The aim of this work is to assess carbon pools and fluxes in a community developing after a clear-cut of a bilberry pine forest in 2008. The total carbon stocks in felling areas and skidding tracks were comparable and ranged from 10.8 to 11.6 kg/m². However, differences were noted in the role of individual components in their formation. Thus, the upper meter soil layer (including forest litter) is the dominant pool, accounting for 78% in felling areas and 95% on skidding tracks. According to the results of 5-year observations, the post-logging community shows an accumulation of phytomass and an increase in the participation of pine trees in this process, both in felling areas and on skidding tracks. However, the growth rates of woody plants are low, reaching 65 g C/m² per year in felling areas and 5 g C/m² per year on skidding tracks. In the overall carbon accumulation by the phytocoenosis, ground cover plants play a significant role, sequestering 72—102 g C/m² per year. Small carbon stocks in the “vegetation” block resulted in low intensity of plant litter input to the soil surface, which amounted to 56—71 g C/m² per year with a predominant (58—71%) role of living ground cover plants. The release of carbon into the atmosphere through soil respiration shows interannual dynamics and depends on the degree of soil cover damage during logging. During May—October, 303—518 g C/m² are emitted from the surface of felling areas, and 419—608 g C/m² from skidding tracks. The obtained data indicate the need to assess carbon pools and fluxes in ecosystems after clear-cutting, taking into account the routes of logging machinery movement due to the difference in these parameters between elements in the post-logging community. Overall, the analysis of carbon accumulation processes in phytomass and its release into the atmosphere through soil respiration showed that the bilberry pine forest ecosystem 10—15 years after clear-cutting acts as a carbon source, the exact values of which can be determined by obtaining data on the separation of soil respiration into autotrophic and heterotrophic components, as well as the share of the warm period in the annual CO₂ flux from the soil surface.
Osipov et al. (2025) studied this question.