Home – Home – Jornals – Siberian Journal of Forest Science 2017 number 5

The state of Russian forest pyrology from the beginning of XXI century to present time was examined in the article. Main problems of basic and applied research of fire scientists for the last years were revealed. The identification of fire role as permanent ecological and evolutional factor of origin, development, and growth of forests was considered to be the aim of basic research. Applied research includes improvement and increase of efficiency of forest protection, estimation, and reasonable usage of positive fire role in a forest. The results of main basic and applied research of scientists from Siberia, Far East, European part of country, and Ural were examined. It was emphasized that to present time forest pyrology accumulated a significant amount of theoretical and applied knowledge. The results of investigations are the basis for planning of fire fighting, selection of means and methods of fire suppression, increase of efficiency of forest protection, estimation and reasonable usage of positive fire role. The foundations of pyroecology as a science of ecological and evolutional role of forest fires were laid down. In total, the results of investigations of Russian scientists were considered as the uniform system of knowledge of forest fire nature and methods of fire suppressions. In spite of this, modern state of forest pyrology in Russia could not be evaluated as satisfactory, especially after enactment of new RF Forest code since January 1, 2007. The main reasons of such state were determined. The suggestions of its improvement were provided.

A number of changes over the past few years in Russian legislation extended the range of issues that require development of highly professional management decisions in the field of forest fire management. For the analysis of such problems it is important to take into account following issues: 1. Main changes in the legal and regulatory framework in Russia. 2. The extent of use of independent sources of information (e. g. remote sensing monitoring information of the Earth). 3. The ability to use retrospective information about previous decisions (feedback). 4. Use of formalized models (specifications, guidelines and guidance materials). 5. The possibility and the need for Federal control. Considering of these above stated issues the priorities for development are: the formation of the regulatory and methodological basis of application of the Federal Reserve forces and fire-fighting equipment, the formation of guidelines and methodological documents of specific conditions and restrictions on visiting forests, development of plans for forest fire protection, as well as analysis of long-term fire danger index forecasts in forests, depending on weather conditions in order to further improvement of their quality. In order to solve future problems associated with the formation of the methodological framework for decision making on forest fire control (not suppression) in certain areas, forecasting the development of the forest fire situation in the regions, the formation of recommendations on the distribution of fire-fighting resources, it is important to develop the feedback; I.e. collection of relevant long term information, as well as the completion of the information base. It is important to form the organizational and technical framework for the development and regular updating of the information base on the results of certain technologies with descriptions of situations and decision making, and the consequences of their implementation.

In the paper we summarized the data on wildfires in Siberian forests that was obtained on the basis of long-term (1996-2016) satellite monitoring. Wildfire geospatial analysis is presented and main characteristics of fires are generalized and interpreted for current conditions in Siberian forests. It is shown the growth trend of burning of Siberian forests during the 20-year monitoring period. At the same time, the latitudinal variation of fires, as well as the fire danger period and the fire return interval correlates with the gradient of the main geophysical characteristic such as the incoming solar radiation. Remote sensing data were used to validate the adapted technology for estimating the energy characteristics of burning and to classify the fires of variable intensity. The technology for FRP (Fire Radiative Power) estimation was applied successfully to control extreme intensity or crown wildfires. Instrumental estimation for total annual area of extreme wildfires is at least 8.5 %, and it can reach 15-25 %. The adapted algorithms for predicting the dynamics of variable intensity fires is discussed. The typical times were evaluated for the stages of fire dynamics and the model curves were figured out for the limits of area increment. In addition, the characteristics of the satellite systems used (NOAA/AVHRR, Terra, Aqua/Modis, Suomi NPP/VIIRS, Landsat-8 OLI, Sentinel-2), were discussed, including Russian segment (Resource-P), which are promising for increasing effectiveness of wildfire satellite monitoring in Siberia.

Nowadays aviation is among the most effective ways of early detection and suppression of wildfires. At the moment for the aerial wildfire fighting a few dozen models of aircraft are used worldwide, which are regularly modernized and renewed. In this article, authors give information about the history of fighting wildfires from the air, as well as analyze the current state of the issue with the use of aircraft and helicopter airtankers for firefighting, both at international level and in the territory of the Russian Federation. It is revealed that the most popular in the world still are the ground-based firefighting aircraft (regardless of the class of the carrying capacity). Amphibious firefighting aircraft now exist only in light (carrying capacity up to 5 tons) and in medium type (capacity up to 15 tons). Among the helicopter aviation, heavy firefighting helicopters are mostly widely spread, as well as medium multipurpose helicopters, which are, apart from suppression, involved into delivery of people and goods to forest fire sites. The article is devoted to the main directions, according to which the development of aircraft tanker equipment abroad and in Russia occurs. The attention is directed to the most promising developments, and specific recommendations on how to increase the effectiveness of the fire aviation usage in Russia are given. Based on the studies carried out, a conclusion is drawn that for different countries there can be promising different types of firefighting aircraft, considering their landing field infrastructure, characteristics of forests and hydro systems, as well as the total area of the forest fund.

