The vital state of trees on the area of the “Roza Khutor” ski complex is assessed as part of monitoring activity twice a year. For this purpose, permanent sample areas set up in different forest types are used. In the reporting period (second half of 2013) the vital state of trees on these areas was as follows:

Riparian alder (sample area #1)

There are no trees on this territory as the permanent sample area was destroyed

Mixed beech-chestnut forest (sample area #2)

On this sample area, predominant are oriental beech and sweet chestnut, with partly Georgian oak.
By now the vital state is rated at level 2-3. Negative changes are expressed by drying branches of sweet chestnut, with the deterioration of its vital state obvious. The proportion of drying branches is 10% of the crowns, which is greater than in the previous years (spring-summer 2013). There are more beech leaves damaged by spotting and galls.
The undergrowth is established and is represented by oriental beech and sweet chestnut, its height being 1-1.5 m. The projective cover of the undergrowth is 55%. The undergrowth leaves are slightly damaged by insects, and beech undergrowth shows some galls.

Mixed beech-chestnut forest with maples (sample area #3)

The forest on this area is made of oriental beech, Norwegian maple and sycamore maple, and sweet chestnut.
As of the reporting period (autumn 2013) the vital state of the forest is getting worse and rated at level 2-3 – the forest stand is severely weakened. Maple leaves are heavily affected by spotting, primarily mycetogenic, with 23% of the crowns damaged. Other trees are attacked by insects, scorching. Chestnut crowns show drying branches, some chestnut trees are stagheaded. Oriental beech leaves show galls. The tree canopy on the sample area is damaged, on the average, by 35 % . The vital state s getting lower due to drying of some branches and top drying of sweet chestnut.
The undergrowth is represented by oriental beech, sweet chestnut and sycamore maple and is 2-2,5 m high. The undergrowth is established, with some signs of diseases or damage, such as beech galls and leaves damaged by insects. The projective cover is 65%.

Mixed beech-maple forest (sample area #4)

The predominant species is oriental beech, with significant proportion of sycamore maple and Traufetter maple. The vital state of the forest stand in the reporting year (autumn 2013) is stable and is rated as level 2- weakened trees. Trees are damaged by insects, there are multiple spotting of maples and galls on beech leaves. The overall canopy damage is no more than 28-30%.
The undergrowth is established, with some signs of damage, primarily by insects. The undergrowth is represented by sycamore maple, Norway maple and oriental beech. It is multi-aged, its height varying from 1 -3 cm to 1.5 -1.7 m. The projective cover is 65%.

Beech-rowan crooked forest (sample area #5)

The stand is made of crook-stem oriental beech and rowan, with some Litvinov’s birch.
The vital state of the stand is rated to be level 3-4 – the forest stand is severely disturbed. Tree crowns have dying branches, stagheadedness is noted on some trees. Leaves of trees are damaged by insects, multiple scorch and spotting, beech leaves show galls. The overall crown damage is 60-65 %. Crowns are sparse. There is no undergrowth.

Thus the vital state of the forest stand on the ski complex “Roza Khutor has changed noticeably over the reporting period. All trees are weakened and affected. These negative changes are du to both human-induced stress and adverse weather conditions of the reporting year. Sweet chestnut continues to be most sensitive to adverse living conditions. On all sample areas on which this species grows we see dying branches in crowns and in some cases top drying.

The vital state of tree stand on the area of the “Roza Khutor” ski complex was assessed within the monitoring activity. Assessment is performed annually on the permanent sample areas occurring in the following forest types: riparian alder; mixed beech-chestnut forest; mixed beech-chestnut forest with maples; mixed beech-maple forest; and beech-rowan crooked forest. In the reporting period (first half of 2013) the vital state of trees was as follows:

Riparian alder (sample area #1)

No forest stands exist as the permanent sample area was destroyed.

Mixed beech-chestnut forest (sample area #2)

On this sample area, the predominant are oriental beech and sweet chestnut, with partly Georgian oak. The vital status is at 2nd level: leaves are damaged by insects and spotty, galls (on beech) occur. Note should be made of the deteriorating state of sweet chestnut: the crown becomes damaged and some dry branches can be seen in crowns. The undergrowth is established, medium density, no signs of diseases or damage. It is represented by oriental beech and sweet chestnut, the height is 1-1.5 m. The projective cover of the undergrowth is 55%.

Mixed beech-chestnut forest with maples (sample area #3)

The forest on this area is made of oriental beech, Norwegian maple and sycamore maple, and sweet chestnut. The vital state is at 2nd level – the forest stand is weakened. Leaves are damaged by insects and scorch, spotty. It may be worth noting that spotting occurs more frequently on maples, while scorch – on sweet chestnut. Oriental beech leaves are primarily damaged by galls. The overall canopy damage is up 20 % . The undergrowth is represented by oriental beech, sweet chestnut and sycamore maple and is 2-2,5 m high. The undergrowth is established, no signs of diseases or damage, with the projective cover up to 65%.

Mixed beech-maple forest (sample area #4)

The predominant species is oriental beech with significant proportion of sycamore maple and Traufetter maple. Currently, the vital state of the forest stand is stable, without major adverse changes and is rated as level 2. Leaves of oriental beech show galls, maple leaves are damaged by spotting extensively. Leaves of all trees are damaged by insects. The overall canopy damage is no more than 25%.

