Central Part Of European Russia Research Articles

Structural and functional diversity and quantitative parameters of two-year shoot systems of pregenerative individuals of <em>Quercus robur</em> L. (Fagaceae) in different light conditions in the central part of European Russia

Based on topological characteristics and functional role in crown, diversity of the two-year shoot systems in pregenerative individuals of Q. robur L. growing in communities with different light level in southern part of Moscow region and reserve “Kaluzhskiye Zaseki” in Kaluga region have been typified. In full light conditions uniform branching, mesotonic and acrotonic two-year shoot systems with a great number of lateral twigs mainly contribute to the crown structure. In shadow conditions crown is formed basically from non-branching systems and two-year shoot systems with a small number of casually located lateral twigs. The number of nodes of the elementary shoots of different two-year system types is more constant than their internodes’ length. Branching types of two-year shoot systems have longer internodes than nonbranching ones do. In branching types of two-year shoot systems internodes become longer with the improvement of light conditions. Refs 26. Figs 3. Tables 3.

Mikhnevo: from seismic station no. 1 to a modern geophysical observatory

The Mikhnevo seismic station was founded in accordance with directive no. 1134 RS of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union of February 6, 1954. The station, installed south of Moscow, began its operations on monitoring nuclear tests in the United States and England in 1954. For dozens of years this station was the leading experimental base for elaborating new technical solutions and methods for monitoring nuclear explosions, equipped with modern seismological instruments. At present, the focus of activities has been moved from military applications to fundamental geophysical research. The station preserves its leading position in seismological observations due to the development of national high-performance digital instruments and creation of the small-aperture seismic array, the only one in the central part of European Russia, which is capable of recording weak seismic events with ML ≥ 1.5 within a distance of 100 km.

Additions to the «Flora…» By P. F. Maevsky (2014) for the Republic of Mordovia and Adjacent Regions

The 11 th Edition of the «Flora of the CentralPart of European Russia» by P. F. aevsky was published in the end of 2014. The book includes 2500 species of vascular plants belonging to 139 families. Among them, 1306 species were stated to occur in the Republic of Mordovia. As a result, severalspecies previously not listed for floras of severalregions of CentralRussia were revealed. Relying on data from herbarium collections (GMU, HMNR, LE, MOSP, MW, NNSU, PKM, PVB, UPSU), available publications and field observations we present here information on the species not listed for the floras of the Republic of Mordovia, Chuvashian Republic, Nizhny Novgorod Region, Penza Region, Ryazan Region, Ulyanovsk Region in the 11th edition of the «Flora of the CentralPart of European Russia». The largest number of additions to the 11th edition of the «Flora…» was revealed for the Republic of Mordovia – 76 vascular plant species, including 37 alien and 39 native species. Onopordum acanthium L. is the addition for the Chuvashian Republic. One alien species ( Portulaca oleracea L.) and three native species ( Rosa lupulina Dubovik, Plantago stepposa Kuprian., Taraxacum bessarabicum (Hornem.) Hand.–Mazz.) are additions for the Nizhny Novgorod Region. Six plant species (including 1 alien and 5 native species) are additions for the Penza Region. Syrenia montana (Pall.) Klok. is an addition for the Ryazan Region. Six plant species (including 1 alien and 5 native species) were missing from the 11 th edition of the «Flora…» for the Ulyanovsk Region. Also, two native species ( Hottonia palustris L., Veronica incana L.) were erroneously listed for the flora of Mordovia in the 11 th edition of the «Flora…».

The lichenicolous lichen Placocarpus americanus and some noteworthy lichenicolous fungi from Russia

Endococcus verrucosus and Placocarpus americanus are reported as new to Russia; Abrothallus caerulescens, A. cetrariae, Capronia peltigerae and Zwackhiomyces echinulatus are reported as new to the central part of European Russia. A finding of Lawalreea cf. lecanorae is discussed.

Landscape and Climate Dynamics of the Upper Don River Basin in the Mid- and Late Holocene

The paper presents the new multy-proxy data from the Bolsheberezovskoye mire, the key-section for forest-steppe region in the Upper Don River basin (central part of European Russia), notably, the Kulikovo Battle-fi eld area. According to obtained results the studied area was covered by steppe (middle Atlantic, early Subatlantic) and forest-steppe vegetation (Subboreal, middle and late Subatlantic). Climatic reconstructions have shown that landscape dynamics of the region in the second half of the Holocene were determined by changes in effective moisture. Even small reductions in annual precipitation, accompanied by the rise of summer temperature by 1–3 °С comparing to their present values, were suffi cient to cause a shift from the forest-steppe to typical steppe communities and, probably, higher frequencies of fi res.

