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The Black Irtysh River, a major tributary of the Ob River, traverses diverse ecological zones, influencing the distribution and composition of its floodplain vegetation. This study focused on the Black Irtysh River valley, a key segment of the Irtysh basin, to assess the current state of its plant communities. To compile expedition routes and a preliminary floristic list, a critical revision of more than 1000 herbarium sheets was carried out in the herbarium collections of Kazakhstan (Altai Botanical Garden and Institute of Botany and Phytointroduction). During the field season, a study of plant biodiversity was carried out along the entire coastline of the Black Irtysh. As a result, 217 species of higher vascular plants were identified (55% of those previously found in herbarium archives) from 139 genera and 43 families. The habitats of two Red Book species were discovered: Tulipa patens and Tulipa uniflora. It was found that the flora of the Black Irtysh is similar to the flora of the entire Zaisan depression, and families Poaceae, Asteraceae, Amaranthaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Rosaceae, and Fabaceae are predominant. Geobotanical surveys revealed that the species composition of plant communities is poor and similar among survey points. Only the western part of the river delta is characterized by high rates of projective cover and reserves of forage plants. The main factors of anthropogenic influence are fires, livestock grazing, and deforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the expansion potential of artificial oases based on remote sensing data is of great significance for the rational allocation of water resources and urban planning in arid areas. Based on the spatio-temporal relationship between morphogenetic landform types and the development of artificial oases in Xinjiang, this study explored the development pattern of artificial oases in the past 30 years by using trend analysis and centroid migration analysis, constructing a series of landform–artificial oasis change indices, and investigating the suitability of different landforms for the development of artificial oases based on geomorphological location by adopting a hierarchical clustering method. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) From 1990 to 2020, the area of artificial oases in the whole territory continued to increase, with significant expansion to the south from 2005 to 2010. (2) Six categories of landform types for artificial oasis development were created based on the clustering results. Of these, 7.39% and 6.15% of the area's geomorphological types belonged to the first and second suitability classes, respectively. (3) The optimal scale for analyzing the suitability of landforms for the development of artificial oases over the past 30 years in the whole area was 8 km, which could explain more than 96% of the changes in the growth of artificial oases. The distribution of landforms of first- and second-class suitability within the 8 km buffer zone of an artificial oasis in the year 2020 was 10.55% and 9.90%, respectively, and landforms of first-class suitability were mainly concentrated in the near plain side of the urban agglomerations located on the northern and southern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains, and the urban agglomerations at the southern edge of Altai Mountains. This study quantified the potential of different geomorphological types for the development of artificial oases and provided a basis for site selection in future artificial oasis planning and urban construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Altai Mountains, located in the northwesternmost part of China, have a harsh climate and little human activity, making it an excellent location to study forest ecology undisturbed by human interference. The forest is frequently struck by lightning and experiences long-term natural fire disturbances, leading to the evolution of unique fire adaptation traits in the major conifer species. To explore the role of natural fire disturbances in the Altai Mountain forest ecosystem, we conducted a study on the fire adaptation traits of Larix sibirica, Pinus sibirica, Picea obovata, and Abies sibirica, and reconstructed the fire history of the forest area over the past 100 years. We investigated three representative forest areas with varying fire disturbance conditions and habitats in the Altai Mountains. Data on fire disturbance conditions, relative air humidity, and species composition were collected in these areas. Basal diameter to diameter at breast height, relative bark thickness, and under-crown heights were measured and counted for each of the four species, and litter, bark, and wood layers were sampled and analyzed for physicochemical properties (ash, fat, and higher heating value) for each of the four species in the plots examined. We conducted a count of the four conifer species in the forest for each fire adaptation index and analyzed the differences in fire adaptation traits among the species. Larix sibirica showed fire-tolerant traits, Pinus sibirica displayed fire-embracer traits, and Picea obovata and Abies sibirica exhibited fire-avoider traits. Through the analysis of stand composition and exposure to fire disturbance in the different forest areas, we were able to correlate the fire-adaptive strategies of the four conifers with stand characteristics under varying fire disturbances and habitats. The interaction between forests and fires, and their adaptation to each other, ultimately create the current ecosystems in the Altai Mountains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: One of the main differences between the modern fauna of steppe and desert-steppe insects and the similar fauna of the Last Ice Age is the current leading position of darkling beetles (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae), which are represented in fossil faunas only by singletons. We hypothesize that the reason lies in the insufficient cold resistance of these insects for successful overwintering. We studied the cold resistance of adults from five species of darkling beetles from the Altai Mountains that overwinter in the soil and the larvae from one such species. The ranges of three of these are limited from the north by the desert-steppe margin of Central Asia with extremely low air temperatures. More than 50% of individuals of these species in the experiment did not withstand cooling below −22 °C. Temperatures in the soil of natural habitats at a depth of 10 cm are close to or lower than the above values. Overwintering is therefore possible in places with greater snow thickness (hollows, wind shade of shrubs and large cereals). Since darkling beetles are now on the border of temperature resistance in the Altai, they likely did not exist in the much more severe conditions of the glacial periods in the Altai Mountains, West Siberian Plain, and Northeast Asia. The level of diversity and abundance of darkling beetles (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) is the main difference between the late Pleistocene and modern insect faunas of arid regions. In the Pleistocene assemblages they are extremely rare, whereas in the modern ones they predominate. It is assumed that the reason for their rarity in fossil entomological complexes is their lack of cold resistance. The supercooling points (SCP) and low lethal temperatures (LLT) of adults from five species of Altai darkling beetles that overwinter in the soil and larvae from one such species were measured in the laboratory. All beetles supercooled at negative temperatures but could not survive freezing, with the average SCP of the most cold-resistant species between −25.7 and −21.7 °C (Bioramix picipes, Anatolica dashidorzsi, and Penthicus altaicus). However, 50% of the individuals from different species in the experiment died after exposure during two days at temperatures ranging from −22 to −20 °C. The focal species are distributed in parts of Central Asia with an extreme continental climate, and the temperatures measured in the soil of these natural areas turned out to be lower than or close to the limit of cold resistance of the beetles. Overwintering of darkling beetles is therefore only possible in areas with deep snow: in hollows, under bushes, and under large cereals. Darkling beetles with poor cold resistance could not have existed in the colder climate of the late Pleistocene, which explains their absence from fossil fauna. