Forest-tundra Zone Research Articles

THE POSSIBILITY OF USING DRILING WASTEWATER IN THE REMEDIATION OF DISTURBED LAND

The paper examines the possibility of using drilling wastewater in the remediation of disturbed land. The samples were examined using concentration meter, spectrophometer, and pH meter. Studies on the metal content were carried out by atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma. It was found that the liquid drilling waste contains a complex of biophilic elements: N, Ca, Na, K, P, S, Cl, Fe, Cu, Co, Mn, Zn. Three soil plots for sowing grasses on liquid drilling waste were studied. The soil was furrowed and the grass mixture was sown using working solutions. The possibility of using drilling wastewater as a meliorant in the conditions of forest-tundra and tundra zones of the Krasnoyarsk Territory has been established. The results of experimental data indicate that the use of components of liquid drilling waste in the formulation of agrochemical preparations does not have a negative effect on seed germination and plant growth.

Environmental Pollution by Drilling Waste in the Arctic

The article presents the results of a study of chemical pollution of landscape components (soil water and groundwater, soils and indicator species of plants) under the influence of drill cuttings dumping onto the soil surface. The studies were carried out in the forest-tundra zone of Western Siberia in two areas for two years after pollution. The lateral and radial differentiation of chemicals was studied. The dynamics of chemical pollution of water, soil and plants was shown. The extent and geochemical zoning of secondary technogenic halos are revealed. The role of geochemical barriers in reducing the migration activity of pollutants was emphasized. The main indicators of pollution, to which Sr, Ba, Na, V, Cr, Fe, Cl−, NO3 − are attributed, are substantiated.

<p><strong><em>Carex ×payettei</em>, a new hybrid of <em>Carex</em> sect. <em>Racemosae</em> described from subarctic Quebec, Canada (Cyperaceae)</strong></p>

A new hybrid is described between two boreal species of Carex sect. Racemosae, the North American Carex atratiformis and the circumboreal Carex media, under the name of Carex ×payettei. It is reported in Nunavik (Northern Quebec, Canada), in nine localities within the Forest Tundra and Open Boreal Forest zones. It is intermediate in morphology between the parental species and is not completely sterile, frequently producing fruits. Pollen stainability of the hybrid varied between 10% and 37% while its parents display values above 95%.

The genus Teilingia Bourrelly in waterbodies of West Siberia (Russia)

The data on the species diversity of representatives of the genus Teilingia Bourrelly are summarized. from the water bodies of Western Siberia, their distribution by zones and subzones. To date, 4 species and intraspecific taxa from the order Desmidiales are known for the region. Representatives of this family are found mosaically throughout the entire territory of Western Siberia. The largest number of taxa (3) was found in the middle taiga, in the tundra – two species. No species were found in the Irtysh floodplain, forest tundra, northern taiga, forest-steppe and steppe zones. In watercourses, including the Ob and Irtysh, as well as in lakes of different types, 3 taxa were identified, respectively. One species was found in swamps and in temporary reservoirs.

Population genomics of a reindeer lichen species from North American lichen woodlands.

Lichens are one of the main structural components of plant communities in the North American boreal biome. They play a pivotal role in lichen woodlands, a large ecosystem situated north of the closed-crown forest zone, and south of the forest-tundra zone. In Eastern Canada (Quebec), there is a remnant LW found 500 km south of its usual distribution range, in the Parc National des Grands-Jardins, originated mainly because of wildfires. We inferred the origin of the lichen Cladonia stellaris from this LW and assessed its genetic diversity in a postfire succession. We genotyped 122 individuals collected across a latitudinal gradient in Quebec. Using the software Stacks, we compared four different approaches of locus selection and single-nucleotide polymorphismcalling. We identified the best fitting approach to investigate population structure and estimate genetic diversity of C. stellaris. Populations in southern Quebec are not genetically different from those of northern LWs. The species consists of at least four phylogenetic lineages with elevated levels of genetic diversity and low co-ancestry. In Parc National des Grands-Jardins, we reported high values of genetic diversity not related with time since fire disturbance and low genetic differentiation among populations with different fire histories. This first population genomic study of C. stellaris is an important step forward to understand the origin and biogeographic patterns of lichen woodlands in North America. Our findings also contribute to the understanding of the effect of postfire succession on the genetic structure of the species.

