Forest Vegetation Dynamics Along an Altitudinal Gradient in Relation to the Climate Change in Southern Transbaikalia, Russia

In this study, we examined the response forest dynamics (since 1982) on Sokhondo Mountain (2500 m a.s.l.) under climate change in Transbaikalia (southeast of Lake Baikal, Russia) over the last 60 years, using geobotanical and climate long-term monitoring as important tools to assess the effect of climate change on forest dynamics. We found that changes in ecosystems along an altitudinal gradient indicated that climate had changed in the direction of warming and aridization (drought). This supposition was also confirmed by analyses of regional climate data over the last 60 years, which showed an increase in air temperature of 1.8 °С and a decrease in atmospheric precipitation of more than 100 mm. Forest vegetation along an altitudinal gradient demonstrates various sensitivities to these effects. We found that the most stable forest vegetation types were the cedar–larch forests of the upper forest belt and the cedar subalpine forests. The least stable were the larch forests and pine forests of the lower forest belt.