Northwestern European Russia Research Articles

Konevets Island (Leningrad Region, Russia) – a historical refuge of lichen diversity in Lake Ladoga


 
 
 We present an updated checklist for Konevets Island (Leningrad Region, Russia). The revealed lichen biota comprises 435 species, including 378 lichens, 46 lichenicolous fungi and 11 non-lichenized saprobic fungi, of which 31 species (27 lichens and 4 lichenicolous fungi) are known only from collections made by Veli Räsänen (1917, 1938). Acremonium hypholomatis is reported for the first time for Russia; Caloplaca soralifera, Trapelia corticola, and Muellerella lichenicola for Northwestern European Russia; and Bacidia vermifera, Lecanora mughicola, Micarea contexta, Pyrenochaeta xanthoriae, Rhizocarpon disporum, Stigmidium squamariae and Xylographa difformis for Leningrad Region. From lichenological point of view, the most valuable habitats of Konevets Island are old-growth spruce forests. The studied lichen biota is rich and diverse and exceptionally well-preserved in comparison to the mainland part of Karelian Isthmus. It definitely deserves protection.
 
 

Origin of elemental carbon in snow from western Siberia and northwestern European Russia during winter–spring 2014, 2015 and 2016

Abstract. Short-lived climate forcers have been proven important both for the climate and human health. In particular, black carbon (BC) is an important climate forcer both as an aerosol and when deposited on snow and ice surface because of its strong light absorption. This paper presents measurements of elemental carbon (EC; a measurement-based definition of BC) in snow collected from western Siberia and northwestern European Russia during 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Russian Arctic is of great interest to the scientific community due to the large uncertainty of emission sources there. We have determined the major contributing sources of BC in snow in western Siberia and northwestern European Russia using a Lagrangian atmospheric transport model. For the first time, we use a recently developed feature that calculates deposition in backward (so-called retroplume) simulations allowing estimation of the specific locations of sources that contribute to the deposited mass. EC concentrations in snow from western Siberia and northwestern European Russia were highly variable depending on the sampling location. Modelled BC and measured EC were moderately correlated (R=0.53–0.83) and a systematic region-specific model underestimation was found. The model underestimated observations by 42 % (RMSE = 49 ng g−1) in 2014, 48 % (RMSE = 37 ng g−1) in 2015 and 27 % (RMSE = 43 ng g−1) in 2016. For EC sampled in northwestern European Russia the underestimation by the model was smaller (fractional bias, FB > −100 %). In this region, the major sources were transportation activities and domestic combustion in Finland. When sampling shifted to western Siberia, the model underestimation was more significant (FB < −100 %). There, the sources included emissions from gas flaring as a major contributor to snow BC. The accuracy of the model calculations was also evaluated using two independent datasets of BC measurements in snow covering the entire Arctic. The model underestimated BC concentrations in snow especially for samples collected in springtime.

Calypogeia fissa (Calypogeiaceae, Marchantiophyta) in the Northwestern European Russia

Calypogeia fissa is a species poorly known in Russia, which description has not been published in native literature since 1936. It is reported for the first time for the mainland Leningrad Region fr om the Kurgalsky Peninsula, near the Russian-Estonian border. Previously it was collected in the Leningrad Region in Hogland Island, Gulf of Finland. These are the only known recent records of C. fissa fr om the Northwestern European Russia at its eastern lim it of distribution in Europe. The species is represented in the study area by C. fissa f. subintegrifolia, which may be easily confused in the field with the other species of Calypogeia due to its mostly entire leaves. Morphological description and photographs of C. fissa from the Leningrad Region and its habitat in the Kurgalsky Peninsula are provided. Distribution, ecology, variation and differentiation of C. fissa are discussed.

The Origin of the Northern Palaearctic Fauna of Bloodsucking Insects, by the Example of Fleas (Siphonaptera), Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), and Blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae)

The territory of Fennoscandia and northwestern European Russia was released from the glacier cover in the Upper Pleistocene and has been recolonized by bloodsucking insects during the last 11 thousand years. The sources of formation of the Northern Palaearctic fauna of such groups of bloodsucking insects as fleas (Siphonaptera), mosquitoes (Culicidae), and blackflies (Simuliidae) were different in the postglacial period. One of the sources was the fauna of the ancient Mediterranean and southern Europe, while others were the faunas of northeastern China and Primorye. In turn, the two latter sources are closely related to the ancient faunal centers of the East Asian Subregion of the Palaearctic and also of the Indomalayan Region. Besides, some species and genera have spread from the West American Subregion of the Nearctic through Beringia.

