The Model Shelterbelt. A Green Wall in the Steppe of Dnipropetrovshchyna

Among the protective forest plantings in the Ukrainian steppe there is also a model shelterbelt, which holds the status of a botanical natural monument of local significance.

 

This green ribbon of trees is situated half a kilometre from the northern boundary of the village of Slavne, Mezhova district, Dnipropetrovsk region, beside the T-04-28 road.

 

The T-04-28 road near the village of Slavne, Mezhova district. The model shelterbelt is on the left.

The uniqueness of this plantation lies in the fact that it consists of oak stands and is the only one of its kind in the Dnipropetrovshchyna. Of course, oaks grow in the forests and plantations across the region, but the creation of man's green friend in such a format has never been repeated.

 

In 1928-1929, when the rifle volleys of the civil war had barely died down in the Soviet state, enterprising citizens planted young oaks. Surely this was important not only for protecting the harvest from dry winds and dust storms, but the road fromMezhova to Slovianka, in unfavourable forest-growing conditions, also became more cheerful.

 

One can only imagine how this life-affirming idea of planting an artificial forest was brought to life. Why was the patriarch of the forests chosen for planting, rather than the drought-resistant poplars and acacias traditional for the steppe expanses? Undoubtedly, it was no easy matter to find planting stock and tools, and to mobilise the foresters.

 

The oaks took root and grew strong, and in 1974 the shelterbelt was granted the status of a botanical natural monument. The grove is 520 metres long and covers an area of 0.9 hectares. Over almost a hundred years of history the trees have risen to 20-30 metres and have already stopped growing taller. Only the trunk gains girth, the branches grow sturdier, and the sprawling crowns take on the form of a tent.

Over these years the giants have had to hold back snowdrifts and strong wind. Thanks to the oaks, soil erosion decreased and the ravine did not widen. In time, self-sown neighbours settled in alongside the mighty trees — the local natives, acacias, poplars, and ash — creating a many-coloured motley in the autumn period. Now together they form a green wall, making the nature of the Mezhova area more varied and the air cleaner.

 

Birds use the dense stand for nesting and for stopovers during migration. This is a single strip of planting along the Mezhova-Slovianka road, and it is a pity that no one afterwards carried on the innovators' work of planting forest-forming species, for the century-old trees give a great harvest of acorns.

 

In the waterless steppe zone an oak lives 300-400 years, and let us hope for a long life for the model shelterbelt.

 

Coordinates: 48°18’54"N 36°44’11"E