Application of the Initial Forest Survey Materials to Find the Key Intact Forest Sites in the Far East

Abstract

We provide a short review of the development history of the Far East and the first sampling plots initiated in various forest formations by A.G. Petrovich, a pioneer in forest studies of Primorye, right after its incorporation in 1870–1871. The sampling plots reflect the composition and productivity of typical forest sites, and thus could be used as etalons of intact forests. Protected areas in forests of the Far East should become the monitoring basis of forest-forming processes under natural and human-induced changes. The authors recommend organizing the growth plots in undisturbed and secondary forests there.