Forest Monitoring on Valuable Territories: An Update on the Yaykivsky Botanical Reserve

As a part of the project "Combating Illegal Logging in Ukraine," supported by the US Forest Service, ForestCom experts conducted on-ground monitoring of high conservation value forests in Osmoloda Forestry.

Recently, the focus of their monitoring efforts has been the Yaykivsky Botanical Reserve, which is located west of Osmoloda in the Kalush District of the Ivano-Frankivsk region, on the slopes of the Yayko-Perehinske Mountain in the Gorgany mountain range. The reserve is protected by the Mshan Forestry District of the "Osmolodske Forestry", which is a branch of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine".

Background:

Established in 1974, the Yaykivsky Botanical Reserve was the largest Carpathian cedar habitat at the time. It plays a crucial role in the study of postglacial vegetation in the Carpathian Mountains. The reserve's forest stands consist of cedar and fir species with a ground covered by blueberry and moss. The summit of Mount Yayko is covered with dense thickets of mountain pine, creating a unique ecological landscape.

Monitoring Results:

After covering over 16 kilometers through the scenic natural reserve, the ForestCom experts did not identify any major threats to the forest within the reserve. However, they did notice isolated patches of spruce defoliation near the reserve boundaries, indicating the need for further monitoring of this species' conditions.

Regarding forestry activities, the monitoring results confirmed that the forest management operations (tree logging) did not breach the boundaries of the reserve. The identified logging activities near the reserve boundaries had the necessary permits - forest logging tickets. Nevertheless, there were instances of tree misplacement during the logging process. Healthy and undamaged trees were felled alongside the designated infected ones, as evident from the state of fresh stumps of healthy trees without any damage and the presence of intense resin exudation and green twigs with woody debris.

Selective sanitary logging, conducted in the buffer zone of the reserve, has affected the established ecological "Carpathian Trails" in some areas surrounding the reserve.

We recommend prioritizing the preservation of the established ecological trail during the planning of further forestry activities to prevent soil erosion. Additionally, efforts should be made to maintain the ecological trails in an appropriate condition.