Altai-Sayan Research Articles

From the Guest Editors

From the Guest Editors Charlotte D'Evelyn (bio), Robert O. Beahrs (bio), and Andrew Colwell (bio) The eight contributors to this special issue of Asian Music, Transregional Politics of Throat-Singing as Cultural Heritage in Inner and Central Asia, investigate the dynamics of heritage in this complex region,1 focusing on a diverse range of multiphonic vocal practices known in English as "throat-singing" or "overtone singing" (see map A). Rooted among mobile hunter-pastoralist cultures of the Altai and Sayan Mountain ranges (see map B), this collection of styles, substyles, and techniques is known by scholars and practitioners variously as khöömei (used along with kargyraa and sygyt in the Tyva Republic of the Russian Federation), khöömii (used more commonly in Mongolia), kai (in the Altai Republic), kömei (in Kazakhstan), and khooloin tsuur (in Xinjiang), among many other regional labels. Local practitioners in Mongolia and Tyva largely consider khöömei not as a genre of singing at all but as a practice akin to "playing the throat" or "sounding the body as a vocal apparatus" (see Süzükei, Pegg, Colwell, Curtet, and Beahrs, this issue). Still other practitioners conceptualize their techniques as a form of singing, and many draw on the legacy of the Russian term gorlovoe penie, which translates directly as "throat-singing."2 Local communities across this region have conceived of these practices in various and evolving ways, sometimes associating a variety of styles together for cultural, political, aesthetic, and technical reasons, applying khöömei as a collective term. For the sake of the reader, we use the terms "throat-singing" and khöömei purely as discursive reference points for the admittedly complex questions raised in the six articles that make up this special issue. The debate at the center of this special issue concerns the inscription of khöömei as an element of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) on the UNESCO lists for China (2009) and Mongolia (2010). The UNESCO framework—which inscribed khöömei as ICH in China and Mongolia but notably not in Russia—has dramatically affected the politics and perceptions of multiphonic vocal practices throughout the region, resulting in a host of resonances and dissonances that have not yet received in-depth attention in English-language ethnomusicology scholarship. We observe that contemporary heritage-making [End Page 3] in Inner and Central Asia is part of a long history of local practices such as khöömei becoming recognized and transformed by state institutions for the purposes of nation-building, beginning at the very latest with socialism during the twentieth century. Indeed, diverse local understandings of vocal sound-making practices contrast sharply with such attempts to transform khöömei into national heritage. Our work follows a growing body of scholarship in critical heritage studies (Norton and Matsumoto 2018; Hafstein 2018; Stefano and Davis 2016; Foster and Gilman 2015; Bendix, Eggert, and Peselmann 2012; Howard 2012; Smith 2006) and studies of contested heritage in Asia (Yang, Dupre, and Xu 2020; Tsetsentsolmon 2012; Wu 2020; Stokes 2015; Jacquesson 2020). Approaching this topic from distinct and sometimes even conflicting perspectives, we ask: How do Indigenous, communal, or transregional senses of belonging interact with governmental or internationalized heritage-making initiatives related to khöömei? How do official or academic definitions of cultural heritage contrast with how practitioners understand khöömei? How does heritage not just "preserve" its object but also "reform" the relationship of practitioners, communities, and nations to the practice in question (Hafstein 2015, 148)? Accordingly, the contributors do not share a single notion or definition of heritage and instead underscore the perspectives, events, and meanings they have encountered over years of research.3 This journal issue is the first transregional and multiauthored Englishlanguage study of khöömei in the Altai-Sayan region of Inner Asia since Theodore Levin and Valentina Süzükei's seminal monograph Where Rivers and Mountains Sing (2006). It draws on two generations of scholars: three influential researchers (Valentina Süzükei, Carole Pegg, and Theodore Levin) who began work in this region in the 1980s and a cohort of scholars (Robert O. Beahrs, Andrew Colwell, Johanni Curtet, Saida Daukeyeva, and Charlotte D'Evelyn) who began their work in the 2000s...

