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Siberian Journal of Forest Science

2016 year, number 4

ON RELIABILITY OF THE STATE FOREST REGISTER DATA OF THE FORESTS STUDIED AND WAYS TO ELIMINATE DEFECTS

L. N. Vashchuk
Federal State Budgetary Enterprise В«Roslesinforg» В«Pribaikallesproekt», Rose Luxemburg str., 150, Irkutsk, 664040 Russian Federation
Keywords: государственный лесной реестр, лесоустройство, таксационные показатели, земли лесного фонда, способ таксации, разряд лесоустройства (таксационный разряд), state forest register, forest planning, forest inventory indicators, forest fund lands, forest inventory methods, forest planning grades (forest inventory grade)

Abstract

Russian Federal Forestry Agency has published a Reference Book that contains current characteristics of Forest Fund lands by subjects of the Russian Federation, federal districts, and aggregated data for the entire country. The book does not contain reliable data on areas of forests, for which forest inventory materials either do not exist or have been lost, as well as on details and accuracy of presented forest inventory data. The published information about temporal remoteness of forest inventory data are in contradiction with those that were reported in presentations of official representatives of the Federal Forestry Agency and Roslesinforg, which have been done at different conferences and meetings devoted to forest inventory problems. Four methods of forest inventory and planning, which are used in the State Forest Register (SFR) do not cover all diversity of the methods, which have been used in the Russian forests. There is a clear inconsistency in information on the application of different methods of forest inventory in the country. It follows from the lack of any guidance materials about the account for areas inventoried by aerial survey, rational combination of ground inventory with office deciphering of aerial photographs, and inventory of reserve forests based on remote sensing products. Compatibility of terminology and comparability of information, which have been published in previous reference books and other official publications are not considered. This does not allow understanding of the dynamics of Russian forests for any long periods. Based on analysis of published materials on history of forest inventory in Russia (areas of inventoried forests by a definite date, change of methods and technology etc.), we suggest relevant ways for elimination of the above shortcomings. They include: a) necessity of a strict formal regulation of filling in the forms of the SFR; b) need to use relevant and compatible terminology which would prevent ambiguous or contradictive interpretation; c) relevance to account for all methods of forest inventory which were used in Russia during the last six decades; and d) need to take into account changes of parameters of forest inventory grades, which followed the introduction of the Forest Inventory Manual of 2008.