New records of lichens and allied fungi from the Leningrad Region, Russia. VIII

Thirteen species and one variety of lichens, nine lichenicolous and two saprobic fungi are reported for the first time for St. Petersburg, the whole Leningrad Region or its western or eastern parts. The lichens Bacidina brandii, B. neosquamulosa, Porina leptalea, Rinodina aspersa and the lichenicolous fungus Scutula dedicata are reported for the first time for Russia, lichenicolous fungus Lichenoconium aeruginosum – for European Russia, the lichen Tetramelas chloroleucus, lichenicolous fungi Lichenoconium pyxidatae and Tremella cetrariicola are new for the North-Western European Russia. The most interesting records are briefly discussed.

Calypogeia azurea (Calypogeiaceae, Marchantiophyta) in the Northwestern European Russia

Calypogeia azurea is reported for the first time in the Leningrad Region and for the second time for the Republic of Karelia. Description of C. azurea based on alive collections from the Leningrad Region and the Republic of Karelia, and their photographs are provided. The variability of the species in studied specimens is rather broad and corresponds to the plants from Great Britain and Nordic countries. C. azurea is known in Russia from alive collections from the Northwestern European Russia, Caucasus, South Urals, South Siberia and South Kuril Islands. Ecology and differentiation of C. azurea are discussed. The revision of all kept in LE specimens from Russia, Latvia, Finland and Georgia identified as C. trichomanis, nom. rej., has shown that most of them cannot be attributed to C. azurea or C. muelleriana, which usually correspond to this rejected name. Except two specimens from Finland and one from Georgia tentatively attributed to Calypogeia cf. azurea, they represent mostly materials of C. integristipula, partly of C. neesiana and exceptionally of C. suecica and C. fissa. LE older collections of C. trichomanis from Caucasus are C. fissa, from Arctic Siberia and Arctic Far East are C. muelleriana.

Lichens and allied fungi of the Ragusha River Protected Area (Leningrad Region, Russia)

The lichen biota of the Ragusha River (protected area in Leningrad Region) is studied. In total 221 species (211 lichenized, 5 lichenicolous and 5 saprobic fungi) are listed. Lecanora perpruinosa is new to North-Western European Russia. Lathagrium fuscovirens, Pronectria erythrinella, Protoblastenia rupestris, Thelidium minutulum, T. zwackhii and Tremella hypogymniae are reported for the first time for Leningrad Region, and Ochrolechia bahusiensis for Eastern Leningrad Region. The most noteworthy part of lichen biota is the complex of 21 calcicolous lichens. Eleven of them are known in the region only from the Ragusha River valley.

Anomalous wildfires in 2010 and 2012 on the territory of Russia and supply of black carbon to the Arctic

Model estimates of black carbon (BC) concentrations in air were performed for different regions of the Russian Arctic under the conditions of maximal wildfires during summers of 2010 and 2012 on the territory of Russia. Data available from the Federal Forestry Agency of the Russian Federation (Rosleskhoz) on burning areas subject to fires (for different months of 2000–2013) were processed taking into account the quality of combustible material and different fire types. The developing atmospheric BC concentrations in the northern regions were calculated using the back trajectory statistics method for the Kola Peninsula, southeastern Arkhangelsk region, and Nenets, Gydan, and Ust-Lena Nature Reserves. It is shown that the specific circulation conditions in the atmosphere, accompanying extremely strong fires, may hamper transport of atmospheric pollutants to Arctic regions during the fire period. The BC concentrations are, on average, minor in northwestern European Russia (Kola Peninsula) and in the region of Ust-Lena Nature Reserve; and the largest pollution of air in northeastern Europe (region of Nenets Nature Reserve) is due to BC emissions from fires. On the contrary, anthropogenic BC predominates in northwestern Siberia (region of Gydan Nature Reserve). Strong Siberian and Yakutia fires may increase summertime air pollution by black carbon in north Asian Russia by an order of magnitude. The results presented here can be used for the qualitative estimation and comparative analysis of climatic and ecological conditions in different regions of the Russian Arctic.

