Tula Abatis

Tula Abatis 

valuable large forests on the territory of Tula Oblast, RSFSR, which are of great historical and scientific importance. Covering an area of 74,300 ha, the Tula Abatis are distributed in belts 2–5 km wide in the region where, beginning in the 13th century, systems of barriers (abatis lines) were created from felled trees, ditches, and palisades to protect the southern borders of the Russian state from attack by the Mongol-Tatars. Beginning in the 16th century, it was the most important part of the Great Abatis Line on the southern frontier of the Russian state.

Predominant in the Tula Abatis are deciduous plantings, primarily of oak but with some highly prolific species of linden, ash, maple, and elm; forests were planted on large areas. Methods of thinning and caring for oak groves that have become widespread in forestry in the USSR were developed in the Tula Abatis. The long history of forestry in the Tula Abatis is of great importance for forestry in the steppes.

S. G. SINITSYN