Khibiny Mountains Research Articles

Complex Ecological Study of the Fjell Field in the Khibiny Mountains

Complex Ecological Study of the Fjell Field in the Khibiny Mountains

Fires and Clear-Cuttings as Local Areas of Arthropod Diversity in Polar Regions: Khibiny Mountains

The well-known phenomenon of attracting untypical animals to disturbed territories has been poorly investigated in the polar mountains. We studied arthropod diversity in self-healing industrial clear-cuts and burn areas in the Khibiny Mountains, Kola Polar region. Fieldworks were conducted at four sites, including a control mountain taiga forest and its three transformed variants: burnt forest, uncleared clear-cut, and twice-disturbed burnt clear-cut. Arthropods were collected using formalin traps 2–3, 5–6, and 8–9 years after industrial deforestation in 2012 and an extensive grass-roots fire in 2013. Out of 124 identified species (spiders—61; ground beetles—41; and rove beetles—22), 79 (or 64%) were collected in disturbed, primarily burned areas and were absent in control forest. We note ten species of rove beetles, nine species of ground beetles, and eight species of spiders for the first time in the well-studied arthropod fauna of the Khibiny Mts. We found that grass-root fires transform the soil vegetation covers in the polar mountain forests more powerfully in comparison with extensive deforestation and attract a greater diversity of arthropods with different preferences, enriching the fauna of the polar mountains and the Subarctic region as a whole. The attraction effect persists for, at least, a decade after the violations.

Пион уклоняющийся (Paeonia anomala L.) флоры Алтая в условиях Кировска (Мурманская область)

The results of comparison study of two ecotypes (foothills and high mountain) of Paeonia anomala L. the most typical for the Mountain Altai in Kirovsk (Murmansk region) are presented. It has been stated that while introduced in PABGI, this plants pass complete cycle of growth and development, bear fruit. The findings of investigations processed indicate a good adaptation of this species. The special features of seasons rhythm, ontogenesis of plants, germination of seeds of these ecotypes under the conditions of culture were found. The comparative study feature of growth conditions in situ and ex situ, season rhythms, ontogenesis of plants this ecotypes, gave the possibility to determine optimal conditions for growing that plants under introduction in Khibiny mountains of the Kola peninsula. The findings of investigations processed indicate a good adaptation of the plants of high mountains ecotypes in Kola North. The recommendations on the reproduction and cultivation that plants are given.

Geochemical Surface–Water Modification of the Khibiny Mountains since the Launching of a New Mining Enterprise

Geochemical Surface–Water Modification of the Khibiny Mountains since the Launching of a New Mining Enterprise

Conservation of the Rare and Endangered Vascular Plants in the Mining and Tourism Area: Khibiny Mountains, Murmansk Region, Russia.

The Khibiny Mountains (hereafter called Khibiny Mts.) are one of the most urbanized and industrialized regions in the Russian Arctic. There are combined a developed mining complex, elaborate infrastructure, a well-known tourist resort, and a large population, all amidst an exceptionally rich biodiversity of plants. In this study, we analyzed the current knowledge of the spatial distribution of rare and endangered vascular plants and vegetation and the impacts of human activities on these ecosystems. Approximately 28% of the protected vascular plant species in the Murmansk Region were registered within the confines of the Khibiny Mts. In particular, although only a handful of protected species had a widespread presence, most rare species were confined to the southern reaches of the mountain range, with only a select few extending into other parts. Papaver lapponicum was the only species that thrived across the entire territory, including industrial areas. The studied territory contained nine specially protected areas spanning 123,220 hectares. Nature monuments adjacent to mining sites and urban centers play an important role in preserving regional biodiversity. However, the expansion of the mining industry, alongside deforestation and wildfires, poses considerable threats to the biodiversity of the Khibiny Mts. A comprehensive biodiversity conservation strategy implemented in this region balances the local and expansive territorial protection of rare species and habitats, ensuring environmental preservation while facilitating social and economic progress, a noteworthy example of environmental protection in the Arctic.

