Search Results (76)

An annotated list of liverworts of the Murmansk Region is compiled based on a critical compilation of publications and label data available in the information system CRIS (L.). It includes 210 species, 2 subspecies and 8 varieties, which is 59 species more than in the list of species published in 1982. Ten taxa were excluded through comparison with the previous list and later publications, due to misidentifications or new taxonomical treatments. Annotations for each species include the synonyms under which they were listed for the region; the category of threat in the Red Data Books of Europe, Russia and the Murmansk Region; links to the most representative publications on occurrence in each of nine accepted biogeographic provinces of the region; and at least one specimen number of the KPABG or INEP herbaria in the case of the absence of published data. In total, we provide 259 new records for different provinces based on herbaria KPABG (205 records) and INEP (52 records). Additionally, there are links to publications on the nucleotide sequence data of 149 specimens obtained for 82 species and for 1 variety from the Murmansk Region, including 14 specimens (11 species), published here for the first time. Species threatened in Europe, Russia and the Murmansk Region are discussed and future perspectives of liverwort study in the Murmansk Region are outlined. Full article

The postagrogenic transformation of landscapes is one of the key problems leading to a decrease in soil fertility in the territory of Northwest Russia. In order to assess the degree of land degradation, field studies of soils from fallow lands in the Leningrad Region were carried out. Different evolutionary trends of ontogenesis of soils with types of soil parent materials were revealed. At morphological and micromorphological levels, degradation processes of old-arable horizons were noted, including secondary podzolization and decreasing Ap horizon thickness. Using a CHN analyzer, the stock levels of soil organic carbon and nitrogen of the studied chronoseries were estimated. The data obtained show that the carbon stocks of old-arable soils are lower than the benchmark ones due to the weak development of the Oi horizon. Carbon dynamics varied substantially by parent materials: soils on silt–clay materials showed a low 7.1% carbon decrease, while soils on sandy and bottom sediments increased by 139% and 163%, respectively, in old-arable horizons by the accumulation of coarse forms of carbon. For nitrogen, it was revealed that the highest stocks are observed in old-ploughed soils, which is due to the input of a large amount of plant residues from small-leaved forests. The content of biogenic elements in the soil showed separate evolutionary direction depending on parent materials: soils on silt–clay materials showed 7.6% phosphorus depletion and 15% potassium loss over 15–30 years, while soils on sandy materials demonstrated 18% phosphorus loss and 114% potassium increase during 30–86 years of fallow state. On the contrary, the content of nitrate and ammonium forms of nitrogen was higher than in the benchmark zonal soils, with nitrate nitrogen increasing by 150 times on sandy parent materials and ammonium nitrogen increasing by 102% in soils formed on bottom sediments over 35–70 years, which is due to the transformation of grass and forest plant residues. The duration of transformation and regradation of soils of fallow land depends on geogenic and bioclimatic conditions that determine the direction and speed of changes. Full article

Freshwater fish species play an important role in global aquaculture. Currently, sturgeon, carp, and tilapia are at the forefront of this industry. However, as human populations continue to grow, the demand for new sources of animal protein increases, making the use of other freshwater species in aquaculture essential. The pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) is one of the most promising fish species for European aquaculture, but its usage has been hindered by a lack of effective larval-rearing protocols. Most studies focus on using cultured or nutrient-rich zooplankton for larval cultivation, while natural zooplankton from the local environment are rarely used. In this study, we aim to investigate the nutritional requirements of pikeperch larvae by describing the taxonomic diversity and biochemical composition of zooplankton collected from a natural oligotrophic lake in Northwest Russia. The chemical composition of zooplankton is characterized by a high protein content (up to 70% of dry matter), a moderate lipid content (up to 25%), and a deficiency of certain fatty acids and amino acids. Specifically, there is a low concentration of docosahexaenoic acid and methionine. The dry matter content in the zooplankton averages 10%, with nitrogen-free extracts accounting for 4% and ash making up 4%. These biochemical parameters meet the nutritional requirements of freshwater pikeperch larvae, with the notable exception of the lower levels of DHA and methionine, which are typically characteristic of freshwater zooplankton. This information sheds light on the nutritional requirements of pikeperch larvae and the development of more efficient rearing methods. Full article