Small Towns of Central Part of European Russia: Current Situation and Role in Organization of Space

The article provides an overview of the dynamics and contemporary socio-economic status of small towns in central part of European Russia in 1998–2010. The well-being of towns with population less than 50 000 people depends on their population size, specialization and geographical location, and such patterns agree with the whole-Russian tendencies. In the conditions of sparse network of large and medium-sized cities, small towns become centers providing goods and services – commercial and social, and not only for the people of their own district but sometimes of neighboring ones. The towns with population of 20 to 50 thousand people play the main role. The more is distance of small towns from cities, the less is alternative for population in choice of services.

Managing Sustainable Development of Rural Areas Using Algorithms of Agricultural Specialization

The aim of this study is to develop a sustainability management system in rural areas through the use of the algorithm for determining agricultural specialization. Methods of determining prospective directions of development of agriculture is developed by the author based on cluster technology and tested in a study of rural areas of the Penza region, situated in the Central European part of Russia. The algorithm includes a number of stages: collection and processing of statistical information, the use of cluster analysis, the use of weighting factors characterize clusters and clustering objects, and the study of marketing, production facilities, climatic conditions. During the clustering of rural areas using k-means, the significance of certain cluster indices is determined (5-10% error). If the factors are not significant, it indicates that the crop can be grown everywhere, or in a limited number of areas, which indicates their specialization. On this basis, the article provides recommendations for a change in direction for the agricultural specialization of Neverkinsk municipality. Thus, differentiation of rural areas, depending on the indicators of socio-economic subsystems and specialization of agricultural production allows to allocate specific ‘points of growth’ to each of them based on suitability to the different types of activities, and to develop targeted programs of the territory management on the basis of step analysis. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3s5p147

Anthropogenic black carbon emissions to the atmosphere: Surface distribution through Russian territory

Official statistical data from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation on anthropogenic pollutant emissions from Russian cities and regions for 2010 are analyzed, and the black carbon (BC) emission distribution through the Russian territory is estimated. The lack of this information makes it difficult to study the long-range atmospheric transport of BC and forecast the related climate and ecological effects. Calculations are based on available data on carbon monoxide (CO) and BC emissions from Russian cities and regions under the assumption of proportionality of the BC and CO emissions, indepen-dently of transport and stationary sources. The analysis includes 54 regions and almost 100 cities in an area within (50–72° N × 20–180° E), which covers about 94% of the Russian territory. The spatial distribution of the annual BC emission through the territory under study is modeled on a (1° × 1°) grid for the first time. The total annual BC emission from this area is estimated at (210 ± 30) Gg. The main anthropogenic BC sources are located in industrial regions of the central European part of Russia, Southern Ural, Western Siberia, and on the large sparsely populated territories of the Western Siberia with natural oil/gas extraction industry.

The Middle and Late Holocene Vegetation and Climate History of the Forest-steppe Ecotone Area in the Central Part of European Russia

The Middle and Late Holocene Vegetation and Climate History of the Forest-steppe Ecotone Area in the Central Part of European Russia

Properties of ancient deeply transformed man-made soils (cultural layers) and their advances to classification by the example of Early Iron Age sites in Moscow Region

The Central part of European Russia has been inhabited for several thousands of years, its population being rather large in number. By way of example, we consider the Dyakovo archeological culture dated to the Early Iron Age. Numerous sites and settlements attributed to that culture are noted for the presence of typical Anthrosols and Technosols — deeply transformed man-made soils (cultural layers).In the course of the work we investigated thoroughly two soils related to settlements of the Early Iron Age. Archeological excavations yielded numerous artifacts in situ; this proves that the sites have been inhabited in the past, though abandoned long since. The cultural layers, however, have not been buried under later sediments. Far from it, they stayed exposed and subjected to transformations by soil-forming processes. At present the sites are not in any use and are mostly overgrown with modern vegetation. Aside from the morphological description, chemical analyses of the soils at the archeological sites have been performed, a proportion of organic and inorganic matter, total phosphorus, pH being defined. It should be noted that no typical zonal soils have been found at the sites, in spite of the zonal vegetation overgrowing the areas. Instead, there appeared soils of a peculiar kind showing specific properties. When studying them, the background soils were used as a reference.So, it seems that the time lapse between the Early Iron Age and the present days — a millennium and a half — was insufficient for a complete transformation of the man-made soils (cultural layers). It is rather difficult to choose a proper name of those soils. The term “Technosol” is hardly applicable, as there are no human settlements there at present. Neither can the soils be considered as “natural”, because they are radically different from the latter in characteristics and contain artificial materials in abundance.

