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The article presents the authors’ expert opinion on the use of specially protected natural areas in the rank of natural monuments of regional importance in the Samara Region (Russia) as recreational and tourist sites. The absence of the necessary organization and regulation of tourist and recreational activities in most areas, spontaneity and mass recreation, and as a consequence, the loss of the natural characteristics of some natural complexes is emphasized here. In the course of work, methods of biodiversity assessment were used and the current state of ecosystems of 7 protected areas was determined.

This article presents advantages and disadvantages of the most widespread water softening methods, such as reagent method, cation exchange softening, thermal method, reverse osmosis and electromagnetic softening. According to the application features and characteristics of each method, there was developed an algorithm that helps to choose water softening method in case of given specified parameters (turbidity, color, hardness) and the desired level of water hardness after treatment.

The authors give a physical and geographical description of the Uzyukovo district forestry (Low Zavolzhye) in the Novo-Buyansky forestry of Samara forest management with a forested area of about 8.5 thousand hectares. An inventory of the species composition of the flora of the Uzyukovo district forestry revealed about 400 species of vascular plants. We carried out a comprehensive ecological analysis of floristic fractions: taxonomic, biomorphic, phytocoenotic, and geographical. Comprehensive ecological analysis as a whole reflects the confinement of flora to the forest-steppe zone. The results of a comprehensive ecological analysis are supported by a physicochemical analysis of the soil cover of the Uzyukovo forest massif. The tendencies of anthropogenic dynamics of flora are considered, the degree of anthropogenic disturbance of floristic complexes is revealed by means of soil analysis, analysis of the adventive component and the preservation of rare species of flora. In the adventive flora of the Uzyukovsky forest massif, 98 species of plants, mainly woody, have been identified. The authors provide a list of rare species in need of conservation, of which 2 species are included in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation and 21 species in the Red Data Book of Samara Region. Under the influence of anthropogenic factors, on the one hand, ecological-floristic complexes are enriched with eurytopic weed species, and on the other, the number of anthropophobic rare species is reduced, which is steadily leading to the unification of the flora. In this regard, the authors recommend assigning the Uzyukovsky forest massif the status of a regional natural monument and regularly carrying out environmental monitoring.

Modern high rate of life and unfavorable environmental situation increase stress, reduce active performance ability and health of the population. A relevant area of research is the search for effective ways to protect the body from oxidative stress, when free radicals destroy vascular walls, oxidize protein molecules, DNA, lipids. Oxidative stress can be reduced by consuming the right amount of antioxidants. The work is devoted to the study of antioxidant activity (AOA) of blue honeysuckle and black chokeberry juices and beverages. It was found that beverages based on fruit raw materials have higher antioxidant activity compared to mass soft drinks. It is shown that AOA of directly squeezed black chokeberry juice makes 9.009±0.061 mmol-eq/l, and blue honeysuckle–7.682±0.015 mmol-eq/l. Beverages based on mineral water with fruit juices have higher AOA compared to those prepared on technologically treated water (1.789±0. 069 and 1.667±0.013 mmol-eq/l respectively for blue honeysuckle and black chokeberry juices and beverages). During 7 days of storage the beverages show a slight decrease in AOA, on average ranging from 3.5 to 7.5%.

The study of forest regeneration in stands exposed to fire has both fundamental and applied relevance. The objects of the study were the exposed to surface fires forest plots of various soil and hydrological conditions in the north-east of the Leningrad Region in the landscape of the Tikhvin ridge of the north-eastern part of the Valdai Hills. To study the natural renewal of tree species, circular plots of 10 m2 were created along a transect traced over a diagonal of the area exposed to fire. Post-fire impact on soils with different particle size distribution causes the formation of stands with different shares of coniferous and broad-leaf species. After the exposure of tree communities to fire, regeneration processes can follow different directions in the formation of the future planting composition, and that depends on soil and hydrological conditions. Knowing the succession status of the post-fire plant community, further silvicultural measures can be planned for the management of stand composition.

This work analyzes the quality of the restored forests with the prevalence of the Dipterocarpaceae family tree species in Binh Chau – Phuoc Buu Nature Reserve, Vietnam. To predict the number of plants in each diameter class, we verified the correspondence of theoretical distributions with an empirical distribution N - D. A theoretical model is best described by an exponential distribution. To establish natural regeneration, we determined the structure of renewed tree species and their relative thickness. The similarity between the composition of renewed plants and the composition of parent plants was determined by the Sorensen coefficient. A natural regeneration of 14 plant species is observed under the canopy of the Shorea formation. The similarity coefficient between the composition of the maternal stratum and renewed plants is 20.3%. This indicates that generations of renewed plants can alter the composition of maternal plants in the upper stratum. The analysis of the distribution structure of diameters and the similarity coefficient between the composition of the maternal tree and the renewed trees showed that the Shorea formation in the Reserve is in the process of succession to achieve a higher hierarchy of environmental stability, i.e., the climax stage.