The study of carbon stocks in organic compounds within terrestrial ecosystems allows us to create a pool of potential carbon farming projects. At present, it is essential to assess the economic viability of natural-based solutions in order to develop strategies to encourage small and medium enterprises (SME) and governments to address climate change through specific measures. This article is devoted to the study of the economic efficiency of afforestation projects. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the economic efficiency of the project and, based on NPV sensitivity analysis, to identify the factors affecting economic efficiency. This will make it possible to formulate directions for stimulating the development of afforestation projects using tools to improve their economic efficiency. Based on data on the number of carbon credits issued, their price, and the costs and other revenue associated with the implementation of the afforestation project, a sensitivity analysis of economic efficiency was conducted, highlighting the most significant factors. Given that different tree species are characterized by variable seedling values, planting costs, and sequestration potentials, an afforestation project with the most carbon efficient tree species was selected as a pilot project. Black alder exhibits the most optimal proportion between the volume of carbon units released and the cost of planting trees. A sensitivity analysis of the project’s net present value was conducted in order to ascertain the factors that have the most significant impact on the project’s economic efficiency. These include the discount rate based on the cost of capital and the cost of tree planting. As a result, this article makes recommendations for improving the economic efficiency of afforestation projects for SME. The government’s role in enhancing the economic efficiency of such initiatives entails reducing the cost of capital through a reduction in the key rate or the provision of subsidies for the interest rate on bank credits. An alternative approach involves the granting of subsidies for the cost of tree planting, since the effects can be seen as a series of public goods, such as the creation of recreational areas and increased biodiversity of the ecosystem. Full article

Chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) is a typical small pelagic fish in the high seas of the Northwest Pacific Ocean (NPO), with great ecological and economic values. It is crucial to understand the spatio-temporal distribution and the population dynamics of chub mackerel for commercial fishing and fishery management. In this study, we analyzed the population dynamics and stock status of chub mackerel based on commercial fishing data. Results showed that from 2016 to 2021, high catches of chub mackerel were concentrated along the outer edge of Japan or Russia’s exclusive economic zone line, and the gravity center of the fishing grounds moved to the northwest gradually, with a decrease in the average value of catch per unit effort (CPUE) year by year. The fishing pressure may not be the major reason for the decrease in chub mackerel as the resource biomass was at a high level. The body length structure was reasonable, and large individuals were still present. The study highlights the fact that the population status of chub mackerel was healthy in 2016–2021 according to our results. However, it has to be emphasized that resource exploitation and fishery management also need to take into account the influence of climatic conditions. Full article

The article presents a comprehensive analysis of long-term studies on hydrogen-hydrocarbon free gases (FGs) in the rocks of the Khibiny massif, systematically organized and generalized for the first time. Gasometric observations were predominantly conducted within underground mine workings, with occasional measurements taken during the drilling of exploration boreholes at the surface or in subsurface air within loose sediments. Methane is the primary component of these gases, followed in descending order by hydrogen, ethane, helium, other methane homologs, and alkenes. Nitrogen is also presumed to be present, although its proportions remain undefined. The carbon and hydrogen in FGs exhibit relatively heavy isotopic compositions, which progressively lighten from methane to ethane. The intensity of gas emissions is characterized by a gas flow rate from shot holes and boreholes, reaching up to 0.5 L/min but generally decreasing significantly within an hour of reservoir exposure. Gas-bearing areas, ranging in size from a few meters to tens of meters, are distributed irregularly and without discernible patterns. The FG content in rocks and ores varies from trace amounts to approximately 1 m³ of gas per cubic meter of undisturbed rock. These gases are primarily residual, preserved within microfractures and cavities following the isolation of fluid inclusions. Their distribution and composition may fluctuate due to the dynamic geomechanical conditions of the rock mass. The release of flammable and explosive FGs presents a significant hazard during ore deposit exploration and development, necessitating the implementation of rigorous safety measures for mining and drilling operations. Additionally, the environmental implications and potential applications of gas emissions warrant attention. Future comprehensive studies of the Khibiny gases using advanced methodologies and equipment are expected to address various scientific and practical challenges. Full article

