dynamics of carbon pools and fluxes in russia's forest lands

11
1067-4136/05/3605- © 2005 Pleiades Publishing, Inc. 0291 Russian Journal of Ecology, Vol. 36, No. 5, 2005, pp. 291–301. Translated from Ekologiya, No. 5, 2005, pp. 323–333. Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Zamolodchikov, Utkin, Korovin, Chestnykh. The Kyoto Protocol has emphasized the importance of studies on the carbon cycle in boreal forests and the contribution of these forests to the biosphere–atmo- sphere interaction at the regional and global levels. In many countries, specialists have determined not only carbon pools, but also CO 2 sequestering from the atmo- sphere by forests. However, C–CO 2 sequestering is dif- ficult to estimate in countries that are rich in forests, such as Russia and Canada, where forests occupy vast areas with diverse natural conditions and differ in exploitability and the composition of forest-forming species. In Canada, a forest biomass (carbon) inventory has been taken for more than 20 years (Bonnor, 1997), carbon budget is improving (Kurz and Apps, 1999), and the norms and programs of forest research and inven- tory are being developed (Climate Change…, 2002). In Russia, a purposeful inventory of forest biomass (car- bon) has never been made, although forest resources and their exploitation are characterized in FAO reports in terms of woody biomass and its carbon equivalent (Forest Resources…, 2000). Relevant information pub- lished in national reports is fragmentary (Vtoroe na- tsional’noe…, 1998; Tret’e natsional’noe…, 2002; Na- tsional’nyi doklad…, 2002). The purpose of this study is to discuss the state of research on the carbon cycle in Russia’s forest lands. STATE OF THE PROBLEM In ecology, the carbon cycle is considered together with the biological cycles of nitrogen and mineral ele- ments and energy fluxes over the trophic levels within the framework of the problem formulated as the “pri- mary biological production of ecosystems.” Large- scale studies on this problem were performed between 1964 and 1974, when the International Biological Pro- gram (MBP) was implemented, and their results have been repeatedly used by researchers. In particular, N.I. Bazilevich compiled written databases on phyto- mass and necromass stocks and generalized these data in a monograph (Bazilevich, 1993). Her studies gained wide recognition. Today, however, it is considered that the type values of the forest phytomass stock presented in this monograph are almost two times higher than the real values (Shvidenko et al., 2000). Information from the MBP provided a basis for other generalizations, such as the computer database “Biological Productivity of Forest Ecosystems” (Utkin et al., 1994) and mono- graphs on forest phytomass in northern Eurasia (Usol’tsev, 2001). However, MBP data have several disadvantages: (1) the lack of uniformity in covering the stands of for- est-forming species (especially in the northeast of Asian Russia) and shrub formations; (2) unrepresenta- tive information on differences in the composition, age, density, and some other parameters of tree stands; (3) insufficiency of taxonometric descriptions made in some test areas; (4) a great proportion of results (for approximately 60% of test areas) obtained using the average model tree method; (5) the absence of standard (reference) areas of Russian forest ecosystems with the detailed assessment of phytomass, production, the Dynamics of Carbon Pools and Fluxes in Russia’s Forest Lands D. G. Zamolodchikov*, A. I. Utkin**, G. N. Korovin*, and O. V. Chestnykh*** *Center for Problems in Forest Ecology and Productivity, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya ul. 84/32, Moscow, 117810 Russia **Institute of Forest Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, Uspenskoe, Moscow oblast, 143030 Russia ***Moscow State University, Vorob’evy gory, Moscow, 119992 Russia Received December 26, 2003 Abstract—The state and results of studies on the carbon cycle of forests on lands of the Russian forest fund (total area 1172 × 10 6 ha) are analyzed at the federal level. Consideration is given to changes in the areas of different categories of forest lands, the age structure of stands, the pool and deposition of carbon in the phyto- mass, and the organic carbon pool of soils over the period from 1966 to 1998; the dynamics of activity in the forest industry by years and the extent of pyrogenic transformation of the forest cover between 1990 and 2001; and carbon fluxes associated with forest exploitation, including carbon emission resulting from fires. Key words: Russia’s forest lands, phytomass, carbon pools and fluxes, carbon cycle, current problems.

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Page 1: Dynamics of Carbon Pools and Fluxes in Russia's Forest Lands

1067-4136/05/3605- © 2005 Pleiades Publishing, Inc.0291

Russian Journal of Ecology, Vol. 36, No. 5, 2005, pp. 291–301. Translated from Ekologiya, No. 5, 2005, pp. 323–333.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Zamolodchikov, Utkin, Korovin, Chestnykh.

The Kyoto Protocol has emphasized the importanceof studies on the carbon cycle in boreal forests and thecontribution of these forests to the biosphere–atmo-sphere interaction at the regional and global levels. Inmany countries, specialists have determined not onlycarbon pools, but also CO

2

sequestering from the atmo-sphere by forests. However, C–CO

2

sequestering is dif-ficult to estimate in countries that are rich in forests,such as Russia and Canada, where forests occupy vastareas with diverse natural conditions and differ inexploitability and the composition of forest-formingspecies. In Canada, a forest biomass (carbon) inventoryhas been taken for more than 20 years (Bonnor, 1997),carbon budget is improving (Kurz and Apps, 1999), andthe norms and programs of forest research and inven-tory are being developed (

Climate Change…

, 2002). InRussia, a purposeful inventory of forest biomass (car-bon) has never been made, although forest resourcesand their exploitation are characterized in FAO reportsin terms of woody biomass and its carbon equivalent(

Forest Resources…

, 2000). Relevant information pub-lished in national reports is fragmentary (

Vtoroe na-tsional’noe…

, 1998;

Tret’e natsional’noe…

, 2002;

Na-tsional’nyi doklad…

, 2002).