ДЕФЕКТЫ МАГМОФОРМАЦИОННОГО АНАЛИЗА

The formation analysis of igneous rocks is a great achievement of the Soviet science in terms of classifying natural communities of magmatic rocks for the purpose of forecasting and prospecting of associated deposits. But due to the complexity of the problem itself, the uncertainty of boundaries between formational types in the practice of geological works, there are numerous defects that were clearly observed during the regional and interregional correlation of magmatic complexes of the Altai-Sayan region and Yenisey Ridge. The reasons and consequences of these defects, ways of their correction are analyzed.

Еловые леса долины р. Копту (Республика Тыва) – реликт растительности позднего плейстоцена

Spruce forests of the Tuva Republic are not sufficiently described in literature. Spruce forests occupy small areas, but they are characterized by high species diversity. Enclaves of forest communities outside the forest belt are particularly interesting. The actual problem concerns species composition which forms plant communities existing under environmental and climate conditions that are not favorable for it. The aim of the research is to describe the communities of the valley dark coniferous forests in the model river valley in Central Tuva, to assess their diversity, to analyze species composition and to identify the main factors determining it. In the course of the fieldwork in 2020, we examined coniferous forests along the Koptu river, on the southern slope of the Academic Obruchev range (See Figures). In this part of the range, the foothills are occupied by steppe vegetation; forest-steppe landscapes prevail at altitudes of 800-1000 m; above there is the taiga belt, the upper border of the forest is about 1900 m above sea level. Two key areas were investigated; one of them is located in the middle course of the river within the taiga belt (51.90- 51.92°N; 95.45-95.48°E, 1400-1500 m above sea level), the other is in the lower course of the river in the forest-steppe belt (51.55-51.70°N; 95.34-95.45°E, 700-900 m above sea level). In total, 11 relevés were made on plots of 20×20 m by the standard method. We established that the forests are rich in species: 98 taxa were registered (See Table). It could be expected that coniferous forests in the river valley within the forest-steppe belt are a continuation of the above located communities, a continuation of communities from the taiga belt. However, our materials have demonstrated that it is not so. We revealed that, despite the physiognomic similarity, the dark coniferous communities growing in the river valley in its lower course differ significantly from those growing within the taiga belt (See Table). Larix sibirica is abundant everywhere; but in the taiga belt Pinus sibirica dominates in the valley communities, and Picea obovata prevailes in the river valley in the forest-steppe belt. Apart from it, the communities of these two key sites differ significantly in their species composition. Analysis of the ecology of differentiating species shows that the difference is due to a complex of factors. Four groups of species can be distinguished in the investigated forests: I. Taiga species which are only encountered in forests of the upper part and are absent below (Aegopodium alpestre, Carex iljinii, Cerastium pauciflorum, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, V. uliginosum). II. Meadow species, symmetrically, only occur in the forests of the lower part and are absent in the taiga belt (Galium boreale, Lathyrus pratensis, Rubus saxatilis and Vicia cracca, Achillea asiatica, Adonis sibirica, Artemisia laciniata, Iris ruthenica). The two groups mentioned above reflect the difference in altitude as well as the influence of the zonal environment. III. A series of species in the downstream valley forests reflect a waterlogging process, which takes place there due to the altitudinal gradient declining and surface flattening (Angelica tenuifolia, Caltha palustris, Carex cespitosa, C. dioica, Equisetum scirpoides, Delphinium crassifolium, Galium uliginosum, Lathyrus palustris, Parnassia palustris, Ribes procumbens; among mosses – Calliergonella cuspidata, Helodium blandowii, Timmia megapolitana, Tomentypnum nitens). IV. A number of species with mainly taiga or Arctic-Alpine distribution were recorded only in larch-spruce forests in the river valley in the forest-steppe belt and they are absent in the forests of the upper key area (Carex alba, Bistorta vivipara, Carex sedakowii, Orthilia obtusata, Pedicularis sceptrum-carolinum, Saussurea alpina, Schizachne callosa). For these species, it is impossible to explain their presence in the forest-steppe belt by modern ecological conditions. Their presence in the valley spruce forests has historical reasons and could be caused by the conditions of the Late Pleistocene cooling. So, we can draw a conclusion that the massif of valley spruce forests in the lower part of the Koptu river is a relict community formed in the Late Pleistocene periglacial environment on permafrost soils. In present conditions, it is in unstable equilibrium. The massif is the habitat of a number of rare species. In particular, the Orchidaceae taxa were found here, four of which are included in the Red Book of the Republic of Tuva (Cypripedium calceolus, Dactylorhiza sibirica, Epipogium aphyllum, Neottianthe cucullata). The valley forest of the lower part of the Koptu river can be nominated as a high conservation value forest and recommended to be included in the list of the Important Plant Areas of the Altai-Sayan region. The massif is under the strong anthropogenic pressure; in order to avoid extinction, it needs to be protected.