Methodological Aspects of Determining Type, Age, and Origin of Archaeological Wood: The Case of Fort Nadym

Archaeological studies in the forest-tundra zone of Western Siberia are highly relevant to studying the material culture, social structure, and ethnic history. The presence of permafrost ensures the unique preservation of organics in cultural layers, including timber, which makes it possible to conduct dendrochronological studies (calendar dating of samples, determination of species composition, typological analysis, and the source of the timber origin). In 2011–2012, during the excavations at Fort Nadym, 347 samples of wood were selected for the assessment of the age of wooden structures. The results showed that most samples belonged to three species of trees: Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.), Siberian spruce (Picea obovata Ledeb.), and Siberian pine (Pinus sibirica Du Tour). The typological analysis revealed that walls were mostly built from spruce, pine logs, and half-logs, whereas the floors were made from larch and pine. To assess the origin of wood, a new methodological approach was proposed. As a result, it was demonstrated that the main building material was driftwood. This has allowed us to make more accurate interpretations and to specify the years of construction. The analysis indicates three periods of construction / reconstruction: the 1450s–1460s, 1470s–1480s, and 1520s–1570s. The new approach can be applied to other wooden monuments located on the banks of major water arteries of the Siberian forest-tundra zone.

Digital Approach to Forest Cover Mapping: a Case Study of Forest-Tundra in the near-Yenisei Siberia

An algorithm of semi-automated classification and mapping of vegetation cover was developed based on the digital data (satellite images, digital elevation model, and climate data base) and ground truth data. The obtained maps cover a range of vegetation growth conditions, diversity of the vegetation types, and bog complexes in the forest-tundra zone of the Middle Siberia.

Construction history and timber use of the medieval settlement Nadymskiy Gorodok in the northwestern Siberian forest-tundra

Archaeological investigations in the forest-tundra zone of western Siberia are highly important for understanding the material culture, social structure and ethnic history of the indigenous population. Extraordinary preservation conditions for organic material in the frozen cultural layers favour the preservation of wooden material suitable for dendrochronological studies. During archaeological surveys in 2011 and 2012 in the Nadymskiy Gorodok settlement, located in the forest-tundra zone in Yamalia, northwestern Siberia, 347 samples of construction timbers were taken and analyzed with dendroarchaeological methods. The main species are larch (Larix sibirica (Ledeb.)), spruce (Picea obovata (Ledeb.)) and pine (Pinus sibirica (Du Tour)). Methodical approaches that allow the determination of the source of the wood and correct dating of the time of the constructions are presented. The tree-ring dating of eleven buildings and parts of the palisade highlighting four periods of construction activity during the second half of the 15th century (i.e. at around 1466 AD and 1475 AD) and the first half of the 16th century (at the beginning of the 16th century and after 1530 AD). The results determine that only two wooden structures were built using wood from local forests. In all other cases, the distribution of the dendrochronological dates and timber provenance indicates the use of driftwood from forests further upstream of the Nadym River. Thus, for a precise determination of construction activity in the Nadymskiy Gorodok settlement, a long exposure time of the driftwood needs to be considered and previous presumptions about the settlement history revised.

СУББОРЕАЛЬНЫЕ ЭЛЕМЕНТЫ В ЛЕПИДОПТЕРОФАУНЕ (LEPIDOPTERA) ЕВРОПЕЙСКОГО СЕВЕР О-ВОСТОКА РОССИИ

Based on the material of Macrolepidoptera, high percentage of in the taiga and tundra biota of subboreal geographical elements – one of the main biogeographic features of the European North-East of Russia – is considered. It is shown that over 50 species of Lepidoptera from 11 families have peripheral area covers in various extent taiga zone and the southern parts of Hypoarctic zone, and the area of their ecological optimum situated in the subboreal forest and steppe zones. In consideration of peculiarities of the natural process, the analysis of the landscape-zonal distribution of Lepidoptera species suggests that the penetration of subboreal species was began and gradually took place during the warm periods of Holocene. A few groups of Holocene climatic relicts have been preserved in various areas of the taiga and the foresttundra zones. At the present time the most of subboreal species of Lepidoptera in the European North- East of Russia are new and actively distributing in anthropogenic habitats.

Vegetation cover of the North of the Koryak Region (Kamchatsky Krai) and its geobotanical subdivision

«Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Науки о Земле» — научно-теоретический рецензируемый журнал, обобщающий результаты исследований в области геологии, гидрогеологии и геохимии, петрологии и экологии, ландшафтного планирования и геоморфологии, экономической и социальной географии.

Contribution to the knowledge of the bumblebee fauna in the Southern Taymyr

The bumblebee fauna of the Southern Taymyr region, northern Siberia, is represented by 10 species, i.e., Bombus consobrinus, B. flavidus, B. lapponicus, B. hypnorum, B. jonellus, B. cingulatus, B. balteatus, B. pyrrhopygus, B. hyperboreus, and B. cryptarum. During the field research for this study, 7 species of bumblebee on the Putorana Plateau (or the Putorana Mountains, on the northwestern edge of the Central Siberian Plateau) and 6 species near Dudinka Town were observed and B. consobrinus was found for the first time on the Putorana Plateau. To date, B. consobrinus was known only in the southern and central parts of the Krasnoyarsk Krai. Regarding the regional fauna, Transpalaearctic and Holarctic species are presented. According to the latitudinal aspect, in this region there are arcto-boreal, arcto-temperate, boreal and temperate species. An analysis of the community was carried out regarding bumblebees that live on the Putorana Plateau. It was found that species of the subgenus Pyrobombus and Alpinobombus, that are typical for the tundra and forest-tundra zones in the Northern Palaearctic, are dominant within the bumblebee community.