The purpose of this study is to discuss the state ofresearch on the carbon cycle in Russia’s forest lands.

STATE OF THE PROBLEM

In ecology, the carbon cycle is considered togetherwith the biological cycles of nitrogen and mineral ele-

ments and energy fluxes over the trophic levels withinthe framework of the problem formulated as the “pri-mary biological production of ecosystems.” Large-scale studies on this problem were performed between1964 and 1974, when the International Biological Pro-gram (MBP) was implemented, and their results havebeen repeatedly used by researchers. In particular,N.I. Bazilevich compiled written databases on phyto-mass and necromass stocks and generalized these datain a monograph (Bazilevich, 1993). Her studies gainedwide recognition. Today, however, it is considered thatthe type values of the forest phytomass stock presentedin this monograph are almost two times higher than thereal values (Shvidenko

et al.

, 2000). Information fromthe MBP provided a basis for other generalizations,such as the computer database “Biological Productivityof Forest Ecosystems” (Utkin

et al.

, 1994) and mono-graphs on forest phytomass in northern Eurasia(Usol’tsev, 2001).

However, MBP data have several disadvantages:(1) the lack of uniformity in covering the stands of for-est-forming species (especially in the northeast ofAsian Russia) and shrub formations; (2) unrepresenta-tive information on differences in the composition, age,density, and some other parameters of tree stands;(3) insufficiency of taxonometric descriptions made insome test areas; (4) a great proportion of results (forapproximately 60% of test areas) obtained using theaverage model tree method; (5) the absence of standard(reference) areas of Russian forest ecosystems with thedetailed assessment of phytomass, production, the

Dynamics of Carbon Pools and Fluxes in Russia’s Forest Lands

D. G. Zamolodchikov*, A. I. Utkin**, G. N. Korovin*, and O. V. Chestnykh***

*Center for Problems in Forest Ecology and Productivity, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya ul. 84/32, Moscow, 117810 Russia

**Institute of Forest Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, Uspenskoe, Moscow oblast, 143030 Russia

***Moscow State University, Vorob’evy gory, Moscow, 119992 Russia

Received December 26, 2003

Abstract

—The state and results of studies on the carbon cycle of forests on lands of the Russian forest fund(total area 1172

×

10

6

ha) are analyzed at the federal level. Consideration is given to changes in the areas ofdifferent categories of forest lands, the age structure of stands, the pool and deposition of carbon in the phyto-mass, and the organic carbon pool of soils over the period from 1966 to 1998; the dynamics of activity in theforest industry by years and the extent of pyrogenic transformation of the forest cover between 1990 and 2001;and carbon fluxes associated with forest exploitation, including carbon emission resulting from fires.

Key words

: Russia’s forest lands, phytomass, carbon pools and fluxes, carbon cycle, current problems.

Page 2: Dynamics of Carbon Pools and Fluxes in Russia's Forest Lands

292

RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY

Vol. 36

No. 5

2005

ZAMOLODCHIKOV

et al

.

amounts of litter and woody debris, etc; and (6) estima-tions of forest phytomass prevail (on average, by a fac-tor of 10) over estimations of net primary production(

NPP

).The above data are usually used to calculate coeffi-

cients for converting timber volume into the amount ofphytomass:

k

=

Ph

/

M

, where

Ph

is phytomass (total orby fractions); t/ha is absolutely dry matter; and

M

istimber volume, m

3

/ha. Furthermore,

M = G(HF)

, and

Ph

=

ρ

G

(

HF

),

where

G

is the sum of stem cross-sectionareas, m

2

/ha;

HF

is the form height (

H

is the averagetree height, and

F

is the form factor), which changeswith stand age; and

ρ

is the basic density of wood andbark, t/m

3

; therefore,

k

≈ ρ

. In Russia, however, thiscondition is fulfilled only in the case of the stems ofmain forest-forming species (Poluboyarinov, 1976;Poluboyarinov and Sorokin, 2000), and only singleestimations of

ρ

for branches and roots are available.Hence, calculations with the conversion factor

k

=

Ph

/

M

are more correct and simple, because

k

in thiscase corresponds to the integrated

ρ

value, in whichboth different fractions of tree phytomass and admix-tures of different tree species in the stand are taken intoaccount. In other words,

k

≈ ρ

int

, which is the basic den-sity integrated for all phytomass fractions. It is alsopossible to calculate

k

for individual phytomassfractions.

The State Forest Inventory of the Russian Federa-tion (SFI) is a rich source of initial information, but itsdatabases on individual forestries are often inaccessibleto scientists for financial reasons. Conversion factors

k

=

Ph

/

M

have been calculated for individual forest-forming species by age groups (Isaev

et al.

, 1995) andwith regard to subzones and forest provinces (Utkin

et al.

, 2001) and, in an approximated form, to the age ofstands (Zamolodchikov

et al.

, 1998)

ESTIMATION OF CARBON POOLS IN RUSSIA’S FOREST LANDS

Various approaches, including cartographic, havebeen used to estimate some parameters of the carbonbudget for Russian forests at the regional and nationallevels, and these estimations have been published sincethe early 1990s.

The available estimates of the carbon pool in forestphytomass concern either the Russian State forestresources (RSFR) or the forest biome as a whole, eitherlands of different categories or forested areas alone(Table 1). The values of carbon pool density estimatedbetween 1993 and 1995 varied broadly: from 24 t C/ha(

Uglerod v ekosistemakh…

, 1994) to 47, 53, and even62 t C/ha (Kolchugina and Vinson, 1993a, 1993b; Kol-chugina

et al.