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the use of large tropical trees to predict aboveground biomass (AGB) in forests has previously been studied, the applicability of this approach in arid regions remains unquantified. In the natural forests of arid mountains of Northwestern China, this study collected individual tree data from 105 plots across 11 sites through field measurements. The objective was to assess the feasibility of using large trees for predicting plot AGB in these natural forests of arid mountains. This entailed determining the contribution of large trees, based on which a plot AGB prediction model was constructed. This study also aimed to identify the optimal number of large trees needed for accurate AGB prediction. The findings indicate that within the natural forests of arid mountains, only seven large trees (approximately 12% of the trees in a plot) are necessary to account for over 50% of the plot AGB. By measuring 18 large trees within a plot, this study achieved a precise plot AGB estimation, resulting in a model rRMSE of 0.27. The regression fit R2 for the predicted AGB and the estimated AGB was 0.79, effectively aligning the predicted and measured AGB. In the Tianshan Mountains' natural forests, the prediction model yielded further improvements with an rRMSE of 0.13 and a remarkable regression R2 of 0.92 between predicted and estimated AGB. However, due to variances in tree size distribution and tree species biomass, the Altai Mountains' natural forest was found to be unsuitable for predicting plot AGB using large trees. This study establishes that large trees can effectively represent plot AGB in the natural forests of arid mountains. Employing forest surveys or remote sensing to collect data from a few large trees instead of the entire tree population enables accurate plot AGB prediction. This research serves as the initial quantification of large tree utilization for plot AGB prediction in the natural forests of arid mountains, carrying substantial implications for future arid forest inventories, carbon accounting, and the formulation of prudent conservation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arid regions are considered to be among the most ecologically fragile and highly sensitive to environmental change globally, and land use and land cover conditions in the region directly influence large-scale ecosystem processes. Currently, thanks to diverse remote sensing platforms, geographers have developed an array of land cover products. However, there are differences between these products due to variations in spatio-temporal resolutions. In this context, assessing the accuracy and consistency of different land cover products is crucial for rationalizing the selection of land cover products to study global or regional environmental changes. In this study, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) is taken as the study area, and the consistency and performance (type area deviation, spatial consistency, accuracy assessment, and other indexes) of the five land cover products (GlobeLand30, FROM_GLC30, CLCD, GLC_FCS30, and ESRI) were compared and analyzed. The results of the study show that (1) the GlobeLand30 product has the highest overall accuracy in the study area, with an overall accuracy of 84.06%, followed by ESA with 75.57%, while CLCD has the lowest overall accuracy of 70.05%. (2) The consistency between GlobeLand30 and CLCD (area correlation coefficient of 0.99) was higher than that among the other products. (3) Among the five products, the highest consistency was found for water bodies and permanent snow and ice, followed by bare land. In contrast, the consistency of these five products for grassland and forest was relatively low. (4) The full-consistency area accounts for 49.01% of the total study area. They were mainly distributed in areas with relatively homogeneous land cover types, such as the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, which are dominated by bare land and cropland. In contrast, areas of inconsistency make up only 0.03% and are mostly found in heterogeneous areas, like the transitional zones with mixed land cover types in the Altai Mountains and Tianshan Mountains, or in areas with complex terrain. In terms of meeting practical user needs, GlobeLand30 offers the best comprehensive performance. GLC_FCS30 is more suitable for studies related to forests, while FROM_GLC30 and ESRI demonstrate greater advantages in identifying permanent ice and snow, whereas the performance of CLCD is generally average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Altai Mountains are an important center of biodiversity and are a major habitat for threatened and endemic species in Asia. Moreover, the Altai Mountains are a valuable site for the study of the evolution of central Asian vegetation. The Xinjiang Altai subrange represents the largest part of the southern Altai Mountains and has many unique plant communities. After conducting a thorough literature review and field investigation, we utilized the Chinese vegetation categorization system to identify the dominant plant communities in the Xinjiang Altai subrange and report their composition and distribution characteristics. Our results show that (1) the natural plant communities present in the Xinjiang Altai subrange can be divided into eight vegetation types, eighteen vegetation subtypes, and 50 communities. Among these, two communities—Form. Calligonum rubicundum and Form. Seriphidium borotalense-Festuca valesiaca—are present only in the Xinjiang Altai subrange. (2) The Xinjiang Altai subrange is located at the junction of three major biomes containing unique vegetation types (coniferous forest, temperate broadleaf forest, and desert). Thus, the Xinjiang Altai subrange is distinct in its staggered transition from mountainous boreal taiga to temperate desert. This research provides textual data to contextualize the cultural heritage of the Xinjiang Altai subrange and also provides a scientific basis for the protection and sustainable management of natural resources found in the Xinjiang Altai. