Balzter Environmental Change in Siberia

Earth Observation, Field Studies and Modelling
2010
ISBN: 978-90-481-8641-9
Verlag: Springer Netherlands
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, Band 40, 300 Seiten

Reihe: Advances in Global Change Research

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 po- 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 s- 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 signi- 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.

Professor Balzter Heiko Balzter is Professor in Physical Geography and Head of the Geography Department at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. His research interests include biosphere / climate interactions and their responses to environmental change, with a focus on remote sensing and modelling approaches. From 1998 to 2006 he worked at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology at Monks Wood, UK, where he was leading the Section for Earth Observation for three years. Professor Balzter has contributed to many major international and interdisciplinary research projects (supported by the European Commission, European Space Agency and British funding sources), including SIBERIA, SIBERIA-2, SIBFORD, GEOLAND and GEOLAND2. His academic background is in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and he received his Dipl.-Ing. agr. degree in 1994 with a dissertation topic on methods for vegetation sampling, and his Dr. agr. in 1998 from Justus-Liebig-University in Giessen, Germany, for a thesis on vegetation modelling using Markov Chains and Cellular Automata.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Balzter, Heiko

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Contents;10
2;Contributors;12
3;Chapter 1: Forest Disturbance Assessment Using Satellite Data of Moderate and Low Resolution;19
3.1;1.1 Introduction;20
3.2;1.2 Study Area;21
3.3;1.3 Vegetation in Burned Sites;21
3.4;1.4 Vegetation Condition in the Industrial Emission Zone;24
3.5;1.5 Conclusion;34
3.6;References;34
4;Chapter 2: Fire/Climate Interactions in Siberia;36
4.1;2.1 The Fire Regime in Siberia;36
4.2;2.2 The L3JRC Global Daily Burned Area Dataset;38
4.3;2.3 Forest Fire Intensity Dynamics (FFID) Daily Burn Scar Identification;41
4.4;2.4 Burned Forest Area Intercomparison;44
4.5;2.5 Climate Impacts on Fire;45
4.6;2.6 Fire Feedbacks to the Climate System;48
4.7;2.7 Conclusions;49
4.8;References;49
5;Chapter 3: Long-Term Dynamics of Mixed Fir-Aspen Forests in West Sayan (Altai-Sayan Ecoregion);52
5.1;3.1 Introduction;53
5.2;3.2 Materials and Methods;54
5.2.1;3.2.1 Permanent Plots;56
5.3;3.3 Results and Discussion;56
5.3.1;3.3.1 Stand Characteristics;56
5.3.2;3.3.2 Tree Layer;57
5.3.3;3.3.3 Shrub Layer;57
5.3.4;3.3.4 Herbaceous Layer;59
5.3.5;3.3.5 Regeneration;60
5.4;3.4 Discussion;64
5.5;3.5 Conclusions and Future Research Directions;64
5.6;References;65
6;Chapter 4: Evidence of Evergreen Conifers Invasion into Larch Dominated Forests During Recent Decades;67
6.1;4.1 Introduction;68
6.2;4.2 Study Area;68
6.3;4.3 Material and Methods;69
6.4;4.4 Results;70
6.4.1;4.4.1 Regeneration Distribution Along the Transects;70
6.4.2;4.4.2 Regeneration Age Structure and Climate Variables;72
6.4.3;4.4.3 DNC Propagation into LDZ and Wildfires;74
6.5;4.5 Discussion;75
6.6;References;78
7;Chapter 5: Potential Climate-Induced Vegetation Change in Siberia in the Twenty-First Century;80
7.1;5.1 Introduction;81
7.2;5.2 Methods;81
7.2.1;5.2.1 Study Area;81
7.2.2;5.2.2 Climate Change Scenarios;82
7.2.3;5.2.3 Vegetation Models;82
7.2.4;5.2.4 Mapping;85
7.2.5;5.2.5 Climate Change;86
7.2.6;5.2.6 Climate-Induced Change in Vegetation Cover Predicted for the Twenty-First Century;89
7.2.7;5.2.7 Evidence of Contemporary Changes in Vegetation in Central Siberia;91
7.3;5.3 Discussion;93
7.4;References;94
8;Chapter 6: Wildfire Dynamics in Mid-Siberian Larch Dominated Forests;96
8.1;6.1 Introduction;96
8.2;6.2 Study Area;98
8.3;6.3 Methods;100
8.4;6.4 Results;102
8.4.1;6.4.1 FRI and Landscape Characteristics;102
8.4.2;6.4.2 Temporal Trends in the FRI;103
8.4.3;6.4.3 The FRI and Summer Air Temperature;104