Small towns in the central part of European Russia: Socioeconomic state and the role in organizing territory

This paper presents the results of studying the socioeconomic dynamics and modern state of small towns in the central part of European Russia in 1998–2010. The socioeconomic welfare of cities with a population of less than 50000 people was revealed to depend on their population, specialization, and geographical location, confirming the general Russian trend. An analysis of the dynamics of industrial output in 1994–2004 showed that the presence of industrial and trade-distributive links in the town-region system affected the general welfare and resistance of a town to crisis in the economy. Under the conditions of a sparse network of large and medium cities, small towns play the role of centers in the provision of goods and services (commercial and social), not only to the inhabitants of their own districts, but also sometimes to the neighboring ones. These towns usually have a population of 20000–50000, the further these centers are from larger settlements, the less competitors they have.

Weather conditions explain variation in the diet of Long-eared Owl at winter roost in central part of European Russia

The influence of weather conditions on the winter diet of the Long-eared Owl was studied in 2005-2013 at one roost site in Moscow, Russia. Pellets were collected every week from November to March. The diet composition of the owls included 6 rodent species, 2 in-sectivore species and 18 bird species. Common Vole was by far the most frequent prey (70.0%), followed by Ural Field Mouse (10.8%) and Brown Rat (7.5%). Among birdprey (5.3%), House Sparrow, Great Tit, Bullfinch, Tree Sparrow and Blue Tit were the most numerous species. The winter diet showed marked interannual fluctuations. In terms of weather conditions, depth of snow cover appears to be the most important factor affecting the availability of the most frequent prey species and prey groups in the diet of the Long-eared Owl. Wind speed and precipitation do not play a significant role in predating on voles and mice. The proportion of bird prey was relatively low, but increased with precipitation, indicating the high importance of birds as an alternative prey for owls. The results thus suggest that specific features of behavior and activity of prey in different weather conditions explain their proportions in the diet of the Long-eared Owl.

The first record of Cepaea vindobonensis (Pfeiffer, 1828) (Stylommatophora: Helicidae) in the central part of European Russia

I present a report of the European species Cepaea vindobonensis in the Moscow region of Russia. This is the first known population of this species in the central part of European Russia. Possible methods of dispersal and introduction are discussed, and comparisons are made with the introduction of other Helicidae species.

Homeostatic responses of plants to modern climate change: Spatial and phenological aspects

A series of dates of unfolding of the first leaves and duration of the season of vegetation in the silver birch (Betulapendula Roth. (B. verrucosa Ehrh.)), as well as the duration of flowering of the bird cherry (Padus avium), mountain ash (Sórbus aucupária), and small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata Mill.) for the period 1970-2010 in the central part of European Russia were studied in order to assess the trends. Differences in phenological responses to homogeneous climate changes in the trees of the same species from the northern and southern parts of the range were revealed. If spring events occur 3-7 days earlier in the northern part, no such effect is observed in the south. This fact can be interpreted as a manifestation of the different mechanisms of homeostasis in different populations determined by their biological characteristics (in particular, by the need to pass successfully the periods of organic rest and vegetation).

Metals in soils of erosional systems in forest zone in the central part of European Russia

Small erosional landforms, despite their importance in mass transfer processes, have received insufficient attention in geochemical studies. This paper presents a case study dealing with geochemistry of two small erosional systems, typical of humid moraine landscapes of the central part of European Russia. They are considered as integrated systems comprising several units viz. slopes, bottoms, detrital fans as well as adjacent areas as sources of solid material. Chemical composition of topsoil (total concentrations of Ti, Zr, Mn, Co, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, V, Ni, Sn, Sr, Ba and concentrations of the acid-extractable Fe, Mn, Co, Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, Ni) was used to explore the role of granulometry, pH, organic matter content and transport processes in geochemical differentiation of the systems. Spatial variations in granulometry across the various units indicate a progressive depletion of a finer material in the gully and comparatively invariant distribution of the same fractions within the balka. The granulometry is the main factor controlling the distribution of total and acid-extractable metal concentrations in both systems. The findings imply that the prevailing mechanism of metal migration through the studied systems is a suspension transfer in association with clay and silt particles. The young gully system operates as a transit system and shows higher geochemical differentiation than the aged balka system where some elements may accumulate in topsoil of the lower units of this system.

Reconstruction of Holocene vegetation, tree cover dynamics and human disturbances in central European Russia, using pollen and satellite data sets

This paper presents an assessment of Holocene tree cover densities and forest disturbance in European Russia using the best-modern-analogue (BMA) technique of quantitative reconstruction and an innovative approach, which combines modern pollen datasets with remotely sensed data from moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer satellite images. The test of the accuracy of the applied method using a database of 450 sets of surface pollen assemblages shows that it can reproduce present day characteristics of woody cover in Europe correctly (R 2 = 0.57, standard error = 10.8 %), and it is sufficient for reconstruction of major changes of woodland vegetation in the past. Application of the BMA technique to fossil pollen data from two key regions in the central part of European Russia demonstrates that changes in regional woody cover are useful for the reconstruction of prehistoric human disturbance.