Памяти полярного геоботаника Натальи Евгеньевны Королёвой (1963–2024)

The Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden-Institute named after N. A. Avrorin (PABGI) Kola Research Centre RAS, Russian Botanical Society, and the Russian geobotany have suffered an irreparable loss. On April 6, 2024 after a serious illness the outstanding geobotanist, a well-known specialist in the field of studying flora and vegetation of the Far North, a leading research scientist of the PABGI, PhD Natalia Evgenievna Koroleva has left us. Natalia Evgenievna was born in 1963 in Chernovskoe village, Kirov Region, in the family of agronomist and school teacher. After school graduation, in 1981 she entered the Moscow State University, where she specialized in the Department of Geobotany under the supervision by Prof. T. A. Rabotnov and Prof. A. P. Tyrtikov. After the University, in 1986 she was firstly enrolled in the Laboratory of Biocenology and afterwards in the Laboratory of Flora and Plant Resources of the PABGI. From 1986 to 1990, she passed the postgraduate probation in the Komarov Botanical Institute RAS (St. Petersburg) under the supervision by Prof. B. N. Norin. In 1991, she defended her PhD thesis «Vegetation classification of the mountain tundra belt of Khibiny» and received the degree of candidate of biology (PhD). Throughout her scientific life, Natalia Evgenievna was associated with PABGI having gone from probationer to the senior researcher in the Laboratory of Flora and Plant Resources. For many years, she was a Head of Murmansk Branch of the Russian Botanical Society (RBO). She organized and led a lot of geobotanical expeditions to the Murmansk Region and Spitsbergen Archipelago. The geography of her field researches was highly diverse. She brilliantly knew not only the vegetation of the Kola Peninsula, but as well other regions of Russian Arctic, Norway, Finland and Spitsbergen. The study and conservation of species and community diversity of Arctic and Subarctic vegetation, namely the plant cover of the Kola Peninsula and Spitsbergen Archipelago and revealing its transformation under the man impact, was in the focus by Natalia Koroleva scientific interests. She made a great contribution to the study of the Murmansk Region flora and vegetation, the regional Red Book conducting, plant cover monitoring and Nature conservation. In the Natalia Koroleva person, Russian vegetation science has lost an outstanding scientist, the specialist in phytocoenology, vegetation classification, the study of biodiversity and Nature conservation. She elaborated the vegetation classification method based upon the analysis of the uniformity of plant species distribution with similar ecology in particular plant community groups. Using this method, Natalia Evgenievna and her colleagues developed a detailed classification of plant communities and habitat types of zonal and mountain tundra and highland heaths of the Kola Peninsula and Spitsbergen that has resulted in numerous publications. She had published about 150 scientific papers and 10 monographs, books and guides to the Nature reserved territories of Khibiny Mountains, Lovozero Tundra, Spitsbergen and many others that put a huge impact in the development of vegetation science and Nature conservation in the Murmansk Region. She was an editor of many scientific proceedings and collective monographs. Natalia Evgenievna greatly contributed to the training of young scientists: For ten years (2001–2011), she gave lectures at the Apatity Branch of Moscow State Technical University in the ecology, biodiversity, and vegetation classification. Some Master’s and PhD theses were prepared under her supervision. Natalia Evgenievna devoted a lot of time and efforts to the work in RBO. For about 25 years she was a Head of Murmansk Branch of RBO and a member of its Council, took part in the Organizing Committees of numerous conferences, symposiums and workshops held by RBO. The memory of Natalia Evgenievna Koroleva — an outstanding geobotanist, teacher, environmental activist and popularizer of science — will always remain in her numerous scientific works, and in the hearts of students and colleagues.

Influence of Rock Watering on Post-Seismic Activity: A Study on the Khibiny Massif

The article is devoted to the study of the influence of watering of the rock environment on post-seismic activity in the deposits of the Khibiny mountains. Initial data are the results of long-term monitoring of seismicity and observations of water inflows. At a qualitative level, the influence of watering of the environment on the b-value of the Gutenberg – Richter distribution of magnitudes of triggered events, as well as on the parameters of the Omori – Utsu law, which describes the post-seismic activity decay rate over time, was studied.

