FOREST VEGETATION ZONING OF SIBERIA: HISTORY OF CREATION AND CONCEPT OF ZONALITY
D. I. Nazimova, A. D. Koshkarov
Krasnoyarsk Science Centre of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Science, V. N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch, Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation
Keywords: zoning, mapping, forest vegetation zones and sectors of Siberia, ecosystem approach, biodiversity, forecast
Abstract
In the modern concept of forest science, forest vegetation zoning is recognized as the natural-historical basis of forestry zoning, and its purpose is to reflect the natural conditions and specific features of forests that are important for their complex multi-purpose use and increased productivity. The purpose of this article is to present the concept and map of forest vegetation zoning, created over more than 60 years by a team of researchers of the Institute of Forest Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The stages of work on the map and the change of concepts and notions are noted - from a natural-territorial complex to an ecosystem and geosystem, from phytogeography and geobotany to the ecological-geographical direction in forestry. The map is based on forest fund inventory data from 1973-1990; the legend indicates the percentage of coniferous and deciduous formations (larch, pine, spruce, fir, birch, aspen, dwarf pine forests, stone birch, birch sparse forests, dwarf birch brakes and other formations) within each forest growth zone and subzone. In Siberia, as a part of the entire country, three longitudinal-climatic sectors are distinguished: West Siberian, Central Siberian and East Siberian, each with its own characteristics of forest growth zones and subzones, specific typological composition and productivity of stands. The region of the Mountains of Southern Siberia is distinguished separately, in which, according to the same criteria adopted for the plains and plateaus, 4 sectors of moisture-continentality are distinguished. The internal differentiation of this mountain region on a small scale cannot be shown on the map due to its small contours, but the principle of altitudinal zonal division is observed, published and briefly discussed. The methods and new approaches to compiling the published version of the map, which is part of the zoning map of the entire territory of the forest fund of the USSR, developed at the Institute of Forestry, are described. The published map can serve as a source of information as a starting point for monitoring the forest cover of Siberia, which has been conducted since the early 2000s on a new basis, using the state forest inventory of the country and remote sensing data. This is its historical, scientific and reference value.
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