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Environmental Change in Siberia
ADVANCES IN GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH
VOLUME 40
Editor-in-Chief
Martin Beniston, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Editorial Advisory Board
B. Allen-Diaz, Department ESPM-Ecosystem Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
R.S. Bradley, Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA.
W. Cramer, Earth System Analysis, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany.
H.F. Diaz, Climate Diagnostics Center, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, NOAA, Boulder, CO, USA.
S. Erkman, Institute for communication and Analysis of Science and Technology–ICAST, Geneva, Switzerland.
R. Garcia Herrera, Faculated de Fisicas, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain.M. Lal, Center for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, India.U. Luterbacher, The Graduate Institute of International Studies, University of Geneva,
Geneva, Switzerland.I. Noble, CRC for Greenhouse Accounting and Research School of Biological Science,
Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.L. Tessier, Institut Mediterranéen d’Ecologie et Paléoécologie, Marseille, France.F. Toth, International Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ec Joint Research
Centre, Ispra (VA), Italy.M.M. Verstraete, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ec Joint Research Centre,
Ispra (VA), Italy.
For other titles published in this series, go towww.springer.com/series/5588
Heiko BalzterEditor
Environmental Change in Siberia
Earth Observation, Field Studies and Modelling
EditorHeiko BalzterDepartment of GeographyUniversity of Leicester, Centre for Environmental ResearchUniversity RoadLeicesterUnited [email protected]
ISBN 978-90-481-8640-2 e-ISBN 978-90-481-8641-9DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-8641-9Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010927687
© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
Cover illustration: Main photo: The foreground features subalpine meadows surrounding by Pinus Sibirica dominated woodlands, the background an alpine ridge in the Ergaki mountains called “Sleeping Sayan”, photo by D.M. Ismailova. Top photo: A Larix sibirica above a landscape leading towards the South Altai Mountains, photo by V.I. Kharuk.
Printed on acid-free paper
Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
To Judith, Dominik and Julian...
vii
Preface
The Siberian environment is a unique region of the world that is both very strongly affected by global climate change and at the same time particularly vulnerable to its consequences. The news about the melting of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and the prospect of an ice-free shipping passage from Scandinavia to Alaska along the Russian north coast has sparked an international debate about natural resource exploitation, national boundaries and the impacts of the rapid changes on people, animals and plants. Over the last decades Siberia has also witnessed severe forest fires to an extent that is hard to imagine in other parts of the world where the popu-lation density is higher, the fire-prone ecosystems cover much smaller areas and the systems of fire control are better resourced. The acceleration of the fire regime poses the question of the future of the boreal forest in the taiga region. Vegetation models have already predicted a shift of vegetation zones to the north under sce-narios of global climate change. The implications of a large-scale expansion of the grassland steppe ecosystems in the south of Siberia and a retreat of the taiga forest into the tundra systems that expand towards the Arctic Ocean would be very signifi-cant for the local population and the economy.
I have studied Russian forests from remote sensing and modelling for about 11 years now and still find it a fascinating subject to investigate. Over this time period Russia has undergone substantial social, political and economic changes and devel-oped excellent remote sensing centres that now enjoy a world wide reputation. From 1998 to 2000 the European funded project SIBERIA, in which I started my post-doctoral research career and which was led by Professor Chris Schmullius from Jena, produced the first Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) map of forest growing stock over an area of 1 million square kilometers. At the time, the German Aerospace Agency (DLR) had to move a mobile receiving station to Lake Baikal to be able to record the first SAR images of the region. The forest map used over 600 images from three radar sensors, and led to the insight that the remaining forest cover in Siberia is much less than previous global change studies assumed. In the follow-on project SIBERIA-II we examined a much wider concept of using a whole range of biophysi-cal data products from a multitude of satellites in a full greenhouse gas account over a region of 3 million square kilometers. This study was the first such attempt to incorporate many variables that would now be called Essential Climate Variables by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) into a real greenhouse gas account.
viii Preface
When I took up the Chair in Physical Geography at the University of Leicester in 2006 I invited a number of eminent researchers with interests in environmental change in Siberia to visit Leicester for a Symposium on Environmental Change in Siberia. We enjoyed 2 days packed with exciting presentations and full of inspiring conversations over coffee, tea and dinner. This book is primarily the outcome of this Symposium with a few additions from authors who I invited to contribute. I am particularly grateful to the University of Leicester for its financial support for the Symposium and to all participants for their contributions to this book. I also want to thank Alex Szumski who was a crucial helper in getting the book manuscript to the printing stage.