Innovative Structural Characterization of Natural Villiaumite Crystal

The work presents the latest scientific research on the far infrared spectrum of the natural mineral villiaumite (chemical formula NaF). The three samples of villiaumite examined came from the Khibiny Mountains in the Kola Peninsula (Russia) and from Mon Saint Hilaire in Quebec (Canada). The tested villiaumite samples began to change color very slowly after being heated above 300 °C in a muffle furnace. Subsequent color changes required heating at increasingly higher temperatures for approximately 48–72 h. Samples of the reddish mineral villiaumite turned orange, pink and finally colorless (at approximately at 430 °C). Because the color of villiaumite changes under the influence of temperature, far infrared spectra were measured for the samples at room temperature and for the sample heated to 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 °C. Additionally, using density functional theory (DFT/B3LYP/6-31+g*), the spectrum of NaF (125-atom model of crystal structure) was simulated for the first time and compared with the experimental spectrum of pure sodium fluoride (a chemical reagent) and the mineral villiaumite.

STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF SNOW AND ICE FORMATIONS IN THE KHIBINY MOUNTAINS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

In 1958 V.F. Perov, staff member of the Khibiny Research and Training Station of the MSU Faculty of Geography, described four snow-ice formations in the Khibiny Mountains and classified them as very small glaciers. Until our research began in 2005, these glaciers were not studied in detail. We used field observations, drilling, GIS and remote sensing methods to study the structure of the glaciers and evaluate changes in their geometry during 60 years. The snow-ice formations were drilled through for the first time and the ice cores underwent geochemical and isotope-oxygen analyses. The thickness of ice kernels varies from 0,2 to 1,6 m. Our investigations showed that despite a slight degradation, the glaciers` area remains relatively stable since 1958. This fact may be caused by the increase in solid precipitation in recent years. According to the analysis of climatic changes, in the early 2000s a decrease in snowfall was observed in the Khibiny Mountains. The maximum snow thickness at the meteorological site of the Khibiny station in 2002-2003 winter period was 55 cm. This could be a factor of more than 2 times decrease of glacier areas during 2000-2010. After 2007 there has been an increase in snow precipitation, and the maximum snow depth of 180 cm was observed in 2020, the absolute maximum for the whole period of observations (1984-2020). According to published data the increase in mean annual temperature at the plains of the Kola Peninsula is 2,3 ± 1°C during the last 50 years. However, mean monthly temperatures of the summer do not rise. We consider that, along with recently increasing snow precipitation, this is exactly what determine rather stable state of snow-ice formations in the Khibiny Mountains, which appeared to be more resistant to climate warming than mountain glaciers.

Dynamics of development of juvenile plants in the mountain-tundra belt of the Khibiny Mountains

Germination of seeds and survival of seedlings are important characteristics of the functioning of communities. There are few observations in the literature on the dynamics of seed germination in untouched alpine communities. Severe abiotic environmental factors characteristic of high mountains make it difficult for juvenile plants to take root, and they show high mortality in the first year of life. For 9 years (2011-2019), all juvenile plants were recorded on 5 m2 of the mountain-tundra community of the Khibiny Mountains and their further life was traced. For most plants of the alpine tundra community, low germination and high mortality of juvenile plants in the first year of life were confirmed. Seeds of some species of undisturbed plots, did not germinate during the observation period, most of the rest they did not survive. In species of slightly disturbed places, the number of seedlings was proportional to the number of species in the community, with the exception of species that do not have vegetative propagation. In the latter, seed germination was higher. A surge in the number of seedlings was observed in 2016 and 2019. The surviving individuals did not pass into the generative age state for 7-9 years of observations, which confirms the duration of the life cycle of alpine species.