Mongolia in Rouran time: main aspects of the interpretation of archaeological materials

The paper concerns the materials of Rouran time obtained during excavations in the territory of Mongolia. The authors present a review of the history of research and interpretation of the sites of the second half of the 4th – the first half of the 6th centuries located in different parts of the country. The characteristic of the accompanying inventory from the complexes of the Rouran time is concerned and the dating for each object is proposed. The authors establish that wide analogies to finds from the burials of Mongolia are found in the sites of the Altai-Sayan region and Transbaikalia, as well as in the Syanbi and Kogure complexes of East Asia. In addition, western connections are clearly distinguished, apparently demonstrating the processes of the Great Migration period. The funeral rite recorded during the study of objects of the Rouran time is characterized by a high degree of variability of indicators. In general, the available materials reflect the existence of a heterogeneous society, which included various groups of the population, for a short time united in the Rouran kaganate.

Role of an Altitudinal Zonal Basis and Remote Sensing Data in the Sustainable Management of Mountain Forests

This paper substantiates the necessity of improving the principles of using natural basis for ecosystem-focused forest management in mountain conditions using all the collected knowledge, regional databases, and new remote sensing facilities. The results of applying the spectral features of vegetation using the thermal range for studying the altitudinal differentiation of forest cover are given based on the example of the mountains of the Altai-Sayan region. Thus, forest-steppe, subtaiga light-coniferous small-leaved deciduous, mountain dark coniferous chern, mountain dark coniferous taiga, and subalpine classes of altitudinal belt complexes (ABC) can be defined in the Yenisei part of the Sayans. Particular forest-management systems should be used for each of them, taking into account the natural features of forests and their management purpose. One important task for mountain forestry and whole multipurpose forest use is to improve the ecological and geographical basis and present it in the form of medium-scale maps, which reflect not only the formational composition of forest cover, but also the altitudinal classes of ecosystems. Modern satellite remote sensing systems coupled with GIS technologies open up new possibilities for forest cover inventory, monitoring, and study methods. This makes it possible to introduce a high-quality natural basis into forest management, which is currently highly relevant at all levels of forest planning: from exploitation projects for separate forest plots to forest plans of federal subjects of the Russian Federation.

Dynamics of vegetation cover and quantitative palaeoclimatic reconstructions in the Western Sayan Mountains from the Late Glacial period to the present time according to a palynological study of the Yuzhno-Buybinskoe mire

The aim of this research is an investigation of long-term palaeoclimatic changes. In this paper we present results of a palaeopalynological study of a high mountain peat-lake sediment core from the Yuzhno-Buibynskoe Mire in the Western Sayan Mountains covering the last 13000 cal yrs BP. In addition to qualitative palaeopalynological reconstructions we have performed quantitative reconstructions of T January, T July, and Annual precipitations using our own transfer functions constructed on 118 surface pollen spectra by a method developed by ter Braak and coauthors [16]. The results of the quantitative palaeclimatic reconstructions have demonstrated three types of climate changes in the study area from the Late Glacial period to the present time: cryo-arid climate in the Late Glacial period from 13000 cal yr BP to 11000 cal yr BP (I), humid moderate cool climate in the Middle Holocene (II) and humid cool climate in the Late Holocene after 5000 cal yr BP (III). The cold climate during the Late Glacial period was caused mostly by low winter temperatures combined with low annual precipitation, while the summer temperatures were equal or even higher than modern ones. This is characteristic for the anticyclone influenced areas. The winter temperatures and annual amount of precipitation considerably increased in all areas of the Altai-Sayan region during the early and middle Holocene times, when Atlantic cyclones reached this area. In the Late Holocene period we observe a gradual return to the climatic parameters of the pre-Holocene time.

