Search Results (9)

Abies nephrolepis and Picea jezoensis are native Pinaceae trees distributed in high mountainous regions of Northeast Asia (typically above ~1000 m a.s.l. on the Korean peninsula, northeastern China, Sakhalin, and the Russian Far East) and southern boreal forests, vulnerable to climate change and human disturbances, necessitating accurate habitat identification for effective conservation. While protected areas (PAs) are essential, merely expanding existing ones often fail to protect populations under human pressure and climate change. Using species distribution models with current and projected climate data, we mapped potential habitats across Northeast Asia. Spatial clustering analyses integrated with PA and land cover data helped identify optimal sites and priorities for new conservation areas. Ensemble species distribution models indicated extensive suitable habitats, especially in southern Sikhote-Alin, influenced by maritime-continental climates. Specific climate variables strongly affected habitat suitability for both species. The Kamchatka peninsula consistently emerged as an optimal habitat under future climate scenarios. Our study highlights essential environmental characteristics shaping the habitats of these species, reinforcing the importance of strategically enhancing existing PAs, and establishing new ones. These insights inform proactive conservation strategies for current and future challenges, by focusing on climate refugia and future habitat stability. Full article

In this report, we document and analyze a case in which the Irkut virus (IRKV) (Mononegavirales: Rhabdoviridae) caused a fatal human case following a bat bite in June 2021. Unfortunately, the available data did not permit a detailed taxonomic classification of the carrier bat (Chiroptera). The event occurred in the southwestern part of the Sikhote-Alin mountain region (Russian Far East) covered by the Ussuri taiga forest. The symptoms of the illness began with the following: fever; pronounced psychomotor and motor agitation; tremor of the lower jaw and tongue; aphasia; dyslexia; and dysphagia. These rapidly developed, leading to a severe and fatal encephalitis. The patient was not vaccinated for rabies and did not receive rabies immunoglobulin. Using brain sections prepared from the deceased, molecular diagnostics were performed: immunofluorescence (polyclonal anti-rabies immunoglobulin) indicating the presence of the lyssavirus antigen; and RT-PCR indicating traces of viral RNA. Sectional material (brain) was used for whole-genome sequencing, resulting in a near-complete sequence of the lyssavirus genome. The obtained genomic sequence was identified as the Irkut virus. A comparative analysis of the new sequence and other currently available IRKV sequences (NCBI) revealed differences. Specifically, amino acid differences between antigenic sites in the isolate and those of the rabies vaccine strain used regionally were noted. The patient history and subsequent analysis confirm human IRKV infection following bat contact. Like other fatal cases of IRKV infection described earlier, this case occurred in the southern part of the Russian Far East. Two have occurred in the southwestern part of the Sikhote-Alin mountain region. This indicates the possible existence of an active, natural viral focus. Full article

The liverwort flora in Zov Tigra National Park in southern Sikhote-Alin (Primorye Territory, south of the Russian Far East), which has one of the richest regional floras, was studied to assess its taxonomic diversity, and analyzed using a new approach to determine altitudinal distribution patterns. This new approach is based on probabilistic models of the altitudinal distribution of individual taxa proposed for identifying altitudinal groups of species. This method can be used to analyze patterns of the distribution of species of various taxonomic groups in cases where a sufficiently representative dataset is available and may be especially relevant in regions where altitudinal zonation is not obvious or changes in the altitudinal fractions of the dominant vegetation are too continuous. The proposed method revealed three altitudinal groups that were more clearly differentiated than groups of taxa based on altitudinal vegetation belts. Based on the obtained results, the most important bioclimatic indices correlated with the altitudinal distribution of liverworts were identified: annual mean temperature (BIO1), annual precipitation (BIO12), isothermality (BIO3), and factors associated with the temperature and amount of precipitation during the warmest period of the year, including the maximum temperature of the warmest month (BIO5), the mean temperature of the wettest quarter (BIO8), the mean temperature of the warmest quarter (BIO10), precipitation during the wettest month (BIO13), precipitation during the wettest quarter (BIO16), and precipitation during the warmest quarter (BIO18). This study reports 130 species, 1 variety, and 1 subspecies. Pseudolophozia debiliformis and Scapania praetervisa are newly recorded for Sikhote-Alin and the Primorye Territory. Diplophyllum albicans and Cephaloziella rubella are newly reported for the Primorye Territory. The national park liverwort flora can be classified as boreal–temperate circumpolar–East Asian. Given the high taxonomic diversity and coverage of all altitudinal zones represented in the region, the liverwort flora in Zov Tigra National Park can serve as a model for all liverwort floras in southern Sikhote-Alin. Full article