The lichens and allied fungi of the Oranienbaumsky Prospective Protected Area (St. Petersburg)

The diversity of lichens and allied fungi of the Oranienbaumsky (Rambovsky) Prospective Protected Area (St. Petersburg, Russia) has been studied for the first time. Among 214 discovered species 199 are lichens, 11 are lichenicolous fungi and 4 are saprobic fungi traditionally reported in lichenological lists. The lichen diversity of the territory is estimated as one of the richest within the limits of St. Petersburg. The lichen Protothelenella petri is recorded for the first time for Russia, the lichens Biatora cuprea, Brianaria bauschiana, Micarea leprosula and Thelocarpon lichenicola are new for the North-Western European Russia, lichens Aspicilia laevata and Trapelia glebulosa, as well as the lichenicolous fungi Stigmidium fuscatae and Syzygospora physciacearum are new for St. Petersburg, the lichenicolous fungus Sphaerellothecium coniodes was not earlier known either from St. Petersburg or Leningrad Region. Nine species included in the Red Data Book of St. Petersburg are known from the Oranienbaumsky Prospective Protected Area. Of these, Ramalina sinensis has not been reported from the administrative territory since 1938 and is probably extinct from the historical localities. Parmelia fraudans was found in St. Petersburg for the first time in 80 years and we propose to include this species into the Red Data Book. The lichen flora of the Oranienbaumsky Prospective Protected Area comprises regionally rare and vulnerable species and deserves protection as one of the richest in St. Petersburg.

Golubev, Alexey and Takala, Irina The Search for a Socialist El Dorado: Finnish Immigration to Soviet Karelia from the United States and Canada in the 1930s (review)

SEER, 93, 4, OCTOBER 2015 774 Golubev, Alexey and Takala, Irina. The Search for a Socialist El Dorado: Finnish Immigration to Soviet Karelia from the United States and Canada in the 1930s. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, MI, 2014. xvii + 236 pp. Illustrations. Figures. Tables. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $29.95 (paperback). Over the last decade, scholarship on the history of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union has investigated many areas inhabited by non-Russian peoples. Baron, Breyfogle, Hirsch, Kerttula, Khalid, Martin, Sahadeo, Sunderland, Suny and many others have explored a variety of themes and regions and significantly increased our understanding of Russia and the USSR as multiethnic , multi-lingual and multi-confessional states. Yet much remains to be explored and written about this fascinating region and the people who have inhabited it. In this carefully written volume, Golubev and Takala explore the little-known history of approximately 6,500 Finnish-speaking people who travelled to Karelia, the region of north-western European Russia bordering on modern-day Finland, in search of a socialist paradise. In the space of nine chapters, these two Petrozavodsk State University historians investigate what led Finnish speakers who had previously emigrated from Finland to Canada and the United States to relocate once again, this time to build socialism. In the Karelian Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic (from 1923) they joined so-called ‘Red Finns’, or left-leaning Finns who fought with or supported those trying to establish a Communist government in Finland in 1918–19. When the so-called ‘White’ government took control in Finland, many ‘Red Finns’ fled across the border into socialist-controlled Russia. As Golubev and Takala relate, these Red Finns had a significant influence on the political and economic development of Soviet Karelia throughout the 1920s and first half of the 1930s. Between 1926 and 1935, the number of Finnish speakers in Soviet Karelia jumped from 2,500 to around 15,000. In part this flow of workers to Karelian factories, farms, and forests stemmed from government policies intended to attract foreign workers and foreign capital to expand the Soviet economic base. Soviet Karelia’s Red Finn leader at the time, Edvard Gylling, advocated for attracting foreign workers in the early 1930s, prior to his removal in 1935. The Search for a Socialist El Dorado describes competing visions (from the perspectives of Moscow and Petrozavodsk) of immigration policies, and the social, financial and logistical aspects of immigration to Soviet Karelia. Golubev and Takala argue that despite the initial successes in the early 1930s, the immigration programme ultimately failed due to Soviet policies, including the Great Terror. But that failure was not initially clear. In fact, thousands of American and Canadian Finns gave up their homes, businesses and livelihoods to travel thousands of miles to take part in building socialism. As REVIEWS 775 the book’s title suggests, many were motivated by the opportunity to help build a socialist utopia and workers’ paradise. Their idealism and hope drew them to invest themselves and often everything they owned to travel to the unknown. Unfortunately for them, as Golubev and Takala document, this new land was not as welcoming as had been promised. In general, these Finnish speakers found that weak infrastructure, poor living and working conditions, and limited food (in both quantity and quality) challenged their commitment to a socialist utopia. Most North American Finns did have access to special stores and better food than the local Karelian and Russian people, but nevertheless suffered substantially for the first few years. Despite these challenges, North American Finns made notable contributions to education, literature, theatre, music, dance and even sports in their region. Golubev and Takala describe in great detail the debates about language policy, with Finnish being given higher status than Karelian for several years. They also devote a chapter to the challenges of cross-cultural communication before describing the tragic end of many American and Canadian Finns in the Great Terror and World War Two. At least 739 North American Finns perished between 1937 and 1938, according to these authors, who provide significant detail on several victims and a timeline of arrests and deaths. They also assess World War Two and its impact...

