Publications

Fakhretdinov, AV; Aref'ev, SP; Moskovchenko, DV (2022). Ecological State of Larch Forests in the Forest-Tundra Ecotone of Western Siberia (As Exemplified by the Mongayurbey River Valley). CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS OF ECOLOGY, 15(4), 383-392.

Abstract
Based on remote sensing and tree-ring chronology data, the ecological state of the extrazonal sparse larch forest in the Mongayurbey River valley (Taz Peninsula) has been studied. This area is one of the northernmost enclaves of taiga vegetation in Western Siberia. An analysis of Terra-MODIS satellite images from 2000 to 2020 shows that the value of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVImean), which reflects the average amount of photosynthetically active phytomass for the summer period, most strongly depends on air temperature (correlation coefficient R = 0.69). However, despite the steady trend towards an increase in the avarage annual summer temperatures, no statistically significant trend in the vegetation index is found, which is due to the inertness of the shrub-moss-lichen ground cover. An analysis of the relationship between the maximum normalized difference vegetation index NDVImax and the absolute tree ring width (TRW) in Larix sibirica Ledeb. shows a strong correlation (R = 0.72) in the marginal, near-watershed area, where a young forest stand with the highest crown density and abundant undergrowth is located. In the valley areas, conversely, forest-stand digression associated with the deterioration of natural conditions is seen (changes in drainage, soil characteristics, and permafrost-geochemical conditions). With continued warming, the spread of the larch forest from the river floodplain to the watershed can be expected, which confirms the current shift of the forest vegetation boundary to the north.

DOI:
10.1134/S1995425522040035

ISSN:
1995-4263