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rare and vulnerable endemic plants represent different evolutionary units that occur at different times, and protecting these species is a key issue in biological protection. Understanding the impact of the history of endangered plant populations on their genetic diversity helps to reveal evolutionary history and is crucial for guiding conservation efforts. Saussurea involucrata, a perennial alpine species mainly distributed in the Tianshan Mountains, is famous for its medicinal value but has become endangered due to over-exploitation. In the present study, we employed both nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences to investigate the genetic distribution pattern and evolutionary history of S. involucrata. A total of 270 individuals covering nine S. involucrata populations were sampled for the amplification and sequencing of nrDNA Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) and chloroplast trnL-trnF, matK and ndhF-rpl32 sequences. Via calculation, we identified 7 nuclear and 12 plastid haplotypes. Among the nine populations, GL and BA were characterized by high haplotype diversity, whereas BG revealed the lowest haplotype diversity. Molecular dating estimations suggest that divergence among S. involucrata populations occurred around 0.75 Ma, coinciding with the uplift of Tianshan Mountains. Our results reveal that both isolation-by-distance (IBD) and isolation-by-resistance (IBR) have promoted genetic differentiation among populations of S. involucrata. The results from the ecological niche modeling analyses show a more suitable habitat for S. involucrata in the past than at present, indicating a historical distribution contraction of the species. This study provides new insight into understanding the genetic differentiation of S. involucrata, as well as the theoretical basis for conserving this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Three-North Shelterbelt Project is the largest ecological engineering initiative in China to date, distinguished by its immense scale, extended construction period, and widespread benefits for the population. The gross ecosystem product (GEP) serves as a crucial indicator for assessing ecological benefits. This study focuses on the Three Northern Protection Forest Project Area, utilizing GEP calculations for the years 2000 to 2020. This study evaluates variations in the production values of different ecosystem services to reflect the ecological conservation benefits of the restoration project. Additionally, it analyzes the spatiotemporal evolution and trends of the GEP calculations, offering data references and decision support for the enduring efficacy of ecological restoration projects. The findings are as follows. (i) Between 2000 and 2020, the GEP of the Three-North region exhibited significant growth with continuous enhancement of various ecosystem service functions; the most substantial rate of change was observed in the water conservation function, followed by carbon sequestration and oxygen release, soil retention, windbreak and sand fixation, flood regulation, and environmental purification functions. (ii) The per-unit area value of different ecosystem types generally increased; the forest ecosystem displayed the largest growth rate at 61.18%, followed by shrubland ecosystems at 49.84%. (iii) The spatial distribution of ecosystem service in the Three-North region displayed a clustering trend alongside notable spatial heterogeneity. High-high clustering zones were identified in areas such as the Tianshan Mountains, Altai Mountains, Qilian Mountains, and Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains. Conversely, low-low clustering areas were scattered, forming patchy distributions in regions like the Tarim Basin, northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the Hexi Corridor. This study, by analyzing the gross ecosystem product of the Three-North Shelterbelt Project region, unveils the spatial distribution characteristics, trends, and variations in ecosystem service values over the past two decades. It provides data support and decision guidance for the long-term efficacy of future ecological conservation and restoration projects. This study incorporates the GEP accounting method into the assessment of the effectiveness of major conservation projects. Compared to the traditional methods of effectiveness assessment, this represents a significant exploration and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The change grassland plant communities demonstrate with elevation has been one of the hot issues in ecological research, and there remain many unsolved problems. In order to further elucidate the rules of grassland plant community change with elevation, this study took the Burqin forest area as a research object, using field survey, redundancy analysis and grey correlation analysis to comprehensively assess the characteristics of change in grassland plant communities with elevation and the relationship of this evolution with environmental factors. The results showed that (1) the numbers of species, community biomass, community cover and community densities of grassland plant communities showed an "M" pattern with the increase in elevation. There were significant changes in the importance values and dominance of plants at different elevations; with increasing elevation, grassland plants became primarily dominated by cold-tolerant and well-adapted perennials. (2) The similarity coefficients of grassland plant communities at different elevations ranged from 0.06 to 0.62, i.e., from very dissimilar to moderately similar. (3) As the elevation increased, the Margalef species richness index, Shannon–Wiener diversity index, Simpson dominance index and Alatalo evenness index all showed an "M" pattern trend. (4) The degrees of correlation between temperature and precipitation and community biomass and species diversity were at a high level, and these were the most important environmental factors affecting the biomass and species diversity of grassland plant communities in the Burqin forest area. The results of this study can provide a theoretical basis for the rational utilization of grassland resources and for the sustainable development of grassland ecosystems in the Burqin forest area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Altai Mountain is located at the intersection of cold and arid regions. Climate change and overgrazing directly affect the growth of the grassland ecosystem in this region. This study took the grassland community in the Burqin forest area of the Altai Mountains as an example to analyze the species diversity and productivity of different grassland types based on 50 sampling plots. The relationship between species diversity and the productivity of grassland types at different altitudes was also discussed. The results showed that: (1) In the Burqin forest area, the desert steppe was dominated by Gramineae, Compositae, and Leguminosae. Montane steppe and mountain meadows were dominated by Umbelliferae, Gramineae, and Liliaceae. Gramineae, Ranunculaceae, and Liliaceae were the dominant families in both montane meadows steppe and alpine steppe but occurred in varying proportions. (2) The variation in plant numbers at the family–species level was characterized as montane steppe > alpine meadow > montane meadow steppe > desert steppe > mountain meadows. (3) The similarity in species composition among communities of different grassland types was low. In DS and MM, the number of grasslands and species played a decisive role in determining the biomass. The biomass of MS and AM was determined using the Simpson and Shannon–Wiener indices, and the number of dominant species determined the biomass. The number of grasslands and species did not have a significant impact on the biomass of MMS, which may be due to human factors such as grazing. (4) The dominant species in the grassland at an altitude of 1200–1400 m is prominent. The number of individuals in the dominant species was large and evenly distributed. Margalef peaked at an altitude of 1600–1800 