HISTORY OF RESEARCH ON FOREST PRODUTIVITY IN KARELIA

Abstract

The article deals with the history of research on the biological productivity of forests in Republic of Karelia as a methodological basis for the modern field of research into the components of carbon balance in forests. Particular attention is paid to the review of the studies of the researchers of the Forest Institute of the Karelian Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences from the moment of its formation to the present. The studies of the structure and stocks of phytomass, organic matter and carbon in different components of forest ecosystems, as well as biological aspects of the productivity of the republic’s forests are considered. Some results and prospects of studying the carbon balance in the forests of Eastern Fennoscandia at the current stage of the Institute’s activities are discussed. The references list the main studies in this research field.