Abstract
The presented study quantifies the proportion of stand-replacement fires in Russian forests through the integrated analysis of Landsat and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data products. We employed 30 m Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus derived tree canopy cover and decadal (2001–2012) forest cover loss (Hansen et al 2013 High-resolution global maps of 21st-century forest cover change Science 342 850–53) to identify forest extent and disturbance. These data were overlaid with 1 km MODIS active fire (earthdata.nasa.gov/data/near-real-time-data/firms) and 500 m regional burned area data (Loboda et al 2007 Regionally adaptable dNBR-based algorithm for burned area mapping from MODIS data Remote Sens. Environ. 109 429–42 and Loboda et al 2011 Mapping burned area in Alaska using MODIS data: a data limitations-driven modification to the regional burned area algorithm Int. J. Wildl. Fire 20 487–96) to differentiate stand-replacement disturbances due to fire versus other causes. Total stand replacement forest fire area within the Russian Federation from 2002 to 2011 was estimated to be 17.6 million ha (Mha). The smallest stand-replacement fire loss occurred in 2004 (0.4 Mha) and the largest annual loss in 2003 (3.3 Mha). Of total burned area within forests, 33.6% resulted in stand-replacement. Light conifer stands comprised 65% of all non-stand-replacement and 79% of all stand-replacement fire in Russia. Stand-replacement area for the study period is estimated to be two times higher than the reported logging area. Results of this analysis can be used with historical fire regime estimations to develop effective fire management policy, increase accuracy of carbon calculations, and improve fire behavior and climate change modeling efforts.
Highlights
Wildfire is the dominant stand-level disturbance agent in boreal forests (Shorohova et al 2011, de Groot et al 2013), shaping forest cover over the majority of Russia
The average stand-replacement fire proportion for all forest fires calculated in this analysis was 33.6%
The largest area of stand-replacement fires in the last decade occurred in Yakutia (Northeast Siberia) with 0.58 million ha (Mha), or 0.35% of total forest area burned annually
Summary
Wildfire is the dominant stand-level disturbance agent in boreal forests (Shorohova et al 2011, de Groot et al 2013), shaping forest cover over the majority of Russia. Estimates of burned area without the assessment of fire severity and post-fire tree mortality are insufficient to understand the role of fires in forested ecosystems. Stand-replacement fire estimate used in carbon flux inventory data (National Inventory Report 2013) was derived using a complicated inventory-based burned scar area interpolation. While such approaches are suitable for long-term averages at the national level, the variability of stand-replacement fire rates can lead to errors at annual and regional scales. A Krylov et al used to improve our understanding of the role of wildfire in ecosystem and land-cover change dynamics, to reduce uncertainties of fire-related carbon emission estimates, and, potentially, to improve forest management in the context of wildland fires and occurrence of stand-replacement fires. Knowing the rates of fire-induced mortality is relevant to science through better understanding the carbon cycle of the largest contiguous forests in the world as well as providing a baseline for developing robust post-fire forest management strategies driven by specific goals of management agencies, such as post-fire rehabilitation of commercially viable or ecologically valuable forests
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