The territory of the Krasnoyarsk Krai is substantially diverse in terms of climatic, silvicultural and economic conditions owing to its sufficient spread from the North to the South. These differences were to some extent taken into account when the forest fund of the Krasnoyarsk Krai was divided into seven forest regions: forest tundra of Central Siberia, highland taiga of Central Siberia, plain taiga of West Siberia, Angara region, subtaiga forest steppe of Central Siberia, Altai-Sayanskiy highland, Altai-Sayanskiy highland forest steppe. The regions show different levels of fire occurrence and different fire effects that require different levels of protection from forest fires. Optimization of the protection is based on activities that combine prevention and timely detection of fires depending on development of forest regions and intensity of forest management. The main focus of the paper is on possibility or inadvisability of prescribed fires, fire-use fires (fires that started naturally but were then managed for their beneficial effects) and the system of activities increasing fire resistance of the most valuable forests. It is justified that taking into account the effects of forest fires, selective protection of forests is expedient in forest-tundra Middle Siberia and highland taiga of Middle Siberia regions. The whole area of plain taiga of West Siberia region should be subject to protection but with various levels of intensity in different parts of it. The forest fund of Angara, subtaiga forest steppe of Middle Siberia, Altai-Sayanskiy highland, Altai-Sayanskiy highland forest steppe regions should be protected on the whole area. Application of prescribed fires is relevant in the subzone of South taiga, in the forest steppe zone as well as in the submontane and lowland taiga belts. Fire-use fires are admissible on limited areas in the subzones of Middle and North taiga.

Fire risk in major forest types and concomitant vegetation complexes across all altitudinal belts has been analyzed. High fire risk in woodlands is determined by domination of light needle coniferous stands in their structure and specific climate with continuous spring-summer droughts. Thus, the risk of landscape wildfires is high. The most drastic situations occur in very dry years of climatic cycles during forest pyrogenic anomalies when fire spreads across the main landscapes in several nature areas. Current fire-frequency is incompatible with high biosphere status of nature complex of Lake Baikal as an object of the World nature heritage. Extensive forest exploitation is unacceptable as well. Fire-prevention measures in the area require modernization. According to the results of many years of comparative studies of fire risk in phytocenoses with different species composition and structure of tree layers, the techniques of making fire stopping barriers were developed. The scheme of dividing the managed forests into isolated cells separated by special obstacles and fire-resistant forest borders combined with commonly used fire barriers is suggested. Fire-resistant barriers should be formed on both sides of main roads, passing through the intensively exploited woodlands dominating with common pine Pinus sylvestris L., Siberian stone pine Pinus sibirica Du Tour, Siberian spruce Picea obovata Ledeb., and Siberian fir Abies sibirica Ledeb. tree species. Such barriers are intended to stop the fire front of crown fires. The barrier width is determined by the cell order. The barriers are bordered with clearings with scarified soil strips of 3-4 meters in width. Trees and shrubs damaged in the process are removed during clutter cleaning. In places where the barrier passes through coniferous tree stands longitudinal corridors with scarified soil strips every 20-30 meters should be made. Reforestation and thinning are supposed to be combined with the area fire preventing arrangements.

The article discuss one of the priority security problems in Russia, which is elaboration of the strategic system of the forest and society safeguards from catastrophic forest crown fires in connection with rapid climate warming. It is postulated, that a most effective and reliable barrier for the dispersal of the intensive crown fire in a coniferous forest massive can be a sufficiently wide strip of deciduous tree species - «deciduous forest barrier», which has phytomass capable of absorbing crown fire energy and transforming them to surface fire, which may be extinguished by technical means. The actuality of the natural study of the transition parameters from the crown fire to surface fire has been noted, depending on climate, fire intensity and the deciduous barrier structure. The results of the quantitative natural investigation of the consequences of catastrophic crown fires of 2004 in the island pine forests of forest-steppe zone in Kurgan Oblast, which passed through the belt of 50-70 year-old birch stands of middle density, has been cited and formalized mathematically. It has been shown, that 150 m width of deciduous forest barrier is necessary as a minimum for the reliable transition of the high intensive front crown fire to surface fire in the forest-steppe conditions of the Western Siberia, but this width reduces with a decreasing heating effect. It has been proposed to create the complex fire-prevention forest belts of different construction for the protection of forests, industrial objects and settlements. Besides a basic deciduous barrier, their structure should include technologically necessary buffer zones and zones for the localization and extinguishing surface fire, which stop a crown fire. It has been recommended to use natural regeneration of deciduous tree species, as a most effective and non-deficient method for the creation of deciduous forest barriers in the predominant forest types, except the lichen pine forests, where creating deciduous belts is necessary.