The structure of this book covers environmental change processes in the bio-sphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere and concludes with two contributions on environmental information systems that are being developed to safeguard data that are vital to further advance our understanding of Siberian ecosystems.
Leicester, September 2009 Prof. Heiko Balzter
ix
Contents
Part I Biosphere
1 Forest Disturbance Assessment Using Satellite Data of Moderate and Low Resolution ............................................................ 3M.A. Korets, V.A. Ryzhkova, I.V. Danilova, A.I. Sukhinin, and S.A. Bartalev
2 Fire/Climate Interactions in Siberia ....................................................... 21H. Balzter, K. Tansey, J. Kaduk, C. George, F. Gerard, M. Cuevas Gonzalez, A. Sukhinin, and E. Ponomarev
3 Long-Term Dynamics of Mixed Fir-Aspen Forests in West Sayan (Altai-Sayan Ecoregion) .................................................. 37D.M. Ismailova and D.I. Nazimova
4 Evidence of Evergreen Conifers Invasion into Larch Dominated Forests During Recent Decades ........................................... 53V.I. Kharuk, K.J. Ranson, and M.L. Dvinskaya
5 Potential Climate-Induced Vegetation Change in Siberia in the Twenty-First Century ................................................... 67N.M. Tchebakova, E.I. Parfenova, and A.J. Soja
6 Wildfire Dynamics in Mid-Siberian Larch Dominated Forests ............ 83V.I. Kharuk, K.J. Ranson, and M.L. Dvinskaya
7 Dendroclimatological Evidence of Climate Changes Across Siberia ........................................................................................... 101V.V. Shishov and E.A. Vaganov
x Contents
8 Siberian Pine and Larch Response to Climate Warming in the Southern Siberian Mountain Forest: Tundra Ecotone ............. 115V.I. Kharuk, K.J. Ranson, M.L. Dvinskaya, and S.T. Im
Part II Hydrosphere
9 Remote Sensing of Spring Snowmelt in Siberia ................................... 135A. Bartsch, W. Wagner, and R. Kidd
10 Response of River Runoff in the Cryolithic Zone of Eastern Siberia (Lena River Basin) to Future Climate Warming .................................................................................... 157A.G. Georgiadi, I.P. Milyukova, and E.A. Kashutina
Part III Atmosphere
11 Investigating Regional Scale Processes Using Remotely Sensed Atmospheric CO2 Column Concentrations from SCIAMACHY ................................................................................ 173M.P. Barkley, A.J. Hewitt, and P.S. Monks
12 Climatic and Geographic Patterns of Spatial Distribution of Precipitation in Siberia ...................................................................... 193A. Onuchin and T. Burenina
Part IV Information Systems
13 Interoperability, Data Discovery and Access: The e-Infrastructures for Earth Sciences Resources ........................... 213S. Nativi, C. Schmullius, L. Bigagli, and R. Gerlach
14 Development of a Web-Based Information-Computational Infrastructure for the Siberia Integrated Regional Study .................. 233E.P. Gordov, A.Z. Fazliev, V.N. Lykosov, I.G. Okladnikov, and A.G. Titov
15 Conclusions .............................................................................................. 253H. Balzter
Appendix .......................................................................................................... 255
Index ................................................................................................................. 279
xi
Contributors
Heiko BalzterDepartment of Geography, University of Leicester, Centre for Environmental Research, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, [email protected]
M.P. BarkleySchool of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Crew Building, The King’s Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JN, [email protected]
S.A. BartalevSpace Research Institute (IKI), 117997, 84/32 Profsoyuznaya str., Moscow, [email protected]
A. BartschInstitute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Vienna University of Technology, Gusshausstraße 27–29, 1040 Vienna, [email protected]
Lorenzo BigagliFriedrich-Schiller-University, Institute for Geography, Earth Observation, Grietgasse 6, 07743 Jena, [email protected]
T. BureninaV.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, SB RAS, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, Akademgorodok, 50, [email protected]
Maria Cuevas GonzalezCentre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, [email protected]
xii Contributors
I.V. DanilovaSukachev Institute of Forest (SIF), 660036, 50/28, Akademgorodok str., Krasnoyarsk, [email protected]
M.L. DvinskayaV.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, SB RAS, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, Academgorodok, 50, Russia [email protected]
A.Z. FazlievInstitute of Atmospheric Optics SB RAS, 634055, Tomsk, Akademicheski ave., 1, [email protected]
Charles GeorgeCentre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, [email protected]