, 1993). The results obtained between1996 and 2001 became much less diverse due to the useof

Ph/M

ratios and information from the SFI. The esti-mated total carbon pool in the phytomass of forests ofthe Russian Federation ranged from 33.1

×

10

9

t C

(Shvidenko and Nilsson, 1998) to 37.3

×

10

9

t C (Shv-idenko

et al.

, 2000). Our estimate (35.9

×

10

9

t C) isapproximately in the middle of this range. The mostrecent estimate is lower: 28

×

10

9

t C for an area of646

×

10

6

ha and 34.4

×

10

9

t C for the total RSFRresources (

Natsional’nyi doklad…

, 2002).By means of remote sensing, the carbon pool in the

woody biomass of Russian forests was estimated at24.39

×

10

9

t C for an area of 642.2

×

10

6

ha, with itsdensity being 38.0 t C/ha (Myneni

et al.

, 2001). Ourestimate for forested lands (774

×

10

6

ha) is 33.7

×

10

9

t C at an average density of 43.5 t C/ha. The differ-ence is 30%, with differences in the estimated area offorests (which are confusing) and carbon pool densityaccounting for 17 and 13%, respectively. The values ofthe latter parameter depend on the structure of the phy-tomass that is taken into account. Calculations made byMyneni

et al.

(2001) and in

Forest Resources…

(2000)concern the woody parts of living plants, dead standingtrees, and fallen timber. In our calculations, nonwoodyphytomass fractions are also taken into account. With-out these fractions, the average carbon pool density inRussian forests is estimated at 38.2 t C/ha, compared to38.0 t C/ha in the study by Myneni

et al.

(2001). Ingeneral, recent estimates of this parameter made by dif-ferent authors are fairly close, ranging from 30 to35 t C/ha.

The organic carbon pool of soils in Russia is usuallyestimated for a 1-m layer using large-scale soil maps,detailed classifications of soil types, and data on carbonstocks in typological soil compartments. In the avail-able publications, only Chestnykh

et al.

(1999) used forthis purpose information on the structure of RSFRlands and special databases on forest soils. Recent esti-mates of soil organic carbon are shown in Table 2.

Earlier estimates of carbon pool density in the soilsof Russian forests markedly vary: from 119 t C/ha(

Uglerod v ekosistemakh…

, 1994) to 224.7 t C/ha (Kol-chugina and Vinson, 1993a, 1993; Kolchugina

et al.

,1993), with estimates of the total carbon pool beingabsolutely discordant (Table 2). Recent estimates are asfollows: 246

×

10

9

t C (Nilsson

et al.

, 2000) and 257

×

10

9

t C (this study), with the difference amounting to11

×

10

9

t C. The factors responsible for such differ-ences are manifold, which makes the soil carbon pool amajor source of uncertainty in determining the carbonbudget of Russian forests.

CURRENT STATE OF RESEARCH AND PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE

Information from the SFI and its processing usingconversion factors

k = Ph/M

for forest-forming speciesby age groups of stands, with natural zonality beingtaken into account, allowed a fairly accurate estimationof the carbon pool. This information is available mainlyfrom regularly published reports on forest and landinventories at the national and regional levels (federal

Page 3: Dynamics of Carbon Pools and Fluxes in Russia's Forest Lands

RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY

Vol. 36

No. 5

2005

DYNAMICS OF CARBON POOLS AND FLUXES 293

provinces, economic regions, and administrative unitsof the Russian Federation). In some years, data on thelosses of forests from fires and other factors, the scaleof felling operations, reforestation, etc., are published.State forest and land inventories in Russia are taken bydifferent departments, and data on the area of RSFRlands may differ. The SFI accumulates data on the areasof forests, other land categories (unforested and nonfor-est lands), and stocks of timber for the departments andenterprises involved in the forest industry. Inventoriesof forests managed by individual enterprises are oftenbased on different qualitative criteria, but this informa-tion is integrated at the level of large administrativeunits of the Russian Federation and, at the final stage, ispooled and systematized by the SFI. The resultant dataare published at approximately five-year intervals in astandard format of reference books (

Lesnoi fond…

,1966, 1976, 1972, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1999). The mostdetailed data concern forests belonging to the FederalAgency of Forestry, Ministry of Natural Resources of

the Russian Federation, which cover 94% of RSFRlands. The parameters of greatest significance for thecarbon balance are as follows: the areas of different cat-egories of RSFR lands; the distribution of forest areasand growing stocks with respect to forest-forming spe-cies and, subsequently, by age groups; and the averagegrowing stocks calculated on this basis.

In our calculations, the absolutely dry phytomassincluded all living parts (fractions) of trees: stem woodand bark, branches and annual shoots, roots, and leaves(needles). For phytomass conversion into carbon con-tent, we used factors of 0.5 for woody fractions and0.45 for leaves (needles), herbs, mosses, and lichens.

Carbon fluxes associated with felling were calcu-lated on the basis of recent statistical data on final,intermediate, and other felling operations (

Osnovnyenapravleniya…

, 2002;

Gosudarstvennyi doklad…

,2002, 2003) and information on annual yields of timberby different forest-forming species. The proportions ofthese species in the total harvest in the late 1980s were

Table 1.

Phytomass carbon pool in the forests of Russia or the former Soviet Union as estimated by different authors

Object and year of inventory Method*Area Carbon in forest phytomass

Source10

6

ha 10

6

t t/ha

Forest lands (1988) I 1420 87690 61.8 Kolchugina and Vinson (1993a)

The same I 1306 68677 52.6 Kolchugina and Vinson (1993b)

» I 1306 61773 47.3 Kolchugina

et al.

