Results of 35 years of permanent-plot studies of the structure and dynamics of ecosystems of virgin and drained mires and paludified forests carried out in the Kindasovo research station (Pryazha District, southern Karelia) are reported. Drainage, which changes the water regime in mire and paludified forest ecosystems, results in a dramatic transformation of their structure and function, in changes in the carbon balance. The tendency in post-drainage successions is towards a mesophytic plant cover, formation of secondary treed, and then of more productive forest communities in place of open mires. Forest drainage leads to a decline in the diversity of plant communities in areas where it is used on a large scope.
A set of silvicultural measures has been developed and a number of forestry guidelines have been suggested to raise the productivity of tree stands in drained lands and to reduce the negative consequences of forest drainage.