Dynamics of the area of tree cover in the Moscow region for the years 2000-2013 (in Russian)

A number of modern products of remote sensing demonstrate significant changes in the forest cover in the Moscow region since the beginning of the current century. We have set a goal to test how the system works in both urban and suburban ecosystems, and to identify the main reasons and effects of changes in the forest cover area within the boundaries of one region. The estimation included not only forest plantations but gardens, parks and other areas covered with woody vegetation with the crown density percentage of above 30 %. The instrument to do it was the internet portal Geo-Wiki, which provides highresolution photos from Google Earth and the means for them to visual interpretation. In addition to automatic description of the state of the sector in different years, the network for spot checks by a team of image interpreters has been set up. We have examined the changes of tree plantations in Moscow, in the Moscow region as a whole, and in the Moscow educational and experimental forestry. Our special attention has been paid to the comparison of the obtained data with the official statistics taken from the forest plan of the Moscow region. The total loss of tree cover was streamlined into such groups as: logging, lost plantations (due to forest fires and outbreaks of pests or diseases), transfer of land to the other types of use (e.g. infrastructure projects or arable and agricultural lands). The areas of newly emerged tree plantations have been divided into reforestation and afforestation. The conclusions concerning the loss of areas covered with tree plantations have been formulated, and the possible reasons, which caused it, have been identified

Soil factors of resistance of spruce forest.

Spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) is one of the major coniferous species represented in Moscow region. It grows on loam or clay loam soils and it is sensitive to soil moisture. The drought of 2010 adversely affected spruce forest. Weak spruce is further highly influenced by various pathogens and pests, among which the most aggressive is bark beetle (Ips Typographus L.). Many researchers have investigated the role of climatic fluctuations in respect of the development of pathogens; however, soil and hydrological factors are often out of the focus. The aim of our work was to study the soil factors affecting the state and resistance of spruce stands. The object of the study was spruce stands of the Moscow educational-experimental forest unit. Forest inventory data in combination with satellite imagery in a GIS environment allowed us to discover a plot with alive resistant spruce surrounded by dead spruce stands of the same age. During field surveys, we investigated soil in both alive and died spruce plots. The study showed that alive spruce forest has developed on soil with specific alternation of horizons of different texture (contains sand layer of varying thickness, underlain by loam horizons). The surrounding soils with dead spruce do not have such a sandy layer. The combination of layers with different texture support accumulation of soil moisture. This moisture, which is trapped by capillary forces in the small pore layer of the soil. Most probably, the ability of soil to store more water has allowed spruce to survive during the drought. We plan to continue our research and investigate more plots with alive spruce stands, to prove our hypothesis

Estimation of forest area and its dynamics in Russia based on synthesis of remote sensing products

We review up-to-date, open access remote sensing (RS) products related to forest. We created a hybrid forest/non-forest map using geographically weighted regression (GWR) based on a number of recent RS products and crowdsourcing. The hybrid map has spatial resolution of 230 m and shows the extent of forest in Russia in 2010. We estimate area of Russian forest as 711 million ha (in accordance with Russian national forest definition). Compared to official data of the State Forest Register (SFR), RS estimates the area of forest to be considerably larger in European part (+12.2 million ha or +8%) and smaller in Asian (-39.8 million ha or -7%) part of Russia. We report the changing forest area in 2001-2010 and discuss main drivers: wildfire and encroachment of abandoned arable land. The methodology used here can be applied for monitoring of forest cover and enhancing the forest accounting system in Russia

Forest Biomass Observation: Current State and Prospective

With this article, we provide an overview of the methods, instruments and initiatives for forest biomass observation at a global scale. We focus on the freely available information provided by both remote and in-situ observations. The advantages and limitation of various space borne methods, including optical, radar (C, L and P band) and LiDAR, as well as respective instruments available on the orbit (MODIS, Proba-V, Landsat, Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 , ALOS PALSAR, Envisat ASAR) or expecting (BIOMASS, GEDI, NISAR, SAOCOM-CS) are discussed. We emphasize the role of in-situ methods in the development of a biomass models, providing calibration and validation of remote sensing data. We focus on freely available forest biomass maps, databases and empirical models. We describe the functionality of Biomass.Geo-Wiki.org portal, which provides access to a collection of global and regional biomass maps in full resolution with unified legend and units overplayed with high-resolution imagery. The Forest-Observation-System.net is announced as an international cooperation to establish a global in-situ forest biomass database to support earth observation and to encourage investment in relevant field-based observations and science. Prospects of unmanned aerial vehicles in the forest inventory are briefly discussed. The work was partly supported by ESA IFBN project (contract 4000114425/15/NL/FF/gp)

A global reference dataset for remote sensing of forest biomass. The Forest Observation System approach

Forest biomass is an essential indicator for monitoring the Earth’s ecosystems and climate. It is a critical input to greenhouse gas accounting, estimation of carbon losses and forest degradation, assessment of renewable energy potential, and for developing climate change mitigation policies such as REDD+, among others. Wall-to-wall mapping of aboveground biomass (AGB) is now possible with satellite remote sensing (RS). However, RS methods require extant, up-to-date, reliable, representative and comparable in situ data for calibration and validation. Here, we present the Forest Observation System (FOS) initiative, an international cooperation to establish and maintain a global in situ forest biomass database. AGB and canopy height estimates with their associated uncertainties are derived at a 0.25ha scale from field measurements made in permanent research plots across the world's forests. All plot estimates are geolocated and have a size that allows for direct comparison with many RS measurements. The FOS offers the potential to improve the accuracy of RS-based biomass products while developing new synergies between the RS and ground-based ecosystem research communities. Live, most up-to-date dataset is available at https://forest-observation-system.net