Climate change significantly influences forest communities, even leading to their complete transformation. In the case of boreal and temperate forests, it is particularly important to understand how dominant tree species respond to climate changes, as they largely determine the structure of forest communities. In this study, we focus on the Jezo spruce (Picea jezoensis (Siebold & Zucc.) Carriere), which is widespread in Northeast Asia. We investigated the climate parameters affecting the radial growth of Jezo spruce and how their influence changes along environmental gradients. For the research, 500 tree cores were collected from 10 sites located at elevations ranging from 460 to 1060 m. We found a negative response of Jezo spruce radial growth to precipitation in July–August and SPEI in July of the current year, maximum temperatures in July–August and November of the previous year. On the other hand, we observed a positive response to the maximum temperatures in January of the current year. Furthermore, we established that the influence of these climatic parameters depends on local topography, with 74.3% of the variance in response values being explained by elevation, slope, and the Topographic Position Index. The results obtained demonstrate that the reaction of Jezo spruce radial growth to climate change will be complex, and the balance between negative and positive effects will depend significantly on local topography. Full article

There is little information about moisture changes in different altitudinal belts in mountainous regions of the southern Russian Far East. We present ecological and taxonomic compositions of the diatom flora and identify the botanical composition of peat in small mountain lake/mire complexes located in the Central Sikhote-Alin Mountains, within large landslides on the paleovolcanic slopes. Frequent changes in diatom assemblages and peat-forming plants indicate unstable hydroclimatic conditions with varying degrees of wet and dry conditions up to the overgrowth of the lakes. Frequent change in sphagnum mosses with different trophic preferences was identified. The chronology is based on 11 radiocarbon dates. Accumulation rates reached 1.7–1.9 mm/year, and the temporal resolution for the reconstructions was up to 30–40 yr. The tendencies of lake evolution depended on different scale hydroclimatic changes over the last 4400 yr. The most detailed data for the last 2600 yr were obtained from the Nizhnee Lake sequence, which is more sensitive to climatic changes. The main reason for the change in the hydrological regime of the lakes was variations in precipitation during short-term climatic changes. The sediment record of moisture fluctuations is relatively well correlated with regional patterns reflecting summer monsoon intensity and cyclogenesis activity. Full article

For Apterocuris Jacobson, 1901, formerly considered a monotypic genus endemic to South Siberia, a second congener is described from the Central Sikhote-Alin’ Mountains in the Far East of Russia. Apterocuris brinevi sp. n. differs from A. sibirica Jacobson, 1901 in the rather convex body, shining smooth dorsum, absence of rectangular projecting basilateral angles of elytra, and only two or three distinct striae of elytral punctures. For Apterocuris sibirica, the pupa is first described, imago redescribed, and the revised distribution is mapped. The place of Apterocuris in the tribe Chrysomelini is discussed and its similarity to the genus Sclerophaedon Weise, 1882 considered. Both genera have pupae with two urogomphi that should place them into the subtribe Entomoscelina, but their adults with open anterior coxal cavities do not fit the subtribe diagnosis. Therefore, re-establishment of the subtribe Sclerophaedonina Steinhausen, 1996 is proposed to place the genera Sclerophaedon, Apterocuris, Colaphellus Weise, 1916 and Colaspidema Laporte, 1833. A triple key to the genera of the tribe Chrysomelini based on the combination of larval, pupal and imaginal characters is presented. Full article