New records of lichens and allied fungi from the Leningrad Region, Russia. VI

Eighteen species of lichens and five lichenicolous fungi are reported here for the Leningrad Region or Saint Petersburg. Of them, the lichens Absconditella delutula, Calogaya pusilla, Flavoplaca flavocitrina and Rinodina colobina are new for the North-Western European Russia, and the lichenicolous species Abrothallus parmeliarum, Diploschistes muscorum, Lichenochora cf. polycoccoides and Nieslia peltigericola – for the Leningrad Region; Cladonia novochlorophaea and Lichenodiplis lecanorae are reported for the first time for Saint Petersburg. The most noteworthy records are briefly discussed.

The lichens and allied fungi of the Zapadny Kotlin Protected Area and its vicinities (Saint Petersburg)

The lichens of the Zapadny Kotlin Protected Area and neighbouring area of the fort «Rif» (Saint Petersburg, Russia) have been investigated for the first time. Altogether 181 species of lichen-forming, lichenicolous and non-lichenized fungi are reported from the protected area. Bacidina sulphurella (Samp.) M. Hauck et V. Wirth is new for Russia, Arthonia phaeophysciae Grube et Matzer is published for the first time for North-Western European Russia, and 10 species are new to St. Petersburg. Three species included in the Red Data Book of St. Petersburg (Prilozhenie…, 2014) are known from the Zapadny Kotlin Protected Area: Arthonia helvola (Nyl.) Nyl., Pleurosticta acetabulum (Neck.) Elix et Lumbsch and Ramalina dilacerata (Hoffm.) Hoffm. In spite of maritime position, there are no specific maritime elements in the lichen flora of this area.

New records of lichens and allied fungi from the Leningrad Region, Russia. V

Eight species of lichens and seven lichenicolous fungi are reported from the Leningrad Region. Agonimia repleta, Protoparmelia hypotremella and Stereocaulon taeniarum are reported for the first time for Russia; Clypeococcum cetrariae is new to the European Russia; Lepraria nivalis, Merismatium aff. nigritellum (on Physcia aipolia) and Stigmidium leprariae are new to the North-Western European Russia; Cladonia macroceras, C. strepsilis, Endococcus fusiger, Lichenoconium erodens, Lobothallia melanaspis, Niesslia cladoniicola and Skyttella mulleri are new to the Leningrad Region; Sclerophora coniophaea is new to Saint Petersburg. The most noteworthy records are briefly discussed.

Ecotoxicological monitoring in lakes of Northwestern and Central European Russia situated in specially protected natural areas

An ecotoxicological assessment is given to the state of small lakes in specially protected natural areas in Northwestern and Central European Russia, which suffer from aerotechnogenic acidification. The toxicity of water and bottom sediments is shown to increase with decreasing water pH. The most sensitive characteristics of aquatic organisms in different trophic groups are chosen, allowing the state of lakes to be monitored.

