Extent, Distribution, and Ecological Role of Fire in Russian Forests

Abstract

Russia has a complex system for classification of land use and land cover of forested areas. All lands managed by the federal government are part of Russia's forest fund (FF), which in 1993 contained 1,180.9 million ha (64.4% of the total land area of Russia). The FF is divided into two main categories: (1) forestlands (886.5 million ha) that include areas designated for forests; and (2) nonforestlands (294.4 million ha) that include unproductive and unused lands (e.g., bogs, rocks, tundras) and land converted to human use (e.g., roads, pastures, farms). In turn, the forestland category consists of: (1) forested areas occupied by closed forests (763.5 million ha); and (2) unforested areas designated for forests but temporarily unforested, including burns and dead stands, natural sparse forests (open woodlands), and unregenerated clear-cut areas (123.0 million ha).