sap of a maple, you need to break the leaf petiole in the middle of its length. A droplet of thick white liquid will soon appear at the rupture site. The release of milky sap in maple is noticeable only soon after foliage bloom - in late spring and early summer.

Norway maple - branch with fruits

Maple blooms in spring, but not very early. Its flowers bloom at a time when the tree is not yet covered with foliage, it has just appeared small leaves. The flowering maple is clearly visible even from afar: in the crown of the tree, on the bare branches, you can see many greenish-yellow bundle-shaped inflorescences, similar to loose lumps. When you come closer to the tree, you feel the specific sour-honey smell of flowers. A maple tree has several types of flowers in the same tree. Some of them are sterile, others give rise to fruit. However, all flowers contain nectar and are readily visited by bees. Maple is one of the good honey plants.

Maple fruits that develop from flowers have a peculiar structure. The unripe fruit consists of two winged fruits sticking out in opposite sides and adhered to each other. But after ripening, they separate and fall off one by one. Each maple fruit, in its thickened part, contains one seed. The seed is flat, round, it somewhat resembles a lentil grain, but only much larger. Almost all the contents of the seed are two long cotyledon plates. They are packed very compactly - they are strongly compressed into a folded flat lump. If you break a maple seed, you will be surprised to see that it is light green, pistachio-colored inside.

In this, maple differs from very many plants - they have white or yellowish seeds inside.

Winged maple fruits fall from the tree in a very peculiar way - they rotate quickly, quickly, like a propeller, and gently sink to the ground. The speed of such a fall is small, and therefore the wind carries these fruits far to the side.

Maple is also notable for the fact that it has developed the ability to extremely early germination of seeds in spring. If there are warm sunny days, the seeds begin to germinate already on the surface of the melting snow, at a temperature of about zero. Roots appear and then begin to grow right in the snow. None of our trees, except maple, do this.

In the event that the sprouting root managed to safely reach the moist soil, the seedling development proceeds normally. The stalk begins to grow rapidly, the cotyledons expand, and after a while a pair of true leaves appears.

Maple has a rather valuable wood, which is widely used in joinery, turning and furniture industries.

This concludes our acquaintance with the trees of our Central Russian oak forests.

Let's get acquainted now with the main shrubs.

Hazel, or hazel(Corylus avellana), is one of the most common shrubs in oak forests. This shrub is familiar to many of us: delicious nuts ripen by autumn. Hazel fruits attract not only humans, they are eaten by some animals living in the forest - squirrels, forest mice.

The hazel tree differs from all our other shrubs in that its young thin twigs have pubescence of protruding stiff hairs of the original shape. A separate hair resembles a tiny pin with a head at the end (this is clearly visible in a magnifying glass). The same dehumidification occurs on the leaf stalks. Hazel hairs are called glandular, since the balls that we see at their ends are the smallest glands.

Hazel blossoms in early spring, when the last spots of snow still lie in the forest. On one of the warm spring days, dense brownish catkins on its branches suddenly lengthen greatly, hang, turn yellow. When the wind gusts, they swing in different directions, scatter their pollen, which resembles a fine yellow powder. Hazel earrings are similar in appearance to birch and alder earrings - these are, as we already know, male, staminate inflorescences.

Female hazel inflorescences are almost entirely hidden inside special buds. They consist of a few very small flowers arranged in a dense cluster. During flowering, we see only one stigma of these flowers - thin crimson antennae, which protrude in a bundle from the most common-looking buds. The purpose of the crimson antennae is to trap pollen. And they are born a little earlier than the pollen begins to scatter. This has a certain biological meaning: the perceiving apparatus must be ready in advance.

After the pollen hits the antenna, fertilization occurs and the development of the fetus begins. At first, no fruits are visible, an ordinary shoot with leaves grows from the bud. Only later, in the summer, you will notice that there will be nuts on it.

Hazel fruit is a valuable food product. Ripe nuts taste especially good, their kernel is rich in starch and contains up to 60% vegetable fat. There are also vitamins A and B in nuts.

The structure of the nut resembles in many ways acorn structure oak. A nut, like an acorn, is a fruit containing only one seed. In this seed, fleshy cotyledons are very strongly developed, containing a supply of nutrition for a young plant. The germination of the seed is similar: in the hazel, like in the oak, the cotyledons always remain in the ground.

