Variability of CO2 Fluxes During Spruce Forest Dieback at “Log Tayozhny” Eco-Climatic Station in Novgorod Oblast, Russia

The article presents the results of long-term monitoring of net ecosystem exchange and carbon dioxide emissions from soil and dead wood in a forest ecosystem undergoing drying and spruce stand dieback at the footprint of the “Log Tayozhny” eco-climatic field station (Valdai National Park, Novgorod oblast, Russia). The death and decay of overmature even-aged spruce stands caused by periodic droughts, the impact of bark beetle and wood-destroying fungi, and windfalls result in reduction of primary production and increase of the respiration component of the CO₂ balance and its long-term shift to the region of a pronounced carbon source for the atmosphere, whereas the direct impact of rising temperatures does not lead to such an effect.

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