Forest Parks Green Belt

Categories / City Topography/Green Areas/Forest Parks
FOREST PARKS GREEN BELT is situated 20-60 km from the centre of St. Petersburg and includes forest parks and forests of the city and adjacent regions of Leningrad Region. It serves to improve the sanitary and hygienic conditions of the city and provides for public recreation. The forest green belt was created in 1933, and has been changed several times. Its area is over 140,000 hectares, and over 120,000 hectare of them are covered with forest (1990). Forests of the green belt are given first class protection, only forest management techniques are used, which include improvement thinning, landscaping and reforestation. From the natural forest area surrounding St. Petersburg, 42 forest parks were created (almost all of them are on the Karelian Isthmus). Growing stock of forest parks consists mainly of pines, fir trees, birches, and aspens; mixed forests are also frequent. Broad-leaved trees (oaks and lindens), larches, cedar pines, and other species are planted in some of the forest parks; a series of paths and resting places have been made. Forest parks that are best for recreational purposes are those on the coast of the Gulf of Finland with pine forests and sand beaches (Central Health Resort, Komarovo, Solnechnoe, Dyuny beaches and others). Among the other popular forest parks are: Yukkovsky, Kavgolovsky and Novokavgolovsky, where eskerine hills combine with softwood forests and numerous lakes and Nevsky Forest Park on the right bank of Neva, etc. Many recreational and sanatorium establishments are situated in the forest parks green belt.

G. А. Isachenko.