The Northern Hemisphere and Global Change
A group of ESM scientists (A. Shvidenko, D. Schepaschenko, S. Fritz, F. Kraxner, I. McCallum, and M. Obersteiner) made substantial contributions to four chapters of a monograph entitled Regional Environmental Changes in Siberia and their Global Consequences, published in 2012.
The book studies the current state and future dynamics of Siberian land cover, which is among the earliest indicators of the Earth’s response to climate change. Climatic change already affects both the boreal ecosystems and socioeconomic infrastructure in Siberia. Projections of the future climate by the end of the century demonstrate dangerous challenges for Siberia ecosystems which very likely will impact the Earth system and population on a global scale.
Future trajectories of Siberian ecosystems will strongly depend upon a number of social and economic decisions. The region requires urgent development and implementation of anticipatory strategies for the adaptation of northern ecosystems and landscapes to climate change.
Siberian land cover is among the earliest indicators of the Earth’s response to climate change
Mapping land cover in Siberia which has an estimated area of 13.1 million sq. km.
Institutional collaboration
The book is a result of collaboration with number of renowned research institutions in IIASA NMO countries, such as the Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena (Germany); the Max Plank Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena (Germany); the National Institute for Environmental Studies (Japan), the Institute of Forest, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (Krasnoyarsk); Siberian Center for Environment Research and Training (Tomsk); Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography; Institute of Space Investigation, Russian Academy of Sciences (all Russia); the National University of Life Sciences and Nature Use, Kiev; the Center of Space Research of the National Academy of Sciences, Kiev; the National Polytechnic University, Lviv (all Ukraine); and the USDA Forest Service (USA); as well as the NOAA National Climatic Data Center (USA).