The successful prospecting of kimberlite pipes is dependent upon a comprehensive understanding of the deep structures of the pipes and the host geological formation. This is a challenging task, given the complex nature of diamond deposits, the small size of pipes in the plan, the absence of stable features in potential fields, etc. As a consequence, the allocation of control structures is practically not used in exploration work. In this regard, the Arkhangelsk diamond province (NW Russia) is distinguished by the considerable overburden thickness, which presents a significant challenge for the application of geophysical methods. It is thus imperative to devise novel methodologies for conducting investigations. In order to achieve this, a set of methods was employed, including microseismic sounding, passive seismic interferometry, and radon emanation mapping. This set of methods has previously been tested only on a few pipes and has not previously been employed in the Griba deposit. The Volchya pipe was selected as the test object due to its proximity to the Griba pipe. The findings revealed that the pipe displayed a more complex configuration than was previously postulated. The controlling faults were found to be oriented in a southwesterly to northwesterly direction and to exhibit a contrasting narrow vertical structure at depths greater than 400 m. Further identification of control structures by the proposed set of methods can increase the efficiency of diamond prospecting. Full article

This article presents the results of the automatic monitoring of the concentrations of gaseous impurities of sulfur and nitrogen oxides in the ground-level atmosphere of the urban and rural areas in the Southern Baikal region (East Siberia, Russia). The study was conducted from 2020 to 2023 at the urban Irkutsk station and the rural Listvyanka station located at a distance of 70 km from each other. We calculated the main statistical characteristics of the variations in the concentrations of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide in the ground-level atmosphere and determined a nature of variability in their concentrations on various time scales: annual, weekly, and daily. Annual variabilities of gaseous pollutants in the ground-level atmosphere above the Irkutsk city and the Listvyanka settlement were similar and showed the highest values in winter and the lowest in summer. The daily and weekly dynamics of the nitrogen oxide concentrations in the urban area clearly depended on the increase in the road traffic during rush hours (morning and evening). In the rural area, there was no such dependence. In this area, the daily and weekly variability in the concentrations of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide mainly depended on natural meteorological processes. The work systematizes the meteorological parameters at which the largest amount of anthropogenic impurities enters the air basin of Lake Baikal. The maximum values of acid-forming gas concentrations were observed when the air masses were transferred from the northwest direction, which corresponds to the location of sources in the territory of the Irkutsk–Cheremkhovo industrial hub—the largest concentration of anthropogenic objects in the Irkutsk region. Full article

Sphagnum mosses play a significant role in peat formation and carbon sequestration in mire ecosystems. It is critical to investigate the productivity and chemical composition of different Sphagnum species in order to assess their role in the global carbon cycle and potential in light of climate change. The data on productivity and growth characteristics during the growing season, group chemical composition and elemental composition at the beginning and end of the growing season, as well as aspects of the pigment complex operation, were collected for four Sphagnum species: Sphagnum lindbergii Schimp., S. fuscum (Schimp.) Klinggr., S. divinum Flatberg & K. Hassel, and S. squarrosum Crome. High cover density and productivity, low ability to decompose, and constancy of the pigment complex of S. fuscum reflect a high degree of adaptation to the specific conditions of ridges. A constant chemical composition of S. lindbergii during the growing season can be explained by stable conditions of hollows that allow it to maintain its metabolic processes, but the light conditions in hollows bring the reaction of the pigment apparatus of this species closer to shaded S. divinum and S. squarrosum. S. lindbergii and S. squarrosum contain more nitrogen than other species and have a greater ability to decompose. Full article

