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Abstract A new approach to modeling spatiotemporal dynamics in forest-steppe ecosystems amid climate change is proposed. This approach involves a morphometric analysis of the digital elevation model (SRTM). The resultant forecast is based on an analysis of the geological–geomorphological framework and takes into account the functional significance of specific relief forms and types and their impacts

Abstract— The quantitative and qualitative study of wetland ecosystems is the main base for their sustainable use. In arid and semi-arid regions such as Iran, importance of wetlands is more obvious. Providing new information of changes in wetlands during several decades help us finding the reasons of alteration and making programs and policies. One of the most effective techniques in this field is

Abstract Halophytic vegetation is typical for the west of the Caspian lowland. It is confined to solonetzes and solonchaks, occupying a fairly large area in the region. The phytocenotic diversity of halophytic vegetation depends on environmental factors such as the total amount of salts in the soils, as well as on soil moisture. According to literature sources and our research, halophyte communities

Abstract— The significance of the systematic position for the traits of a leaf, mesophyll, chloroplasts, and pigment complex in steppe plants has been examined for three families (Asteraceae, Poaceae, and Rosaceae) from different geographical regions of Russia and Mongolia. The species belonging to a particular family affects, first of all, the parameters of the whole leaf–its thickness and density–as

Abstract Southern Ural is a unique region in Eurasia with a high variety of flora and vegetation. Mountain relief predominates in the steppe and forest-steppe landscapes. Stony habitats and petrophytic vegetation are widespread here. It is characterized by a high diversity of flora and numerous endemic, rare, and endangered plants. The dataset of 3614 relevés of forb and shrub communities from the

Abstract The results of the long-term monitoring (from 2008 to 2018) of thermal conditions have been applied to assess the ecotopological differentiation of vegetation in the exposure-related forest-steppe of Transbaikalia. Significant differences are revealed between thermal conditions on northern and southern slopes, as well as between different kinds of forest-steppe along the aridity and continentality

Abstract Steppes play an essential role in the vegetation of mountains of Southern Siberia (SS). However, they significantly differ in mountains of different climatic facies; these features are particularly pronounced in the spatial and phytocenotic structure of extrazonal steppe phenomena, namely, in ecotones of adjacent altitudinal belts. These steppe manifestations in landscapes are termed uburs

Abstract Spider communities (Arachnida: Aranei) have been studied in central Kazakhstan along 70° E longitude in the subzones of typical, dry, and desert steppes on catenas, including eluvial, transitive, and accumulative positions. In total, 79 spider species belonging to 33 genera and 11 families have been identified. The bulk of the spider population consists of gnaphosid ground spiders, which are

Abstract Studies of communities of ground beetles (Carabidae) and black beetles (Tenebrionidae) were conducted in central Kazakhstan along 70° E in typical, dry, and desert steppe subzones in 1976–1978 and 2018. Parallel to that, soil-cover studies were conducted and the climate indicators of the studied areas were compared. Despite a considerable change in climate over 50 years, which has been expressed

Abstract One basic task of environmental activities under the conditions of rapid climate changes is to determine the degree of species vulnerability to a certain vector of climate changes. Using Maxent 3.4.1 software, this study has modeled the climatic niche of Daurian pika based on 273 points of its contemporary habitat and attempted to determine the pattern of changes in the spatial location of

AbstractStudies of 35-year dynamics of the number of bird species and 80-year observations of their arrival on the western macroslope of the Barguzin Ridge have been carried out. A steady decrease in the total abundance of background bird species after 1997–1998 has been revealed. Shifts and cyclic changes in the time of bird arrival have been found. Twenty-six (40.0%) out of 65 species arrived statistically

AbstractThe use of molecular biology methods for identifying species of fungi and myxomycetes (DNA barcoding) has shown the necessity of reconsidering our views on the ecology and habitats of many species of spore organisms. Spores of basidiomycetes and myxomycetes can spread over considerable distances by water, wind, and insects, resulting in their resettlement to various distant habitats, where

AbstractAs studies have shown, individuals from well morphologically distinct groups often represent the same species and may even belong to one population in fishes and lampreys from environments with unstable abiotic factors (Arctic, mountain, and desert regions). Phenotypic plasticity ensures broad variation ranges of morphological traits in unstable conditions, which require rapid transitions from

AbstractA study of the long-term abundance of ground beetles of the genus Carabus over a 30-year period has been made. The ratios of climatic factors that have a corrective effect on the level of their numbers are established. The level of precipitation, the duration of the frost-free period, and the ground temperature on the soil surface are the most important meteorological parameters in the life

AbstractAssessing the representativeness of protected areas is necessary to optimize their national and regional networks, as well as to improve the protection of rare and endemic species. In the Republic of Bashkortostan, an analysis of the distribution of rare vascular plant species in need of protection has been carried out on the basis of synthesizing all sources of high-precision georeferenced

