Journal of Radio Electronics. eISSN 1684-1719. 2026. №6

Full text in Russian (pdf)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30898/1684-1719.2026.6.8

Influence of Forest on Ground-Level Propagation
of Waves in the Low-Frequency Part
of the Ultra-Short Wave Band

A.Yu. Vetuzhsky

Institute of Physical Materials Science of the Siberian Branch of the RAS,
670047, Russia, Ulan-Ude, Sakhyanovoy str., 6

The paper was received May 15, 2026.

Abstract. The paper is devoted to an experimental study of the influence of forest on the propagation of electromagnetic waves in the low-frequency part of the ultra-short wave band. It is shown that existing empirical signal attenuation models have limited applicability in this frequency range, as they do not separate the contributions of forest vegetation and the underlying surface, nor do they always account for the effect of lateral waves propagating above the forest canopy. The paper presents the results of field measurements conducted in a pine forest and over open terrain with identical soil conditions. Based on a comparison of the distance dependences of the field level, it is revealed that at low frequencies of the band, the additional attenuation introduced by forest vegetation ceases to increase with distance beyond a certain range and remains nearly constant relative to the field level over open terrain. This effect is explained by the transition to a lateral wave propagation mechanism along the forest canopy. It is shown that at higher frequencies, the propagation behavior changes: signal attenuation in the forest increases proportionally to the propagation distance, and lateral wave formation does not occur. It is also found that elements of forest vegetation, acting as scatterers, simultaneously minimize the influence of the Earth's surface on wave propagation. The obtained results allow refinement of existing radio wave propagation models in forest massifs and can be used in the design of communication systems in rough and forested terrain.

Key words: forest environment, wave propagation, attenuation, lateral wave.

Financing: The work was carried out within the framework of the state assignment of the Institute of Physical Materials Science of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences No. FWSF-2024-0008

Corresponding author: Vetluzhsky Alexander Yurievich, vay@ipms.bscnet.ru

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For citation:

Vetluzhsky A.Yu. Influence of forest on ground-level propagation of waves in the low-frequency part of the ultra-short wave band. // Journal of Radio Electronics. – 2026. – № 6. https://doi.org/10.30898/1684-1719.2026.6.8 (In Russian)