report 03

Program of fundamental researches of the RAS Presidium
"Scientific basis of biodiversity conservation in Russia "

INTERMEDIATE REPORT for 2003

Section 2: Development of methodological basis for monitoring of biodiversity

Subsection 2.1: Development of methodological basis for monitoring of biodiversity in Russian forests
under global environmental changes and growing human impact

Curator of the section: Academician A.S. Isaev

Center for problems of ecology and productivity of forests RAS

«Development of methodological basis for monitoring of biodiversity in Russian forests under global environmental changes and growing human impact»

Resources and environmental orientation of sustainable and unexhausted forest use is highly significant for development of national forest strategy taking conservation of species diversity, structural and functional organization of natural ecosystems into account. Monitoring of forest biodiversity is an integral part of this issue, envisaging monitoring of forest areas state with the purpose of discovery, analysis, and forecast of potential changes under natural background and under influence of human impact. Great volume of available data on forest ecosystems parameters measuring cause serious problems of forest monitoring establishment. The reason is absence of unified techniques and universal parameters for different aspects of biodiversity assessment as well as there is no integration of such estimates for biological systems of different spatial levels.

Methodologically these problems were studied at the base of following works lines:

1. Development of conceptual approach to forest biodiversity monitoring including conception of structural changes of forest ecosystems during the forest restoring processes;

2. Development of methodological approaches providing collection, systematization, generalization of accumulated data on forest biodiversity in Russia, including following attended tasks development:

necessary and sufficient number of parameters for assessment of forest biodiversity including both remote sensing methods and ground observations;
methods for succession condition of forest communities estimating and discovery of main natural processes of reforestation in different natural zones conditions;
synthetic classification of forest ecosystems;
unification of terms and development of principles for main forest types databases forming ;
GIS with the purpose of forest biodiversity monitoring implementation for three base levels accompanyed by series of electronic thematic maps;

3. Implementation of biodiversity monitoring methods using selected parameters and biodiversity indexes for specific model regions.

The landscape and environmental approach to forest biodiversity monitoring was formulated according to obtained results. It allows to study forest ecosystems during their age dynamics within natural territorial complexes of different level. Experience gathered in researches of biological diversity of different species, populations, and associations gives opportunity to generalize data within territorial units of different scale, and to describe spatial and temporal dynamics of forest areas under increasing human impact. In this connection the hierarchy of spatial scales was determined; and spatial levels of forest biodiversity accounting have been adopted as follows: local, regional and federal. Base levels of forest monitoring with use of space images are presented at figures 1-4.

Fig. 1. Electronic map of Russian Federation main vegetation types

Fig. 2. Scheme of mesoregions according to A.G. Isachenko (1990)

Fig. 3. Central part of Krasnoyarsk region

Main procedures of forest biodiversity monitoring have been based, including methods of field data gathering, remote sensing data, as well as methods of biodiversity accounting indicators interpolation for territory of higher topological level.

According to foreign and national experience general principles, methodology and practical assessment of biodiversity for North Eurasian forests were based. Analysis of biodiversity parameters used for federal and regional areas of Russia was compared with European analogs adopted within framework of Montreal, Helsinki processes and the BEAR Project. As a result the list of parameters and indicators had been proposed which may be recommended for forest biodiversity monitoring including remote sensing observation.

Space forest monitoring data are considered to be the most important component of information cover for regional models of natural and anthropogenic forest dynamics. Analysis of some landscape indexes allows to receive the integral assessment of territory surface composition, determining biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. (fig. 4).

Fig. 4. The north-eastern part of Kostroma oblast with different landscape diversity detected at the base of space images

During classification systems of vegetation cover development scientific publications on forest typology were analyzed for the purpose of forest ecosystem diversity for European Russia assessment. Classification units used in national practice for large areas mapping were compared with syntaxons of floristic classification (Braun-Blanquet’s classification). The higher units model of classification was proposed, based on ecological properties of edificator species, geographical attributes of landscape and floristic composition of associations.

