On March 27, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Since the beginning of the year, 60 thousand square meters of drying spruce forests have been identified and registered in the Vitebsk region, Vasily Kirpichenok, Deputy Head of the Department of the Vitebsk Regional Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, told a BELTA correspondent. The forest pathological situation in the region began to worsen in 2010, especially in the forestry enterprises in the Orsha and Tolochin districts, where the southern boundary of spruce distribution runs. Environmentalists attribute this to hot summers and a decrease in groundwater levels. In 2011, 361 hectares of drying spruce forests with a total timber volume of 122 thousand cubic meters were registered in the Orsha forestry, and 111 hectares with a total volume of 33 thousand cubic meters in the Tolochin forestry. In total, across the regional forestry association in 2011, 532 hectares of drying spruce forests with a total timber volume of 169 thousand cubic meters were registered. The most effective method for preventing spruce forest diseases is partial or clear-cutting. Last year, almost all drying spruce forests were felled. However, dangerous processes have not yet been stopped. Following an inspection of spruce stands this year, a total of 30 thousand cubic meters of drying spruce forests requiring clear sanitary felling have been registered across the forestry association, including 21 thousand cubic meters in the Orsha forestry and 7 thousand cubic meters in the Tolochin forestry. Another 30 thousand cubic meters of spruce stands require selective sanitary felling. As of mid-March, 63% of diseased spruce forests have been cleared by clear sanitary felling, and 73% by selective felling. The condition of ash stands also raises concern among environmentalists. This year, in the Liozno forestry, according to survey data, 8 thousand cubic meters of ash stands are to be felled through clear and selective cutting, of which a quarter have already been felled. As Vasily Kirpichenok noted, the situation with spruce and ash forests is under control. However, failure to take appropriate measures may lead to a significant deterioration of the sanitary condition of the forest fund, a decrease in the technical quality of the timber itself, the emergence of new foci of stem pests, and a worsening of the overall environmental situation in the region. -0-

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