Environmental Change in Siberia: Earth Observation, Field Studies and Modelling (Advances in Global Change Research Book 40)

This Book Covers A Round-up Of Environmental Changes In Siberia With A Focus On The Terrestrial Biosphere But Also Discussing Climate And Atmosphere And The Hydrological Cycle. It Concludes With A Discussion Of Information System Approaches That Are Being Developed To Safeguard And Make Accessible Spatial And Temporal Data For Environmental Studies. Siberia Is Undergoing Rapid Transformations As A Result Of Its Climate Vulnerability And The Exceptionally High Rate Of Warming It Has Undergone In Recent Decades. The Information Presented In This Book Was Not Easily Accessible To The Global Change Community Before. Contributors Include A Wide Range Of Russian, European And North American Authors From A Variety Of Disciplinary Backgrounds Including Field Ecology, Satellite Remote Sensing And Modelling. The Book Investigates Disturbance Processes In The Taiga Forest With A Focus On Fire And Logging, Provides Observational Evidence Of Evergreen Conifer Invasion Into Larch Dominated Zones Which Could Be A Sign Of Climate Change, And Describes Vegetation Model Predictions Of Shifting Vegetation Zones. Satellite Observations Of Snow Cover In Siberia Are Presented, And Observed Changes In River Runoff Described. The Interactions Between The Hydrological Cycle, The Biosphere And The Atmosphere Are Looked At From A Variety Of Disciplinary Viewpoints. Heiko Balzter, Editor. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Forest Disturbance Assessment Using Satellite Data of Moderate and Low Resolution....Pages 3-19 Fire/Climate Interactions in Siberia....Pages 21-36 Long-Term Dynamics of Mixed Fir-Aspen Forests in West Sayan (Altai-Sayan Ecoregion)....Pages 37-51 Evidence of Evergreen Conifers Invasion into Larch Dominated Forests During Recent Decades....Pages 53-65 Potential Climate-Induced Vegetation Change in Siberia in the Twenty-First Century....Pages 67-82 Wildfire Dynamics in Mid-Siberian Larch Dominated Forests....Pages 83-100 Dendroclimatological Evidence of Climate Changes Across Siberia....Pages 101-114 Siberian Pine and Larch Response to Climate Warming in the Southern Siberian Mountain Forest: Tundra Ecotone....Pages 115-132 Front Matter....Pages 134-134 Remote Sensing of Spring Snowmelt in Siberia....Pages 135-155 Response of River Runoff in the Cryolithic Zone of Eastern Siberia (Lena River Basin) to Future Climate Warming....Pages 157-169 Front Matter....Pages 172-172 Investigating Regional Scale Processes Using Remotely Sensed Atmospheric CO 2 Column Concentrations from SCIAMACHY....Pages 173-192 Climatic and Geographic Patterns of Spatial Distribution of Precipitation in Siberia....Pages 193-210 Front Matter....Pages 212-212 Interoperability, Data Discovery and Access: The e-Infrastructures for Earth Sciences Resources....Pages 213-231 Development of a Web-Based Information-Computational Infrastructure for the Siberia Integrated Regional Study....Pages 233-252 Conclusions....Pages 253-253 Back Matter....Pages 255-282 The Siberian environment is a unique region of the world that is both very strongly affected by global climate change and at the same time particularly vulnerable to its consequences. The news about the melting of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and the prospect of an ice-free shipping passage from Scandinavia to Alaska along the Russian north coast has sparked an international debate about natural resource exploitation, national boundaries and the impacts of the rapid changes on people, animals and plants. Over the last decades Siberia has also witnessed severe forest fires to an extent that is hard to imagine in other parts of the world where the po- lation density is higher, the fire-prone ecosystems cover much smaller areas and the systems of fire control are better resourced. The acceleration of the fire regime poses the question of the future of the boreal forest in the taiga region. Vegetation models have already predicted a shift of vegetation zones to the north under s- narios of global climate change. The implications of a large-scale expansion of the grassland steppe ecosystems in the south of Siberia and a retreat of the taiga forest into the tundra systems that expand towards the Arctic Ocean would be very signi- cant for the local population and the economy. I have studied Russian forests from remote sensing and modelling for about 11 years now and still find it a fascinating subject to investigate. Siberia is undergoing rapid transformations as a result of its climate vulnerability and the exceptionally high rate of warming it has undergone in recent decades. The information presented in this book was noteasily accessible to the global change community before. Contributors include a wide range of Russian, European and North American authors form a variety of disciplinary backgrounds including field ecology, staellite remote sensing and modeling This books covers a round-up of environmental changes in siberia with a focus on the terrestrial biosphere but also discussing climate and atmosphere and the hydrological cycle. It concludes with a discussion of infromation system approaches that are being developed to safeguard and make accessible spatial and temporal data for environmental stukdies "Siberia - unknown to many but crucial for our climate, This comprehensive publication finally documents the international and interdisciplinary endeavours investigating the environmental processes of this tremendeously large and beautiful territory." Chirs Schmullius, Department for Earth Observation, Uni Jena Germany. --Book Jacket "This book provides an insight into regional changes in Siberia that may trigger substantial feedbacks to the Global Eart System." Pasha Groisman, NOAA National Climatic Data Center, NC, USA