AbstractIndicator values are becoming an increasingly popular tool in basic and applied botanical research: more than 55 original phytoindication systems, including about 200 optimal and range scales for various environmental factors, are known. This paper describes seven methods for calculating the phytoindication optimum of a taxonomical list: averaging with weighting by indicators of the taxon’s

AbstractBased on the GPS coordinates of geobotanical releves seven altitudinal zone association of Tuva forests have been revealed and a set of rasters with climatic and topological parameter values, potential areas of associations has been drawn using the MaxEnt software package. These techniques allowed us to extrapolate fragmentary data on specific locations of association communities to a territory

AbstractMolecular-genetic analysis is widely used in various fields of science. In particular, molecular ecology for environmental assessment is the basis of the modern methodological base. Different species and populations contain a large pool of genetic variability, which plays a major role in the adaptation of species to various environmental conditions. A significant part of this variability does

Abstract—MaxEnt (Maximum Entropy), a Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) method, was applied in the current study in order to assess present and future spatial distribution of the Phoenician juniper (Juniperus phoenicea). Potential future changes in the geographic range size of J. phoenicea in Algeria was determined for the two horizons 2050 and 2070 based on CCSM4 model of the IPCC. Three types of

AbstractThe diversity of vascular plants in Inner Asia has been researched; the main environmental factors determining the distribution of species belonging to various life forms and having different distribution range sizes have been identified. The key factors determining species diversity in Inner Asia are past climate changes and precipitation parameters. By contrast, the temperature conditions

AbstractHighly detailed images acquired using unmanned aerial imaging made it possible to describe the structural features of a certain type of thermokarst depression. These depressions developed in edoma deposits in the southern part of the typical tundra subzone in the Lena Delta. The geomorphology and vegetation of the model depression are characterized by a combination of GIS analysis and ground

AbstractFor a long time, Amaryllidaceae were a textbook example of monopodially growing bulbs. The position of the first leaf of the innovation bud in Galanthus, which is not adaxial in relation to the inflorescence, was the main argument in favor of this. The discussion about the type of bulb innovation continued over 150 years and was completed with the approval of a sympodial innovation model. The

AbstractThis study describes the biomorphology of plants living under variable watering conditions. Its outcome expands the concept of a modular organization as a constructive and representative approach to comparative-morphological analysis and unraveling the ways of biomorph evolution. The structural organization of biomorphs growing in sites composed of gradients of humidification stability (from

AbstractThe goal of this study is to investigate the localization of dormant buds and the features of the structures arising from the buds in coniferous and deciduous trees in response to age-related changes and various growing conditions. The crown is analyzed using architectural models and the reiteration concept. It is found that the dormant buds in deciduous trees are usually at the bases of annual

AbstractThis study is aimed at studying the herb life forms of closely related narrowly localized endemic species of the genus Kudrjaschevia in Central Asia. A detailed description of life forms will make it possible to identify the morphological rearrangements of plants associated with the adaptation of species to certain ecological conditions. Our results will expand our understanding of the main

AbstractAddressing the challenges in typology of architectural models of annual Astragalus (Astragalus L.) has revealed a close relationship between the shoot system and structure of inflorescences. The article discusses features of the distinguished four patterns of the architectural models. The synthesis of approaches has provided insight into evolutionary trends. Applying the architectural model

AbstractAn algorithm for analyzing the structural and functional organization of crowns of Salix species is proposed in this study. It can be used to study the architecture of various species of trees and shrubs. The structural and biological diversity of the boreal Salix species is insufficiently investigated. The study of plant organs based on the concept of “architectural models” is particularly

AbstractThis work describes a life-form of dwarf subshrub Thymus seravshanicus using the architectural approach, which is one of the modern methods for the in-depth study of the plant structure. The species is widely distributed across various ecotopes in the Republic of Tajikistan (Gissar, Zarafshan, and Khazretishi (Hazrati-Shokh) ranges). For the first time, in the structure of individual plants

AbstractDespite the considerable interest of many researchers in the Celastrales order, which is largely due to the great diversity of structural features and almost cosmopolitan distribution (except for some arid regions), no comprehensive biomorphological analysis of its representatives has been undertaken so far. The goal of this work is to analyze the structural and rhythmological features of shoots

AbstractA study of the ecological morphology of plants is a necessary condition in solving a number of fundamental and applied problems of ecology, botany, geography, and physiology of plants when monitoring global and regional environments, as well as the problems of selecting and introducing plants. This approach is successfully used to study flowering plants of different botanical and geographical

