Retrospective analysis of the dynamics of spruce drying in different forest conditions Gorgan

The study aimed to assess changes in the intensity of spruce drying in different forest types and at different altitudes, addressing the time factor. The research was conducted in the central part of the Gorgan Mountain range in its foothills (the Bystrytsia Solotvynska river basin) on an altitude-typological profile. The degrees of decomposition of dead wood were characterised to determine the following types of trends in the spruce drying process in different types of forests and tree species composition: fading with a decrease in intensity over time; weakly expressed with significant fluctuations in drying out in individual years; intense with an annual increase in the phenomenon. The duration and dynamics of these trends for different forest vegetation conditions were noted. On the example of three forestries, the annual dynamics of spruce drying areas in the period from 2016 to 2024 for the spectrum of vertical vegetation belts available in the Gorgany was presented in the following sequence: foothill fir-oak, mountain beech-fir, beech-fir-spruce and pure spruce forests. The results of the statistical analysis indicate that spruce drying processes are multidirectional, depending on the gypsometric levels of the relief and the associated altitudinal zonation. The study determined that in foothill fir-oak forests, the intensity of spruce drying decreases. This pattern was somewhat less pronounced in the lower mountainous zone of beech and fir forests (500-600 m). In the altitudinal range of 650-1000 m (the upper part of the beech-fir belt and the lower part of beech-fir-spruce forests), the intensification of spruce drying is notable. The study demonstrated that at altitudes above 1000 m, patterns in the drying of spruce forests are not pronounced, as this phenomenon is sporadic. The practical significance of the research results is reduced to their use in differentiated measures to enhance the sustainability of stands in different altitudinal zones