Effect of fires on the ecosystems of subtaiga forest-steppe forests in the southwestern Baikal Region

The data of experimental studies on the after-fire digression of subtaiga forest-steppe pine forests in the Southwestern Baikal Region are analyzed. Ground fires of the litter-humus type are ascertained to be the most destructive factor in the dynamics of pine forests. The effect of a ground fire is accompanied with the drying of trees, and the vital capacity of those that survived the fire depends on the severity of fire damages. The characteristic of the lower vegetation layers and its dynamics under the effect of moderately intense fires are presented. Ground fires are shown to negatively affect the change in the reserve qualitative fractional structure of organogenic soil layers and their chemical composition.