AbstractThe aim of this work is to present biomorphological characteristics of ferns of the genus Athyrium Roth in southern Siberia and identify changes in the sporophyte life form during ontogenesis and in individuals of the same biological age in various ecological and coenotic conditions. The most important thing when identifying the life form of fern sporophytes is studying the formation of its

AbstractThis article presents the results of studies on the structural organization of the crown in Ulmus glabra. Knowledge of types of shoot systems regularly changing in the tree crown in the ontogenesis of a species is of both theoretical and practical importance. In our studies, we use an architectural (modular) approach that enables us to describe the spatiotemporal program of tree-crown development

AbstractOriginal data on the ecological relations of Sifonoptera fleas with small and medium-sized predators in southwestern Primorskii krai are presented. The parasitic community of fleas in populations of predatory mammals of the studied territory consists of eight species belonging to three families and five genera. Five flea species—Chaetopsulla appropinquans, Ch. micado, Ch. zibellina, Ch. dogieli

AbstractData characterizing the gypsy moth Lymantria dispar population in the eruptive phase in the Far East territory in 2008 are presented. The death of insects based on biotic factors (parasitoids and nuclear polyhedrosis virus) has been studied; the sex ratio, weights of male and female pupae, and female fecundity have been determined. It is shown that nucleopolyhedrovirus is the main cause of

AbstractDifferences between factory and wild juvenile salmons (fingerlings at the 0+ age and 1+ parrs) in the content of physiologically significant fatty acids and their ratios are shown. Factory juveniles (age 0+ and 1+) have a very low content of physiologically significant 18:3n-3 and 20:4n-6 fatty acids when compared with wild individuals, whereas relatively high amounts of 22:6n-3 (age 0+) and

AbstractThis review summarizes and analyzes data on the threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus L. of the White Sea, which is currently the most abundant fish in the region and, therefore, plays an important role in inshore and offshore communities. The threespine stickleback was abundant in the 1920s–1940s; its numbers declined significantly between the late 1960s and late 1990s and have increased

Abstract—The development of principles and methods for restoring ecological systems that have undergone intense anthropogenic impacts is one of the most important tasks of modern ecology. This work is devoted to studying the regularities of the influence of organic pollution on the structure and functional characteristics of zoobenthic communities and the degree of restoration of the pristine communities

AbstractMollusks from the Viviparidae family are one of the invertebrates that actively settle outside their natural habitats. Alien representatives of this family dwell in the waters of North and South America, Europe, and Asia. This paper presents the results of long-term studies of Viviparus viviparus L. unintentionally introduced into the Novosibirsk Reservoir. The effect of types and concentrations

AbstractOur study has been conducted along the coastline of the eastern Gulf of Finland for three years. It had been shown that accumulation of algal biomass caused by the “green tide” events significantly influenced the metal distribution in the surface sediments. Metal concentrations differed significantly under algal mats and at the sites, which were free of algae. Our study showed significant changes

AbstractDistribution areas of European and rainbow smelts overlap in the northeastern part of Europe. The interrelations of the two species are poorly researched in this zone. This article describes the identification of a European smelt discovered on the shore of Lake Krivoe, Kolguyev Island, Barents Sea, near the waterline, together with other fishes whose cause of death is unknown. The species identification

Abstract—The climate change that has taken place in recent decades has significantly increased the threat of the occurrence and distribution of wildfires in northwestern Siberia. However, little is known about the spatial and temporal patterns of fires and their relationship with climate and vegetation in this area. As a result of processing Landsat satellite images for 1985–2017, it was determined

AbstractPopulation demography parameters of common small mammals have been obtained using two different census methods and intercompared. Resident population density and nonresident activity parameters were obtained on live-trap lines using the capture–mark–recapture method. Abundance parameters were obtained on break-back trap lines using the permanent removal (PR) method. Censuses performed using

AbstractThis work considers the dynamics of vegetation indices and surface temperature of postfire areas of different ages in larch forests of the permafrost zone of Siberia obtained using long-term Terra/MODIS satellite imagery. Landsat/ETM and OLI satellite images were preliminarily classified to analyze the degree of pyrogenic disturbance in the sample of postfire sites. An increase in the average

AbstractThis article addresses the phytocoenotic diversity of psammophytic grass communities in the southern part of the nonchernozem zone of Russia, where the restoration of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is either ongoing or potentially possible. Community structure and composition formation trends developing under the influence of key environmental and coenotic factors have been identified. The studies

AbstractConifer decline (Abies sibirica Ledeb. stands) as a result of complex biotic effects on the territory of Krasnoyarsk krai by 2018 reached an area of 541 400 ha; the potential area of further death of A. sibirica is up to 10 million ha. The main reason is the phytopathogenic fungi Armillaria mellea s.l. and Heterobasidion annosum s.l. combined with bark beetle Polygraphus proximus. Trees affected