Spore morphology of some species of the genus Сystopteris Bernh. from the territory of Altai-Sayan and Trans-Ili Alatau

The spores of the following species from genus Cystopteris Bernh from the Trans-Ili Alatau and AltaiSayan regions were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM): Cystopteris almaatensis Kotukhov, Cystopterisdickieana R. Sim, Cystopteris gureevi Stepanov, Cystopteris fragilis Bernh. The characters of their perisporium wererevealed. The results obtained from the territories of the Altai-Sayan region and the Trans-Ili Alatau confirm the divisionof the spores by the type of perisporium published previously by the scientists of Tomsk State University. Thus, weobserved differences in the number and size of the elements of the peresporium, as well as a small difference in the size ofthe spores of individual species. Most spores are characterized by the same minimum size values, but differ in maximumsize. The data on the quantity of elements of perisporium also varies, for example, spores from the Altai-Sayan region andthe Trans-ili Alatau are characterized by their smaller number.

Taxonomic and interpretation links in coniferous and mixed larch forests of the Altai-Sayan region

Currently, methods for interpreting various indicators of plantings by aerial and satellite images based on GIS technologies have gained significant development. They actively implement regression relationships between taxation indicators of stands. The object of the study are modal larch stands of the Altai-Sayan region, which are characterized by both coniferous and mixed forests with larch (Larix Sibirica L.) fraction from 40 to 90 % and an admixture of birch (Betula pendula R.), aspen (Populus tremula L.), fir (Abies sibirica L.) and cedar (Pinus sibirica D.). Comparison of coniferous and mixed forests did not reveal significant differences in the growth lines. Based on paired and multiple linear regression equations for coniferous and mixed modal larch forests, a set of taxation interpretation models is obtained with the aim of approximating the average diameter, age and standing volume of stands according to such interpretation indicators as average height, completeness, bonitet class and larch fraction in the composition. Thus, a number of equations have been developed for modal larch forests, which are recommended for remote sensing of larch forests in the Altai-Sayan region.

Geochemistry of fresh groundwater in the Altai–Sayan folded area and adjacent areas of the West Siberian plate

This study investigates the regional geochemical features of groundwater in the hypergenesis zone of the Altai–Sayan fold zone and in the adjacent structures of the West Siberian plate (hereafter simply called the Region). The hypergenesis zone of the Region contains widely spread freshwater and (to a lesser extent) low-saline waters. The patterns of changes in the water composition, the migration forms of various macro- and micro-components, and the equilibria of waters with various minerals, are analysed. The hypergenesis zones of the Altai–Sayan folded area and the adjacent structures of the West Siberian plate are characterised by high-altitude and latitudinal hydrogeochemical zonality, respectively. The total salinity of the groundwater increases with the lowering altitude conditions and changing landscape conditions in the Altai–Sayan region, and with the latitudinal changes of landscape in the adjacent structures of the West Siberian plate. In the same sequence, the contents of most mobile chemical elements and the role of complex forms of element migration increases, and the variety of minerals in equilibrium secondary formations expands. The main parageneses (geochemical water types and the associations of secondary newly-formed minerals) in the Region are oxide-hydroxide-forming, aluminosilicate forming, carbonate forming, and sulphate-forming. The parageneses are formed in genetic unity.