Basing on national references analysis the card index of main forest communities groups of boreal zone of the European Russia has been formed; the terminology was unified. References and geobotanical descriptions were collected and analyzed; the large volume of actual data on forest syntaxonomy was joined together including forests from northern taiga up to forest steppe communities. Data gaps were detected. Computer database PRODROMUS was formed, which includes list of forest syntaxons for European Russia; also database of forest field geobotanical descriptions FORUS was created. The database on main forest types of European Russia was initiated and began to form.

Development of methodological approaches to forest monitoring proved the importance of succession cycle identification and assessment of specific ecosystems deviation from their initial condition. The climax forest ecosystems of European Russia have been defined and their main attributes were discovered as etalon objects. The thesis that climax ecosystems are not widely distributed in contemporary vegetation cover and pre-agricultural climax forest ecosystems are practically absent was affirmed. Six main groups of key species determining composition and structure of climax communities of forest zone were selected (dark-coniferous and deciduous tree species, soil invertebrates – humic consumers, phyllophagous and xylophagous insects, xylem fungi, and big phytophagous mammals).

Techniques for succession stages of forest communities assessment were developed according to their etalon status. In order to determine succession deviation of specific forest ecosystems from climax communities the rank system was developed. Diagnostic attributes were estimated basing on relative participation of plant species and populations belonged to certain ecological and coenotic groups. Conceptions of regional features of biodiversity monitoring are discussed at the example of model territories of different natural conditions and different human impact (Kostroma and Murmansk oblasts, Karelia and Far East). The main factors influencing forest biodiversity during human activity (clear cuts, industrial pollution, fires etc.) were detected as well as their significance in different regions. Main natural and anthropogenic factors of regional biota forming were described as well as contemporary condition of biodiversity and specific schemes of digression and revegetation processes (fig. 5).

Fig. 5. Schemes of digression and restoration processes

The scheme of regional GIS of forest biodiversity supplying monitoring and assessment of human impact on natural territorial systems was developed . The algorithm of consequent creation of thematic forest biodiversity maps developed and corrected at regional level. The creation of complex base for background information data on biodiversity of Russian forests was started.

The complex methodological base of regional monitoring of forest biodiversity was developed at the first stage basing on stated forest biodiversity monitoring objectives . It grounds on the concept of biodiversity monitoring from the standpoint of spatial and temporal dynamics of forest forming process and contemporary forest state.

Certain scientific and methodological tasks are successfully solved, supplying use of available data on forest biodiversity in the field of forest ecology, nature management and sustainable management of biological resources.

REFERENCES

Monographs

Regional ecological scales for forest vegetation of Far East. Komarova T.A., Timocshenkova E.V., Prokhorenko N.B., Jakovleva A.N., Sudakov Yu. N. Vladivostok: Dal’nauka, 2003. 277 p.

Biotic diversity of Karelia : conditions of forming, associations, species. Ed. Gromtsev A.N., Kitaev S.P., Krutov V.I., Kuznetsov O.L., Lindkholm T., Jakovlev E.B. Petrozavodsk, 2003. 262 p.

Eastern European forests: history in Holocene and present state. R. ed. O.V. Smirnova. M.: Nauka. 2003 (in print)

Papers

Isaev A.S., Korovin G.N. Large-scale changes in boreal forests of Eurasia and methods of their assessment with using of space information // Lesovedenie. 2003. № 2. P.3-9.

Zaugolnova L.B., Braslavskaya T.Yu. Analysis of associations of mesophyll deciduous forests in the centre of European Russia // Rastitelnost’ Rossii. № 4. 2003.

Nosova L.M., Tikhonova E.V. Geography and ecology of Oxalis acetosella groups of forest types. // Lesovedenie. № 1. 2003. P. 21-28.

Smirnova O.V. et al. Forming and development of Eastern European deciduous forests in Holocene // Bull. MOIP. 2003.

Chernen’kova T.V., Bocharnikov V.N. Complex assessment and data arrangement in the system of biomonitoring of forest areas // Lesovedenie. № 1. 2003. P.37-47.