Biomass Burning Carbon Consumption in the Former Soviet Union

Amber Soja, National Institute of Aerospace / NASA LaRC, amber.j.soja@nasa.gov (Presenter)
Elena Kukavskaya, Sukachev Institute of Forest, kea-fire@mail.ru
Nadezda Tchebakova, Sukachev Institute of Forest, ncheby@ksc.krasn.ru
Elena Parfenova, Sukachev Institute of Forest, lyeti@forest.akadem.ru
Jessica McCarty, Michigan Tech Research Institute, jmccarty@mtu.edu
Douglas McRae, Canadian Forest Service, dmcrae@nrcan.gc.ca
Bill DeGroot, Canadian Forest Service, bdegroot@nrcan.gc.ca
Alan Cantin, Canadian Forest Service, alan.cantin@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca

Estimating the amount of biomass burned during fire events is challenging, particularly in remote and diverse regions, like those of the Former Soviet Union (FSU). Historically, we have typically assumed 25 tons of carbon per hectare (tC/ha) is emitted, however depending on the ecosystem and severity, biomass burning emissions can range from 2 to 75 tC/ha. Ecosystems in the FSU span from the tundra through the taiga to the forest-steppe, steppe and desserts and include the extensive West Siberian lowlands, permafrost-lain forests and agricultural lands. Excluding this landscape disparity results in inaccurate emissions estimates and incorrect assumptions in the transport of these emissions.

We have used a detailed ecosystem map and Alexeyev and Birdsey carbon storage data to build carbon databases that include the forest overstory and understory, litter, peatlands and soil organic material for the FSU. We provide a range of potential carbon consumption estimates for low- to high-severity fires across the FSU that can be used with fire weather indices to more accurately estimate fire emissions. These data can be incorporated at ecoregion and administrative territory scales and are optimized for use in large-scale Chemical Transport Models. Additionally, paired with future climate scenarios and ecoregion cover, these carbon consumption data can be used to estimate potential emissions.

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Coupled Processes at Land-Atmosphere-Ocean Interfaces   (Mon 4:00 PM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Conard, Susan: The Influence of Changing Forestry Practices on the Effects of Wildfire and on Interactions between Fire and Changing Climate in central Siberia ...details
• Soja, Amber: Wildfire, Ecosystems and Climate in Siberia ...details

Poster Location ID: 85