ИСТИНА

The forest-climate interactions are key topics of numerous modern experimental and modeling studies. They are mainly focused on both the possible effects of changing climate on structure and functioning of forest ecosystems and biogeophysical feedbacks (positive or negative) from forest cover/land use changes to climate conditions at local to global scales. The forests influence climate in multiple ways: absorbing the carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and storing it in wood, leaves and soil; affecting release and absorption of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O); changing the surface evapotranspiration, soil water storage, precipitation and runoff; affecting the surface radiation and energy budgets (albedo, latent and sensible heat fluxes, Bowen ratio). The highlight questions what nowadays should be answered are: How the modern climate changes influence the forest communities in different geographical regions?; How affect deforestation and afforestation processes the biogeochemical cycles and climate system?; What is effect of forest fires on current and future climate conditions?; How respond the forest communities to extreme weather events? etc. To answer these key questions the multifaceted experimental and modeling studies are obviously required. Whereas the field experiments allow to discover and explain the main mechanisms and causal relationships of the forest - atmosphere interactions, the models of different scales (from local to global) and complexity can be successfully used to describe and predict the forest-climate interactions under present and future climate conditions.