Three-Dimensional Inversion of Magnetotelluric Data in Studying the Source Zones of the Earthquakes in the Altai–Sayan Region

A three-dimensional (3D) inversion of the components of magnetotelluric impedance matrix is used for constructing a geoelectric model of the Altai-Sayan region. Based on the model and empirical data, the possibilities of three-dimensional inversion of all the four components of the impedance matrix and its invariant values ​​are studied. The model values ​​of the impedance matrices obtained by solving the inverse problem by interactive fitting the 3D model invariant curves of apparent electrical resistivity to the experimental curves for the central part of the Altai–Sayan region were used as the test data. The high conductivity anomalies obtained by 3D inversion are correlated with the locations of earthquake sources, deep faults, domains of increased attenuation of the converted waves from the earthquakes, and low velocities of P-waves in the deep seismic sounding and earthquake converted waves methods.

The distribution of lightning discharges across the altitude of the territory in the Altai-Sayan region

For the territory of the Altai-Sayan region, based on the WWLLN data (Word Wide Lighting Location Network) for 2011-2019 and data from the digital elevation model SRTM, the lightning density distribution was constructed for eight altitude zones of the five-hundred-meter interval (from 0 to 4000 m). The errors of spatial registration of lightning discharges were taken into account. It was found that the density of lightning discharges decreases with increasing altitude, which is not uniform for the considered altitudinal zones. With an increase in altitude of 500 m, a decrease in the density of lightning discharges by 20-80% is noted. Therewith, for territories with altitudes of 1000-2500 m, the density of lightning discharges is almost the same. During the period under review, there is a high level of variation in the density of lightning discharges for territories with an altitude of up to 500m and more than 3000m above sea level. The most stable lightning activity manifests itself at altitudes of 1500-2500m above sea level.

Physico-chemical parameters of mineral-forming processes in pegmatites of the ilmenogorsk alkaline complex (South Urals) аnd Altai-Sayany Region (Siberia)

The conditions of mineral formation in non-granite pegmatites of the Urals and Siberia are examined. The physico-chemical parameters of the crystallization of minerals in miaskite-pegmatites of the Ilmenogorsk alkaline complex (South Urals) and pyroxenite-pegmatites from ophiolite associations of the Altai-Sayan region (South Siberia) are determined using inclusions of mineral-forming media in minerals and computational modeling based on data on the composition of melt inclusions in COMAGMAT, PETROLOG and PLUTON programs. The study of multiphase (silicate and salt crystals + vapor and liquid) inclusions showed that nepheline miaskite-pegmatites formed from melts-brines at maximum temperatures of 700–750 °C and pressures of 3100–3600 bar. During further decrease in temperature (up to 500–510 °C) and pressure (up to 1200 bar), cancrinite crystallizes from mostly fuid systems. Sodalite forms at the fnal stages of the pegmatite-forming processes (370–440 °C, up to 1000 bar). The analysis of multiphase fuid inclusions with salt phases indicates the involvement of highly saline fuids with temperatures of 445–455 °C during the formation of pyroxenite-pegmatites in serpentinites. Data on melt inclusions in Cr-spinels from ophiolite ultramafc rocks (including clinopyroxenites) indicate the possible crystallization of pyroxenite-pegmatites (hosted in ordinary pyroxenites) in high-temperature (1315–1245 to 1205–1100 °С) magmatic systems.

Cave burial of Urd Ulaan Uneet (Mongolian Altai): рotential of cultural-chronological interpretation

