Destruction of cedar–broadleaf forests in the southern Russian Far East

We are preparing to launch a public initiative addressed to the Government of the Russian Federation calling for a complete ban on cedar logging throughout the country. In the near future, I will prepare the scientific arguments, research and a detailed investigative report on the problem. We will then launch the initiative and gradually work to achieve change. In previous years, after we spoke out in defence of cedar forests, a partial ban was introduced in the Russian Far East, and the discussion reached the federal level.

I would like to share a remarkable work with you — the abstract of a 2009 doctoral dissertation by the outstanding Russian scientist Vasily Nikolayevich Koryakin. The work is devoted specifically to the cedar–broadleaf forests of the southern Russian Far East, where the principal tree species is Korean pine — Pinus koraiensis.

According to his data, the area of cedar forests had already been reduced by more than half, and these estimates are now old. Today, the destruction has reached an unprecedented level. In 1929, cedar–broadleaf forests were estimated to cover 6.8 million hectares. By 1983, their area had declined by more than half.

In Primorsky Krai, the area decreased by a factor of 1.9, while in Khabarovsk Krai it decreased by a factor of 2.4. In other words, approximately 3.5–4 million hectares of cedar forests were lost compared with the 1929 estimate.

Furthermore, according to the scientist, during the 24 years preceding the ban on industrial logging, roughly another quarter of the remaining forests was destroyed. From 1966 to 1990, the area of cedar–broadleaf forests decreased by a factor of 1.3. The most severe decline occurred specifically in commercial forests.

And here is the most important point I want to emphasise: after final felling was banned in 1990, the area of cedar forests continued to decline. Between 1993 and 1999 alone, another 48,200 hectares were lost, equal to 1.6% of the remaining area. At the same time, the rate of decline fell by more than threefold. In other words, the ban alone proved insufficient because the consequences of previous logging, forest fires and ecosystem degradation continued to have an impact.

And, of course, the author of the doctoral dissertation states directly that industrial logging primarily removed cedar trees from forest stands. This reduced their share and transformed cedar forests into forests dominated by birch, linden, spruce, fir and other species.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Korean pine accounted for approximately 50% of all timber harvested within the range of these forests. Excessive industrial exploitation led to a reduction in the area of cedar forests, a several-fold decline in Korean pine timber reserves and a decrease in forest-stand productivity.

The scientific work — a doctoral dissertation — is available through the link below. It is written in Russian, so it can be studied to broaden one’s knowledge.

[p_link url='https://new-disser.ru/_avtoreferats/01004759570.pdf' size='2.7 MB' target="_blank"]Read the study (PDF)[/p_link]

According to the data I am currently collecting — including scientific studies and supporting evidence — the situation has now become so critical that the large-scale destruction of cedar forests has caused food shortages among wild animals. I therefore consider it essential to begin working in this area and to seek the introduction of a complete ban on the destruction of cedar forests!