The object of research - new growth and undergrowth under the canopy of growing stocks with predomination of a beech tree as the first and the second storeys. Our work objective - monetization of tree resources deposited with new growth and undergrowth of beech forests of North Caucasus. The structure of the new growth and the undergrowth is not uniform in height and composition, it varies essentially among the subjects of research. The mean number of the new growth is 8988 pcs/ha and of the undergrowth - 1998 exemplars/ha. The mean height of the new growth is 0.65 m, of the undergrowth - 0.86 m. The mass of one plant of the mean height in the air-dry condition is equal to 0.24 kg for the new growth and 0.55 kg for the undergrowth. The income amount from sales of the undergrowth is less than from the new growth. While the maximum total income from sales of the new growth and undergrowth phytomass may be about 43 ths/ha. Final results depend significantly on the structure by height, on the composition and the number of the new growth and the undergrowth.

This work analyzes the structure of evergreen rainforests with the prevalence of the Dipterocarpaceae family tree species in Vietnam. Four dominant formations were studied: Dipterocarpus, Shorea, Anisoptera, Vatica. The analysis of the structure of stands with the prevalence of the Dipterocarpaceae family plants was carried out based on the methodology of the stand components’ weight that includes thickness of trees, cross-section and volume of the trunk. The criteria for the analysis included the distribution of trunk diameters (N-D) and heights (N-H). - The species composition of associated plants in the studied formations has different shares. The Shorea and Dipterocarpus formation has the largest number of tree species. For the four dominant plant formations, there are differences in the N / D distribution and no difference in the N / H distribution. The diameter of all trees in the main formations of the Dipterocarpaceae family vary more than the height. Forestry management requires taking into account the structural features of stands with the prevalence of the Dipterocarpaceae family tree species.

The present work analyzes the effect of temperature and precipitation in the growing season on annual increment and structural elements of spruce xylem. The objects of study were stands aged 100-120 years with different spruce proportion, restricted to soils of binary genesis that allowed levelling out the conditions of growth and determining the main meteorological parameters influencing the increment of spruce wood. The study revealed that, depending on the stand composition, the average temperatures during the growing season have change the effect on the annual increment of spruce wood. In the given soil conditions, the highest meteorological sensitivity in spruce was recorded when its share in the stands was less than 60%. With a decrease in the spruce share in the stand composition, the influence of meteorological factors on macrostructural elements also decreases, but if broad-leaf species are present in the stand, there is an increasing in the influence of weather factors on the increment of wood and its structural elements.

The study analyzes the pyrogenic effect on the condition of pine trees in two landscapes of the Leningrad region. The polynomial regression method in the description of the process tree attrition depending on the scorch height on the trunk allowed determining the trend of the thinning process for pine trees in different vitality conditions. The post-fire attrition of trees follows different scenarios in the studied landscapes of the Luga Upland and Putilov Plateau. The correlation analysis showed that the inverse relationship between the thickness of the remaining forest ground cover and the scorch height on trunks, i.e., the intensity of the past fire, is stronger in the landscape of the Putilov Plateau than in the Luga landscape. The studied landscapes created a different environment for the emergence and spread of fires of both natural and anthropogenic origin.

This paper investigated wood structure formation of pure pine stands (Pinus sylvestris L.) depending on meteorological indicators. Influence of average temperature and sum of precipitation on wood structure at the level of annual growth and at the level of xylem cellular structure is presented. Three series of experimental objects in the boreal zone of the European part of Russia was observed: naturally formed mature stands, plots passed by thinning, plots passed by thinning with the fertilizers application. It is shown that fluctuations of average temperature have a more significant role in the formation of the zone of early wood than late wood. Statistical analysis has determined that the effect of average temperature and precipitation factors on the formation of macrostructure elements of wood is higher in the naturally formed stands, than in the stands that have been treated. It was identified that thinning and application of fertilizers increase the role of meteorological factors influence on changes in the number of xylem cells in annual growth. At the same time, the size of xylem cells and the thickness of cell walls are in a more significant correlation with weather factors in stands unaffected by treating.

The study of the regeneration processes on the postagrogenic lands in different landscape conditions of the North-West region was carried out. The main factors for the successful regeneration of spruce and pine on postagrogenic lands are the distance to the source of seeds and the amount of deciduous tree-shrub species. The significant influence on the regeneration of tree species on the sandy postagrogenic lands has a pyrogenic effect. Depending on the landscape characteristics, the process of forming the species composition of the stand will have its own succession line of development. The growth of spruce and pine in most plots is more intensive than on the lands of the forest fund. It is necessary to regulate the regeneration processes of economically valuable species in order to involve the postagrogenic lands in economic circulation.