The development trends and research layout of agricultural resources and the environment (ARE) are the focus of global attention. In this study, we compiled a data set of SCI papers published in the ARE field since the 13th Five-Year Plan. Thereafter, the topic extraction model of Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) was used to mine the text content so as to explore the research layout of global ARE. The results show that, between 2016 and the time of this study, 31,559 articles were published in the ARE field, exhibiting an overall upward trend. During this time, China and the United States were the main forces in paper publishing. The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, and the US Department of Agriculture were the top three publishing institutions. Research institutes in China, the United States, Russia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Australia cooperated closely, and the CAS was at the center of the cooperation network. The clustering results of text topics based on the LDA model show that three topics—namely, the interaction mechanisms of plants, the rhizosphere, and microorganisms; the mechanisms and predictive evaluation of soil landslides or erosion; and the decomposition and interaction response of organic matter in agroforestry ecosystems—have been the hot research areas in this field since 2016. The management and efficient utilization of farmland nutrients, and the technology and mechanisms of agricultural waste resource utilization have become key research directions since 2019. The research layouts of China and the United States in this field were analyzed, and the similarities and differences were compared. In addition, suggestions for the future development of ARE are proposed. This study is of great significance for the overall development trend of ARE, the timely tracking of scientific research hotspots, outlining key research and development directions, and promoting scientific and technological innovation. Full article

Post-agrogenic transformation of fallow soils leads to changes in soil carbon content, the molecular composition of humic substances, and rates of organic matter stabilization, which can affect climate change on the planet. In this regard, we analyzed the molecular composition of humic acids isolated from natural and fallow soils in the southern Taiga zone of northwest Russia. Different-aged soils on fallow lands represent a model of soil transformation in time, and data on the transformation of soil humic acid molecular composition make a significant contribution to the understanding of soil organic matter stabilization aspect issues. In this case, the molecular structure of humic acids isolated from natural and fallow soils in northwest Russia was analyzed. To study the molecular composition of HAs, the elemental composition was analyzed, and ¹³C (CP/MAS) NMR spectroscopy of HAs isolated from different aged abandoned soils and soils of different types of use was carried out. The obtained data showed that with the increasing age of soils in the fallow state, there is an increase in the carbon content of humic acids as well as a decrease in nitrogen content. As a result of the increasing age of soils in the fallow state, there are dynamics in the content of aromatic structural fragments in humic acids: 34% for 40 years old, 28% for 80 years old, and 31% for 120 years old. This is due to changes in the precursors of humification and the further transformation of plant residues in the soil. Re-involved fallow land soils lead to an increase in the content of aromatic structural fragments in the composition of HA in relation to HA extracted from mature soils. The lowest content of aromatic structural fragments was observed in the humic acids of 130-year-old agricultural soil, which is associated with the long-term application of organic fertilizers. Full article

Climate and land use changes are causing trees line to shift up into mountain meadows. The effect of this vegetation change on the partitioning of soil carbon (C) between the labile particulate organic matter (POM–C) and stable mineral-associated organic matter (MAOM–C) pools is poorly understood. Therefore, we assessed these C pools in a 10 cm topsoil layer along forest–meadow ecotones with different land uses (reserve and pasture) in the Northwest Caucasus of Russia using the size fractionation technique (POM 0.053–2.00 mm, MAOM < 0.053 mm). Potential drivers included the amount of C input from aboveground grass biomass (AGB) and forest litter (litter quantity) and their C/N ratios, aromatic compound content (litter quality), and soil texture. For both land uses, the POM–C pool showed no clear patterns of change along forest–meadow ecotones, while the MAOM–C pool increased steadily from meadow to forest. Regardless of land use, the POM–C/MAOM–C ratio decreased threefold from meadow to forest in line with decreasing grass AGB (R² = 0.75 and 0.29 for reserve and pasture) and increasing clay content (R² = 0.63 and 0.36 for reserve and pasture). In pastures, an additional negative relationship was found with respect to plant litter aromaticity (R² = 0.48). Therefore, shifting the mountain tree line in temperate climates could have a positive effect on conserving soil C stocks by increasing the proportion of stable C pools. Full article