Large mammal fauna of the West Siberian forest-tundra zone in the late Holocene

Large mammal fauna of the West Siberian forest-tundra zone in the late Holocene

METACERCARIAE OPISTHORCHIDS IN COMMERCIAL CARP FISH FROM THE LOWER AND MIDDLE OB

This article shows the infection of commercial cyprinids from the Middle and Lower Ob with muscle trematodes that are dangerous to humans, collected in 2016, 2017 and 2018. From the point of view of human health, the study of carp fish infected with opistorchids is important. It is in the Ob – Irtysh basin that the world's largest opisthorchiasis is located. In the study of carp fish for infection with muscle trematodes, a compression method was used. Comparing the infection of carp fishes of different species with metacercariae opistorchids from different landscape-geographical zones, one can speak of the leading role of ide in maintaining the Ob - Irtysh center of opisthorchiasis.The role of the bream in maintaining the West Siberian focus of opisthorchiasis is gradually increasing due to the ever-growing herd of this fish. O. felineus and M. biliside infestation is most severe in Middle Ob, in the central taiga zone. In another subzone - the northern taiga (v. Hills) and the forest-tundra zone (v. Aksarka), the extensiveness of the O. felineus infection is either equal to 100% or approaches it. The intensity of infection in the ide from Middle Ob found maximum values. In other, more northern subzones, the intensity of infection with O. felineus metacercaria was significantly inferior to the infection of the Middle Ob’s ide. Based on the above, we can talk about the greatest infection of carp fish in Middle Ob. The center of the opisthorchiasis is situated exactly here.

Long-term biodiversity monitoring of the spontaneous successions for the assessment of the artificial restoration progress on the quarries in Russian Arctic

The results of long-term monitoring observations of natural recovery successions in the tundra and forest-tundra zones in various sectors of the Russian Arctic are analyzed. Efficiency of works on accelerated nature restoration is evaluated. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of mistakes made in the quarries reclamation projects. The combined review of the accumulated experience in natural and artificial vegetation restoration allows us to offer some recommendations for effective restoration of nature. Key words: natural recovery, spontaneous succession, anthropogenic vegetation, disturbed sites, biodiversity monitoring, artificial restoration

Environmental history of the northwestern Québec Treeline

Latitudinal treeline in northwestern Québec, Canada, is a broad band of forest-tundra between 56 and 58°N. Three new pollen records from the forest-tundra zone were combined with ten previously-published records to form a transect of paleoecological data across this treeline. The area was deglaciated ∼6–7 ka, with only a brief period of shrub tundra vegetation in the oldest sediments of all sites. Noticeable values of Populus, Juniperus and Larix pollen percentages were found during this time in the southernmost sites, suggesting they comprised part of the initial plant migration. Maximum Picea pollen percentages were found between 2 and 4 ka across the boreal forest and forest-tundra, with values remaining constant in the boreal forest and decreasing in the forest-tundra in the past 3 ka. Across the entire area, pollen influx decreased in the past 4 ka, and non-arboreal pollen increased in the forest-tundra, suggesting an opening of the forest and decrease in terrestrial production. Charcoal influx also declined, indicating a reduction in fire activity in the past 2–4 ka. Although the treeline has remained in the same average location in the region over the past 6 ka, the strength of the temperature gradient across the frontal zone changed over the course of the Holocene.

Синтаксономия лиственничных редколесий Западно-Сибирской равнины

Larch open woodlands fr om West Siberian forest-tundra zone are described based on 119 original rele­vйs performed by authors in 2009–2016 years in central part of the West Siberian plain between 65.5–67.5°N.

