CLUSTERING OF REGIONS BASED ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MEASURES FOR THE RESTORATION OF NATURAL CAPITAL FORESTS

To address the issue of forest conservation, ensuring their sustainable existence, and maintaining their forest storage function in the face of climate change, adaptation measures are necessary. These measures include strengthening existing methods of forest restoration, conservation, and protection, as well as developing new, climate-sensitive forestry practices. Thus, forestry measures should be designed through the selection and combination of measures in accordance with fundamental forest management principles, taking into account similar conditions that have developed over several years in regional forestry systems, ensuring the effective restoration of forest natural capital. Taking into account the objectives set forth in this study, a clustering of regional forestry systems was conducted, supplemented by matrix analysis. Clustering allowed us to segment regional systems by the effectiveness of measures to restore forest natural capital based on two indicators: "The share of forest plantations converted to forested land" and "The ratio of the area of reforestation and afforestation to the area of felled and dead forest stands." The matrix approach allowed us to identify the causes of inefficient forest restoration processes. Assessing the results of clustering regional forestry systems by reforestation efficiency using a combinatorial analysis method, it was revealed that a significant number of regions (approximately 10 regions) fall into zones with low forest restoration efficiency due to insufficient reforestation to compensate for forest loss over a long period. Sixty-six regions are characterized by a relatively stable situation with reforestation and the conversion of forest plantations to forested areas, especially in zones characterized by a balance between forest loss and reforestation. Only 13 regions have experienced a long-term excess of forest plantation creation over forest loss, primarily in terms of area. This zone is characterized by high survival rates and, as a result, the conversion of forest plantations to forested areas. Thus, the resulting model for segmenting regional forestry systems, on the one hand, reflects the accumulated problems in the field of forest restoration, and on the other hand, serves as a justification for modernizing the current rules for forest restoration, due to significant climate change and increasing anthropogenic pressure.