Warty euonymus(Euonymus verrucosa). The branches of this shrub are special - they have a dark green color and are covered with many tiny tubercles, as if dotted with countless small warts. From here comes the specific name of the plant. You will not find such warty branches on our other trees and shrubs.

Warty euonymus - a twig with fruits

Euonymus blooms in late spring - early summer. Its flowers are inconspicuous, small. Each of them has four rounded petals of a brownish or greenish dull color. The petals are widely spread and arranged like a cross. Euonymus flowers seem to be lifeless, as if they are wax. Their smell is specific, not entirely pleasant. Blossoming of euonymus begins at about the same time as that of the lily of the valley, and lasts for several weeks.

At the beginning of autumn, euonymus attracts attention with its original pendant fruits. They hang from branches on long strings-stalks. The color of the fruit is variegated and beautiful - a combination of pink, orange and black. You probably paid attention to these bright fruits more than once when you were in the forest in the autumn.

Let's take a closer look at the fruits of the euonymus. At the top of each pendant there are dark pink dry fruit valves; below, on short strings, lumps of orange juicy pulp hang, in which several black seeds are immersed. At the euonymus we see a rare event: the seeds of the plant, after ripening, do not fall out of the fruit, but remain suspended, as if on a leash. This facilitates the work of birds, which willingly peck on the sweetish pulp along with the seeds. The bright color of euonymus fruits makes them well visible to birds, contributes to the better spread of plant seeds.

The main carrier of euonymus seeds is one of our most common birds - the repola (linnet).

The euonymus is also notable for the fact that the bark of the branches and especially the roots of this shrub contains a substance from which you can get the well-known gutta-percha. It is used as an insulating material in electrical engineering, toys are made from it, etc. Therefore, euonymus can be a supplier of gutta-percha. However, in practice, it is almost never used in this regard - the content of gutta-percha in the plant is low.

Let us turn to the herbaceous plants characteristic of our oak forests. We will consider only some of them - the most common or especially interesting for some biological features.

To dream ordinary (Aegopodium podagraria). In the old oak forest, you can sometimes see on the soil extensive dense thickets of this rather large herbaceous plant. The thickets of dreaming consist of only one leaves, the shape of the leaves is quite characteristic. The leaf petiole at the top branches into three separate, thinner petioles, and each of them, in turn, branches again in the same way at the end. Separate leaf lobules are attached to these thinnest terminal ramifications, there are a total of nine of them. The leaf of such a structure is called by botany twice trifoliate. It should be noted, however, that dream leaves do not always consist of nine separate leaves. Sometimes some of them, neighboring ones, merge with each other into one whole. And then the total number of leaves decreases - there are no longer nine, but only eight or seven.

Although it is a typical forest plant and thrives in the forest, it almost never blooms under the canopy of trees. The flowering of the plant can only be observed in an open place or in a rare forest, where there is a lot of light. Under these conditions, a high stem with several leaves appears at the dream, and characteristic inflorescences - complex umbrellas - develop at its top. The inflorescences consist of many very small white flowers and in appearance somewhat resemble carrot inflorescences.

The widespread occurrence of dreaming in oak forests is explained by the fact that it reproduces very vigorously vegetatively, with the help of long creeping rhizomes. Such rhizomes are able to quickly grow in different directions and give rise to numerous aerial shoots and leaves.

Sleep is a food plant. Edible, for example, fresh are its young leaves, rich in vitamin C. True, they have a peculiar taste that not everyone may like. Dream leaves have other uses as a food product: in some areas they are used for cooking cabbage soup along with sorrel and nettle. At the same time, runny is considered a good food for livestock.

Hairy sedge(Sageh pilosa). This plant often forms a continuous dark green cover under the canopy of oak and especially 'lipe forests. Leaves of hairy sedge are not wider than a pencil, ribbon-like. The leaf edges are soft, covered with numerous short hairs. It is because of the pubescence of the leaves that this sedge is called hairy.

Whenever you come to the forest, hairy sedge always turns green. It hibernates in green. In the spring, new ones grow to replace the old overwintered leaves. They are immediately visible by their lighter color. Over time, young leaves darken, and old ones gradually dry out.