The article considers the materials of the Urd Ulaan Uneet cave burial, investigated in 2015. This complex is located in the Tsagaanbulag Myangad Somon of Kobdo Aimak of Mongolia, at the altitude of 1327 m a.s.l. Pre-sented is the description of the circumstances of discovery of this important site, as well as the existing experi-ence of studying and publishing of the materials. The main objective of the study is the detailed analysis of the main categories of finds from the cave burial, the most informative of which include wooden saddle, iron bits with horn psalia, compound bow, arrowheads, leather quiver with iron hook, and wooden vessel. For the interpretation of these items, extensive archaeological sources of the Syanby-Rouran and medieval time, assembled during the excavations in various parts of the Central Asian region, were involved. Based on the results obtained, a number of conclusions have been made regarding the cultural and chronological interpretation of the site. It has been established that the Urd Ulaan Uneet complex is one of the rare objects of the Rouran time in Mongolia, and the only known cave burial of this chronological period. The monument can be confidently dated to the middle of the 4th –5th c. AD with the possible extension of the upper chronological boundary to the beginning of the 6th c. AD. This conclusion is generally supported by the results of radiocarbon analysis presented in the publications of Mongolian archaeologists. An indicative characteristic of the cave site, not revealed during the excavations of other objects of the Rouran period in Mongolia, is the accompanying burial of a horse. Obviously, this feature of the funeral rite is explained by contacts with the population of the Bulan-Koby Culture. The weighty argument in favor of the proposed possible interactions between the Altai cattle breeders and nomads of Western Mongolia in the Rouran period could be found among the investigated burials of the Bulan-Koby Culture in the Bayan-Ulgiy Aimag. The material complex found during the excavation of the Urd Ulaan Uneet cave burial reflects the very wide contacts of the population of Mongolia in various directions (Altai-Sayan Region, Trans-Baikal Region, Man-churia, East Turkestan, Central Asia) in the middle of the 1st mil. AD. In addition, the «western» relations are clearly distinguishable; these obviously demonstrate the complex migration processes of the Great Migration Period.

Refining the Calibration Functions for Determining Local Earthquake Magnitudes of The Altai-Sayan Mountain Region

The study is aimed at improving methods for assessing magnitudes in the Altai–Sayan mountain region. The features of attenuation of the maximum displacement amplitudes in terms of the Wood–Anderson seismographs for three regions are considered: Gorny Altai, Tuva, and Kuzbass. Significant differences were found between the regional and classical calibration curves, as well as less significant ones between the three mentioned areas. The formula for the correlation between ML and Kp is refined.

Номинации жилищ и некоторые вопросы их генезиса в традиционной культуре хакасов

Purpose. The article is devoted to the study of nominating the items of traditional Khakass housing in the Sayan-Altai region. We considered difficult issues of their genesis focusing on a number of poorly researched types of housings. Results. The study analyzes the use of the names of traditional Khakass dwellings that are well-known in Ethnography, including their rare dialect nominations recorded by domestic ethnographers. It is noted that some nominations studied are used to determine a house as an object of material culture, whereas other nominations demonstrate a clarifying characteristic, which ultimately determines the differences in the nominations. We considered interpretations of the names of a number of nomad dwellings, such as the name of an archaic housing of taiga Khakass “at ib”. Genesis of the dwellings names is shown in relation to log housings (tura) and frame-pillar constructions (at ib, otah / otag) of the Khakass, which represents a modern trend of studying the Khakass’ material culture. Conclusion. It is necessary to classify the names of Khakass dwellings known by describing their types. A number of issues relating to the genesis and origin of the types of dwellings studied in relation to otah / otag is still open and requires more additional data. In our opinion, the problem of the genesis of the Khakass dwelling tura, which features a log wooden construction, has been solved and shows its autochthonous character.

ДИСКУССИОННЫЕ ВОПРОСЫ ГЕОМОРФОЛОГИИ И ПАЛЕОГЕОГРАФИИ ДОЛИНЫ ВЕРХНЕГО ЕНИСЕЯ

Workshop on the development of a regional stratigraphic scheme of Quaternary deposits of the Altai-Sayan region passed in Novosibirsk on 22 and 23 November 2018. In its decisions it was noted that it is necessary to change previously adopted glacial and alluvial terrace stratigraphy of the Quaternary as not corresponding to the actual material. According to the new stratigraphic schemes, the Altai-Sayan mountain region experienced all glaciation in the Pleistocene, and each climate cycle corresponds to a single erosion-accumulative cycle. In accordance with the decisions of the workshop, the revision of Quaternary sections was held in Tuva and Khakassia on 18–31 May, 2019. It was established that the first and the second Late Pleistocene alluvial terraces are enclosed into polyfacial catafluvial unit, which individual facies were mistakenly interpreted as moraine in previous schemes. The name “Ulugbekskyˮ was proposed for this unit. Similar units in the Altai mountains and For-Altai Plains are catafluvial deposits dated to about 90 kyr BP. They were formed during the outburst of the Kurai-Chuya lake system. The formation of the Ulugbeksky deposits were associated with the outburst of the Darkhad Palaeolake that occurred 92–80 ka BP. This allows to correlate the Ulugbeksky unit in the Yenisei valley with the Saljarsky unit in the Altai mountains.

