814 trees for reforestation

This year can be considered as an innovative for the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge. Using a variety of modern technologies, more than 850 trees have been planted in the area of 3800 square meters. The reforestation activities are carried out already for 4 years, though the experimental planting processes started in autumn of 2015 and continued in the spring of 2016. The results of these activities will become a basis for the further large-scale reforestation.

The Refuge’s reforestation map is currently in a phase of development: the particularly vulnerable areas are being separated and the measures are implemented in order to prevent the negative phenomena.
An extensive seed harvesting is also included in the list of events for 2016. The objective is the creation of own seed bank, which is an important genetic resource for biodiversity conservation.
Hereinafter, the reforestation activities in the territory of the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge will be implemented exclusively from the plants, which seeds are a local-regional origin. The nursery, founded in 2015, will serve right for this objective in order to produce large amount of high quality seedlings.

The monitoring carried out in the plantations of the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge enable to take measurements of the atmospheric precipitation, the soil moisture, the temperature and the humidity of the air, basing on which the irrigation norms are determined.

The use of hydrogel, a water storage polymeric material, in the new plantations is still in a phase of examining. Though, the elasticity and the water absorbing and compiling features of the crystals are already examined, more detailed physiological studies are needed in order to determine the availability for the plants.

Another innovation, deep root irrigation system, has been used in the territory of the plantations.

The extensive activities will enable to create a stable scientific potential, which serves not only for the development of their own capabilities, but also for the partners and the beneficiary communities.