Paleoparasitological investigations in Mongolia, Middle Asia and Russia

A review of previous and original paleoparasitological investigations of animal dung deposits in Mongolia, Middle Asia, North Caucasus, and central European part of Russia is carried out. The age of deposits with helminth remains spans from ca. 38,000 years BP to premodern times. The composition of helminthes found in ancient feces of animals allows evaluation nutritional parameters of the past, and provides information on animal husbandry.

Growing season variability of net ecosystem CO2 exchange and evapotranspiration of a sphagnum mire in the broad-leaved forest zone of European Russia

The spatial and temporal variability of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 and evapotranspiration (ET) of a karst-hole sphagnum peat mire situated at the boundary between broad-leaved and forest–steppe zones in the central part of European Russia in the Tula region was described using results from field measurements. NEE and ET were measured using a portable measuring system consisting of a transparent ventilated chamber combined with an infrared CO2/H2O analyzer, LI-840A (Li-Cor, USA) along a transect from the southern peripheral part of the mire to its center under sunny clear-sky weather conditions in the period from May to September of 2012 and in May 2013. The results of the field measurements showed significant spatial and temporal variability of NEE and ET that was mainly influenced by incoming solar radiation and ground water level. The seasonal patterns of NEE and ET within the mire were quite different. During the entire growing season the central part of the mire was a sink of CO2 for the atmosphere. NEE reached maximal values in June–July (−6.8 ± 4.2 μmol m−2 s−1). The southern peripheral part of the mire, due to strong shading by the surrounding forest, was a sink of CO2 for the atmosphere in June–July only. ET reached maximal values in the well-lighted central parts of the mire in May (0.34 ± 0.20 mm h−1) mainly because of high air and surface temperatures and the very wet upper peat horizon and sphagnum moss. Herbaceous species made the maximum contribution to the total gross primary production (GPP) in both the central and the peripheral parts of the mire. The contribution of sphagnum to the total GPP of these plant communities was relatively small and ranged on sunny days of July–August from −1.1 ± 1.1 mgC g−1 of dry weight (DW) per hour in the peripheral zone of the mire to −0.6 ± 0.2 mgC g−1 DW h−1 at the mire center. The sphagnum layer made the maximum contribution to total ET at the mire center (0.25 ± 0.10 mm h−1) and the herbaceous species on the peripheral part of the mire (0.03 ± 0.03 mm h−1).

A genome-wide analysis of populations from European Russia reveals a new pole of genetic diversity in northern Europe.

Several studies examined the fine-scale structure of human genetic variation in Europe. However, the European sets analyzed represent mainly northern, western, central, and southern Europe. Here, we report an analysis of approximately 166,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms in populations from eastern (northeastern) Europe: four Russian populations from European Russia, and three populations from the northernmost Finno-Ugric ethnicities (Veps and two contrast groups of Komi people). These were compared with several reference European samples, including Finns, Estonians, Latvians, Poles, Czechs, Germans, and Italians. The results obtained demonstrated genetic heterogeneity of populations living in the region studied. Russians from the central part of European Russia (Tver, Murom, and Kursk) exhibited similarities with populations from central–eastern Europe, and were distant from Russian sample from the northern Russia (Mezen district, Archangelsk region). Komi samples, especially Izhemski Komi, were significantly different from all other populations studied. These can be considered as a second pole of genetic diversity in northern Europe (in addition to the pole, occupied by Finns), as they had a distinct ancestry component. Russians from Mezen and the Finnic-speaking Veps were positioned between the two poles, but differed from each other in the proportions of Komi and Finnic ancestries. In general, our data provides a more complete genetic map of Europe accounting for the diversity in its most eastern (northeastern) populations.

SUMMER DROUGHT 2010 IN THE EUROPEAN RUSSIA

In this paper, we investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of the spring-summer atmospheric drought using various indicators from the meteorological station observations in the European Russia in May–August 2010. Drought indicators suggest that the drought 2010 was not the most extensive. Weather conditions in the winter and spring of 2010 contributed to the occurrence of dry conditions in the central part of European Russia in May. It has been found that the most impact of the severe drought was on the territory of the Volga region. Drought began in May and lasted for 4 months. The intensity of severe and extreme drought increased from May to August. In the south of European Russia, severe and extreme drought was observed. Analysis of the macrocirculation conditions of the drought formation has shown the likelihood of its occurrence in the European Russia in the near future.