Siberia may face a shortage of timber reserves in the very near future, says Alexander Onuchin, director of the V. N. Sukachev Forestry Institute.
“One of the most important problems is the coming shortage of forest resources. Many do not understand that it is coming, and the reserves that were here (in Siberia - IF) 50-70 years ago, when the timber industry came here, will not exist,”A. Onuchin told Interfax-Siberia in Thursday.
The deficit is linked to an increase in wildfires, the spread of insect pests and unsustainable deforestation, he said.
“The forest is no longer enough now. I think that forest resources may still be sufficient for 15 years,”A. Onuchin noted.
According to him, in the best natural conditions, where forests could grow at present, they are not restored - instead of standing forests, favorable zones are filled with derivative tree and shrub vegetation, which is not used.
“It is there that intensive forms of forestry should be concentrated, this is not necessarily planting. The most important thing is to provide proper care for these young animals, they should not be left to their fate. Then, under these conditions, we can receive wood an order of magnitude more than the national average. We need to grow wood where it grows well,”the expert emphasized.
However, at present, loggers prefer to move to the north, where the forest is being restored much more slowly, while the northern forests are much less productive than in the south of Siberia, A. Onuchin noted.
According to him, the optimal structure for Siberia is the structure of forestry, in which 10-15% of Siberian forests should be allocated for intensive forestry, where 60% of the necessary products can be obtained, the share of forests for extensive felling is 30% (and 30% of products).
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About 50% are protective and reserve forests, which can provide 5-10% of timber without damage to the ecosystem, said A. Onuchin.
At the same time, the scientist emphasized that Siberian forests make one of the largest contributions to the regulation of carbon on Earth, since, in fact, they conserve it in the soil.