AbstractA distinctive paleogeographic situation in the southern part of the Vitim Plateau, Transbaikal region, has resulted in the formation of landscapes featuring numerous heaving mounds and thermokarst depressions. The cryolithozone reacts to climate warming by reducing its area, while the temperature and depth of seasonal permafrost thawing are increasing. A soil profile differentiation identified

AbstractThe structure of Thymus petraeus individuals has been studied architecturally. It has been established that in the south of Siberia the species occurs in similar habitats: in true, meadow, sandy steppes and their petrophytic variants on the slopes and low rocky peaks of hills. According to the classification proposed by I.G. Serebryakov (1964), T. petraeus is a vegetatively semimobile dwarf

AbstractA study of the horizontal and vertical distribution of phytoplankton in Lake Sevan was conducted in mid-July 2018 during the maximum Cyanoprokaryota blooms. The summer biomass of algae in the pelagic zone of the lake corresponded to values of mesatrophic waters. The Cyanoprokaryota biomass in Lake Sevan has horizontal and vertical heterogeneity and is related to the depth, morphometry of the

AbstractIn the Baikal region, warming under conditions of climate continentality is accompanied by an increase in the area of forest fires and the risk that postpyrogenic ecosystems will not return as forests. A study of pine forests on sand sediments in the southeastern Baikal region showed that the regional ecosystems damaged by fire develop in different directions depending on the type of fire and

AbstractThe primary successions of vegetation have been investigated in the continental conditions of the Severo-Chuiskiy center of present-day glaciation (Central Altai) from the colonization of deglaciated terrains by the first plants to the formation of simple plant groups to the primary plant communities. The observations were carried out for 15 years on the young moraines of the valley glaciers

AbstractThe results of a study of the dynamics of elements of seed productivity amphimict Hierochloe repens (Host) Beauv. (2n = 28) and the optional apomict Hierochloe odorata (L.) Beauv. (2n = 42) (Poaceae) are presented. The plants were grown in the absence of competition and in single-species artificial cenoses with low (5 plants/m2) and high (20 plants/m2) starting density. It is found that, according

AbstractThe structure of flora and fauna, which is a standard of the state and dynamics of the taiga forests in humid climatic facies of the Altai-Sayan mountain region, has been analyzed based on the example of the undisturbed mountain Siberian Pine taiga (Eastern Sayan mountains). The ecological–phytocenotic features and floristic and faunistic composition of the late succession stage are studied

Abstract—Mean growing stock across different wood species and age groups of forests based on the State Forest Inventory 2013 data were correlated by means of regression analysis with climate variables averaged over 1981–2000. The following species categories were predefined: all species, conifers, hardwoods, softwoods, and others. The following age groups were predefined: all ages, young growth, middle-aged

AbstractThis paper addresses the effects of climatic limiting factors (precipitation and air temperature) on the radial increment variability of Scots pine (Pinus silvestris L.) growing in the Voronezh State Biosphere Reserve under the conservation regime conditions. A natural 200-year-old pine stand belonging to the grassy pine forest with oak type was studied. The following analyses have been performed:

AbstractTree-ring anatomical structure is the key to understanding of adaptive specifics of xylem of various species to climate change. This is especially significant in the permafrost zone due to likely permafrost degradation. We compared anatomic features of annual rings of Dahurian larch (Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Rupr., Larix cajanderi Mayr.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Siberian spruce (Picea

Abstract—Taxonomic status of birches (Betula pendula, B. pubescens or their hybrids) is identified by molecular genetics assay of the ploidy level using SSR-markers in moist and peatland forest types. Studies are performed on experimental forest sites of the Institute of Forest Science in the center of the East European plain. B. pendula × B. pubescens hybrids accounted for 11% of the combined dataset

AbstractFeatures of the structure and composition of forests with admixture of pine (Pinus sylvestris) were studied in central, northern, and western parts of Moscow region, a central part of the East European plain. Pine stands and mixed pine and spruce forests comprise around 16% of the total area of woodlands within the studied territory. This study addressed a possibility of conservation of indigenous

Abstract—Experimental assessment of the fire-induced effect on reproductive structures of Pinus pallasiana is conducted using the material from the natural stands in Crimean Mountains. Vital functions of the seeds are found to be partly preserved in cones exposed to fire. Probability of the seeds’ survival following the heat shock strengthened with the cones’ length, as well as the relationship between

Abstract—Contribution of micromosaic structure of high mountain forests to ecological diversity of earthworms have been assessed. Intact forests of Arkhyz section of Teberda Nature Reserve were studied. The dominant types of forests have been recognized for the first time based on eco-coenotic classification. The ecological conditions of their functioning have been studied. Earthworm numbers have been