Importance of boreal forest ecosystems of Komi Republic for the regional and European methane budget

根据我们最初的粗略估计，欧洲温室气体甲烷的预算主要来自寒冷气候生态臭氧(泰加和苔原)的景观来源，大约高达76%。科米共和国和俄罗斯欧洲其他地区的大片地区被沼泽化的森林覆盖，其特点是湿润的土壤含有大量的碳。在许多研究中，这些土壤性质被认为是甲烷排放的先决条件。假设这些生态系统是甲烷来源，将使欧洲每年的甲烷排放量估计从5 Tg增加到13 Tg。除自然沼泽化外，这一过程还可能发生在俄罗斯主要实施的伐木类型--砍伐之后。因此，必须量化科米共和国沼泽化森林可能产生的甲烷排放量，并将其纳入区域和欧洲温室气体排放预算。该项目的目的是了解目前天然沼泽化森林和砍伐地区的甲烷动态。我们将确定目前的甲烷排放量，并分析控制甲烷排放的土壤和植被特性以及气候条件。我们将使用遥感技术来估计天然沼泽化森林和沼泽化砍伐的面积，计算不同采伐方法和强度的情景，并计算俄罗斯在多大程度上抵消了由于砍伐而产生的预期甲烷排放。

The European budget of the greenhouse gas methane is dominated by landscape sources from the cold climates ecozone (taiga and tundra), according to our first rough estimate approximately by up to 76 %. Large areas of Komi Republic and the rest of European Russia are covered by paludified forests characterised by waterlogged soils that contain high amounts of carbon. These soil properties have been recognized as prerequisites for methane emissions in many studies. Assuming that these ecosystems are methane sources would increase the European CH4 emission estimate from 5 to 13 Tg CH4 per year. Additional to the natural paludification this process might occur after clear cut which is the main implemented logging type in Russia. Hence the amount of possible methane emissions from paludified forests of Komi Republic has to be quantified and included into the regional and European greenhouse gas emission budgets. The aim of this project is to understand the current methane dynamics in natural paludified forests and on clear cut areas. We will determine the current emissions of methane and analyse the soil and vegetation properties as well as climatic conditions as controls of methane emissions. We will use remote sensing techniques to estimate the area of natural paludified forests and paludified clear cuts and calculate scenarios of different logging methods and intensities as well as calculate how far Russia is offsetting their carbon budget by prospective induced methane emissions due to clear cutting.