Forestry and dendrological characteristics of woody plants in the natural monument "Duderhof heights"
«Duderhof Heights», along with other protected natural areas (OOPT) and regional attractions of St. Petersburg were introduced in 1990 into the UNESCO list of World Heritage [7]. The monument is remarkable for the hilly country represented by four small mountains up to 176 m mountains (Voronia, Lysaya, Kirhgofskaya, Orehova), it creates special micro-climatic conditions in the exposures of mountains that forms a variety of compositions and structures of forest stands [8, 9]. Slopes of these mountains are characterized by rich sod-carbonate soils. Special microclimate and forest growing conditions of this area allowed forming broad-leaved stands of trees. There were studied forestry - dendrological characteristics of woody plants growing in the unique place of the taiga zone of Russia. Originally on the slopes of «Duderhof Heights» aboriginal coniferous tees of the taiga zone grew: European spruce and Scotch pine. During the Great Patriotic War there were military operations on this territory and the most part of plantations was destroyed. Among the thinned out coniferous plantations, glades and clear spaces there began to form by natural and artificial way broad leaved plantations of Norway maple, European ash, English oak and tillet. On the mountain Orekhovaya there are remained small-leaved plantations of drooping birch and white birch, in the undergrowth remains a rowan tree. In the lower part of the wood tier there can be met brushwood of nut-trees, February daphne, honeysuckle, high cranberry and blackcurrant. The article considers biological characteristics and economical significance of plants growing in the natural monument «Duderhof Heights».