Avalanche risk in the Khibiny mountains at the beginning of the 21st century

Avalanche risk in the Khibiny mountains at the beginning of the 21st century

Редкие сообщества асс. Molinio caeruleae–Trollietum europaei ass. nov. в Хибинских горах (Кольский полуостров)

Mountain tundra meadows with dominance of Molinia caerulea were found in the Khibiny Mountains (Kola Peninsula) (Fig. 1) and described based on the Braun-Blanquet approach. Ass. Molinio caeruleae–Trollietum europaei ass. nov. (Fig. 2, Table, holotypus — relevé 7, 67.611327° N, 33.61316° E; 530 m a. s. l.) is ascribed to the alliance Potentillo–Polygonion vivipari Nordh. 1937, order Epilobio lactiflori–Geranietalia sylvatici Michl, Dengler et Huck 2010, and class Mulgedio-Aconitetea Hadač et Klika in Klika et Hadač 1944. The diagnostic species are Achillea apiculata, Dianthus superbus, Festuca ovina, Geranium sylvaticum, Melica nutans, Molinia caerulea, Trollius europaeus, Vaccinium myrtillus. The undergrowth layer is sparse and composed with Betula nana, Cotoneaster cinnabarinus, Juniperus sibirica. In the upper layer (about 0.5–0.8 m high) most abundant are tall herbs (Molinia caerulea, Dianthus superbus, Geranium sylvaticum, Trollius europaeus and Cirsium heterophyllum). Lower layer (0.1–0.3 m high) is composed with low herbs (Anthoxanthum alpinum, Bistorta vivipara, Epilobium lactiflorum, E. hornemannii, Festuca ovina, Veronica alpina, Viola biflora, V. canina subsp. montana) and dwarf shrubs (Empetrum hermaphroditum, V. uliginosum, V. myrtillus). Ground layer is prostrate and consists of Sciuro-hypnum starkei, S. reflexum, Sanionia uncinata, Bryum spp. and Polytrichum spp. Association comunities occupy rather large areas and are located above the tree line and in the lower part of the mountain-tundra belt, at 410–540 m a. s. l., on well-moistened steep (45–50°) rocky slopes, exposed to southwest and southeast, near groundwater outlets or in places of late snowmelt. Probably the association is of relic nature and marks the tree line of the warmest Holocene period. Rich of species, including Red Data Book Cotoneaster cinnabarinus, Epilobium lactiflorum, Veronica fruticans, it is a value habitat type «E2.3 Mountain hay meadow» in the Kola Peninsula.

The content of nutrients, lignin and cellulose in plants and lichens in the forest-tundra ecotone of the Khibiny mountain massif

The results of studies of the chemical composition of plants and lichens in the altitude gradient on the slope of Yumechorr of the Khibiny mountain massif (Murmansk region) are presented. The species specificity of the accumulation of macro- and microelements by the assimilating organs of plants and lichens in the in the main altitude zones is shown. The leaves of Betula pubescens and Vaccinium myrtillus are the most rich of elements of mineral nutrition. Lichens are characterized by a low content of N, Ca, K, P, Mg, S, as well as Zn and Mn and high - Fe, Cu, Ni. In spruce and pine needles, similar patterns of the distribution of elements by age classes were revealed. Changes in the content of nitrogen, mineral elements, secondary metabolites in the altitude gradient in the assimilating organs of plants and lichens, during the transition from the forest belt to the mountain forest, have been established. It has been established that with increasing growth height, the N content increases in Pinus sylvestris needles, in the leaves of Arctostaphyllos uva-ursi, in the leaves of the current year Empetrum hermaphroditum. Plants growing in the mountain tundra and forest tundra are characterized by a high content of K. The Zn content also increases with increasing absolute height in the conifers/leaves of P. sylvestris, B. pubescens, V. uliginosum. During the transition from the forest belt to the mountain tundra, the content of Ca and Mg decreases in plant leaves. In the leaves of E. hermaphroditum, minimal concentrations of Mn were also detected in the mountain tundra. The content of lignin and cellulose in the leaves of shrubs, with the exception of V. myrtillus, in the belt of coniferous forests is lower than in the belt of birch forests and tundra. The content of lignin in the leaves of B. nana and B. pubescens increases, and cellulose practically does not change with an increase in absolute height in the Khibiny Mountains. Accumulation of lignin is observed in needles of P.sylvestris in the belt of birch woodlands.