m, but the number of individuals was small, resulting in low biomass and diversity in this range. Most plants survive at an altitude of 2000–2200 m; therefore, in grassland protection and planning management, it is important to consider the specific situation of plant growth under different habitats at different altitudes and make reasonable protection decisions based on local conditions to maintain species diversity and sustainable development of grassland ecosystems. This study provides basic data to support the theoretical basis for the protection and sustainable utilization of grassland resources and the restoration of degraded grasslands in the study region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants in high-altitude habitats are exposed to severe environmental stressors, including extreme temperatures and irradiation, which can have wide-ranging effects on changes of secondary-metabolite profiles in higher plants. Altitude-related variation of levels of polyphenols in organs of medicinal and food plant species has not yet been investigated sufficiently. This study was focused on variation in quantitative profiles of classes and of individual biologically active phenolic compounds in leaf extracts of resource species Spiraea chamaedryfolia and Spiraea media from the family Rosaceae in coenopopulations of the Altai Mountains, along an altitudinal gradient. High-performance liquid chromatography revealed 22 polyphenolic compounds in the extracts of S. media leaves, with the main polyphenolic compounds being flavonols. Sixteen compounds were found in S. chamaedryfolia leaf extracts, and the major ones were flavonols and a flavanone. Opposite responses to changes in the altitude-associated growth conditions were documented for levels of some individual polyphenolic compounds. With an increase in altitude, concentrations of chlorogenic acid and of flavanone in the extracts of S. chamaedryfolia leaves significantly increased, while concentrations of cinnamic acid, astragalin, and kaempferol diminished. A statistically significant positive correlation between the altitude of plant habitats and total levels of polyphenols and phenolcarboxylic acids was detected. In leaf extracts from S. media, an altitude increase was significantly positively correlated with astragalin, avicularin, and cinnamic acid levels and negatively correlated with hyperoside concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of a glacial lake is a true reflection of glacial and climatic change. Currently, the study of glacial lakes in the Altai Mountains is mainly concerned with the application of high-resolution remote sensing images to monitor and evaluate the potential hazards of glacial lakes. At present, there is no rapid and large-scale method to monitor the dynamical variation in glacial lakes in the Altai Mountains, and there is little research on predicting its future tendency. Based on the supervised classification results obtained by Google Earth Engine (GEE), combined with an analysis of meteorological data, we analyzed the spatial and temporal variations in glacial lakes in the Altai Mountains between 2000 and 2020, and used the MCE-CA-Markov model to predict their changes in the future. According to the results, as of 2020, there are 3824 glacial lakes in the Altai Mountains, with an area of 682.38 km2. Over the entire period, the glacial lake quantity growth rates and area were 47.82% and 17.07%, respectively. The distribution of glacial lakes in this region showed a larger concentration in the north than in the south. Most glacial lakes had areas smaller than 0.1 km2, and there was minimal change observed in glacial lakes larger than 0.2 km2. Analyzing the regional elevation in 100 m intervals, the study found that glacial lakes were predominantly distributed at elevations from 2000 m to 3000 m. Interannual rainfall and temperature fluctuations in the Altai Mountains have slowed since 2014, and the trends for the area and number of glacial lakes have stabilized. The growth of glacial lakes in both number and surface area is expected to continue through 2025 and 2030, although the pace of change will slow. In the context of small increases in precipitation and large increases in temperature, in the future, glacial lakes with faster surface area growth rates will be located primarily in the southern Altai Mountains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, growth parameters of underground parts and concentrations of phenylpropanoids, phenylethanoids, flavonoids, hydroxybenzoic acids, and catechins in aqueous–ethanol extracts of 6-year-old cultivated plants of Rhodiola rosea (propagated in vitro) of Altai Mountain origin were analyzed, and differences in chemical composition among plant specimens and between plant parts (rhizome and root) were evaluated. High-performance liquid chromatography detected 13 phenolic compounds. Roots contained 1.28 times higher phenylethanoids levels (1273.72 mg/100 g) than rhizomes did. Overall, the concentration of phenylethanoids in underground organs was not high and ranged from 21.36 to 103.00 mg/100 g. High variation among R. rosea individual plants was noted both in growth characteristics and in levels of secondary metabolites under our cultivation conditions. It was found that concentrations of phenylpropanoids, phenylethanoids, and catechins significantly depend on the plant part analyzed (p ≤ 0.05). Specimen No. 4 is characterized by the highest concentration of rosavins (1230.99 mg/plant) and the lowest concentration of cinnamyl alcohol (62.87 mg/plant). Despite the wide range of values, all 10 tested specimens (underground part) met the minimum requirements of the United States Pharmacopeia (2015) for rosavins (0.3%) and of the Russia State Pharmacopoeia (2015) for the average level of rosavins (roots): (1%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the primary mountain range in Central Asia, the Altay Mountains receive water vapor carried by westerly circulation, resulting in relatively abundant local precipitation and lush pastures in all seasons. Consequently, it has become one of the important transportation routes between Asia and Europe. The exploration of long-term variations in precipitation is meaningful for understanding the ebb and flow of the Asia–Europe steppe trade routes. However, previous dendroclimatological studies of the Altay Mountains focused more on temperature changes than precipitations variations. We carried out a 404-year precipitation reconstruction based on the tree rings of Siberian larch growing on the south slopes of the Altay Mountains, which could explain 45.9% of the variance observed in the February–October precipitation. Our reconstruction demonstrated some severe drought events which could be found in the historical documents, such as the drought in the late Ming Dynasty (1640s) and the Ding-Wu Disaster (1870s). The spatial correlation analysis, cross-wavelet spectrum and wavelet coherency analysis indicated that the precipitation variations in the study area may be related to the ENSO and NAO. This study presents a robust precipitation reconstruction of the southern Altay Mountains, serving as a reference for future research on large-scale climatic forces acting on Altay precipitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mt. Munkhkhairkhan is the most crucial region for understanding climate and glaciation changes in Mongolia. This study investigated the relationship between glacial area changes and the climate elements of Mt. Munkhkhairkhan in the Mongolian-Altai Mountains using