Under the ground, the hairy sedge has long thin rhizomes, no thicker than a bicycle spoke. They are able to quickly spread in all directions, leaves grow from them. Thanks to this spread of rhizomes, the plant captures new territories. Sedge rarely reproduces by seeds in the forest.

Sedge blooms, like many of our forest grasses, in spring. During flowering, its male spikelets are very noticeable - tassels, light yellow from the stamens, rising on high stalks. Female spikelets, on the other hand, do not attract attention to themselves. They consist of an axis thin, like a thread, on which small greenish flowers sit singly. These flowers look like small tree buds with three white tendrils at the end. Later, by autumn, a small, millet-sized grain, a swollen green pouch ripens from a female flower, inside which an even smaller fruit is placed - a nutlet.

Zelenchuk yellow (Galeobdolon luteum) - the plant is low, much lower than the floodplain and hairy sedge.

The appearance of this plant is very variable. Only such signs as the tetrahedral stem and the opposite arrangement of leaves never change. And the leaves themselves vary greatly in size and shape - from larger, slightly similar to nettle leaves, to small, almost rounded. The stems are also very different - some are short, erect, others are very long, creeping, with bunches of roots in some places.

Long creeping aerial shoots of zelenchuk can quickly grow on the soil surface in different directions. That is why Zelenchuk almost always grows dense thickets... Zelenchuk also has one more interesting feature - a white pattern on the upper side of some leaves. This pattern is made up of individual specks. The white color of the spots is due to the fact that under the thin upper skin of the leaf there is a space filled with air. It is the air cavities that create the effect of white color.

When zelenchuk blooms, it looks a bit like a "deaf nettle" (this is how the white lamb is sometimes called), but its flowers are not white, but light yellow. The very shape of the flowers is very similar: the corolla, as botanists say, is two-lipped, it is somewhat similar to the wide-open mouth of some animal. Zelenchuk, like white lamb, belongs to the labiate family.

Zelenchuk blooms in late spring, a little later than bird cherry. Flowering does not last long - two weeks. When the yellow two-lipped corollas fall to the ground, only a green cup in the form of a funnel with five long teeth along the edge of the flower remains on the plant. At the bottom of the calyx, over time, a dry fruit ripens, consisting of four separate small lobules of an irregularly angular shape.

The name "zelenchuk" was given to the plant, probably because it remains green all year round - both in summer and in winter.

European hoof(Asarum europaeum). The leaves of this plant have a very characteristic shape: the leaf blade is round, but on the side where the petiole approaches it, it is deeply carved. Botanists call this leaf reniform.

The leaves of the hoof are large, rather dense, dark green and glossy above. They winter alive under the snow. If you take a fresh leaf and grind, you will feel a specific smell, which is somewhat reminiscent of the smell of black pepper.

The stalk of the hoof never rises above the soil surface, it is always spread over the ground and here and there is attached to it by roots. At its end, two, already familiar to us, develop, leaves on long thin petioles. The leaves are arranged opposite, one against the other. In autumn, at the very end of the stem, in the fork between the leaf petioles, you can see a large bud, which is covered with thin translucent covers on the outside. Under these films, the rudiments of two future leaves are hidden. They are very small, folded in half, but already have a green color. In the center of the kidney there is a small ball that looks like a pellet. If you gently break it, we will see tiny stamens inside. This is a bud. Consequently, the buds of the hoof are formed long before flowering - already in the fall.

In spring, the clefthoof blooms very early, soon after the snow melts. But if you come to the forest at this time, you may not even notice the flowers. The fact is that they are located near the ground and are covered from above with dry fallen leaves. They have a peculiar reddish-brown color, unusual for flowers. The flower of the hoof has only three petals.

In the middle of summer, fruits are formed from the flowers of the hoof. Outwardly, they differ little from flowers. The fruits contain brownish shiny seeds the size of a grain of millet. Each of them is equipped with a small fleshy appendage of white color. This appendage attracts ants. Having found a seed in the forest, the ant carries it to its dwelling. Of course, not all seeds can be delivered to their destination; a lot of them are lost along the way and remain in different places forests, often far from the mother plant. This is where these seeds germinate.

