VEGETATION DYNAMICS AND ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE 1996 ERUPTION IN KARYMSKY VOLCANIC CENTER, KAMCHATKA

Abstract

This paper provides an assessment of the degree and character of vegetation damage due to the 1996 phreatomagmatic eruption in Akademii Nauk Caldera and considers the mechanisms of posteruptive vegetation recovery. Key features of the primary succession at the Novogodnii Peninsula have been revealed. The vegetation cover prior to the 1996 eruption is reconstructed, and the effect of minor ashfalls that occurred in 1996–2003 is examined.