Forest-tundra ecotone response to climate change

Sukachev Institute of Forest, SB RAS, Krasnoyarsk

Head of the Institute:

Eugene A.Vaganov, Academician of the RAS
Academgorodok, Krasnoyarsk, 660036, Russia
Tel., Fax: (3912) 43-36-86;
email: ifor@krsk.infotel.ru

Principal researchers:

V.I.Kharuk, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Chief of the Lab.

Project objectives

Detection and analysis of the global change impact on the forest-tundra ecotone: LAI, productivity and tree line border dynamics.

The object. Forest-tundra ecotone of Asia. Detailed investigations will take place in the several test areas, including the 'Ary-Mas', the northernmost forest stand.

Research plan: approaches and methods

• Analysis of the time series (1962-1999) of high resolution (2-3 m) Declassified Intelligence Satellite Images (DISP) on the test areas.
• The time series of the Landsat images (starting from Landsat-Mss (1972) and finishing by Landsat-7 (1999).
• Microwave images taken by a synthetic aperture radar: ERS, RADARSAT, JERS.
• NOAA/AVHRR images taken for the territory from Ural to Kamchatka.

Analysis of the space images will be based on on-ground measurements on the selected plots.

Expected results

• Detection of the tree line shift and its dynamic analysis.
• Estimation of the global change impact on the dynamics of the forest closure, LAI, and biomass in the forest-tundra ecotone of Asia.
• Reconstruction of the thermic regime and analysis of the climate impact on the tree's radial increment.
• The relation between thermic regime (remotely sensed in IR region) and tree line position.
• Forest-tundra border demarcation for the Asia.
• Model of the forest-tundra ecotone response to the climate change.

Surplus

On a number of test sites, including the site of Ary-Mas, there are DISP, ERS, RADARSAT, JERS images. In 1999 the Landsat-7 data will also be obtained. In the region of investigation a number of tests sites are established, and dendrochronological data are collected.

List of publications of participants related to the project

• Kharuk V.I., Isaev A.S., Kozukhovskaya. NOAA/AVHRR data in pest outbreak monitoring // Rus. J. of Forestry. – 1998. –¹ 4. – P. 20-25. (In Russian).

• Kloeppel B.D., Gower S.T., Trechel I.W., V.Kharouk. Foliar carbon isotope discrimination in Larix species and sympatric evergreen conifers: a global comparison // Oecologia. – 1998. – ¹ 114. – P. 153-159.

• Kharuk V.I., Shiyatov S.G., Naurzbaev M.M., Fedotova E.V. Forest-tundra ecotone response to climate change // Proceeding from IBFRA’98, Oslo, Norway 1999. (in press).

• Kharuk V.I, Burenina T.A., Fedotova E.V. An analysis of the forest-tundra ecotone // Rus. J. of Forestry. – 1999. – ¹ 3. (In Russian).

• Ranson K.J., Sun G., Kharuk V.I., Kovacs K. Characterization of forests in Western Sayani Mountains, Siberia from SAR data // Proceedings of IGARSS’99, June 28-July 2, 1999. Hamburg, Germany.

• Kharuk V., Shiyatov S., Kasischke E., Naurzbaev M., Fedotova L. Response of forest-tundra ecotone in Siberia to climate change // Proceedings of IGARSS’99, June 28-July 2, 1999. Hamburg, Germany.

• Fedotova E.V., Burenina T.A., Kharuk V.I., SukhininA.I. NOAA/AVHRR in the mapping of the forest landsacapes of Yrenisey meridian // Earth Remote sensing. – 1999. – ¹ 3. (In Russian).