a remote sensing approach, in-situ observations, the Mann–Kendall (MK) test, Innovative Trend Analysis Method (ITAM), Sen's slope estimator test, and statistical analysis. The study results showed that for the last 30 years, the annual average air temperature of Mt. Munkhkhairkhan has been slightly increasing. Total annual precipitation (mainly snow) in the mountain area decreased from 1990 to 2000, but since 2000, a significant increase in precipitation levels has appeared. For the last 30 years, the glacial area has decreased by 32% to 11.7 km2. Multiple regression results showed a strong correlation between Temperature, Precipitation, and Glaciers (Multiple R = 0.69, R2 = 0.48). Ruther indicated that Temperature (t = −2.332, p = 0.036) and Precipitation (t = −3.212, p = 0.007) were significant predictors in the model. Air temperature and precipitation explained 48 percent of the change in the glacier area, and R = 0.69 is a strong correlation. The glaciers and snow area in the study area have changed due to climate warming and precipitation changes and are located in arid and semi-arid regions of Central Asia. This study of Mt. Munkhairkhan shows that climate change significantly impacts glaciers and snow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The pollen wasps are a fascinating group of insects that live similarly to solitary bees: females provision their brood cells with a mixture of pollen and nectar instead of insect prey. The relationships of these wasps with flowering plants are of special interest, since most species of the masarine wasps are specialized for particular groups of plants and/or flower types. Within the genus Celonites, trophic preferences are better known for the Afrotropical and the Mediterranean species, while they are nearly unknown for representatives from Central Asia. We studied two closely related species from the Altai Mountains: Celonites kozlovi and C. sibiricus. The first species is a generalist, which is not typical of the genus. Due to behavioral plasticity, it is able to use flowers of various plant species from at least five families (Asteraceae and Lamiaceae predominate) as pollen sources. The second species has specialized pollen-collecting structures that allow females to use flowers of Lamiaceae efficiently, while other plants are only occasionally visited. These adaptations are similar to those of some Mediterranean species of Celonites, but they evolved independently. The existence of two different foraging strategies by the closely related C. kozlovi and C. sibiricus leads to niche segregation and allows them to coexist in the same extreme habitats at the northernmost border of the range of the pollen wasps. Celonites kozlovi Kostylev, 1935, and C. sibiricus Gusenleitner, 2007, coexist in semi-deserts of the Altai Mountains. The trophic relationships of these pollen wasp species to flowers are largely unknown. We observed the flower visits and behaviors of wasps on flowers; pollen-collecting structures of females were studied using SEM; the taxonomic position of these two species was ascertained with the barcoding sequence of the mitochondrial COI-5P gene. Celonites kozlovi and C. sibiricus form a clade together with C. hellenicus Gusenleitner, 1997, and C. iranus Gusenleitner, 2018, within the subgenus Eucelonites Richards, 1962. Celonites kozlovi is polylectic in the narrow sense, collecting pollen from flowers of plants belonging to five families (with the predomination of Asteraceae and Lamiaceae) using diverse methods for both pollen and nectar uptake. In addition, this species is a secondary nectar robber, which has not been observed in pollen wasps before. The generalistic foraging strategy of C. kozlovi is correlated with an unspecialized pollen-collecting apparatus on the fore-tarsi. In contrast, C. sibiricus is broadly oligolectic, predominantly collecting pollen from flowers of Lamiaceae. Its specialized foraging strategy is associated with apomorphic behavioral and morphological traits, particularly specialized pollen-collecting setae on the frons, which enable indirect pollen uptake using nototribic anthers. These adaptations in C. sibiricus evolved independently of similar specializations in the Celonites abbreviatus-complex. Celonites kozlovi is re-described, and males are described for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper represents the results of a study of the chemical composition of salt lakes within the Burabay rock mass in eastern Kazakhstan. We sampled water and bottom deposits, geochemically analyzed the composition of the salt lakes, and performed aerial photography of the lakes to geometrize them. We studied the linkage between the rare-metal mineralization of granites of the Burabay rock mass and the salt lakes within the territory. Based on the obtained data, we identified the prospects of the survey area for rare metals. The surveys included 15 water samples and 15 bottom-deposit samples. To identify the source of salt in the lake water and deposits, the chemical composition of Burabay rocks was analyzed and seven samples of coarse-grained and porphyritic granites were selected. It was established that the water and bottom deposits accumulated elevated concentrations of valuable components (i.e., Sr, Rb, and U); this fact may be considered as an argument for conducting special surveys of small lakes in the region. The results obtained can be used for conducting further explorations and mining operations in the survey area in order to revive the rare-metal industry in the region, which will allow the development of new high-tech production and the creation of new jobs in this sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Earth observation to accurately extract snow phenology changes is of great significance for deepening the understanding of the ecological environment and hydrological process, agricultural and animal husbandry production, and high-quality development of the social economy in Xinjiang. Considering snow cover phenology based on MODIS product MOD10A1 data, this paper constructed a method for automatically extracting key phenological parameters in Xinjiang and calculated three key phenological parameters in Xinjiang from 2001 to 2020, including SCD (snow cover duration), SOD (snow onset date), and SED (snow end date). The daily data of four field camera observation points during an overlapping period from 2017 to 2019 were used to evaluate the snow cover phenological parameters extracted by MOD10A1, and the mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE) values were 0.65 and 1.07, respectively. The results showed the following: 1. The spatiotemporal variation in snow phenology was highly altitude dependent. The mean gradients of SCD in the Altai Mountains, Tienshan Mountains, and Kunlun Mountains is 2.6, 2.1, and 1.2 d/100 m, respectively. The variation trend of snow phenology with latitude and longitude was mainly related to the topography of Xinjiang. Snow phenological parameters of different land-use types were different. The SCD values in wasteland were the lowest and the SED was the earliest, while forest land was the first to enter SOD accumulation. According to the study, the mean annual values of SCD, SOD, and SED were 25, 342 (8 December), and 51 (8 February) as day of year (DOY), respectively. The snow cover area was mainly distributed in the Altai Mountains, Junggar Basin, Tianshan Mountains, and Kunlun Mountains. 