8.4.4;6.4.4 Wildfires and Species Migration into Zone of Larch Dominance;107
8.4.5;6.4.5 Wildfires and Permafrost Thawing Depth;109
8.5;6.5 Discussion;109
8.6;References;111
9;Chapter 7: Dendroclimatological Evidence of Climate Changes Across Siberia;114
9.1;References;125
10;Chapter 8: Siberian Pine and Larch Response to Climate Warming in the Southern Siberian Mountain Forest: Tundra Ecotone;128
10.1;8.1 Introduction;129
10.2;8.2 Materials and Methods;129
10.3;8.3 Results;132
10.3.1;8.3.1 Tree Increment Dynamics;132
10.3.2;8.3.2 Regeneration Age Structure;132
10.3.3;8.3.3 Estimation of Regeneration Response to Warming;136
10.3.4;8.3.4 Prostrate Versus Arboreal;136
10.4;8.4 Discussion;137
10.5;References;144
11;Chapter 9: Remote Sensing of Spring Snowmelt in Siberia;147
11.1;9.1 Introduction;147
11.2;9.2 Sensors;148
11.3;9.3 Methods for Detection of Seasonal Snow Cover;151
11.4;9.4 Diurnal Differences over Siberia;153
11.5;9.5 Comparison of Different Methods over Central Siberia;157
11.6;9.6 Impact of Thaw Timing and Duration on the Environment;159
11.6.1;9.6.1 Runoff;159
11.6.2;9.6.2 CO2 Fluxes and Phenology;161
11.6.3;9.6.3 Peat Land Monitoring;162
11.7;9.7 Summary;163
11.8;References;165
12;Chapter 10: Response of River Runoff in the Cryolithic Zone of Eastern Siberia (Lena River Basin) to Future Climate Warming;168
12.1;10.1 Introduction;169
12.2;10.2 Methods;170
12.2.1;10.2.1 Model of Monthly Water Balance;170
12.2.2;10.2.2 General Scheme of Calculations;172
12.2.3;10.2.3 Methods of Parameter Calibration;173
12.3;10.3 Description of the Data Used;174
12.3.1;10.3.1 Data on the Present-Day Climate;174
12.3.2;10.3.2 Data on River Runoff;174
12.3.3;10.3.3 Data on Deviations of Climatic Elements from Their Present-Day Values;174
12.4;10.4 Discussion of Modelling Results;175
12.5;10.5 Conclusions;178
12.6;References;179
13;Chapter 11: Investigating Regional Scale Processes Using Remotely Sensed Atmospheric CO2 Column Concentrations from SCIAMACHY;182
13.1;11.1 Introduction;183
13.2;11.2 The SCIAMACHY Instrument;184
13.3;11.3 Full Spectral Initiation (FSI) WFM-DOAS;185
13.4;11.4 SCIAMACHY Global CO2 Distributions;186
13.5;11.5 Algorithm Validation;188
13.6;11.6 SCIAMACHY CO2 Columns over Siberia;193
13.7;11.7 Summary;198
13.8;References;199
14;Chapter 12: Climatic and Geographic Patterns of Spatial Distribution of Precipitation in Siberia;202
14.1;12.1 Introduction;203
14.2;12.2 Study Area and Methods;204
14.3;12.3 Results;206
14.3.1;12.3.1 Spatial Precipitation Patterns in Siberian Ecoregions;206
14.3.2;12.3.2 Spatial and Temporal Precipitation Pattern Models;211
14.3.2.1;12.3.2.1 The Central Part of the Krasnoyarsk Region;211
14.3.2.2;12.3.2.2 South-Eastern Fore-Baikal Region;214
14.4;12.4 Discussion;216
14.5;12.5 Conclusion;217
14.6;References;217
15;Chapter 13: Interoperability, Data Discovery and Access: The e-Infrastructures for Earth Sciences Resources;221
15.1;13.1 Introduction;221
15.1.1;13.1.1 GEOSS;222
15.1.2;13.1.2 GMES;223
15.1.3;13.1.3 INSPIRE;224
15.2;13.2 The Siberian Earth System Science Cluster;224
15.2.1;13.2.1 Objectives;225
15.3;13.3 The Interoperability Infrastructure;226
15.4;13.4 Information View;228
15.4.1;13.4.1 Coverage Versus Features;229
15.4.2;13.4.2 Observations and Measurements;229
15.4.3;13.4.3 Data Products;232
15.4.4;13.4.4 Metadata;232
15.4.5;13.4.5 Dataset Encoding;233
15.5;13.5 Computational and Engineering Views;233
15.5.1;13.5.1 Resource Discovery Service;235
15.5.2;13.5.2 Resource Access Services;236
15.5.3;13.5.3 Data Visualization Service;236
15.5.4;13.5.4 Data Analysis Services;236
15.5.5;13.5.5 Services Infrastructure Interoperability;237
15.6;13.6 Future Research Activities;237
15.7;References;237
16;Chapter 14: Development of a Web-Based Information-Computational Infrastructure for the Siberia Integrated Regional Study;240
16.1;14.1 Introduction;241
16.2;14.2 Siberia Integrated Regional Study;244
16.3;14.3 Developed Elements of the Infrastructure;247
16.3.1;14.3.1 ATMOS Climate Site;247
16.3.2;14.3.2 Enviro-RISKS Portal and Climate Site;249
16.3.3;14.3.3 Air Quality Assessment Site;253
16.4;14.4 Conclusions;256
16.5;References;258
17;Chapter 15: Conclusions;260
18;Appendix;261