Leaf Area Indices of Forest Stands in Natural and Disturbed Forests of Primorsky Krai

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Area Indices of Forest Stands in Natural and Disturbed Forests of Primorsky Krai A. V. Ivanova, b, *, V. Yu. Pokamestovaa, A. S. Kasatkinc, and D. G. Zamolodchikovd aPrimorye

State Agricultural Academy, Ussuriysk, 692510 Russia East Forestry Research Institute, Khabarovsk, 680020 Russia c Roslesozashchita, Pushkino, 141207 Russia dCenter for Forest Ecology and Productivity, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117234 Russia *e-mail: [email protected] bFar

Received July 24, 2019; revised November 14, 2019; accepted December 30, 2019

Abstract—Leaf area indices (LAIs) of stands in natural forests and forests disturbed by felling and fires in Primorsky Krai have been determined using data on the foliage phytomass and specific leaf area (SLA) from 44 sample plots. The LAI of forest stands disturbed by fires and felling is more than 30% lower than that of intact forests, which are structurally close to native coniferous–broadleaf stands. The leaf area index is significantly correlated with the stand volume (R2 = 0.68); however, it should be considered as an independent indicator and its calculation based on stand taxation characteristics involves high uncertainties. Keywords: leaf area index (LAI), specific leaf area (SLA), stand volume, sample plot, Korean pine–broadleaf forests DOI: 10.1134/S1067413620040086

In the 21st century, forest ecosystem functions that are not related to wood production have become an object of economic calculations and are taken into account in political decisions. Considering planetary boundaries, civilization gradually begins to reassess the importance of the multifunctionality of forests and realize that there might be trade-offs with regard to a felled tree versus a tree that was left standing. The most globally important ecosystem functions of forests are to maintain the cycles of matter and energy in the land–atmosphere system: the water balance (including flow regulation and precipitation redistribution) and cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and other elements [1, 2]. In terms of traditional resource-focused “wood” forest management, the forest ecosystem is considered primarily as a set of tree trunks with different assortmentgrade structures. For instance, the Russian forest management system is mainly focused on solving the problem of producing the maximum wood volume at minimum efforts. As a state wood resource, forest stands are studied by a special science called forest taxation. Detailed long-term taxation characteristics are given for all Russian forests growing in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation and Russian forest districts; however, it is difficult to assess ecosystem forest services using these characteristics. The accumulated volume of new knowledge about forests and database on their productivity, biomass, biological diversity, spatial structure, leaf indices, carbon fluxes,

phenological development, etc. forms a new (ecological and interdisciplinary) area in forest taxation [3]. Characteristics of the canopy leaf area should be recognized as an importan