2. The variation trend and significance of snow cover phenological parameters in different regions are different, and the variation trend of snow cover phenological parameters in most regions of Xinjiang is non-significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the burials of horse herders who lived in the 4th–3rd centuries BCE Altai Mountains of South Siberia were some that contained small wooden figures of four-legged hoofed animals that represent horses, deer, or hybrid creatures. They decorated headgear buried with select commoners of the Pazyryk Culture. Although the people, material possessions, and horses of the elites were frequently ornamented with imagery often associated with the so-called Scytho-Siberian animal style, these figurines are generally more realistic and less stylized representations of natural creatures, either cervids or horses. There is, however, ambiguity in these representations; in some cases, figures that are horses have inset recesses on the tops of their heads, in addition to holes for ear inserts. This recalls the elaborate headdresses on some horses outfitted with large displays of antlers or horns made of wood, leather, and felt buried with the Pazyryk leaders. The implication of this ambiguity is explored here. Horses were "cultural capital and tokens of clout" (see Andreeva Introduction, this volume) in the Pazyryk Culture, as well as the base of the economy. Deer were foundational to older belief systems in Siberia. The commingling of horse, mountain goat/ibex, and deer features in Pazyryk Culture imagery has inspired this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The silica-scaled chrysophyte flora of some lakes and rivers of the Altai Mountains was investigated by means of electron microscopy. Teletskoye Lake; the Biya, Chulyshman, and Katun Rivers; and small lakes around the area were studied. A total of sixteen taxa were recorded, including eight belonging to Mallomonas, five to Synura, and three to Paraphysomonas. A revision of previously reported taxa of scaled chrysophytes in this region was carried out. One species new to science from the genus Mallomonas was found and described. Mallomonas altaica sp. nov. belongs to the section Striatae and is characterised by scales with ribs covering only the anterior part of the shield and a posterior flange almost completely covered with the secondary siliceous layer. This species was discovered only at Teletskoye Lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Understanding the ecological processes involved in establishing a metacommunity, a collection of small communities linked by species dispersal, could help with biodiversity conservation. In this work, we examine how local community connectivity affects the distributional patterns of various bird species across metacommunities in the strikingly different Altai landscapes. We discovered that connectivity was most important for determining community composition in metacommunities. High beta diversity and a high turnover component in the research region showed that regional-scale conservation efforts should consider overall biodiversity. Although they are not part of the Altai-Sayan biodiversity ecoregion, the riparian and desert landscapes are essential to the birds that reside in the mountain ranges and should be regarded as integral parts of the ecoregion, and high connectivity stepping-stone habitats in these landscapes should be protected. Located on the southwest slope and plain areas of the Altai Mountains in China, this study aims to explore bird composition variation (beta diversity) in mountain landscape (metacommunity M), riparian landscape (metacommunity R), desert landscape (metacommunity D) and across the three landscapes (metacommunity A), and to assess how patch connectivity with environmental and spatial factors influence species distributional patterns across multiple metacommunities. In 78 transect lines over the study area, 9724 detections of 139 bird species were detected. We calculated the beta diversity, its turnover and nestedness components in four metacommunities. We used the variation partitioning method to investigate the relative importance between the environment, spatial variation and locality connectivity in driving bird community composition variation. We found high beta diversities with a small contribution of nestedness components in all four metacommunities. When only a single set of predictors is contained in the model, the predictor that best explains the variation of bird community composition is connectivity in metacommunity M, R and D and spatial predictor in metacommunity A. In all three sets of predictors, 73.8~85.4% of variations of community composition can be explained in the four metacommunities, and connectivity always contributed the most. High beta diversity and a high turnover component imply that regional-scale conservation efforts should be thought of as preserving overall biodiversity. A conservation strategy is to keep stepping-stone habitats with good connectivity in the middle of the riparian landscape. Along with the Altai-Sayan biodiversity ecoregion, the desert and riparian environments are essential for birds residing in the mountainous terrain. Furthermore, they should be regarded as integral parts of the ecoregion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An Old Hungarian Runic inscription from the Altai Mountains with 40 signs has posed some special challenges for decipherment due to several letter mix-ups and the use of a tamga sign, which is the first reported use of a tamga within this type of script. This paper gives a complete and correct translation and draws some lessons that can be learned about decipherment. It introduces sign similarity matrices as a method of detecting accidental misspellings and shows that sign similarity matrices can be efficiently computed. It also explains the importance of simultaneously achieving the three criteria for a valid decipherment: correct signs, syntax, and semantics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precipitation is an important natural resource relating to regional sustainability in arid central Asia, and the stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes provide useful tracers to understand precipitation processes. In this study, we collected the hourly meteorological data at several stations on the southern slope of the Altai Mountains in arid central Asia, from March 2017 to June 2022, and examined the diurnal impact of below-cloud evaporation on stable isotope compositions of precipitation. During nighttime, the changes in isotope compositions below cloud base are generally weak. The enhanced impact of below-cloud evaporation can be found after around 15:00, and the impact is relatively strong in the afternoon, especially from 18:00 to 22:00. Summer and spring usually have a larger impact of below-cloud evaporation than autumn, and the winter precipitation is generally not influenced by below-cloud evaporation. On an annual basis, the differences in evaporation-led isotope changes between daytime and nighttime are 1.1‰ for stable oxygen isotope compositions, 4.0‰ for stable hydrogen isotope compositions and 4.7‰ for deuterium excess. The period from 2:00 to 10:00 shows relatively low sensitivity to relative humidity, and from 14:00 to 22:00 the impacts are sensitive. Considering the fluctuations of precipitation isotope compositions, the impact of below-cloud evaporation does not greatly modify the seasonal environmental signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The spongy moth (SM) lives in the temperate latitudes of Europe and Asia, as well as in North America (as an invasive species). Caterpillars