REGENERATION OF THE FOREST FLOOR AFTER SURFACE FIRES

Forest floor regeneration is analyzed after surface fires in mixed stands of Siberian pine and birch with a cover of Ledum, Vaccinium vitis-idaea and green moss in the Southern Baikal basin. It was found out that regeneration of the forest floor after surface fires of moderate intensity is slow: in 10 years only, there is almost total recovery of the first and second substoreys of the grass-shrub storey, moss and duff layers. Possibility of fire spread over the territory occurs as soon as on the third year after the fire due to increased fine litter (a primary fire carrier).