The undergrowth is represented by sycamore maple, oriental beech, and Norway maple. Seedlings are visible for maple and beech. The undergrowth is established, no signs of diseases or damage, its height varies from 1 cm (seedlings) to 1.5 m, which indicates that it is multi-aged and dynamic development of the population. The projective cover is up to 60-65%.

Beech-rowan crooked forest (sample area #5)

The stand is made of crook-stem beech and rowan, with some Litvinov’s birch. The vital state of the stand is rated to be the 3d level – the forest stand is disturbed. Leaves of all trees are damaged by insects, spotting and scorch. The overall crown damage is up to 55 %. The undergrowth is represented by oriental beech, sweet chestnut and sycamore maple and is 2-2,5 m high. The undergrowth is established, no signs of diseases or damage, with the projective cover up to 65%. Openness of oriental beech canopy is also recorded. The undergrowth is absent.

Thus it may be concluded that the vital state of the forest stand on the ski complex “Roza Khutor is stable in general, with no significant adverse changes recorded so far. Note, hoever, should be made of a decreasing resilience of sweet chestnut. Further monitoring will provide a basis for assessing the degree to severity of this process.

The ski complex “Roza Khutor” occupies an extensive territory on which different types of forest occur. Coordination of integrated environmental monitoring activities is provided by the scientific department of the Sochi National Park. For the purpose of monitoring of forest conditions at ski complex “Roza Khutor” 5 sample areas were established: 1. Riparian alder; 2. Mixed beech-chestnut forest; 3. Mixed beech-chestnut forest with maples; 4. Mixed beech-maple forest; 5. Beech-rowan crooked forest.

In the reporting period (autumn-winter 2010) the state of the forest on the monitoring plots used for forest health monitoring was as follows:

Riparian alder (sample area #1)

No forest stands exist as a result of destruction of permanent sample area.

Mixed beech-chestnut forest (sample area #2)

On this sample area the predominant are oriental beech and sweet chestnut, with significant proportion of Georgian oak. Over the reporting period the vital state of the forest stands was stable, with no major negative changes. In autumn-winter 2012 the forest stands became weaker, which was expressed in wider damage of leaves by insects and spots on them. The vital status is at 2nd level – the forest is weakened. Given further increase in adverse factors, both anthropogenic and natural origin, further weakening of forest can be expected.

Mixed beech-chestnut forest with maples (sample area #3)

The forest is equally made of oriental beech and sweet chestnut, with significant proportion of Norwegian maple and sycamore maple. As compared to the previous reporting period, a negative trend is clearly seen, pointing to some weakening of forest stands. The phytosanitary state is assessed as level 2.

Mixed beech-maple forest (sample area #4)

Oriental beech is predominant with significant proportion of sycamore maple and Traufetter maple. Over the monitoring period the vital state of the forest was stable with minor signs of diseases and damage. The phytosanitary situation is stable and the phytosanitary condition of the forest is attributed to level 2.

Beech-rowan crooked forest (sample area #5)

On this sample are the forest condition was stable. During 2012 the phytosanitary condition of the forest decreased to level 3 (severely weakened forest), most likely, as a result of a severe winter with extremely high and lasting snow cover. As of today, the forest is weakened, the leaf damage by insects and scorch is extensive, beech leaves are damaged by galls. Trees are weaker and canopy is scarce. There is no undergrowth on the sample area.

Thus over the reporting period (autumn-winter 2012) the vital state of forest was declining throughout the ski complex “Roza Khutor” expressed in occurrence of diseases and damage by pests. In this phase the changes are still reversible in nature and present no major concern. Yet it should be noted that with the proportion of tree diseases growing and the level of phytosanitary condition decreasing the situation may become critical.

There are permanent sample areas in the following forest types: 1. Riparian forest with dominant alder; 2. Mixed beech-chestnut forest; 3. Mixed beech-chestnut-maple forest; 4. Mixed beech-maple forest; 5. Beech-rowan crooked forest .

On sample area #1 located in the riparian alder forest , the forest was cut out in the course of construction activity.

On other forest areas of the ski complex “Roza Khutor” the vital state of the forest did not change significantly.

In 2011 the vital state indexes for mixed forests on the territory of the ski complex “Roza Khutor” were declining (level 2- weakened forest) due to increasing leaf damage by insects and appearance of galls. These changes are probably related to outbreak of pest populations resulting from dry and hot summer. In conjunction with increasing anthropogenic burden this has resulted in decline of the forest vital condition.

The phytosanitary state: 1 level – normal forest, 2 level- weakened forest,
3 level- drying forest, 4 level – seriously damaged forest

On sample area #1 located in the riparian alder forest, the forest was cut out in the course of construction activity.

On other forest areas of the ski complex “Roza Khutor” in the period 2007-2010 the vital state of the forest did not change significantly.

In 2010 the vital state indexes for mixed forests on the territory of the ski complex “Roza Khutor” were declining (level 2- weakened forest) due to increasing leaf damage by insects and appearance of galls. These changes are probably related to outbreak of pest populations resulting from dry and hot summer. In conjunction with increasing anthropogenic burden this has resulted in decline of the forest vital condition.

The phytosanitary state: 1 level – normal forest, 2 level- weakened forest,
3 level- drying forest, 4 level – seriously damaged forest