Biogeosystem Technique as a methodology for overcoming the outdated theory and management principles of semiarid silviculture

Forests and artificial forest lines at the climax stage are the source of greenhouse gases. Artificial forests, forest lines, recreational forest plantations can help to reduce the greenhouse emission, increase oxygen production, enlarge the soil carbon biological capacity, and improve silviculture land protective and recreational function. 

Artificial forest systems on the Chernozem and Kastanozem have the obvious signs of the climatic suppression. The adverse influence of climate on artificial forests via summer droughts is aggravated by poor soil conditions for silviculture. The lifespan of artificial forests reduces from typical for most tree species of 200-800 years to short 30-60 years. In dry steppe, the habitus and dimensions of trees are worse in comparison to natural analogue in good conditions of development. Now the artificial forests in semiarid and arid areas do not suit the task of carbon sequestration, oxygen producing and climate correction. It aggravates the current uncertainty of biosphere. Standard outdated agronomy and soil reclamation technologies fail to prepare the soil for the long-term successful forest growth. The known silviculture technology fails to provide the forest soil watering, because standard irrigation is linked to enormous water consumption, soil and landscape degradation.

We propose the Biogeosystem Technique (BGT*) for the semiarid and arid forestry improvement. The BGT* is a transcendental (non-imitating natural processes) approach to improve soil management including pre-planting soil processing, soil watering and fertigation (chemisation) for proper long-term artificial forestry. The BGT* provide regulation of the fluxes of energy, matter (including organic carbon), water and higher biological productivity of artificial forestry: intra-soil machining provides productive fine aggregate system of the 20-50 cm soil layer for root development; waste intra-soil dispersed recycling while intra-soil machining of the 20-50 cm soil layer provides better soil reclamation, remediation, plant nutrition, macro- and micro elements (including heavy metals), matter organic matter  transfer and turnover in the soil continuum; intra-soil pulse continuous-discrete plant watering reduces the transpiration rate, water consumption of trees is less for 5-20 times, and at the same time provides increased biological productivity of forest plantation, reversible biological sequestration of carbon. The BGT* methods reduce the loss of organic matter from soil into vadoze zone and atmosphere; reduce greenhouse emission from soil and forest, and improve the agro-ecological environment. Apply of the BGT* methods to the dry steppe Chernozem and Kastanozem artificial forest systems will increase the artificial forests oxygen and biomas production, prolong forest lifespan, improve the silviculture land protection function, and mitigate climate change.

BGT* robotic systems will be of low energy and material consumption, will improve forestry, agriculture, reduce the biosphere and climate uncertainty, insure the recreational appearance of forest, make the life attractive.

Objectives of the study: to show the long-term results of Russian steppe terrain silviculture system on Chernozem and Kastanozem; using BGT* methodology, to justify intra-soil 20-50 cm milling, waste intra-soil dispersed recycling while intra-soil 20-50 cm machining, intra-soil pulse continuous-discrete plant watering to provide higher artificial forest biological productivity, reversible carbon biological sequestration, soil fertility, the human and soil health.