(1993)

State forest resources (1988) II 1183 41163 34.8 Isaev

et al.

(1993)

The same III 1183 28750 24.3

Uglerod v ekosistemakh…

(1994)

» IV 1183 38632 32.7 Isaev et al. (1993)

» Va 1183 33300 28.1 Lakida et al., (1997), Shepashenko et al. (1998)

Forested lands (1993) V 764 32088 42.0 Shvidenko and Nilsson (1997)

State forest resources (1993) IV 1181 34400 29.1 Isaev and Korovin (1999)

The same Va 1181 33056 28.0 Shvidenko and Nillson (1998)

Forest lands (1993) Vb 1151 37288 32.4 Shvidenko et al. (2000)

Timberlands of all natural zones (1993)

Vb 764 32862 43.0 Nillson et al. (2000)

Forests and lands equated to them (1993)

VI 886 39630 44.7** Forest resources…, (2000)

State forest resources and forests not included in them (1998)

VII 1179 35625 30.2*** Utkin et al. (2001)

The same VII 1179 35874 30.4 This paper

Forest lands (1998) VIII 882 33273 37.7 The same

* (I) database on biomass compiled by N.I. Bazilevich and maps with the contours of biomes and large ecosystems; (II) Ph/M ratiosaccording to Bazilevich’s phytomass database and SFI data; (III) original Ph/M ratios and SFI data; (IV) Ph/M ratios according todatabase compiled by Utkin et al. (1994) and SFI data; (Va) conversion factors depending on age, quality class, and stocking densityand SFI data; (Vb) coefficients Rfr = f(A, SI.RS) and areas of lands determined using GIS; (VI) original Ph/M ratios for above-groundand underground woody parts of conifer and deciduous stands and total timber stocks of these two groups; (VII) Ph/M ratios differ-entiated for subzones and forest provinces and SFI data; (VIII) Ph/M ratios proposed by FAO and SFI data.

** Only for woody parts of trees and shrubs, including deadwood suitable for commercial use.*** Phytomass of all tree parts and lower vegetation layers.

Page 4: Dynamics of Carbon Pools and Fluxes in Russia's Forest Lands

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RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY Vol. 36 No. 5 2005

ZAMOLODCHIKOV et al.

as follows: pine, 28.9%; spruce, fir, and Siberian stonepine, 33.5%; larch, 6.9%; oak and beech, 0.6%; otherhard-wooded deciduous species, 0.4%; birch, 19.9%;and other soft-wooded deciduous species, 9.8%. Forfelling residues, fractional Ph/M ratios for mature andovermature stands of corresponding tree species wereused.

Direct losses of phytomass carbon from fires andtree death in the postfire period or after exposure toother destructive factors were calculated on the basis ofthe proportion of areas under dead stands in the totalarea of forest lands (Osnovnye napravleniya…, 2002)and average (for Russia) stocks of phytomass fractionsin the stands of main forest-forming species (Utkinet al., 2001).

The organic carbon pool of soils, excluding the lit-ter, was initially determined using a special database,which has been extensively revised (Chestnykh andZamolodchikov, 2004).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 3 shows some basic parameters of Russianforests according to seven inventories (1966–1998) andestimations of carbon pools and fluxes made on theirbasis. It is noteworthy that the total RSFR arearemained virtually unchanged during this period, whilethe forested area increased at the expense of unforestedlands. Between 1966 and 1978, there remained cutoverareas in which tree stands had not regenerated after fell-ing in the periods before and during World War II. Thechange in the pattern of forest land areas recorded in1993 is explained by the fact that northern open forestswere transferred from the category “forests” to the cat-egory “natural open woodlands.” An irregular pattern ofchanges in area is characteristic of nonforest lands,which is due mainly to the dynamics of bogs.

The distribution of forested areas with respect to theage groups of stands provide evidence that the agestructure of forests has improved from the standpoint of

increasing carbon assimilation. The areas under youngand medium-aged stands, which mainly determine thepotential of forests as a carbon sink, increased almosttwofold and became equal to those of mature and over-mature stands, whose characteristic function is carbonconservation (Utkin, 1995). The proportion of matureand overmature stands in the RSFR is still great: 43%of the total forested area and 54% of the total timberstock at an average timber volume of 133 m3/ha (as ofJanuary 1, 1998) (Lesnoi fond…, 1995, 1999). Overma-ture (old-growth) forests (mainly larch) concentrate inthe northern and middle taiga subzones of eastern Sibe-ria and the Far East. Their rejuvenation usually occursafter fires. These forests decreased in area by 20–22%in the 1960s and 1970s and by 10–15% in the 1980sbecause of felling and, partly, fires. The total timberstock, approximately 81 × 109 m3, has remained virtu-ally unchanged since 1978, and the same concerns thephytomass carbon pool: ~36.5 × 109 t C, including34 × 109 t C for the forested area.

Carbon deposition was estimated from SFI data bycalculating the difference between timber volumes inthe stands of two successive age groups and convertingthe result into the values of phytomass (carbon) for allfractions of the stands, with the conversion factor beingdetermined as k = Ph/M (or k = C/M). The pattern ofcarbon deposition for different RSFR land categories issimilar to that of the phytomass carbon pool: theamount of deposited carbon increases as young standsripen and appears to be in a stationary (climax) state inmature and overmature stands, in which the annual(current) increment and loss are approximately equal.

