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INTACT FORESTS OF HIGH CONSERVATION VALUE IN THE REPUBLIC OF KARELIA
Method for Mapping High Conservation Value Forests
1. Intact forest landscapes
Intact forest landscapes are large indivisible natural ecosystems greater than 50 thousand hectares situated within the forest zone, which do not contain permanent settlements, are not broken or fragmented by effective transport communications (except state border infrastructure) and do not display signs of significant transformation caused by contemporary human activity. IFL largely represents a contiguous mosaic of intact (old growth) forests and intact non-forest ecosystems (mainly various wetlands).
The method for mapping intact forest landscapes is in great details described in books Yaroshenko A.Yu., Potapov P.V. and Turubanova S.A. The Last Intact Forest Landscapes of Northern European Russia. Moscow; Greenpeace Russia, 2001. 75 p. and in Aksenov D., Dobrynin D., Dubinin M. et al. Atlas of Russia’s Intact Forest Landscapes Moscow: International Socio-Ecological Union; Washington DC: World Resources Institute, 2002. 186 p..
In this map, IFL borders are shown with some changes and corrections, which were made in order to exclude recent clearcuts and to take into account information from better and more detailed imagery and field data, which became available from 2000 to 2005 (http://www.forestforum.ru/info/pictures/map1.pdf).
2. Intact (old growth) forest tracts
Intact (old growth) forest tracts consist of intact (old growth) forests, often include some intact non-forest ecosystems, but are less than IFL. Such areas were identified in three stages.
1. Office studies stage. Based on the analysis of forest inventory data (leskhoz and lesnichestvo-level forest stand maps colored by species) and medium resolution satellite imagery (Resurs MSU-SK, 245 x 157 m pixel size and Resurs MSU-E, 34 m pixel size), potential old growth forest tracts (primarily mature and overmature natural coniferous forests) from 0.5 thousand (for southern Karelia greater than 0.1 thousand) to 50 thousand hectares (in reality the area the maximum area in this range did not exceed 40 thousand hectares) were mapped. In addition, for all preliminary identified areas all available research data were taken into account, especially if they recommended establishment of protected nature areas.
2. Field survey stage. All identified potential intact (old growth) forest tracts were studied in field between 1995 and 2004. Based on field data, some preliminary identified areas, which did not meet the criteria for a minimum permitted level of disturbance (old growth forest), were excluded.
Criteria of intact (old growth) forest were as follows:
- No evidence of modern intensive human impact (some limited number of human-caused impacts was permitted: high grading and selection cuts of the 18th, 19th and first half of 20th centuries, later selection cuts (thinnings), some elements of infrastructure and partial resin tapping of stands);
- Unevenaged stand structure (the conservation value of the area was higher where age and spatial stand structure was closer to late successional stages of forests with natural dynamics);
- Presence of large old trees (older than 120 years for northern and central Karelia, older 100 years for southern Karelia; with a diameter at breast height greater 30-40 cm), no less than 100 such trees per hectare;
- Presence of large-size (with a diameter greater than 30–40 cm) of deadwood, more than ñ 20–30 m3 per hectare;
- Presence of indicator species (vascular plants, polypores, mosses and lichens) typical for forest communities, whose development cycle for long time (not less than 200–300 years) was not breached by human agency (most often timber harvesting);
- Presence of unique landscapes, habitats of rare, threaten and endangered species of plants and animals, including those listed in the Red Data Books of the Russian Federation and Republic of Karelia added value to the area.
3. Contour refinement stage. Borders of all areas identified during field surveys were refined based on medium resolution satellite imagery (Landsat ETM+ and Landsat TM with 15–30 m per pixel resolution, taken in 1972–2002, as well as Terra ASTER with 15 m resolution, 2004–2005). Recent clearcuts, new roads and other recent disturbances were excluded.
In central and southern Karelia, beyond the limits of intact forest tracts there are only small fragments of old growth forests less than 50 hectares in size. Such fragments we call old growth forest stands. In most cases such stands occur sporadically or at significant distance from each other. Therefore, they are not shown at the map. However, there are several areas where concentration of such stands is high and they constitute an indivisible natural complex with non-forest ecosystems (wetlands, coastal ecosystems) or secondary forests. Such forest are also characterized by higher numbers of rare, threatened and endangered species of plants, fungi and animals comparing to nearby forests transformed by humans.
All such areas were proposed as candidate national or nature parks by researchers of the Karelian Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences after partial or complete surveys of different time. Four such areas (Tolvojarvi, Kojtajokki, Tulos and Ladoga Skerries) were proposed as candidate protected areas within the TACIS project in 1997–1999. Transonega (Zaonezhye) area was nominated as a candidate earlier in 1992. Presently, while the high conservation values are proved by multiple field surveys they are not officially protected, since these protected areas have been not established, while the time of their reservation has expired. The borders of these areas were corrected using recent satellite imagery, in particular, by excluding recent clearcuts.
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