Conservancy of forest shelter belts in Russia and the Rostov region as one of the factors of transition to a green economy

Abstract

Today forestry in Russia is going through one of the most difficult periods in its history, which has resulted in decades of extensive wasteful land use. So, change of climate can bring desertification of some territories and various forms of degradation (desertification) cover about 60 percent of the land in the Rostov region, and the rest is potentially dangerous in this regard. The reasons are anthropogenic impact, drought, erosion, deflation. Despite the fact that in recent years Russia has been developing forestry legislation and has taken a course towards the development of sustainable growth and "green" one, the regions are taking measures aimed at protecting lands from degradation and preserving soil fertility, soil-destructive processes and desertification are increasing many times over. An inventory of forest resources in Russia was carried out in 2019 and it showed that the forest cover in Russia tends to decrease, and on the territory of the Rostov region, forest inventory was carried out in 2006, only 40% of all forests were taken into account - about 240 thousand hectares of protective forest plantations, from of them 125.8 thousand hectares are shelter belts. It’s imperative to enact urgent measures for reforestation and landscaping of territories and annually reconstruct forest belts and create new ones to improve environmental conditions in regions with low forest cover, otherwise in 10-15 years their mass natural death may occur.