Weather has significant impact on plant growth and development. It is important to analyze the influence of changing climate conditions on the expression of plant agronomic characters. Two flax varieties were grown from 1987 to 2018 in the Northwest of Russia. Weather conditions and their influence on flax agronomic characters were analyzed using the variance and correlations analyses. Significant influence of conditions of a particular year on the manifestation of all evaluated characters was revealed. Starting from June, high temperatures accelerate plant development at all stages. Prolongation of the germination-flowering period is most important for improving fiber productivity, while fast ripening in hot weather after flowering is preferable for the formation of high-quality fiber. Such data give a possibility to predict the yield amount and quality. The use of weather conditions data also makes possible a comparison of the results obtained in different years. The suggested method of classifying meteorological conditions of a year can be used in other genebanks for systematizing and analyzing the results of crop evaluation in the field. The correlation analysis revealed 3 correlated pleiades, namely (1) of productivity, (2) of fiber quality and yield, and (3) of the growing season phase durations, the sums of active temperatures and precipitation during each period. The great influence of growing conditions on the economically valuable traits indicates the necessity of searching for genotypes with stable character manifestations for breeding new varieties with stable yields and good fiber quality. Full article

In 2022, the Russian forest sector was severely affected by the government’s ban on the export of unprocessed timber and trade sanctions imposed by several countries. It is generally recognized that the regions of the Russian North-West are the most affected by trade barriers that have emerged. Against this background, the impact of bilateral trade restrictions on timber companies in the Asian part of Russia is not discussed. Nevertheless, the forest industry is an important sector of the Siberian economy that has an economic, social and environmental impact on the life of local communities. This paper analyzes the differences among Siberian timber companies in their response to the crisis depending on three factors: industrial specialization, scale of revenue and regional location. The results show that in 2022 the highest median revenues and net profits were generated by small firms that were focused on the domestic market and benefited from reduced competition due to sanctions. There is also evidence that spatial heterogeneity in the response to the crisis may be due to the different support measures of regional authorities and the proximity of the region to border points. We argue that the current conditions may become a new driver for the timber industry development, aimed at the growth of added value and expansion of domestic demand for wood products. Full article

The paper is devoted to the assessment of the content of anthropogenic radionuclides in tundra landscapes of the subarctic zone of Russia. The authors of the article studied the features of accumulation and migration of anthropogenic radionuclides and identified probable sources of their entry into environmental objects. Peat samples were collected on the territory of the Kaninskaya Tundra of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Northwest Russia). A total of 46 samples were taken. The following parameters were determined in each peat sample: (1) activity and pollution density of anthropogenic radionuclides; (2) isotopic ratios of anthropogenic radionuclides; (3) activity ratios of each radionuclide for layers 10–20 cm and 0–10 cm. The results of the studies showed that the pollution density of the Nes River basin with the radionuclides Cs-137 and Sr-90 is up to 4.85 × 10³ Bq×m⁻² and 1.88 × 10³ Bq×m⁻², respectively, which is 2–5 times higher than the available data for the Kanin tundra, as well as for Russia and the world as a whole. The data obtained for Am-241, Pu-238, and Pu-239+240 showed insignificant activity of these radionuclides and generally correspond to the values for other tundra areas in Russia and the world. It was found that some tundra areas (“peat lowlands”) are characterized by increased radionuclide content due to the process of accumulation and migration along the vertical profile. Calculations of isotope ratios Sr-90/Cs-137, Pu-238/Pu-239+240, Pu-239+240/Cs-137, Am-241/Pu-239+240 and air mass trajectories based on the HYSPLIT model showed that the main sources of anthropogenic radionuclide contamination are global atmospheric fallout and the Chernobyl accident. Full article