The highest level of carbon deposition in young andmedium-aged stands is a fact of principal importance.It shows that bringing the age structure of stands to adesirable level in the most developed forest regions ofEuropean Russia is a far more promising approach thanthe afforestation of treeless areas conceptualized in theKyoto Protocol.

Table 2. Organic carbon pool in soils of the forests of Russia or the former Soviet Union as estimated by different authors

ObjectArea Soil organic carbon

Source106 ha 106 t t/ha

Forest lands of the former USSR 1420 319100 224.7 Kolchugina and Vinson (1993a, 1993b), Kolchugina et al. (1993)

State forest resources (1988) 1183 140294 118.6 Uglerod v ekosistemakh… (1994)

Soils of the forest lands 1383 235000 169.9 Orlov et al. (1996)

Forest soils 1317 266700 202.6 Rozhkov et al. (1997)

Forested lands (1993) 764 138310 181.2 Shvidenko and Nillson (1998)

State forest resources (1993) 1181 183409 155.3 Chestnykh et al. (1999)

Forest biome 1189 246500 207.4 S. Nilsson et al. (2000)

State forest resources (1998) 1179 256845 217.9 This paper

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RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY Vol. 36 No. 5 2005

DYNAMICS OF CARBON POOLS AND FLUXES 295

Table 3. Selected data on changes in the area of different land categories, timber volume (Lesnoi fond…, 1966–1991, 1995,1999), and some carbon pools and fluxes (calculated by the authors)

ParameterYear

1966 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 1998

Areas of different land categories, 106 haforested 705.6 729.7 749.5 766.6 771.1 763.5 774.2unforested 157.4 132.4 122.8 113.9 113 123 107.8nonforest 298.9 299.3 313.9 307.2 298.5 294.4 296.6total 1161.9 1161.4 1186.2 1187.7 1182.6 1180.9 1178.6

Areas of forested lands with stands of different age groups, 106 ha

young 76.8 100.9 114.0 123.4 129.5 133.9 137.4middle-aged 109.9 121.9 137.5 159.2 178.5 201.4 208.8ripening 72.2 69.5 70.6 76.7 77.3 75.0 79.5mature and overmature 446.8 437.5 427.4 407.3 385.8 353.2 348.4total 705.6 729.7 749.5 766.6 771.0 763.5 774.2

Timber volume, 109 m3

forests of the former Russian Forestry Board 73.5 74.0 74.7 75.4 74.7 73.0 74.3other forests 3.5 4.7 6.0 6.5 7.0 7.7 7.6total 77.0 78.7 80.7 81.9 81.7 80.7 81.9

Phytomass carbon pool in the plant cover of differ-ent land categories, 109 t C

forested 33.80 34.09 34.43 34.68 34.35 33.42 33.70unforested 0.91 0.82 0.79 0.76 0.76 0.88 0.79nonforest 1.45 1.48 1.53 1.48 1.42 1.35 1.38total 36.16 36.39 36.74 36.92 36.54 35.64 35.87

Phytomass carbon pool in forests of different age groups, 109 t C

young 1.2 1.6 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.1middle-aged 4.9 5.4 6.0 6.7 7.4 8.2 8.5ripening 3.9 3.8 3.8 4.1 4.2 4.0 4.3mature and overmature 23.8 23.3 22.9 21.9 20.8 19.1 18.8total 33.8 34.1 34.4 34.7 34.4 33.4 33.7

Annual carbon deposition in the phytomass on lands of different categories, 106 t C per year

forested 150.9 180.6 199.2 214.0 222.1 231.5 238.4unforested 34.4 22.3 20.2 18.6 17.5 18.1 13.9nonforest 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0total 185.3 202.9 219.4 232.6 239.7 249.6 252.4

Annual carbon deposition in the phytomass of for-ests of different age groups, 106 t C per year

young 94.2 121.4 135.0 142.7 146.2 150.5 154.0middle-aged 39.2 42.6 47.0 52.9 57.6 63.2 65.4ripening 17.5 16.6 17.3 18.4 18.3 17.8 19.0mature and overmature 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0total 150.9 180.6 199.2 214.0 222.1 231.5 238.4

Soil organic carbon pool in different land catego-ries, 109 t C

forested 110.1 113.8 117.1 120.3 121.7 121.1 123.2unforested 23.4 20.3 19.0 17.8 17.6 19.4 17.3nonforest 122.3 125.5 129.1 124.9 120.0 112.9 116.3total 255.8 259.6 265.2 263.0 259.4 253.5 256.8

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RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY Vol. 36 No. 5 2005

ZAMOLODCHIKOV et al.

Table 4 shows data on economic activity related toforest exploitation in Russia in the 1990s. The allow-able annual cut in this period was estimated at approx-imately 500 × 106 m3, including more than 300 × 106 m3

of softwood. The actual cut reached 49–54% of thisvalue in the 1980s (Lesopol’zovanie…, 1996),decreased to 30–20% in the early 1990s, further

decreased to 19 and 17% in 1997 and 1998, butincreased again to 22–23% in 1999–2001 (LesaRossii…, 2002; Osnovnye pokazateli…, 2002). Thearea of forests subject to final felling has decreased bya factor of two to three since the mid-1990s; today, it isonly about 0.5 × 106 ha. The same concerns the yieldfrom final felling. The annual volume of illegally har-

Table 4. Forest harvesting (Rossiiskii…, 2000; Prirodnye resursy…, 2001; Osnovnye pokazateli…, 2002; Sukhikh and Utkin,2004) and associated carbon fluxes (calculated by the authors) over the period from 1990 to 2001