A.G. GeorgiadiInstitute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Staromonetny per., 29, 119017 Moscow, Russia [email protected]
France GerardCentre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, [email protected]
Roman GerlachFriedrich-Schiller-University, Institute for Geography, Earth Observation, Grietgasse 6, 07743 Jena, [email protected]
E.P. GordovSiberian Center for Environmental research and Training and Institute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS, 634055, Tomsk, Akademicheski ave., 10/3, [email protected]
A.J. HewittEarth Observation Science group, Departments of Physics and Chemistry, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, [email protected]
S.T. ImV.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, SB RAS, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, Akademgorodok, 50, Russia [email protected]
xiiiContributors
D.M. IsmailovaV.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, SB RAS, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, Akademgorodok, 50, [email protected]
Jörg KadukCentre for Environmental Research, Department of Geography University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, [email protected]
E.A. KashutinaInstitute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Staromonetny per., 29, 119017 Moscow, Russia [email protected]
V.I. KharukV.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, SB RAS, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, Academgorodok, 50, [email protected]
R. KiddInstitute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Vienna University of Technology, Gusshausstraße, 27–29, 1040 Vienna, Austria and now at Spatial Information & Mapping Centre, Banda Aceh, [email protected]
M.A. KoretsSukachev Institute of Forest (SIF), 50/28, Akademgorodok street, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, [email protected]
V.N. LykosovInstitute for Numerical Mathematics RAS, Moscow, [email protected]
I.P. MilyukovaInstitute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Staromonetny per., 29, 119017 Moscow, Russia [email protected]
P.S. MonksEarth Observation Science group, Departments of Physics and Chemistry, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, [email protected]
Stefano NativiItalian National Research Council – IMAA and University of Florence at [email protected]
xiv Contributors
D.I. NazimovaV.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, SB RAS, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, Akademgorodok, 50, [email protected]
I.G. OkladnikovSiberian Center for Environmental research and Training and Institute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS, 634055, Tomsk, Akademicheski ave., 10/3, Russia [email protected]
A. OnuchinV.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, SB RAS, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, Akademgorodok, 50, [email protected]
E.I. ParfenovaV.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, SB RAS, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, Akademgorodok, 50, Russia [email protected]
Evgeni PonomarevSukachev Institute of Forest, Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, Academgorogok, [email protected]
K.J. RansonNASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, [email protected]
V.A. RyzhkovaSukachev Institute of Forest (SIF), 50/28, Akademgorodok Street, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, [email protected]
Christiana SchmulliusFriedrich-Schiller-University, Institute for Geography, Earth Observation, Grietgasse 6, 07743 Jena, [email protected]
Vladimir V. ShishovIT and Math. Modelling Department, Krasnoyarsk State Trade-Economical Institute, L. Prushinskoi St., Krasnoyarsk, 660075, [email protected] Dendroecology Department, Sukachev Institute of Forest, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Akademgorodok St., Krasnoyarsk, 660036, Russia
xvContributors
A.J. SojaNational Institute of Aerospace, Resident at NASA Langley Research Center 21 Langley Boulevard, Mail Stop 420, Hampton, VA 23681-2199, [email protected]
A.I. SukhininSukachev Institute of Forest (SIF), 660036, 50/28, Akademgorodok str., Krasnoyarsk, [email protected]
Kevin TanseyCentre for Environmental Research, Department of Geography University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, [email protected]
N.M. TchebakovaV.N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, SB RAS, 660036, Krasnoyarsk, Akademgorodok, 50, [email protected]
A.G. TitovSiberian Center for Environmental research and Training and Institute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS, 634055, Tomsk, Akademicheski ave., 10/3, [email protected]
Eugene A. VaganovSiberian Federal University, 79 Svobodnji Ave, Krasnoyarsk 660041, [email protected]
W. WagnerInstitute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Vienna University of Technology, Gusshausstraße, 27–29, 1040 Vienna, [email protected]
