Article
| Article name | BEAVER IMPACT ON THE PLANT COMMUNITY STRUCTURE, SOIL PROPERTIES AND BIODIVERSITY OF PRISTINE SPRUCE FORESTS (VODLOZERSKY NATIONAL PARK, RUSSIA) |
| Authors | Vladimir A. Ananyev, PhD, Leading Researcher of the Forest Research Institute of the Karelian Research Center of RAS (185910, Russia, Republic of Karelia, Petrozavodsk, Pushkinskaya Street, 11); iD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8245-5836; e-mail: ananyev@krc.karelia.ru |
| Reference to article | Ananyev V.A., Medvedeva M.V., Pekkoev A.N., Ruokolainen A.V., Solodovnikov A.N., Timofeeva V.V. 2026. Beaver impact on the plant community structure, soil properties and biodiversity of pristine spruce forests (Vodlozersky National Park, Russia). Nature Conservation Research 11(3): 22–37. https://dx.doi.org/10.24189/ncr.2026.017 Electronic Supplement 1. Additional information to the paper by Ananyev et al. (2026) (Link). |
| Section | Research articles |
| DOI | https://dx.doi.org/10.24189/ncr.2026.017 |
| Abstract | This comprehensive research was conducted in the Vodlozersky National Park (Republic of Karelia, Russia), which preserves large areas of indigenous forests in Northwestern Russia. This paper was aimed to study the impact of prolonged flooding (10–15 years) on the area as a result of Castor spp. (hereinafter – beaver) activity on the main components of indigenous Middle taiga spruce forests (stand, natural regeneration, living ground cover, mycobiota, forest floor microbiota, soil, flora). The study was conducted in 2021–2023. It has been established that spruce stands cannot withstand flooding, and during the first 10–15 years, they completely dry out and fall out. There was an abundant renewal of deciduous trees (Betula spp. (hereinafter – birch), Salix spp.) at 2–4 years after the end of the flooding impact. The number of birch trees in different areas varied from 14 900 units/0.01 km2 to 24 500 units/0.01 km2 with a 52–61% frequency of occurrence, while the Picea abies (hereinafter – spruce) renewal varied from 500 units/0.01 km2 to 1000 units/0.01 km2 with frequency of occurrence of 3–7%. The flora of the flooded areas was 2.3 times more diverse compared to the control plots, where 115 vascular plant species have been registered, of which 98% are native plants. While maintaining the generally boreal structure of the flora, the proportions of various ecological groups changed considerably. The moss layer has been deformed, where Bryopsida mosses were replaced by Sphagnopsida. In flooded areas, physico-chemical properties of soils were changing, stocks of biophilic elements were increasing, with an increase in activity of the cellulose-destroying complex of organisms. In total, 70 aphyllophore fungi species have been identified, of which one species is listed in the Red Data Book of the Republic of Karelia, three fungi are specialised species, and nine fungi are indicator species for old-growth forests. In total, 1.6 times fewer species of wood-destroying fungi were registered in the flooded zone than on control plots. The results of the present study can be used for monitoring the natural environment and predictive assessments of the restoration of the indigenous spruce forests of Eastern Fennoscandia after their transformation caused by beaver activity. |
| Keywords | aphyllophoroid fungi, beaver settlement, flooding, ground cover, natural regeneration, pristine forest, Republic of Karelia, riparian biocoenosis, soil |
| Artice information | Received: 22.12.2025. Revised: 13.03.2026. Accepted: 05.04.2026. |
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