ParameterYear

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Felling area, 103 ha per year

Final felling 1810.0 1608.4 1415.5 1074 814.6 761.6 612.1 623.5 573.5 706.8 758.0 822.0Young growth tending – – 911.9 877.8 839.9 815.4 701.9 611.3 583.5 606.6 624.0 621.1

Allowable cut, 106 m3 per year commercial timber

Final felling 283.2 251.7 227.5 174.2 130.4 134.1 110.5 103.4 96.8 121.6 130.0 127.0Other felling operations 18.9 18.1 14.7 9.4 6.9 7.2 6.5 8.2 9.9 12.4 13.4 13.8Total (final and other operations)

302.1 269.8 242.2 183.6 137.3 141.3 117.0 111.6 106.7 134.0 143.4 140.8

Intermediate felling 27.5 24.7 22.8 20.1 20.7 22.6 22.7 23.1 22.2 22.9 18.7 18.2Actual 329.6 294.5 265.0 203.7 158.0 163.9 139.7 134.7 128.9 156.9 162.1 159.0Timber left in final fell-ing areas (not removed)

2.5 2.6 2.4 2.9 1.5 1.1 0.7 0.6 0.4 – 0.8 0.7

Timber left in fellingareas (calculated)*

54.4 48.6 43.6 33.0 24.7 25.4 21.1 20.1 19.2 24.1 25.8 25.3

Timber removed 275.2 245.9 221.5 170.7 133.3 128.5 118.6 114.6 109.7 132.8 136.3 133.7Living residues 5.0 6.2 4.9 4.9 4.7 2.5 2.0 2.9 – – – –Wood left to rot after young growth tending

– – 6.0 6.2 6.0 6.2 5.8 4.8 4.6 5.3 5.5 5.6

Carbon fluxes associated with forest exploitation, 106 t C per year

Final felling 102.2 90.9 82.1 62.9 47.1 48.4 39.9 37.3 34.9 43.9 46.9 45.8Other felling operations 6.8 6.5 5.3 3.4 2.5 2.6 2.3 3.0 3.6 4.5 4.8 5.0Intermediate felling 9.9 8.9 8.2 7.3 7.5 8.2 8.2 8.3 8.0 8.3 6.8 6.6All forms of forest ex-ploitation

119.0 106.3 95.7 73.5 57.0 59.2 50.4 48.6 46.5 56.6 58.5 57.4

Removed with timber 66.7 59.6 53.7 41.4 32.3 31.1 28.7 27.8 26.6 32.2 33.0 32.4Timber left in fellingareas

13.2 11.8 10.6 8.0 6.0 6.2 5.1 4.9 4.7 5.8 6.3 6.1

Felling residues (stumps and roots)

23.9 21.3 19.2 14.8 11.4 11.9 10.1 9.8 9.3 11.4 11.7 11.5

Felling residues (branches and foliage)

15.3 13.6 12.3 9.4 7.3 7.6 6.5 6.2 6.0 7.3 7.5 7.4

Total left in felling areas 52.3 46.7 42.0 32.2 24.7 25.6 21.7 20.9 20.0 24.5 25.5 25.0Phytomass of felling residues

1.8 2.2 1.8 1.8 1.7 0.9 0.7 1.0 – – – –

Wood left to rot after young growth tending

– – 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.1 2.0 2.3 2.4 2.5

Note: (–) no data; (*) difference between the volumes of timber stored and removed.

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vested timber increased from 390–520 × 103 m3

between 1996 and 1998 to 720 × 103 m3 in 1990 and2000 and to 940 × 103 m3 in 2001 (Lesa Rossii…,2002). According to official data, approximately 1% ofcommercial timber remains in felling areas, in additionto roots, stumps, and felling residues. A survey of fell-ing areas has shown, however, that the amount of suchtimber averages 30 m3/ha, and the relative amount ofliving residues reaches 2.5% of the timber removedfrom a given area.

The ratio of timber removed from a felling area tothe total amount of various felling residues is approxi-mately the same in stands of different tree species.Hence, carbon fluxes associated with forest exploita-tion may be divided into two approximately equal parts:(1) stem wood delivered for processing as round timber,including firewood, and (2) felling residues contribut-ing to the detrital carbon pool in felling areas. The annualsum of these fluxes, being 95–119 × 106 t C between 1990and 1992, decreased from 74 to 47 × 106 t C between1993 and 1998, averaging 65 × 106 t C over the decade(Sukhikh and Utkin, 2004). In the second half of the1990s, the total contribution of forest exploitation to thecarbon budget, relative to carbon deposition, was 22%.

Between 1990 and 2002, 18000–32000 fires wererecorded each year on the protected territory of theRSFR (Osnovnye napravleniya…, 2002); i.e., therewere approximately 22000 fires per year (Table 5). Onthe whole, 268000 fires damaged 11.61 × 106 ha of for-ests, with the average fire area being approximately43 ha. The forest areas affected by fires are especiallyextensive in Siberia and the Far East. Carbon emissionfrom burning tree crowns, without taking into accountthe postfire decomposition of wood and debris, aver-

ages 0.9 × 106 t C per year, or 39 t C per fire. Due topostfire tree mortality, approximately 10.2 × 106 t C peryear is removed from the live phytomass pool; takinginto account burned crowns, the loss of phytomassamounts to 11.1 × 106 t C per year. Assuming that theunprotected part of RSFR forest lands suffers similarfire damage, the total pyrogenic emission may reachapproximately 20 × 106 t C per year.

