ECOLOGICAL AND RECLAMATION EFFECT OF TREE AND SHRUBBY PLANTATIONS ON PASTURES

Background. Based on the analysis of previously conducted long-term scientific research, the development of this research topic is justified, which consists in studying the effect of agroforestry, using multi-tiered tree and shrubby backstage-strip plantations, on the productivity of pastures of the arid zone of the Caspian Sea region. The purpose assessment of the ecological and reclamation effect of tree and shrubby backstage-strip plantations on the productivity and condition of pastures in semi-desert conditions. Materials and methods. The research was carried out according to generally accepted methods in forest taxation, soil science and geobotany. The species composition of the herbage and feed productivity were studied on 6 rectangular sample areas with an area of 0.30 hectares. The yield of the foot feed was determined by the mowing method of accounting sites with an area 2.5 m2 in 4-fold repetition, nutritional value in laboratory conditions according to generally accepted methods. Results. As a result of the conducted research in the Nogai steppe, a high reclamation efficiency of pasture-protective plantations from Ulmus pumila in the form stripes alternating with open areas of pasture vegetation was revealed. In the Astrakhan Volga region, on the bumpy sandy complexes of forest pastures, a combination of shrubby tiers in the form of backstage and strip plantations of Haloxylon aphyllum, Krascheninnikovia ceratoides and Calligonum aphyllum has high efficiency. On the territory of the Black Lands of Kalmykia, in modern foci of deflation, a reliable method of phytomelioration is the creation of pastures with protective strips and reclamation and forage plantations of Krascheninnikovia ceratoides and Calligonum aphyllum, because the range of meliorant species is limited to shrubby life forms capable of surviving droughts. Conclusion. To restore and increase the productivity of land and improve the quality of feed, different types of pasture-protective and reclamation-forage plantations of shrub and tree species are most effective. Pastures in the semi-desert, taking into account tree and shrub plantations, provide an average of 1-3 t/ha of feed per unit area, depending on the forest cover, which is 1.2-3 times more than native vegetation.