Spruce forest - a classic decoration for many folk tales. In it you can meet Baba Yaga and Little Red Riding Hood. Many animals live in such a forest; it is mossy and always green. But spruce is not only an element of the fairy tale and the New Year, this tree is growing rapidly and is of great importance for the economy of the country and representatives of wildlife.
Value
The spruce forest is the abode of birds and animals, insects and bacteria. For a person, this is an opportunity to have a great time and relax, collect berries and mushrooms, medicinal herbs. And for industry, wood is about 30% of the total wood, from which not only furniture is made, but also ethyl alcohol, charcoal.
Features
The spruce forest is always shaded, but this does not prevent the trees from growing well. The crown of spruce is characterized by mono-solidity, which allows each branch to break through to the light.
An integral part of forests are berries, mushrooms and moss. Spruce prefers moist soil, groundwater, and tolerates drought. If the soil is fertile, then spruce trees, which are not only of natural origin, can displace pine trees. Often they are created artificially, since they grow much faster than deciduous trees, and therefore are of great value to the country's economy.
Flowering spruce
Female representatives of spruce trees form small cones, which then decorate the trees. Males have elongated earrings on their branches, with pollen scattered by the tree in May. Full ripening of cones occurs in October, then the squirrels begin to stock up on food for the winter.
Kinds
There are five main groups of forests from spruce trees:
- green grass
- long-loving;
- complex
- sphagnum;
- marsh grass.
The group of spruce-green-grass forests includes three types of forest:
- Yelnik-sorrel. The soil in such forests is sandy and loamy, well-drained. The soil is fertile due to the soil cover of sour and minnow, which grow only in spruce forests. Groups of sorrel spruce forests are found mainly on higher elevations.
- Blueberry spruce grows most often in the plains. The soil is less fertile and more moist, it is most comfortable with blueberries and green moss.
- Spruce-lingonberry grows on the hills. The soil is not highly fertile, mainly sandy and dry sandy loam. Despite the low productivity of the soil, there are a lot of lingonberries in such forests.
This group of forests of spruce trees holds the entire occupied area and quickly resumes.
Dolgomoshniki are more common in the northern regions of our country. The soil is predominantly with excessive moisture, and birch besides coniferous are part of the forest. Forest productivity is low. It is worth noting the presence of blueberries, horsetail and cuckoo flax.
Complex fir-tree consists of several subspecies:
- Lime. In addition to spruce, in the forests there is linden, aspen, birch and sometimes fir. The land here is quite fertile and drained. Ground cover is represented by a huge number of different types of herbs.
- The fir-tree is oak. It is considered one of the most productive types of forests. The composition of the forest includes oaks, maple, pine, aspen. The undergrowth mainly consists of a warty spindle tree, the ground cover is characterized by a variety of herbs.
Sphagnum fir-tree most often appears as a result of bogging of the long-spruce fir tree. It is characterized by liquid peaty soil. Undergrowth in such forests is not, if it occurs, it consists of alder white and black currants. The subsoil layer is represented by sphagnum and cuckoo flax.
Swamp grassy spruce occurs near streams and rivers. It is characterized by high productivity and dense undergrowth of shrubs. There are a lot of moss and grass in such forests.
Geography
Spruce forest is widespread in almost all climatic zones of the globe. These trees are found mainly in the taiga, distributed in North Eurasia and North America, closer to the North Pole smoothly pass into the tundra, and closer to the southern latitudes they are found in a mixed forest. In a tropical climate, conifers grow exclusively in mountainous areas.
In our country, spruce forests cover the Urals, Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories. In the Komi Republic, these trees cover about 34% of the entire territory. In Altai and in the West Siberian part, spruce is mixed with fir. Western Siberia is represented by complex forests. In the Yenisei part of the taiga, spruce grows along with cedars. Dark spruce forest is found in central Russia and Primorye, as well as the Carpathians and the Caucasus.
Flora
Due to the large shade in the forests, the flora is not very diverse and is represented by the following types of herbs and shrubs:
- sour acid;
- minnow;
- Grushanka
- moss;
- Blueberries
- lingonberry;
- spiraea;
- dropsy bush;
- cuckoo flax;
- cat's foot.
They grow well in low-light places. Herbaceous plants of the spruce forest are those representatives of the plant world that propagate vegetatively, that is, through antennae or roots. Their flowering is usually white or pale pink. This color allows plants to "stand out" and become noticeable to pollinating insects.
Mushrooms
What forest can be without mushrooms? Due to the fact that undergrowth is rare in spruce forests, and the needles themselves decay for a long time, the main harvest of mushrooms occurs in the fall. If we are talking about young growth, where the spruce is still low, their number and variety is amazing. Most mushrooms in the spruce forest with a rare planting or in stripes of mixed types. That is, where the light is enough for the rapid growth of mushrooms.
Of the edibles, white is most often found. This mushroom is dense and fleshy, practically not affected by worms and larvae. It can grow both in a dense fir-tree and at the edges.
If there are aspen and birch in the forest, then you can collect aspen and boletus. In spruce forests there are always a lot of camelina, which grow mainly in groups on the outskirts of the forest. Under the trees themselves, larger specimens with a yellowish hat are found.
In the spruce forests there are always a lot of russes, which seem to imitate their "big" neighbors in the forest: the caps of these mushrooms with a blue or lilac hue. Russula grow in large groups, have a pleasant taste and aroma. In the wettest places of the forest, near the ponds, you can find yellow mushrooms.
In pine and spruce forests there are many inedible mushrooms. These are fly agarics, cobwebs, reddish talkers and a thin pig.
The poorest mushroom spruce forests are of the same type and old. Most of the mushrooms in mixed forests, where there are swamps, small ponds. A good crop can be harvested in mountainous landings of the middle and lower zones.
Animals and insects
Despite the modest species diversity of spruce forest plants , in the old stumps there are a huge number of ants, worms, shrews and rodents. These are voles, ordinary and dark, shrews.
Depending on the yield of spruce, the protein population also changes. In winter and spring there are hares and moose. In pursuit of prey, wolves wander into spruce forests. In the forest of spruce trees, they can create a den for breeding.
A large number of rodents are attracted to the spruce ermines and martens. Also in the deep thickets you can encounter a bear, flying squirrel or trot.
At the same time, the distribution of animals throughout the forest is uneven. Most representatives of the fauna live where fir trees do not grow so densely, where there is undergrowth and a relatively high degree of illumination.
Feathered
There are a lot of birds in spruce forests. In some forests, nesting reaches 350 pairs per 1 square kilometer. Hazel grouse and capercaillie, partridge and black grouse like to settle in green grass. Cuckoos, Muscovites and wrens here will become, rather, a rarity. Where the forest is dense, puffers and finches, zaryanki settle. On the ground, nests are equipped with rattles, a forest horse and scallops. In sparse and mixed forests there are many jays, woodpeckers, whirlwinds and gummies.
Reptiles and Amphibians
Of reptiles in spruce forests, vipers and lizards are found. You can find these inhabitants in sunny glades, where the grass and shrubs are low.
Tritons are found in puddles and on the outskirts of roads. The grass frog also loves the high humidity and shade of the fir trees.