Pinus pumila (Pall.) Regel in the Avrorin Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden and Institute

The article presents the history of introduction and the condition of the introduced to the Kola Peninsula accessions of Pinus pumila (Pall.) Regel. Siberian dwarf pine has been introduced to the Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden and Institute several times since 1947. As at 2021, the collection contains 3 accessions of different origin and age: 2 accessions in the main territory in the town of Kirovsk in the Khibiny Mountains and 3 accessions on the experimental site in the town of Apatity in the flat foothills. All the plants were divided into 5 groups depending on their location and age. We assessed their vital condition, winter hardiness, abundance of pollen dispersion and seed production, the degree of Pineus cembrae infestation, measured their height, trunk diameter and needle length. Nonparametric Mann - Whitney, Kruskal -Wallis, Dunn’s tests in the Past 4 program were used to compare quantitative indicators. All the specimens are well-adapted to the conditions of the Kola Peninsula, have slight damage, are winter-hardy, and the degree of Pineus cembrae infestation is very low. The Siberian dwarf pine shrubs on the experimental site in Apatity produce pollen and seeds more abundantly and regularly, have a greater height, diameter and needle length compared to specimens in the main territory in Kirovsk.

ОПЫТ ПРЕДУПРЕДИТЕЛЬНОГО СПУСКА ЛАВИН В ХИБИНАХ. ПРОБЛЕМЫ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ

Preventive avalanching in the Khibiny has been carried out for almost 90 years. The experience accumulated in this area allows evaluating it critically. The methods of preventive avalanching in the Khibiny Mountains, in other regions of Russia, and other countries are analyzed. The most widely used methods are those based on the effects of explosions on the snowpack stability. Despite such long-term experience, a scientific basis for their use is not sufficiently developed, and there are no rational methods for their application. The insufficient knowledge of the mechanisms of avalanche release and short-term impulse loads on the snow stability, as well as the high spatial variability of snow characteristics that control its stability at an avalanche starting zone, and the almost complete absence of their measurements are the main obstacles to solving these problems. The development and realization of a state program aimed at improving the effectiveness of artificial avalanche release could make the current situation better.

Mineralogical and processing features of Khibiny apatitenepheline ores

This article discusses various process intensification factors for the processing of Khibiny apatite-nepheline ores . It includes an overview of the available intensification solutions for the stages of crushing, grinding, and flotation. According to the authors, finer crushing is advisable. With the ore strength varying between 22 and 160 MPa, finer crushing would allow the plant feed to be sorted by physical properties and apatite grades. At the grinding stage, apatite liberation should be monitored with due account of its genetic feature: it is present in the ore in two forms, as free coarse-grained particles and as bound fine-crystalline particles in poikiloblasts in rock-forming minerals. The strength values are 32 MPa for the free apatite and 180–190 MPa for the poikiloblasts; therefore, apatite liberation is a two-stage process. Apatite flotation is negatively affected by higher concentrations of Sr and REE, which replace CaO in the apatite structure and contribute to the formation of Na on the surface of the crystal lattice. Changes in the lattice cell structure may inhibit apatite flotation. The total concentration of SrO + REE2O3 varies in the Khibiny Mountains apatite between 1 and 57 wt%. A change in the apatite properties possibly occurs at Σ (5.36SrO + 2.05REЕ2O3) = 7.41 wt% with Na2O at approximately 0.5 wt%.The authors would like to thank S. A. Bogdanov, Chief Mineral Engineer at NWPC JSC, and A. S. Maslyakov, Mineralogist at the Quality Control Department of NWPC JSC, for their most valuable comments.The work has been completed in the framework of Research Topic No. 0226-2019-0053 of the Geological Institute of the Kola Science Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Biogeochemical Features of Functioning of Small Arctic Lakes of the Khibiny Mountains under Climatic and Environmental Changes

