Structural changes in circumpolar boreal forests and climate change: 150-year analysis by stand reconstruction method

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26257407
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 海外学術
• Research Field: Ecology/Environment
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: OSAWA AKIRA 京都大学, 地球環境学堂, 教授 (90288647)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 安江 恒 信州大学, 学術研究院農学系, 准教授 (00324236)
• Research Collaborator: KAJIMOTO Takuya 森林総合研究所, 領域長 (70353638) ; MATSUURA Yojiro 森林総合研究所, 国際森林情報推進室長 (20353857)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 亜寒帯林 / 周極域 / 気候変動 / 地上部現存量 / 林分構造復元法 / 北欧 / シベリア / カナダ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed at analyzing stand development with the stand reconstruction technique that does not require accumulation of previous stand data. We managed to collect data on stand structure and stem samples from about 30 forest stands in Estonia, Finland, Siberia, Alaska, and NW Canada. Results suggested that there may be a pattern of stand development common to circumpolar boreal forests. The rapid cooling of the circumpolar region subsided in 1970's, which was followed by rapid warming thereafter. This rapid warming was associated with shifts in forest growth patterns from one growth curve to another. This discovery is being reported in an international scientific journal, Polar Science.

Free Research Field

森林構造発達学