Distribution of radionuclides in moss-lichen cover and needles on the same grounds of landscape-climatic zones of Siberia

The radiation status of the landscape and climatic zones of Siberia at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries is characterized using bioindicators/biomonitors: lichens, mosses, and needles, according to the results obtained at the sites of their joint growth. The maximal activity of 137Cs in these components is observed in the forest-tundra landscaped zone, polluted during the period of nuclear tests from the nuclear test site “Novaya Zemlya” and also due to slow migration of these elements to the soil under the arctic conditions. In the southern territories the specific activity of radiocesium in the moss-lichen cover and needles of conifers corresponds to the regional background, in the forest-tundra zone it sometimes exceeds it, but in general does not pose a threat to human health.Determined differences in the contents of radioactive elements in lichens and mosses that grow together on sites in different landscape zones of Siberia statistically not significant within one or two standard deviations, and recorded only in the range of 3ϭ at the level of significance 0.05. Specificity of radionuclide distribution in lichens, mosses and needles (differences for epigeals and epiphytic lichens; different species selected at one site, annual and perennial needles, etc.) made it possible to identify the causes of variations in their activities in different zones, along with landscape features of these zones. In the needles of conifers potassium concentration exceeds the content in lichens, at lower levels of thorium and 137Cs.The contents of uranium and thorium in the studied components in all landscape-climatic zones correspond to the natural ones, except for the single local territories, because of the possible anthropogenic influence.

Methodology for a local fauna study of ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) in the forest-tundra zone of the Polar Urals, Russia

An important step in research planning is the choice of methodology. This is especially important for territories which are difficult to access such as in the Arctic, where successive repetitions of field works require significant resources. The methodology utilizing the local fauna has been used over the past twenty years. It provides comparable data on the structure of fauna and species richness for different territories. The purpose of the present study was to assess the “local fauna method” with respect to fauna studies of ground beetles in the Arctic forest-tundra zone. The research was conducted from June 18 2017 to August 30 2017 within the Polar Urals (10 km from the Harp settlement in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, which is a state of Russia). Carabids were sampled by using pitfall traps on 20 sites. This article will also include the results of our previous research concerning the structure of some local faunas from the forest-tundra zone of Nenets Autonomous Okrug (settlements Nes’, Oma, Khorey-Ver). The results of this study demonstrate the following: 1) the local fauna of the Polar Urals has 85 species of ground beetles from 25 genera, which is 77% of species lists of carabids for a 70-year period of research within the Polar Urals; 2) the local fauna of the Polar Urals has 29% similarity of list species with local faunas from the European part of the Arctic, with similar compositions of zoogeographical groups and life forms; 3) in one research period there was 90% detection of carabids species in the forest-tundra local fauna using the sampling method of pitfall traps within a period of 40 days, conducted at 15 sites, with the predominance of southern types of plant communities (meadows, forests).

Biologically Active Organic Matter in Soils of European Russia

Experimental and literature data on the contents and stocks of active organic matter in 200 soil samples from the forest-tundra, southern-taiga, deciduous-forest, forest-steppe, dry-steppe, semidesert, and subtropical zones have been generalized. Natural lands, agrocenoses, treatments of long-term field experiments (bare fallow, unfertilized and fertilized crop rotations, perennial plantations), and different layers of soil profile are presented. Sphagnum peat and humus–peat soil in the tundra and forest-tundra zones are characterized by a very high content of active organic matter (300–600 mg C/100 g). Among the zonal soils, the content of active organic matter increases from the medium (75–150 mg C/100 g) to the high (150–300 mg C/100 g) level when going from soddy-podzolic soil to gray forest and dark-gray forest soils and then to leached chernozem. In the series from typical chernozem to ordinary and southern chernozem and chestnut and brown semidesert soils, a decrease in the content of active organic matter to the low (35–75 mg C/100 g) and very low (<35 mg C/100 g) levels is observed. Acid brown forest soil in the subtropical zone is characterized by a medium supply with active organic matter. Most arable soils are mainly characterized by low or very low contents of active organic matter. In the upper layers of soils, active organic matter makes up 1.2–11.1% of total Corg. The profile distribution of active organic matter in the studied soils coincides with that of Corg: their contents appreciably decrease with depth, except for brown semidesert soil. The stocks of active organic matter vary from 0.4 to 5.4 t/ha in the layer of 0–20 cm and from 1.0 to 12.4/ha in the layer of 0–50 cm of different soil types.

Effect of climate changes in the holocene on the distribution of humic substances in the profile of forest-tundra peat mounds

The molecular composition of humic substances in permafrost peatlands of the forest-tundra zone in northeastern European Russia has been characterized for the first time on the basis of systematic studies. Changes in the molar x(H): x(C) ratio along the peat profiles have been revealed, which is due to the activation of cryogenic processes in the upper part of the seasonally thawing layer, the natural selection of condensed humic molecules, and the botanical composition and degree of degradation of peat, which reflect the climatic features of the area in the Holocene. Dry-peat soils of mounds are worse heated during the summer period because of the buffering effect of moss litter, which results in a lower degree of condensation of humic and fulvic acid molecules in the peat horizons down to the permafrost table. Transformation of quantitative and qualitative parameters of specific organic compounds occurs at the permafrost boundary of peatlands, which can serve as an indicator of recent climate changes in high latitudes.