Biogeochemical Features of Functioning of Small Arctic Lakes of the Khibiny Mountains under Climatic and Environmental Changes

Methodology for determination of petrographic structures using the MIU-5M device

The authors develop a statistical method for determining the structures of rocks. A mathematically rigorous definition of the petrographic structure through the probabilities of binary intergranular contacts is proposed. The petrographic structure is defined as an invariant aspect of rock organization algebraically expressed by the canonical diagonal form of symmetric matrix of contact probabilities and visualized by structural indicatrices - 2 order surfaces. A consistent nomenclature of petrographic structures has been proposed. Earlier the method showed itself well in describing the structures of ijolites and urtites of the Khibiny Mountains, as well as amphibolites of the islands of Keretsky Archipelago (the White Sea). Mass application of the method is restrained by the routine procedure of calculating the probabilities of intergranular contacts in petrographic thin sections under a microscope. The problem of modern optical structure analyzers is assignment different sections of the same anisotropic mineral to different minerals, and separation blocks of a mineral individual to different individuals. The paper describes the experience of using the domestic MIU-5M device for scanning petrographic thin sections by the linear method of Rosival. The combination of visual control and minimum automation of the process allows us to achieve convergence of the structural types with results obtained by manual processing of image of petrographic thin section. Additionally, thin sections have been studied, for which the structural types differ with various methods of counting. It has been revealed that the presence of poikilitic ingrowths and features of the mineral composition (the existence of hypergene changes or minerals with similar optical properties) affect the statistics of probabilities. Recommendations are given on the selection of the scanning step depending on the grain size in the studied rock.

РОЛЬ НЕФЕЛИНА В ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ ИСТОРИИ ХИБИНСКИХ ГОР

The article examines the history of industrial pollution in the Khibiny Mountains on the Kola Peninsula during the Soviet period from the stance of a specific pollutant. Nepheline was a byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer industry based on apatite extraction and enrichment. It first served as inspiration for quasi-conservationist schemes to eliminate industrial wastes, including the development of the idea of the complex utilization of natural resources by geochemist Alexander Fersman. Soviet industrialists in the Khibiny Mountains thought that they could expand production and eliminate pollution by completely using all byproducts of economic activities. But nepheline proved more difficult to manage and control than they had expected. Over the decades nepheline became a chief source of environmental pollution in the region, especially its rivers and lakes. As phosphate production in the Khibiny Mountains grew dramatically, the recycling of extracted nepheline failed to keep pace and instead brought about negative environmental consequences. By tracing this material and efforts to manage it, the article shows how human engagement with physical elements of the natural world affected what the Soviet system tried to and was able to accomplish. It offers a different perspective on the two-sided role that an industrial byproduct can play in the environmental history of a region: one that puts the materials of production at the center of the account.

Предварительный хорологический анализ флоры сосудистых растений горно-тундрового пояса и пояса гольцовых пустынь Хибинских гор (Мурманская область)

Percentage of bio-geographic elements of vascular plants was analysed in Mountain Tundra (MT) and the cold Arctic Mountain (goltzovy) desert (AMD) belts in Khibiny Mountains. Flora of MT (191 species) is richer than flora of AMD (62 species) more than three times. Arctic group of species in MT comprises 42 %, hypoarctic (26 %) and boreal together with polyzonal (32 %). In flora of AMD prevails arctic group of species (63 %), hypoarctic group is on the second place (23 %) and boreal (14 %). The ratio of latitudinal bio-geographical groups in MT corresponds to the hypoarctic type of flora, and in AMD — to the arctic type, that confirms the differentiation of treeless belts in Khibiny Mountains. Groups of species with circumpolar distribution prevail in the species lists of both treeless belts (45 % in MT and 55 % in AMD). Other longitudinal groups in MT include species with east-American-European (10 %), east-American-European-Asiatic (10 %), Euro-Siberian (Euro-Asiatic) (15 %), and European (10 %) distribution. In AMD species with amphi-Atlantic distribution comprise 25 %, species with Euro-Siberian (Euro-Asiatic) and European distribution have less share (8 and 3 %)