Assessment of the response of Russian forest ecosystems to different climatic conditions from model data

The response of extra-tropical evergreen and deciduous Russian forest ecosystems to a wide range of atmospheric background conditions is considered. This study is performed by using a land-surface model, JSBACH. Two numerical experiments are carried out: with hotter and more humid (model PLASIM) and more moderate (model INMCM4) atmospheric background conditions. A perturbation in the climate system is set by using the RCP 8.5 climate scenario. The study has shown a geographical redistribution of the extra-tropical evergreen and deciduous forests across Russia as well as an increase in their fractions in some already forested regions. An increase in the gross and net CO₂ assimilation and respiration of these types of forest vegetation, as their response to the climatic disturbances, is obtained. However, even under the conditions of extremely intense climatic disturbances the Russian forest ecosystems will continue to act as CO₂ sinks.