Description of study site |
The station Mayachino is located at the southeast Lake Ladoga coast in Olonets district of Russian Karelia (Russia) in the subzone of middle taiga.The landscape is rather marshy: forests on dry soil comprise just 8% of the total area, and most forests grow on more or less wet soil. Most widespread are pine forests (65%), spruce forests cover 16% of the total forest area, aspen cover 10%, birch 8% and alder 1%. Nest-boxes were provided in mature pine and spruce stands with small admixture of birches (pines 120–130, spruces 80–100 years old), in pine and deciduous mixed forests (70–80 years old), deciduous and spruce mixed forests, black alder stands (70–80 years old), and in young and submature pine and deciduous forests (20–50 years old, with pines, birches, spruces and aspens) |