Between 1961 and 1998, the area of forest planta-tions in the RSFR increased from 2 × 106 to 15 × 106 ha;i.e., approximately 400 × 103 ha of forest plantationswere created each year. Under present-day conditions,the advancement of forest culture aimed at CO2 assim-ilation from the atmosphere can hardly be expected inRussia. However, the stands of soft-wooded deciduousspecies, such as birch and speckled alder, may helpsolve this problem with minimal expenditures, as theyreadily regenerate and expand, e.g., to abandoned farm-lands (Utkin et al., 2002). The area of such stands in theRSFR is 122 × 106 ha, half of them being young andmedium-aged (Lesa Rossii…, 2002).

Carbon pools (especially in the phytomass) esti-mated by different authors are commensurate with eachother, but integrated estimations of carbon fluxes for theRSFR are scarce and do not take into account the vari-ety of processes in the atmosphere—vegetation—soil—hydrosphere system. Fluxes between the phyto-mass and detrital carbon pools are the least studied atthe regional level. Carbon fluxes accounted for by fell-ing, fires, and pest outbreaks are often regarded asevents of the same calendar years, without regard to thesubsequent destruction of wood and plant debris. Let usconsider some carbon fluxes and their relationshipswith carbon pools. The detrital pool for forested lands,

Table 5. Forest fires, pest outbreaks, and diseases (Rossiiskii…, 2000; Prirodnye resursy…, 2001; Osnovnye pokazateli…,2002) and associated carbon fluxes (calculated by the authors) in protected forests of the Ministry of Natural Resources of theRussian Federation (1990–2001)

ParameterYear

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Forest fires on protected territory of the forest fund (statistical data)

Number of fires, 103 18.3 18.0 21.0 17.0 18.5 24.3 28.3 27.6 24.1 31.6 18.8 20.9

Area damaged by fire, 106 ha 1.33 0.61 0.52 0.73 0.52 0.35 1.81 0.67 2.28 0.68 1.24 0.87

Loss of stands, 103 ha per year

from fires – – 313 132 225 53 291 228 246 268 637 131

from pests and diseases – – 21 14 26 80 198 5 8 10 26 23

Carbon fluxes associated with death of stands, 106 t C per year

Emission from burning tree crowns – – 1.12 0.47 0.81 0.19 1.05 0.82 0.88 0.96 2.29 0.47

Postfire loss – – 14.69 6.19 10.56 2.49 13.65 10.70 11.54 12.58 29.89 6.15

Loss from pests and diseases – – 0.91 0.60 1.12 3.45 8.55 0.22 0.35 0.43 1.12 0.99

Note: (–) no data.

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according to different authors, varies from 32.4 × 109 t C(Uglerod v ekosistemakh…, 1994) or 30.4 × 109 t C(Kolchugina et al., 1993a) to 19.5 × 109 t C (Nilssonet al., 2000), with the carbon pool in coarse woodydebris being 17.6, 18.3, and 8.0 × 109 t C, respectively.The estimated carbon stock in the forest litter is 14.8 ×109 t (Uglerod v ekosistemakh…, 1994) or 12.2 × 109 t(Kolchugina et al., 1993a), and that in stable humus is214 × 109 t (Kolchugina et al., 1993a).

Net primary production (NPP) could have been akey parameter of the carbon budget if not for the limitedamount of initial information and difficulties in itsinterpretation. The NPP value determined for the forestfund of the former Soviet Union on the basis of SFI datais 4360 × 106 t C per year (Kolchugina and Vinson,1993b). Estimates for Russia vary from 5614 × 106 to1707 × 106 t C per year, including 320 × 106 t Caccounted for by roots (Nilsson et al., 2000; Shvidenkoet al., 2001). We estimated NPP for the main forest-forming species (630 × 109 ha, or 82.5% of the total for-est area) using conversion factors and obtained 1800 ±500 × 106 t C per year (Zamolodchikov and Utkin,2000). The difference between NPP and the totalannual amount of deadwood and litter in the forest fundshows an alternative value of annual carbon deposition.Data on the annual amounts of deadwood and litter inthe RSFR are scarce and diverse, ranging from 7 to339 × 106 and from 526 to 2269 × 106 t C per year,respectively.

According to our calculations, deposition mani-fested in the increment of timber volume in the RSFRis 626 × 106 m3 per year, which is 1.5 times smaller thanthe estimate made by Shvidenko and Nilsson (1998).The annual average carbon deposition is 252 × 106 t Cper year, whereas the values reported by other authorsare 1.7–1.9 times greater: 430–470 × 106 t C per year(Kolchugina and Vinson, 1995; Forest resources…,2000). Conversely, the official estimates of carbon dep-osition in Russian forests in the 1990s are 1.5–2.0 timeslower than ours: 81–163 × 106 t C per year (Tret’e na-tsional’noe…, 2002) and 161 × 106 t C per year (Na-tsional’nyi doklad…, 2002). According to data from theCentral Research Institute of Forest Resources(VNIITsLesresurs), the actual potential of Russian for-ests for absorbing C–CO2 is approximately two timesthat estimated by the officially approved methods.

Our estimates of carbon pools in the timber har-vested in 1988 and 1993 are 88 × 106 and 81 × 106 t Cper year, respectively. The values reported for the 1990sby specialists from the International Institute forApplied Systems Analysis are similar: 88 × 106 and82 × 106 t C per year (Shvidenko and Nilsson, 1998;Nilsson et al., 2000). Carbon fluxes associated with for-est harvesting in Russia are estimated mainly from thevolume of timber put on the market (Sukhikh andUtkin, 2004). Calculations based on the size of felling

areas may be used for this purpose only in the case ofclear felling.

