Karelia

SELES was used as part of an analysis of rapid deforestation in Russian Karelia. The research was undertaken in 2000-2001 by Charles N. Burnett(1,4), Andrew Fall(2), Risto Kalliola(1) and Erkki Tomppo(3).

(1) University of Turku, Finland (2) Gowlland Technologies Ltd. (3) Finnish Forest Research Institute (4) MapsWest Geoscience

Preparation

• Processing of Landsat 5 TM satellite scenes
• Multi-year assessment of logging patch history (patch characteristics)
• Masking of water, roads, gravel pits, etc.
• Classification of the forested land using Erkki Tomppo's kNN method

Models Built

• A (dynamic) patch model was used to reproduce 5-10 ha clear-cut logging.
• (Static) patch metric models were applied on the landscape maps at various eras to capture landscape fragmentation
• A (static) minimum spanning tree model was applied to the to assess connectivity

Results

"The future of some of the elementary components of the taiga in Fennoscandia depends on the condition of the taiga forests in Russia and on the connectivity of the Fennoscandian forest between Russia and Finland (Lindén et al. 2000). Given the patterns of harvesting we monitored and the scenarios modeled, we suggest that, in as little as 50 yr, near-natural forests in the study area will be found only in those areas that have been set aside for conservation.

Publication

Burnett, C, A Fall, E Tomppo, and R Kalliola. 2003. Monitoring Current Status of and Trends in Boreal Forest Land-use in Russian Karelia. Ecology & Society 7(2):8 Available online at [1].