of the spongy moth feed on tree leaves. They cause significant economic damage, as they lead to the defoliation of trees over vast areas. Studies of the ecology of the spongy moth are necessary to predict possible outbreaks of this insect, as well as to develop effective methods for controlling their numbers. In North America, where the SM is an invasive species, its range is still expanding. Therefore, it is vitally important to build adequate models that will help predict the regions where the SM may appear in the future. The results of our study of Asian SM populations suggest another possible pathway for the SM to spread in the forests of North America. It turns out that the temperature of the rock surface, where the spongy moth lays eggs overwinter, is significantly higher than the temperature of the winter air. Therefore, insects (or their eggs) wintering on rocks can survive colder winter air temperatures than their physiology allows. These results help to reassess the role of the mountain landscape in the spread of insect species. Many insect species overwinter in various rock shelters (cavities and crevices), but the microclimates of rock biotopes remain poorly understood. We investigated the temperature dynamics in rock microhabitats where clusters of egg masses of the wintering spongy moth Lymantria dispar L. (SM) were observed. Our research objective was to find the relation between the ovipositing behaviour of females and the landscape features in different parts of this species' range. Studies of the ecology of the SM are important from a practical point of view, as the moth causes significant economic damage to forests of the Holarctic. We found that the average monthly temperature of rock surfaces in the studied microhabitats was 2–5 °C above the average air temperature. More importantly, the minimum temperatures in these microhabitats were 4–13 °C higher than the minimum air temperature. These results help to reassess the role of the mountain landscape in the spread of insect species. Rock biotopes provided a significant improvement in the conditions for wintering insects. We believe that, when modelling the spread of invasive species (such as the SM), it is necessary to account for the influence of rock biotopes that may facilitate shifts in the northern boundaries of their range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species richness and areas of endemicity (AOE) are the basis of biogeography, which is of great significance for understanding the evolution of species and making conservation plans. The present study aimed to investigate the species richness pattern and AOEs of Tenebrionidae in Xinjiang, China. We collected information on the geographical distribution of 556 species from several sources and obtained 2226 distribution records for the analyses. The AOEs were detected using the parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE) and endemicity analysis (EA) at 0.5°, 1°, and 1.5° grid sizes, respectively. A total of six AOEs were found, including three mountain ranges (Altai Mountains, Tianshan Mountains, and Kunlun Mountains) and one basin (Junggar Basin), which was largely congruent with the species richness pattern. The results indicated that the complex terrain and stable climate in the mountainous area played an important role in the formation of tenebrionid species diversity and their endemic areas in Xinjiang. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymorph Allium pallasii s.l. from monotypic A. sect. Pallasia was studied using a wide spectrum of methods and divided into two clearly morphologically, geographically, cytologically and genetically isolated species: A. pallasii s. str.—North-East Kazakhstan, Western Siberia, and the Altai Mountains; A. caricifolium—Kyrgyzstan, Northwest China, South-East Kazakhstan until Zaysan Lake in the east. Despite serious genetic differences, both species are sisters and are related to species of the A. sect. Codonoprasum (Subg. Allium). Allium caricifolium differs from A. pallasii s. str. by taller stems, dense inflorescence, and with filaments longer than perianth. The possible phylogenetic reasons for the separation of these species are discussed. A nomenclature analysis of synonyms was carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drifting snow is a significant factor in snow redistribution and cascading snow incidents. However, field observations of drifting snow are relatively difficult due to limitations in observation technology, and drifting snow observation data are scarce. The FlowCapt sensor is a relatively stable sensor that has been widely used in recent years to obtain drifting snow observations. This study presents the results from two FlowCapt sensors that were employed to obtain field observations of drifting snow during the 2017–2018 snow season in the southern Altai Mountains, Central Asia, where the snow cover is widely distributed. The results demonstrate that the FlowCapt sensor can successfully acquire stable field observations of drifting snow. Drifting snow occurs mainly within the height range of 80-cm zone above the snow surface, which accounts for 97.73% of the total snow mass transport. There were three typical snowdrift events during the 2017–2018 observation period, and the total snowdrift flux caused during these key events accounted for 87.5% of the total snow mass transport. Wind speed controls the occurrence of drifting snow, and the threshold wind speed (friction velocity) for drifting snow is approximately 3.0 m/s (0.15 m/s); the potential for drifting snow increases rapidly above 3.0 m/s, with drifting snow essentially being inevitable for wind speeds above 7.0 m/s. Similarly, the snowdrift flux is also controlled by wind speed. The observed maximum snowdrift flux reaches 192.00 g/(m2·s) and the total snow transport is 584.9 kg/m during the snow season. Although drifting snow will lead to a redistribution of the snow mass, any accumulation or loss of the snow mass is also affected synergistically by other factors, such as topography and snow properties. This study provides a paradigm for establishing a field observation network for drifting snow monitoring in the southern Altai Mountains and bridges the gaps toward elucidating the mechanisms of drifting snow in the Altai Mountains of Central Asia. A broader network of drifting snow observations will provide key data for the prevention and control of drifting snow incidents, such as the design height of windbreak fences installed on both sides of highways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimizing the functions and services provided by the mountain cryosphere will maximize its benefits and minimize the negative impacts experienced by the populations that live and work in the cryosphere-fed regions. The high sensitivity of the mountain cryosphere to climate change highlights the importance of evaluating cryospheric changes and any cascading effects if we are to achieve regional sustainable development goals (SDGs). The southern Altai Mountains (SAM), which are located in the arid to semi-arid region of central Asia, are vulnerable to ecological and environmental changes as well as to developing economic activities in northern Xinjiang, China. Furthermore, cryospheric melting in the SAM serves as a major water resource for northeastern Kazakhstan. Here, we systematically investigate historical cryospheric changes and possible trends in the SAM and also discover the opportunities and challenges on regional water resources management arising from these changes. The warming