The statistics of forest exploitation expressed in tim-ber volume can be easily converted into carbon fluxes.However, it is important to take into account that quan-titative differences between “felling volume” and“yield” are usually neglected in statistical reports (thelatter is often equated with “removal” and additionallyincludes a certain proportion of timber stored in the pre-vious year). The most uncertain step in assessing car-bon fluxes associated with forest exploitation concernscommercial timber left in felling areas, in addition tofelling residues. The contribution of these residues tocarbon fluxes may be estimated from the volume oftimber put on the market, using phytomass–carbon con-version factors for tree fractions.

The statistics of forest fires includes data on theirnumbers and areas in all categories of RSFR lands.Timber volume in burned-out areas is determined onlyin the course of inventories or land allocation for clearsanitary felling. Hence, only a few estimates of pyro-genic carbon fluxes in the RSFR are available: for the1990s, approximately 20 × 106 t C per year, including11 × 106 t C per year in the protected area (8% areaccounted for by the combustion of tree crowns; seeabove); the respective values for the 1980s and early1990s are 16.38 × 106 and 24.44 × 106 t C per year, with55–60% being accounted for by emissions during fires(including the combustion of the ground vegetationlayer and plant detritus) and the remaining 40–45%, bypostfire decomposition of deadwood (Isaev et al.,1985). An alternative estimation is two times greater:58 × 106 t C per year (Shvidenko and Nilsson, 1998).

Based on our estimates of carbon deposition, pyro-genic emission, and removal with timber harvested, weobtained the following annual value of net carbon sink(1990–1999): 251 – (30 + 86) = 135 × 106 t C per year.According to Tret’e natsional’noe…, (2002), devia-tions with respect to carbon emission in this periodwere recorded only in 1990 and 1999: 38.5 × 106 and7.5 × 106 t C per year, respectively. Without taking theseyears into account, we obtained that the net carbon sinkin Russian forests was 40.1 × 106 t C per year or, asrecalculated per decade, 30.8 × 106 t C per year. Calcu-lations by a different method (from the same publica-tion) estimated the net carbon sink at 26.9 × 106 t C peryear, i.e., at almost the same value as the differencebetween carbon deposition and emission resulting fromfelling and forest fires: 123 – (85 + 8) = 30 × 106 t C peryear. However, the value determined for 1999 is almosttwo times greater, 57 × 106 t C per year (Natsional’nyidoklad…, 2002).

Significant differences (by a factor of 2.5–4.5)between our and official estimates of annual net carbonsink appear to result from differences in the methodsused for determining carbon deposition. The proceduresfor calculating the net carbon sink in the RSFR area

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require special discussion and approval by specialists indifferent fields, with the SFI data still forming a basisfor such calculations.

The availability of official statistics, SFI data, andscientific information on biological productivity andother processes in forest ecosystems makes it possibleto approach the problem of drawing up a carbon budget(balance) of Russian forests at both the federal and, ina more detailed format, regional levels. However, thiswill be possible only on the condition that scientificteams consolidate their efforts in developing unifiedconcepts and an effective research program.

Problems related to the carbon cycle of forests andforest bogs in Russia are being studied by severalresearch teams. In regard to the number of publications,leadership belongs to specialists from the InternationalInstitute for Applied Systems Analysis (IASA, Austria)A.Z. Shvidenko, S. Nilsson, and others. It would beuseful to meet representatives of this and other insti-tutes at a workshop in order to discuss the results ofrecent studies and establish priorities for the future.

It is unlikely that the format of SFI reports willchange in the next 30–50 years so as to provide agreater amount of basic data and deal with age classesinstead of age groups; hence, the existing methods willremain relevant. The pool of phytomass carbon in theRSFR has ultimately been estimated at the same value(35 × 109 t C) by different methods. It is now moreimportant to obtain such an estimate for the carbon poolin detritus (plant residues).

An urgent task is to determine carbon fluxes in theformat of both SFI data and ecological informationadapted to them. The model of carbon fluxes developedin the period of IBP is interpreted as a universal modelfor all types of ecosystems. Its application to forest eco-systems requires an integrated description of specificcarbon fluxes in the atmosphere—biosphere—pedo-sphere system. However, some elementary processestaking place in such a complex system cannot be fittedinto the structure of SFI data, which implies the neces-sity of using alternative methods. In the first place, thisconcerns the differentiation of large phytomass anddetrital pools and the description of individual carbonfluxes pertaining to them (Utkin, 2003). It is allowableto calculate the major components of the carbon budget(NPP, deposition, and contents in the litter and dead-wood) on the basis of SFF data, forest taxation norms,and conversion factors (Utkin et al., 2003). Withrespect to debris, norms for destructive processes arestill the main problem.

Thus, the amount of available information on themain problem of the carbon cycle in the Russian forestfund is sufficient for drawing up the first approximationof the federal carbon budget. However, any initial infor-mation should be carefully systematized and adaptedwith regard to the SFF data. This is the only way torestrict the outpouring of diverse estimates and defini-tions of the productivity and contribution of Russian

forests to biospheric processes, including the most opti-mistic estimates (Kondrat’ev et al., 2003). We mayconclude that Russian forests have a high potential foradditional carbon sequestering from the atmosphere,which is due primarily to changes in the functional sta-tus of farmlands and forest lands. These changes in thepattern of land use should be adequately reflected in thelegislation.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was supported by the project “Interna-tional Collaboration in Carbon Cycle Assessment”(Institute of World Resources, Washington, DC), projectMYa-47 of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Rus-sian Federation, and the Russian Foundation for BasicResearch, project nos. 03-04-48097 and 05-04-49552.

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