CLIMATE TRENDS AND AVERAGE INCREASE IN ASPEN FORESTS CARBON STOCK IN SIBERIA ACCORDING TO FOREST INVENTORY DATA

Aspen trees (Populus tremula L., 1753) are native to the boreal region of Siberia. These species’ fast growth and ability to regrow from root suckers mean it is promising to create carbon farms using aspen trees for an efficient atmospheric carbon sequestration.

This paper presents the findings in research focusing on studying the dynamics of aspen forests growth and condition in changing climate according to forest inventory in 1972, 1982 and 2002.

The research was conducted in aspen stands growing in the Central Siberian subtaiga forest-steppe ecoregion.

From 1982 to 2002, there was a steady trend towards increasing growing season temperature sum. At the same time, the amount of precipitation in the same season and period did not exceed the median value. With an increase in temperature sum in 1982-2002 from 1800°C to 2100°C, the average forest carbon stock increased from 0.56 to 1.48 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year. The statement is true for pure aspen forests aged 10 to 30 years. A drastic decrease in the carbon sequestration potential is observed in aspen stands from the age of 40. After 55 years, the average increase in aspen forests carbon stock levels off, and the differences become insignificant.

Along with age-related increasing biomass growth rates in aspen forests, natural and pathological dieback leads to reduction in resilience and wood loss.

Aspen is characterized by rapid early growth rates, which allows using aspen forests sequestration potential to achieve effective carbon conservation.