Vegetation fires, including forest ones, are an important environmental factor. Development of natural resources is always linked with increased number of human-caused ignition sources. The latter increase the frequency of fires on adjacent forest and non-forest areas by an order of magnitude. Ecological impact of the “additional” fires may exceed the impact of industrial pollution and even put the industrial objects and settlements at danger. Therefore one of the components of the ecological expertise for resource-exploration companies (especially the oil and gas ones) in the forest zone should be pyrological expertise, which should primarily include assessment of fire hazard for vegetation sites in the oil and gas complexes. The design of oil and gas complexes requires an expert environmental impact assessment (EIA). Unfortunately, its main focus is on direct impact assessment. However, oil and gas companies produce also an indirect environmental impact, for example, through the change of the fire regime on the adjacent area. At present, the V. N. Sukachev Institute of Forest SB RAS develops a method of pyrological expertise for resource-exploration companies. The method is based on the use of vegetation fuel maps (VF maps) for an objective general assessment of fire hazard as well as an assessment of the current fire hazard depending upon the weather conditions. A method is suggested for making VF maps using remotely sensed data. Deciphering characteristics are developed for primary fire carriers shown in VF maps (on the example of the Yurubcheno-Tohomsky deposit).

This paper discusses the possibility of using fluorescent methods to assess the thermal effects on Scots pine needles’ assimilation apparatus. Two types of experimental studies were carried out. The assessment of the primary heat resistance of the needles from the forest stand previously unaffected by fire lies at the heart of the first one. To assess the effect of temperature stress on the pine needles’ photosynthetic apparatus functioning, the experiments on modeling a convective flow, simulating the ground fire effect were carried out. The second year needles from the 1^st class trees of the green moss-and-motley group of forest types located in the forest-steppe zone of Southern Siberia were studied. According to F_v/F_m fast fluorescence parameter (the maximum photochemical quantum yield of photosystem II), it was demonstrated that after the heat stress, the assimilation apparatus of pine needles can be restored at different rates. This rate depends on the duration and intensity of heating. The second experiment was based upon the task of determining the ability to restore the assimilation apparatus of pine needles after the repeated influence of sub-lethal temperatures on plants in the recovery period after a ground fire of the previous year. Based on the analysis of the parameters of fast and delayed fluorescence, it was possible to detect differences in thermal resistance and the rates of pine needles’ photosynthetic activity reestablishment, which indicates modification of physiological processes in plants under the influence of the thermal stress factor, forming a positive acclimation effect. Thus, fluorescent methods can be used to diagnose the thermal resistance of needles. In particular, the indicator of delayed fluorescence as a criterion for assessing the resistance of the assimilation apparatus in response to the repeated action of stress factors during the recovery from fire. F_v/F_m ratio can be used to assess the response of the needles’ assimilation apparatus to stress during the first days after fire.

A new method of describing the processes of propagation and elimination of wildfires on the basis of agent-based modeling is proposed. The main structural units of the creation of such models are the classes of active objects (agents). Agent approach, combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can effectively describe the interaction of a large number of participants in the process to combat wildfires: fire spreading, fire crews, mechanization, aerial means and other. In this paper we propose a multi-agent model to predict the spread of wildfire edge and simulate the direct method of extinguishing a ground fire with non-mechanized crews. The model consist with two classes of agents, designated A and B. The burning fire edge is represented as a chain of A-agents, each of which simulates the burning of an elementary portion of vegetation fuel. Fire front movement (moving the A-agent) described by the Hamilton-Jacobi equation with using the indicatrises of normal front rate of spread (figurotris). The configuration of the front calculated on basis the algorithm of mobile grids. Agents other type, B-agents, described extinguishing process; they move to the agents of A type and act on them, reducing the combustion intensity to zero. Modeling system presented as two-level coloured nested Petri Net, which describes the agents’ interaction semantics. This model is implemented as a GIS-oriented software system that can be useful both in the fire fighting management as well as in staff training tactics to fighting wildfires. Some examples of modeling decision making on а ground fire extinguishing are presented.