Unclear lungwort(Pulmonaria obscura). The lungwort in the deciduous forest blooms, perhaps, earlier than all other plants. Before the snow had melted, its short stems with beautiful noticeable flowers appeared. On the same stem, some flowers are dark pink, others are cornflower blue. If you look closely, it is easy to see that the buds and younger flowers are pink, and the older ones that are fading are blue. Each flower changes color throughout its life.

The color change during the flowering process is explained by the special properties of anthocyanin, a coloring substance that is contained in the petals. This substance resembles a chemical indicator litmus: its solution changes color depending on the acidity of the environment. The content of cells in the petals of lungwort at the beginning of flowering has a weakly acidic reaction, and later a weakly alkaline one. This is what causes the color change of the petals.

Due to their variegation, the raspberry-blue inflorescences of the lungwort with flowers of different colors are especially clearly visible to pollinating insects. Consequently, the "recoloring" of flowers has a certain biological significance.

In spring, not only lungwort blooms in the oak forest, but also some other plants. Almost all flowers, like lungwort, are brightly colored. At this time of the year, there is a lot of light in the oak forest, and here it is not the white color of the flowers, as in the shady spruce forest, that is more noticeable, but different - crimson, lilac, blue, yellow.

The lungwort got its name because its flowers contain a lot of nectar. This is one of our earliest honey plants.

The lungwort is a beautiful flower that everyone who finds themselves in the forest in early spring willingly picks. The only pity is that some flower lovers are too addicted to collecting lungwort. Instead of a modest bouquet, they have a whole armful in their hands. These people destroy many plants in vain. Indeed, to admire the beauty of flowers, a few stems are enough.

Male dryopteris (Dryopteris filixmas). This is the name of one of the most common broadleaf forest ferns. In appearance, it is similar to many other forest ferns: the plant has large feathery leaves collected in a broad-funnel-shaped basal rosette. A rosette of leaves develops at the end of a short and thick rhizome located at the soil surface. A characteristic feature of the leaves of this type of fern is large reddish scales on a leaf petiole (there are especially many scales in the lowest part of the petiole, near the ground). The leaves themselves are double-pinnate: they are dissected into larger lobes of the first order, and those, in turn, into smaller lobes of the second order.

Every autumn, the leaves of the thyme die off, in the spring new ones grow to replace them. V early stage development they look like spirally twisted flat snails. By summer, the snails are completely untwisted, turning into ordinary leaves. At the end of summer, on the lower surface of the leaf, you can usually see many small brownish specks-sori, similar to fat dots. A separate sorus is a bunch of very small sacs with spores not visible to the naked eye. The spores themselves are negligible, like dust. After ripening, they spill out of their containers and fall on the ground. These tiny dust-like particles serve as fern propagation means. Once in favorable conditions, the spores are sprouting. They give rise to tiny, no more than a nail, green plates called buds. After a while, the fern itself begins to form on the outgrowth. At the very beginning of development, a young fern has only one small leaf shorter than a match and a short root extending into the soil. Over the years, the plant grows larger and larger. Full maturity requires at least one to two decades. Only then does the fern become fully adult, it starts to bring spores. In terms of its development cycle, the fern has many similarities with the lyre, which has already been described.

The life of the male fern, like many of our other ferns, is closely related to the forest. It is quite shade-tolerant, but at the same time picky about moisture and richness of the soil.

Buttercup anemone (Anemone ranunculoides) is a small herbaceous plant that is interesting in its developmental characteristics. It is one of the most common oak ephemeroids. When in early spring, after a few allotments after the snow melts, you come to the forest, this plant is already blooming. The flowers of the anemone are bright yellow, slightly resembling buttercup flowers. The plant itself has a straight stem, rising from the ground, at the end of it there are three leaves directed in different directions and strongly dissected, even higher is a thin pedicel that ends in a flower. The height of the whole plant is small - no more than a pencil. When the anemone blooms, forest trees and shrubs barely begin to bloom. At this time, there is a lot of light in the forest, almost like in an open place.

After the trees are covered with foliage and the forest has become dark, the development of the anemone ends. It begins to turn yellow, the stem with leaves withers and lies on the ground. At the beginning of summer, no trace of the plant remains. Only in the soil is a living rhizome preserved, which next spring gives rise to a new shoot with leaves and a flower. The rhizome of the anemone is located horizontally in the very top layer soil, directly under the fallen leaves. It looks like a twisting knotty knot of brownish color. If you break such a rhizome, you can see that it is white and starchy inside, like a potato tuber. Here are stored reserves of nutrients - the very "building material" that is necessary for rapid growth aerial shoot in the spring.

