Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Forest Growing Stock Volume and Carbon Stocks: A Case Study of Kandry-Kul Natural Park, Russia

Abstract

This paper presents the evaluation and digital mapping of forest growing stock volume (GSV) and carbon stocks of the natural park Kandry-Kul (Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia). The field observations were conducted in the process of forest surveys in 1994 and 2018. According to these materials, we identified the predominant tree species in each studied plot. Then, we produced the digital maps of GSV and carbon stocks for each study year and calculated the annual increment. The results showed that birch (Betula pendula) and pine (Pinus sylvestris) were the dominant species in the studied park. The comparison of the two maps showed that the maximum annual GSV between 1994 and 2018 occurred in areas with a fairly small GSV in 1994. These areas were characterized by young trees of different species and pines of different ages, which had not yet reached the age of maturity, when the growth of trees is significantly reduced. We found that young pine crops contributed the greatest potential of carbon sequestration, with an annual GSV of 4.2 m3/ha per year. The birch trees made a minor contribution to the sequestration potential, characterized by relatively average annual growth (1.2 m3/ha per year). The change in carbon stocks for pine stands was on average 2 t/ha per year. For birch stands, the change in carbon stocks was approximately 0.5 t/ha per year, which is 30% of the average values for the forest-steppe region. Our results provide quantitative information on the carbon accumulation rate in secondary forests under conditions of intensive recreational load.