Forest plantations are experiencing the increasing influence of negative factors caused by global climate change and excessive anthropogenic pressure. This leads to an increase of forest fires incidences. This is especially relevant for coniferous forests, where over 70 % of forest fires occur. The intensity and type of fire that occurs in forests depends on the quantitative composition of forest combustible materials and their ability to ignite, weather conditions, and silvicultural characteristics of a stand. Stocks of forest combustible materials were determined by the methods of their full selection at the research plots (1 m2) and determination of their mass. Peculiarities of accumulation of stock of the forest combustible materials in pure pine stands are analyzed depending on the type of forest growth conditions and stand age. We established an increase of stock of the forest combustible materials depending on stand age. We have also established the dynamics in pine stands not only of the quantitative indicators of the forest litter, but also of its qualitative characteristics, in particular, the ratio between the mineralization layers of forest litter and its thickness. Under conditions of insufficient drying of the lower layers of forest litter, which are much more damp in comparison with the upper ones, they do not burn completely and during a forest fire perform the function of thermal insulation buffer, preventing damage to the root systems of tree plants, distributed in the upper layers of the soil.
forest fires, stock of forest combustible materials, pine forests, forest litter