Haller's Corydalis (Corydalis halleri). In our oak forests, besides anemone, there are other ephemeroids. These include Haller's corydalis. It blooms in early spring, even earlier than the anemone. Soon after the snow melts, we already see its low stems with delicate lace leaves and a dense inflorescence of lilac flowers. Corydalis is a miniature plant, fragile and very graceful. Its flowers have a pleasant smell and are rich in nectar.

The development of the corydalis in many ways resembles the development of the already familiar anemone. Its flowering is short. If the weather is warm, the Corydalis fades very quickly - after a few days. And instead of flowers, small pod-shaped fruits are already visible. A little later, black shiny seeds fall out of them on the ground. Each such seed has a white fleshy appendage that attracts ants. Corydalis is one of many forest plants whose seeds are spread by ants.

Corydalis fruits ripen earlier than all other forest plants. And when the trees and shrubs are dressed with young foliage, the corydalis turns yellow, lays down on the ground and soon dries up. Under the ground, she has a juicy live nodule - a small yellowish ball the size of a cherry. It stores the reserves of nutrients, mainly starch, necessary for the rapid development of the shoot next spring. At the end of the nodule there is a large bud, from which the fragile stalk with lilac flowers, already familiar to us, will subsequently grow.

Corydalis is one of those plants that remain in the same place all their lives. She has no rhizomes, no creeping aerial shoots that could spread to the sides. New crested crested species can only grow from seeds. Of course, it takes more than one year from the germination of a seed to the formation of an adult capable of blooming a plant.

These are some of the characteristic plants of our oak forests. Each of these plants has remarkable features of structure, reproduction, development.

And now let's turn again to the oak forests themselves. Our oak forests are of great economic importance, they serve as suppliers valuable wood, play an important water and soil protection role. Oak groves are common in densely populated areas of our country and are very strongly influenced by humans. What changes do these forests undergo under the influence of human activities, what happens to them after felling?

After cutting down an old oak forest, oak usually does not regenerate by itself. Shoots from stumps do not appear, and young oak trees that have grown under the canopy of mature trees are drowned out in the open by various grasses, bushes and perish. On the site of a felled oak forest, young birch or aspen usually appear soon, and after a few decades we see a birch or aspen forest here. There is a change in tree species familiar to us from the previous story. In order to prevent the change of oak less valuable trees, forestry workers have to put in a lot of effort. For this purpose, acorns are sown in felling areas or young oak trees specially grown in the nursery are planted. However, just sowing or planting an oak is not enough. Young oak trees still need to be taken care of: from time to time it is necessary to cut down the neighboring trees that drown them, especially the rapidly growing birch and aspen. In a word, it takes a lot of time and labor to restore an oak forest after felling. Of course, if a not too old oak tree is cut down, special efforts it is not required to restore oak: growth appears from the stumps, which grows quickly and eventually turns into an oak forest. All other trees that make up a deciduous forest - linden, various types of maple, ash, elm, elm, reproduce well from the stump with shoots.

So, the main enemies of oak in the strip of oak forests are small-leaved trees - birch and aspen. They often replace oak after felling, forming secondary, or derivative, forests. Both of these trees have a row interesting features structure and life. Birch has been described in detail earlier. Now let's get acquainted with the aspen.

Aspen ( Populus tremula) is very widespread: it can be found in most of the territory of our country. This tree is relatively unpretentious to climatic conditions, however, does not tolerate excessively dry and nutrient-poor soil.

The appearance of the aspen is original and not devoid of a certain attractiveness. The trunk is dark gray only in the lower part, above it has a beautiful grayish-green color, especially bright in young trees when their bark is moistened with rain. In autumn, the crowns of aspens are very elegant: the leaves are painted in different colors- from yellow to kumachy red.

One of the characteristic features of aspen is its very mobile leaves, which move even from a weak breeze. This is due to the fact that the leaf blades are attached to the end of a long and thin petiole, and it is flat, strongly flattened from the sides. Due to this shape, the petiole bends especially easily to the right and to the left. That is why aspen leaf blades are so mobile.

