ИСТИНА

Forest fires in high extent influence on greenhouse gases balance of forest cover. Fires lead du direct emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases from burning biomass to the atmosphere. Post-fire mortality of trees stimulates the carbon dioxide emissions from decomposing of dead wood. Different sources of information about fires in Russian forests, including official and remote sensing data, are discussed and compared. The latest data display increasing of variations of forest fire rates, which can be attributed with Climate Change effects. The situations with extremely hot and dry weather can be observed in different regions of Russia, leading to regional stimulation of forest fires. Another reason of spatial differences in forest fire rates is related with organization of fire protection activity. Limited forest fire protection in Siberia lead to huge burned areas there. An improvement of activity to protect forest from fires in Siberia and Far East can be effective in mitigation context by avoiding of fire and post-fire emissions.