Siberia's threatened forests

Rosencranz, Armin; Scott, A.

doi:10.1038/355293a0

Cited by 24 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…In particular, timber harvest has been suggested as an important consideration. In Siberia, 410 × 10 6 m 3 yr −1 of wood, representing the cutting of ∼4 Mha yr −1 of forest, were being harvested by the late 1980s [ Rosencranz and Scott , 1992]. However, logging dropped off sharply after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and was still only at about one third of its previous level by 1998 [ Ovaskainen et al , 1999].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing river discharge in the Eurasian Arctic: Consideration of dams, permafrost thaw, and fires as potential agents of change

McClelland¹

2004

J. Geophys. Res.

282

248

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Discharge from Eurasian rivers to the Arctic Ocean has increased significantly in recent decades, but the reason for this trend remains unclear. Increased net atmospheric moisture transport from lower to higher latitudes in a warming climate has been identified as one potential mechanism. However, uncertainty associated with estimates of precipitation in the Arctic makes it difficult to confirm whether or not this mechanism is responsible for the change in discharge. Three alternative mechanisms are dam construction and operation, permafrost thaw, and increasing forest fires. Here we evaluate the potential influence of these three mechanisms on changes in discharge from the six largest Eurasian Arctic rivers (Yenisey, Ob', Lena, Kolyma, Pechora, and Severnaya Dvina) between 1936 and 1999. Comprehensive discharge records made it possible to evaluate the influence of dams directly. Data on permafrost thaw and fires in the watersheds of the Eurasian Arctic rivers are more limited. We therefore use a combination of data and modeling scenarios to explore the potential of these two mechanisms as drivers of increasing discharge. Dams have dramatically altered the seasonality of discharge but are not responsible for increases in annual values. Both thawing of permafrost and increased fires may have contributed to changes in discharge, but neither can be considered a major driver. Cumulative thaw depths required to produce the observed increases in discharge are unreasonable: Even if all of the water from thawing permafrost were converted to discharge, a minimum of 4 m thawed evenly across the combined permafrost area of the six major Eurasian Arctic watersheds would have been required. Similarly, sensitivity analysis shows that the increases in fires that would have been necessary to drive the changes in discharge are unrealistic. Of the potential drivers considered here, increasing northward transport of moisture as a result of global warming remains the most viable explanation for the observed increases in Eurasian Arctic river discharge.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increasing river discharge in the Eurasian Arctic: Consideration of dams, permafrost thaw, and fires as potential agents of change

McClelland¹

2004

J. Geophys. Res.

282

248

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“…Undisturbed conifer forests were recently widespread but now are among some of the most intensively altered habitats (Norse 1990;Rosencranz and Scott 1992;Lindenmayer and Franklin 2002). For example, in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) of North America, only 14% of the original old-growth forest in Washington and Oregon, U.S.A., remains (Strittholt et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree squirrel abundance and demography in managed coniferous forests of British Columbia are within the range of natural fluctuations of old-growth stands

Sullivan

Ransome²,

Sullivan³

et al. 2017

Can. J. For. Res.

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Abstract:The American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Exrleben) and northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus Shaw) are important mammal species in coniferous forests that are widely distributed across temperate and boreal ecological zones. Although T. hudsonicus and G. sabrinus apparently prefer late-successional forests, their population dynamics show no clear pattern in young second-growth and old-growth conifer forests. We used a compilation of study results that had standardized methodology and sampling effort to compare tree squirrel responses across a range of forest conditions. We tested the hypotheses (H) that abundance, reproduction, recruitment, and survival would be higher in (H 1 ) old-growth than second-growth stands, (H 2 ) unthinned than thinned second-growth stands, and (H 3 ) lightly than heavily thinned stands. Tree squirrel populations in old-growth stands were considered the "standard" treatment to which other treatments in second-growth stands (unthinned and variously thinned) were compared. Thinned stands were grouped into low, medium, and high densities of trees. Datasets from seven published studies included 2804 Tamiasciurus and 837 G. sabrinus individuals, 25 study years, and 158 trapping periods. Mean abundance of Tamiasciurus was similar among treatment stands, ranging from 0.62 to 1.29·ha −1 . Mean numbers of G. sabrinus were highest in old-growth stands at 0.65·ha −1 , followed by the low-and medium-density stands at 0.50·ha −1 , the high-density stands at 0.25·ha −1 , and finally the unthinned second-growth stands at a low of 0.12·ha −1 . In terms of effect size, mean proportional change in abundance, relative to that within old-growth stands, of both squirrel species in the three thinned stands were within the range of natural fluctuations in old-growth stands. Populations of Tamiasciurus in the unthinned stands were not within the range of fluctuations in the old-growth stands. Mean number of successful pregnancies and total recruits were similar among stands for Tamiasciurus, with variability in female breeding and winter survival. Mean number of recruits of G. sabrinus was highest in old-growth stands with no other differences in demographic attributes among stands. The biological significance of these differences in demographic variables was small in terms of effect sizes. Tamiasciurus and G. sabrinus seem to persist in a relatively broad range of young managed forest habitats, as well as in old-growth stands.Key words: coniferous forests, Glaucomys sabrinus, managed stands, old-growth forest, population dynamics, Tamiasciurus.Résumé : L'écureuil roux américain (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Exrleben) et le grand polatouche (Glaucomys sabrinus Shaw) sont deux espèces de mammifères d'importance dans les forêts de conifères qui couvrent une grande partie des biomes tempérés et boréaux. Mis à part le fait que T. hudsonicus et G. sabrinus semblent préférer les forêts de fin de succession, leur dynamique des populations ne montre pas de tendances nettes dans les jeunes forêts d...

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“…With vast, apparently untapped resources, the motivation to develop international logging enterpriscs is great. However, caution is suggested by analysts from both thc environmental protection pcrspcctive (Gordon 1993;Grigoriev 1993;Rosencrantz & Scott and 1992) and forest utilization perspective (Shvidenko & Nilsson 1994;Mironov & Silachev 1993;Rilkov & Kotelnikov 1993;Braden 1991). The extremely slow growth rates and relative fragility of the taiga ecosystem are two major concerns that suggest the taiga does not recover well from intensive harvesting practices.…”

Section: Siberiamentioning

confidence: 97%

Predivinsk Lespromkhoz: A Case Study on the Collaborative Restructuring of a Forest Product Based Community in Siberia

Ostergren

Hollenhorst

1997

Journal of Sustainable Forestry

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Siberia's threatened forests

Cited by 24 publications

References 1 publication

Increasing river discharge in the Eurasian Arctic: Consideration of dams, permafrost thaw, and fires as potential agents of change

Increasing river discharge in the Eurasian Arctic: Consideration of dams, permafrost thaw, and fires as potential agents of change

Tree squirrel abundance and demography in managed coniferous forests of British Columbia are within the range of natural fluctuations of old-growth stands

Predivinsk Lespromkhoz: A Case Study on the Collaborative Restructuring of a Forest Product Based Community in Siberia

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