Dynamics of the sanitary condition of Scots pine stands in the green zone of Kyiv (based on the example of the Sviatoshyn Communal Forest-Park Enterprise)

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the specifics of forest ecosystems in the green zone of Kyiv, which are located in a zone of intense anthropogenic stress and play a critical role in the urban environment. The purpose of the study was to analyse changes in the sanitary condition of green zone forests, identify key factors leading to their degradation, and develop recommendations for their improvement. The study used the analysis and generalisation of forest management materials, literature data, well-known methods of forestry and forest valuation (reconnaissance and detailed survey of plantings), and forest pathological methods for identifying and analysing the sanitary condition of pine plantations. During 2020-2024, a decrease in the overall stability of pine stands was found, since about 25% of them were mature and over-mature, which lose their environmental and aesthetic functions. The increase in dead wood volumes is the result of the colonisation of weakened plantings by stem pests, such as common pine shoot beetle (Tomicus piniperda L.), lesser pine shoot beetle (T. minor Hartig.), sharp-toothed bark beetle (Ips acuminatus Gyllenhal), six-toothed bark beetle (Ips sexdentatus Boerner), steelblue jewel beetle (Phaenops cyanea Fabricius), pine sawyer beetle (Monochamus galloprovincialis Ol.), and timberman beetle (Acanthocinus aedilis L.). The identified populations of xylophagous insects were characterised by a low to medium degree of infestation and were observed only on severely weakened trees. The largest area of pine stands (690.0 ha) covered by selective sanitary logging occurred in 2020, which indicates the impact of negative factors. Analysis of the typological structure showed that light pine forests were the most common (54.8% of the area), and fresh conditions predominate among hygrotopes (94.72% by area). High-performance stands of quality classes 1c-2 (99.1% of the area) and medium-aged stands (56.5% of the area) predominated. The total volume of accumulated dead wood was 285.4 thousand tonnes, of which 86.2% was concentrated in pine forests, with the largest carbon reservoir being the forest floor (65.1%). The average density of deadwood in pine stands was 2.61 kg·m⁻². The results obtained can be used to develop effective measures to improve the sanitary condition of pine stands in the forests of green areas, increase their resistance to pests and diseases, and to optimise the recreational load