Two new species of the liverwort genus Hygrobiella Spruce (Marchantiophyta) described from the North Pacific based on integrative taxonomy

The molecular and morphological variability of Hygrobiella laxifolia (Hook.) Spruce across its distributional area was investigated to verify its genetic entity. We sequenced nuclear ITS1–5.8S rDNA and three plastid genomic loci (trnL–F, trnG-intron and matK) of 31 specimens referred to H. laxifolia and gathered from remote regions: northwestern European and Far Eastern parts of Russia, as well as western USA. Three robustly supported clades within “H. laxifolia” were obtained by maximum parsimony, maximum-likelihood analyses and Bayesian approach. Haplotype network reconstruction also revealed three haplotype groups separated from each other by a row of missing haplotypes. The majority of Far Eastern accessions were composed of two genetic entities and were contrary to a third one containing all samples from northwestern European Russia, western USA and Bering Island as well. As a result of critical morphological reinvestigation for each of the discovered genetic entities, diagnostic characters were provided and a hypothesis of cryptic speciation in H. laxifolia was not supported. Accessions from removed localities united in a third clade were classified as typical H. laxifolia, whereas Far Eastern specimens from two other clades were applicable to new species—Hygrobiella intermedia Bakalin & Vilnet sp. nova and H. squamosa Bakalin & Vilnet sp. nova, which are described and illustrated here. The re-evaluation of species morphology indicated that the presence of secondary pigmentations, form of perianth and leaves, stem cross section anatomy and length of underleaves appear to be the main differentiation features. Available data suggest sympatric distribution of three Hygrobiella species in the northern Pacific region and the origin of two new species under the strong impact of volcanism.

Новый вид рода Tomentella (Thelephorales, Basidiomycota) из Европейской России

A new species, Tomentella rostrata Kotkova sp. nov., from Pskov Region (North-Western European Russia), is characterized by isodiametric hyphae without clamps and angular or ellipsoid spores (7)8–10 × 5–6 μm, with bifurcate echinuli and prominent apiculus.

General approaches to the assessment of the state and the prediction of changes in the reliability of power line river crossings

The procedure for assessment developed in the paper for the conditions of northwestern, central, and southern European Russia is an efficient means for comparative analysis of power lines in terms of indi� vidual and integral impact of hazardous hydrological and slope processes on their vulnerability, for determin� ing of the periodicity of monitoring observations and the composition of such studies.

Ecological features and distribution of the mosquito Aedes communis (De Geer, 1776) in the Northwestern European Russia

Distribution and biotopic and seasonal associations of the mosquito Aedes communis in Northwestern European Russia is discussed.

Atmospheric transport and wet depositions of acidifying substances in northwestern Russia

Data on measuring chemical composition of the atmospheric precipitation sampled at the national network of monitoring transboundary transport of pollutants over the period from the late 1970s to 2007 are generalized. The area of investigation covers northwestern European Russia. It is shown that the errors of the principal pollutants (sulfur and nitrogen compounds) measurements are, on average, within 6%. The precipitation character over the measurement period changed from subacid (4 < pH < 5) to neutral (5 < pH < 6). The sulfur deposition intensity in the region decreases over the last decades on a permanent basis. An opposite tendency is observed for the nitrogen deposition. Annually means both of sulfur and nitrogen depositions are close to the critical loads adopted. The trajectory analysis of the air mass transport leading to a conclusion that main emission sources of pollutants must be located in the Central European countries. It is supposed that the conditions of the 1999 Gothenburg Protocol on abating acidifying substance emissions into the atmosphere are not observed, at least for nitrogen.

10.1007/s11268-008-2007-5

Long-term data (1945–1989) collected during regular observations of water temperature on a network of Roshydromet stations in different types of water bodies in Northwestern European Russia are generalized. A number of mathematical expressions, which are relatively simple and acceptable for wide circles of researchers, are proposed for the assessment of the thermal state of water bodies. Empirical dependences of the thickness of epilimnion, the depth to thermocline, the type of thermal stratification, seasonal variations in the temperature of water surface, and individual characteristics of the “biological summer” on various geographic factors are established. Elements of thermal regime are calculated for the database of ecological-geographical typification of Karelian water bodies.