SOIL-IMPROVING PROPERTIES OF COMMON SEA BUCKTHORN COENOSIS ON THE SAND-CHALK MIXTURE OF DISTURBED LANDS OF KURSK MAGNETIC ANOMALY
Forest recultivation is of paramount importance at restoring disturbed landscapes, whereas phytoremediation of technogenic substrates and mixtures counts for a great deal at their involvement into economic circulation. The most promising results among 48 tested species of trees and shrubs shows sea buckthorn, due to its successful growth and ability to spread on disturbed lands, high erosion preventive properties and ameliorative effect, abundant natural dissemination by seeds and root suckers. In order to reveal soil-improving properties of common sea buckthorn coenosis the authors conducted a research on the railway dump of Lebedinsky Mining Processing Plant which is presented by the sand-chalk mixture. Due to natural ramping rather small amount of litter biomass is formed, it is therefore necessary to create forest coenosis under which conditions sea buckthorn produces by 114.2 t/ha of organic matter, whilst over the period of 13 years the above-ground and underground organs amount to 70% and 30%, respectively. In the future, this ratio will become more aligned due to the intensive distribution of the root system. Of the 14.8 t/ha of absolutely dry weight of sea buckthorn scrub on the sand-chalk mixture 32.3 kg of phosphorus, 23.8 kg of potassium, 290 kg of nitrogen, and 6.6 tons of carbon annually pass into substrate. Sea buckthorn formes organogenic layer, which thickness over 13 years grew up to 1.0-2.5 cm. In sea buckthorn coenosis improve many other properties contributing to the increase of microbial abundance (bacterial count in soil-biotic community increased by 2-3 times, nitrogen-fixing bacteria and fungi - by 4-6 times), biological productivity and enzymatic activity. Sea buckthorn contributes to the occurance of soil mesofauna, fungi, 11 and 17 species of animals and birds, as well as provides the formation of new trophic chains. All of the aforesaid demonstrates that the culture of sea buckthorn is one of the outstanding natural species.