State of knowledge on mosses of Altai-Sayan mountain region.

State of knowledge on mosses of Altai-Sayan mountain region.

Three-Dimensional Inversion of Magnetotelluric Data in Study of Focal Zones of Earthquakes in the South of the Altai–Sayan Region

Abstract —The potentialities of the 3D inversion program WSINV3DMT were estimated on the model [Zm] and observed [Zob] components of the impedance tensor and its invariants during the construction of geoelectrical models for the southern part of the Altai–Sayan region characterized by a three-dimensional distribution of electrical conductivity. These components were obtained for a 3D model constructed by the method of interactive selection of the 3D model induction curves for the experimental ones. Testing of the WSINV3DMT program on the model magnetotelluric data showed the possibility of not only isolation of blocks of high electrical conductivity but also of the appearance of conductivity anomalies different from the model ones. The paper presents a 3D geoelectrical model for the southern focal zones of the region, constructed with the use of the WSINV3DMT program and the proposed method of interpretation. The isolated blocks of low electrical resistivity are correlated with the location of earthquake foci, deep faults, and regions of high absorption of earthquake exchange waves.

Geese of Central Siberia (number, current state)

The studies were carried out on the territory of Central Siberia in the period 1980-2019. The research purpose is to assess the current state of geese in the region as an important biological resource. Data about geese number are fragmentary, and for some species and groups are absent. This problem is extremely weakly represented in English literature. Material includes previously published data and personal research of the authors. The observations were carried out at 91 points; additional of geese census in places of their stops - at 132 wetlands. The total duration of census on the flyways and in places where geese stopped in the daytime was more than 15 thous. hours, at night - 1422 hours. The total length of routes was more than 60 thous. km, of which land - 35.6 thous. km, with aviation use - 25.5 thous. km. 1035 collectible unites were collected and processed. The number of photo / videos files of geese were 13.1 thous. copies. As a result, the number of the northern geese populations was estimated at 1.72 million of individuals. “Southern” geese, including migratory geese, are small-numbered and make up no more than 1.5% of the total geese number in Central Siberia. In a certain sense, species and subspecies of geese, geographically related to the Altai-Sayan region, today represent the same relics of the Ice Age as reindeer, argali, and other animal species that live in the Sayans.

Selection of strategic priorities for sustainable development of tourism in a mountain region: concentration of tourist infrastructure or nature-oriented tourism

The paper discusses options for tourist development of the Altai-Sayan region. For this purpose, a comparison is made between the current state of tourism and sustainable development of tourism. This makes it possible to propose five stages for the strategy of sustainable tourism development in the Altai-Sayan mountain region. The preservation of biodiversity and ethnic characteristics of the territory underlie the ethnoecological type of tourism, being the most consistent with the principles of sustainable development and promising in the studied mountain region. Functional zoning is considered as an important method for balancing and optimizing environmental management. It is proposed to use the landscape-adaptive principle as a basis for spatial planning of tourist service in the mountainous region. The spatial elements of the tourist network of the mountain region were analyzed. This made it possible to reveal the predominance of the linear structure in connection with the mountain-valley relief. There are also examples of radiation, dispersion, focal and linear-perpendicular structures of tourist networks. This allowed highlighting the priorities of tourist development for different territories. Functional zoning of the Altai-Sayan region with the identification of priorities in the development of the territory was proposed. This allowed identifying the spatial distribution of areas of intensive tourist use and areas of nature preservation and ecotourism. In addition, zones of weak economic development were identified with a predominance of tourist routes, as well as those of medium economic development with local tourist centers.