Analysis of the carbon sequestration patterns by mountain-forest, mountain-steppe and steppe landscapes of Russia based on satellite data and meteorological observations

The parameters of vegetation cover – a tool for capturing carbon from the atmosphere – vary widely depending on the latitudinal-zonal conditions of the area and local microclimate features. In this regard, the most promising approach to assessing the carbon balance of the territory is the analysis of net primary productivity and, accordingly, the possibilities of capturing carbon from the atmosphere by landscapes of various natural zones, differing in the types of vegetation cover, soil, microclimate and other landscape-ecological characteristics. The aim of the study is to assess the possibilities and patterns of carbon sequestration by vegetation of mountain-forest, mountain-steppe and steppe landscapes of Russia. The research was carried out at seven study plots in the Chechnya Republic and the Orenburg region. At the first stage, the indicators of net carbon sequestration by vegetation for 2000–2020 were calculated on the basis of MOD17A3 products that allow estimating gross primary productivity and net primary productivity. At the second stage, the regularities of the formation of the ability to capture carbon by the vegetation cover of each study plot, depending on climatic and meteorological conditions, on the basis of regression modeling were revealed. It was found that the foothill plot with a multi-year mixed forest and the absence of anthropogenic impact demonstrates the maximum ability to capture carbon from the atmosphere – from 2.6 to 3.5 kg/m2/year. The plot of a natural perennial dry steppe is characterized by a minimum carbon capture capacity – from 0.5 to 1.5 kgF/m2/year. Regression models of the dependence of the sequestration carbon indicators on climatic and meteorological characteristics have been created. These models demonstrate the relative stability of the ability of long-term natural vegetation cover to absorb carbon from the atmosphere.