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Climate change and wildfires in Russia

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Contemporary Problems of Ecology Aims and scope

Abstract

The effect of climate change on the distribution, intensity, and transforming role of wild fires is considered. A general overview of the current wild fire regimes (WRs) and impacts on forest ecosystems and environment is provided. One distinctive feature of WRs is the increasing frequency of disastrous wild fires. The application of various remote sensing instruments has shown that the average vegetation wild fire area in Russia for 1998–2010 accounted for 8.2 ± 0.8 × 106 ha, with about two-thirds of wildfires occurring on forest lands and half on the forested lands. The average annual fire carbon balance during the above period was 121 ± 28 Tg C yr−1, including 92 ± 18 Tg C yr−1 emitted from the forested land. The forecasts based on the General Circulation Models suggest the dramatic acceleration of fire regimes by the end of the 21st century. Taking into account the increase in the dryness of the climate and the thawing of permafrost, this will likely lead to a dramatic loss of forested area and the impoverishment of the forest cover over a major part of the forest zone. A transition to adaptive forestry would allow a substantial decrease of the expected losses. This paper takes a brief look at the general principals of adapting forest fire protection system to climate change, which is considered an integral part of the transition to sustainable forest management in Russia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Schlossplatz 1, Laxenburg, A-2361, Austria

    A. Z. Shvidenko & D. G. Schepaschenko

  2. Sukachev Institute of Forest, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences, Akademgorodok 50, str. 28, Krasnoyarsk, 660041, Russia

    A. Z. Shvidenko

  3. Moscow State Forest University, Institutskaya 1, Mytishchi, Moscow oblast, 141005, Russia

    D. G. Schepaschenko

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  1. A. Z. Shvidenko
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Correspondence to A. Z. Shvidenko.

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Original Russian Text © A.Z. Shvidenko, D.G. Schepaschenko, 2013, published in Lesovedenie, 2013, No. 5, pp. 50–61.

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Shvidenko, A.Z., Schepaschenko, D.G. Climate change and wildfires in Russia. Contemp. Probl. Ecol. 6, 683–692 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1134/S199542551307010X

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