Deposits as a Source of Regulating Ecosystem Services Using the Example of the Taiga Zone of the Northwestern Federal District

This article provides an overview of the ecosystem services provided by unused agricultural lands that regulate a number of environmental aspects: carbon sequestration, snow accumulation and, consequently, water regulation, phytoncidal activity and, consequently, the regulation of pathogenic microorganisms, and dust retention. As an example of the assessment of these services, a number of model sites in the Pskov region with different directions of post-agrogenic succession are given: with a dominance of grasses in meadow vegetation, with a dominance of dicotyledons in meadow vegetation, with a dominance of invasive lupine in meadow vegetation, with a dominance of conifers in forest vegetation, and with a dominance of deciduous trees in forest vegetation. An assessment of the provided ecosystem services is presented, differentiated depending on the direction of post-agrogenic succession. These studies demonstrate that fallow lands can be considered ecologically significant, utilizing a range of ecosystem services provided by unused agricultural lands, which are produced by post-agrarian ecosystems as a result of post-agrogenic succession. These services are provided by these ecosystems depending on the degree of woody vegetation cover, the species composition of the tree canopy, and the living ground cover (LGC).