Aspen - a branch with male earrings in early spring; Aspen - a branch with female earrings in early spring

Aspen blooms in early spring, long before the leaves appear. She belongs to the number of dioecious plants: some of her trees are male, others are female. On male trees during flowering, reddish shaggy catkins can be seen hanging down from the branches. These are staminate inflorescences. On female trees there are also earrings, but of a different type - thinner, greenish. They also hang from the branches. These earrings are composed of many small pistillate flowers.

Soon after flowering, male earrings fall to the ground, while female ones remain on the tree and begin to grow in size. At the end of spring, in these earrings in place of flowers, fruits are formed - elongated-oval capsules the size of a grain of wheat.

When ripe, the capsule cracks into two longitudinal halves and the seeds inside it are released. The individual seed is so small that it is barely visible to the naked eye. It is surrounded by many finest hairs. Sprinkling out of the capsules, the seeds fly through the air for a long time.

Aspen seeds quickly lose their germination after ripening. Therefore, seedlings can only appear if the seeds immediately fall on moist soil.

In the forest where there are adult specimens of aspen, here and there young aspen trees with characteristic “poplar” leaves are usually found. Their height is small - barely up to the knee of a person. If you dig up the ground around the trunk of some aspen, you will find interesting detail: The plant sits on a fairly thick (pencil-like or larger) root that extends horizontally and runs close to the soil surface. This root stretches a long distance both in one direction and in the other, and it starts from an adult tree. So, small aspens in the forest are nothing more than shoots that grow from the root of a large aspen. These are the so-called root suckers.

Up to ten or more root suckers can form on one root. They are usually separated from each other by a considerable distance. Some of them are quite far away from the mother tree - 30-35 m.

Thus, in the forest, aspen reproduces almost exclusively by root suckers, that is, in a vegetative way. In forest conditions, this is much more reliable than seed reproduction. Aspen almost never grows from a stump.

Aspen lives a little - less than a hundred years. Its trunk already at an early age usually has rot inside, mature trees are almost all rotten in the middle. Such trees break easily from strong wind... Aspen is completely unsuitable for firewood - it gives little heat. Aspen wood is mainly used for matches. In addition, tubs, barrels, arches, etc. are made from it.

Let us now turn to the history of deciduous forests.

In the prehistoric era, deciduous forests in the European part of our country were much more widespread than they are now. However, in the past few centuries, the area of these forests has been greatly reduced due to intensive deforestation. To date, only a small part of the former forest areas have survived.

Many facts are known that indicate the wide distribution of oak forests in the past. During the time of Ivan Kalita, oak forests approached Moscow itself from the south, and logs were taken from these forests for the construction of the walls of the Moscow Kremlin. Ivan the Terrible loved to hunt in the Kuntsevskaya oak forest in the immediate vicinity of Moscow (now this place is within the city limits). Oak forests once closely adjoined Kiev, Vladimir, Suzdal. Now they are almost gone.

In the past, our oak forests were severely destroyed due to the great demand for oak wood. However, another circumstance also mattered. Oak forests occupy soils very favorable for agriculture - rather moist, well-drained, rich nutrients... And therefore, when our ancestors needed arable land, they first of all cut down oak forests.

In place of the former deciduous forests, we now often see arable land. Various agricultural crops are grown on them: wheat, rye, sunflower, buckwheat, corn. Grow well on these lands and fruit trees: apple, pear, cherry, etc. There are many orchards in the areas of the former distribution of deciduous forests.

Before finishing the story about deciduous forests, it is necessary to dwell on how these forests change in the direction from west to east, from Ukraine with its mild climate to Tataria, where the climate is more severe. Changes in vegetation concern primarily the composition of the tree species that make up the forest. Western oak forests developing in a warmer and humid climate, are distinguished by a particularly rich set of trees. Here, in addition to tree species that are common in Central Russian broad-leaved forests, you can find others, such as hornbeam, wild cherry, sycamore. To the east, in the oak forests of Central Russia, these trees are no longer found. And in the extreme east, in Tataria, the species composition of trees is even more impoverished (for example, ash disappears). There is a general pattern: as the climate becomes less favorable, the number of tree species found in deciduous forests decreases.

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