Spruce taiga forests in Northeast Asia are of great economic and conservation importance. Continued climate warming may cause profound changes in their distribution. We use prognostic and retrospective species distribution models based on the Random Forest machine learning method to estimate the potential range change of the dominant taiga conifer Jezo spruce (Picea jezoensis (Siebold & Zucc.) Carrière) for the year 2070 climate warming scenarios and for past climate epochs–the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (~21,000 years before present) and the mid-Holocene Climatic Optimum (MHO) (~7000 years before the present) using the MIROC-ESM and CCSM4 climate models. The current suitable climatic conditions for P. jezoensis are estimated to be 500,000 km². Both climatic models show similar trends in past and future ranges but provide different quantitative areal estimates. During the LGM, the main part of the species range was located much further south than today at 35–45° N. Projected climate warming will cause a greater change in the distributional range of P. jezoensis than has occurred since the MHO. Overlapping climatic ranges at different times show that the Changbai Mountains, the central parts of the Japanese Alps, Hokkaido, and the Sikhote-Alin Mountains will remain suitable refugia for Jezo spruce until 2070. The establishment of artificial forest stands of P. jezoensis and intraspecific taxa in the future climate-acceptable regions may be important for the preservation of genetic diversity. Full article

The long coexistence of various floral elements, landscape diversity, and island isolation led to the formation of the richest Eurasian hemiboreal liverwort flora in the southern Kurils. This land that covers less than 5000 square kilometres and houses 242 species and two varieties of liverworts and hornworts. The flora ‘core’ is represented by hemiboreal East Asian and boreal circumpolar taxa. Other elements that have noticeable input in the flora formation are cool-temperate East Asian hypoarctomontane circumpolar and arctomontane. The distribution of some species is restricted to the thermal pools near active or dormant volcanoes or volcanic ash deposits; such species generally provide specificity to the flora. Despite the territorial proximity, the climate of each considered island is characterized by features that, in the vast majority of cases, distinguish it from the climate of the neighbouring island. The last circumstance may inspire the difference in the liverwort taxonomic composition of each of the islands. The comparison of the taxonomic composition of district floras in the Amphi-Pacific hemiarctic, boreal, and cool-temperate Asia revealed four main focal centres: East Kamchatka Peninsula and Sakhalin Island, the southern Sikhote-Alin and the East Manchurian Mountains, the mountains of the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, and the South Kurils plus northern Hokkaido. The remaining floras involved in the comparison occupy an intermediate position between these four centres. Full article

Tropical cyclones (hurricanes and typhoons) cause large-scale disturbances in forest ecosystems all over the world. In the summer of 2016, a strong tropical cyclone named Lionrock created windthrow patches in the area of more than 400 km² on the forested eastern slopes of the Sikhote-Alin Range, in the Russian Far East. Such large-scale forest destruction by wind had never been recorded in the area prior to this event. We examined the tropical cyclone impact upon the forest composition, structure and tree mortality rates on two study sites (1 ha and 0.5 ha in size)—a contiguous windthrow patch site, and a site with partial canopy damage. Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis Siebold and Zucc.), Manchurian fir (Abies nephrolepis Trautv.) and Dahurian larch (Larix cajanderi Mayr.) were the primary tree species represented in the affected forest communities. Combined with the partial canopy damage, 7.7% of trees were blown down by the disturbance event. We determined that this one event mortality rate nearly equaled the average mortality rate for a ten year period for these forests (8.5 ± 4.0%) under normal conditions (no large-scale disturbances). Within a contiguous windthrow patch, tree mortality was determined to be 52.6%, which is significantly higher than the cumulative tree loss for the previous 50 years (42.4%). A substantial portion of thinner-stemmed trees (DBH (diameter measured at breast height) < 30 cm) were wind snapped, and those with larger diameters (DBH > 60 cm) were uprooted. Our results indicate that the probability of tree loss due to catastrophic wind loads increases as a result of the decrease in local density. We believe that tree loss estimates should include the impacts within contiguous patches of windthrows, as well as the patches with only partial tree canopy damage. Strong wind impact forecasting is possible with accounting for species composition within the stand sites and their spatial structure. Full article