climate and increased solid precipitation have led to inconsistent trends in the mountain cryosphere. For example, mountain glaciers, seasonally frozen ground (SFG), and river ice have followed significant shrinkage trends as evidenced by the accelerated glacier melt, shallowed freezing depth of SFG, and thinned river ice with shorter durations, respectively. In contrast, snow accumulation has increased during the cold season, but the duration of snow cover has remained stable because of the earlier onset of spring melting. The consequently earlier melt has changed the timing of surface runoff and water availability. Greater interannual fluctuations in snow cover have led to more frequent transitions between snow cover hazards (snowstorm and snowmelt flooding) and snow droughts, which pose challenges to hydropower, agriculture, aquatic life, the tail-end lake environment, fisheries, and transboundary water resource management. Increasing the reservoir capacity to regulate interannual water availability and decrease the risk associated with hydrological hazards related to extreme snowmelt may be an important supplement to the regulation and supply of cryospheric functions in a warmer climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strong cold air outbreak tracking has been a key meteorological focal point over the years. With observational data and gridded datasets, we used the “three-dimensional wind speed trajectory inverse method” to trace cold air intrusion tracks that occurred during the winter half-years for the central and eastern parts of Inner Mongolia in 1970–2013. The results indicated that there were a total of 303 northwest and 32 westward tracks intruding from along the north end and southern side of the Altai Mountains, respectively, 118 northward tracks intruding from the two individual sides of the Yablonoi Mountains, and 16 occurrences of “other” tracks. The imminent circulation evolution pattern prior to outbreaks essentially causes three categories of cold air masses to undergo dramatic temperature increases, thereby reducing the impacts of source regional differences on the subject air masses. The measure of the annual frequency reduction in northwest tracks was determined to be 0.41 incidents every ten years, while other tracks’ annual frequencies increased, which essentially implies the probable increase of extreme cold in northeast and central China and an increase in the frequency of continuous cold weather exceeding a three-day span in southern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Altai Mountains are a heritage-rich archaeological landscape with monuments in almost every valley. Modern nation state borders dissect the region and limit archaeological landscape analysis to intra-national areas of interest. Remote sensing can help to overcome these limitations. Due to its high precision, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data can be a very useful tool for supporting archaeological prospections, but compared to optical imagery, the detectability of sites of archaeological interest is limited. We analyzed the limitations of SAR using TerraSAR-X images in different modes. Based on ground truth, the discernibility of burial mounds was analyzed in different SAR acquisition modes. We show that very-high-resolution TerraSAR-X staring spotlight images are very well suited for the task, with >75% of the larger mounds being discernible, while in images with a lower spatial resolution only a few large sites can be detected, at rates below 50%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to reveal the isotopic composition of ice and meltwater in glaciated regions of South-Eastern Altai. The paper depicts differences between the isotopic composition of glacier ice from several types of glaciers and from various locations. Detected differences between the isotopic composition of glacier ice in diversified parts of the study region are related to local climate patterns. Isotopic composition of meltwater and isotopic separation for glacier rivers runoff showed that in the Tavan-Bogd massif, seasonal snow participates more in the formation of glacier runoff due to better conditions for snow accumulation on the surface of glaciers. In other research areas pure glacier meltwater prevails in runoff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics (MPs) contaminations of freshwater and marine environments has become a global issue. Lakes in southern Siberia provide a wide range of ecosystem services and are essential elements in the annual and interannual runoff distribution of the Great Siberian Rivers. However, the extent of their MPs pollution remains unknown. In this paper, for the first time, we analyze the concentrations, composition, and spatial distribution of MPs in six lakes in southern Siberia. The studied lakes are located both in the Altai mountains and the West Siberian plain. Some of them are significantly impacted by human activities, while others are located in protected areas with no permanent population. Nevertheless, MPs were detected in all of the studied lakes. MPs concentrations ranged from 4 to 26 MPs L−1. Comparing with other inland lakes, South Siberian lakes presented moderate MPs concentrations. Among the registered MPs forms, fragments and films were dominant, with a size range between 31 and 60 nm. The MPs' sources depend on local human activities (fishing, transport, landfilling). Therefore, sufficiently high concentrations were observed even in remote lakes. The present study set a baseline that emphasizes the need for increased attention to waste management and sustainable water use in Siberian freshwater environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the Altai Mountains' region, especially the arid southeastern part of the Russian Altai, the data on glacier fluctuations in the Pleistocene and Holocene are still inconsistent. The study area was the Kargy River's valley (2288–2387 m a.s.l.), a location that is not currently affected by glaciation and the glacial history of which is poorly studied. Field observations and geomorphological mapping were used to reveal the configuration of Pleistocene moraines. The relative dating method was applied to define the degree of weathering as an indicator of age. Three moraine groups of different ages (presumably MIS 6, MIS 4, and MIS 2) were identified based on a detailed investigation of their morphological features and the use of relative dating approaches. The latter were primarily based on weathering patterns. Data on the rock mineralogy, porosity, and specificity of biological colonization as an agent of weathering were obtained for the moraine debris. The studied moraines were composed of fine-grained schist, in which the specific surface area and fractality (self-similarity) were more developed in the older moraine. The growth of biota (crustose lichen and micromycetes) colonizing the rock surface led to rock disintegration and the accumulation of autochthonous fragments on the rock surface. Despite the fact that the initial stage(s) of moraine weathering affected by biota was fixed, the correlation trends of biota activity and moraine ages were not determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The glacier snowline altitude (SLA) at the end of the melt season is an indicator of the glacier equilibrium line altitude and can be used to estimate glacier mass balance and reconstruct past climate. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal variability in glacier SLA across High Mountain Asia, including the Altai Mountains, Karakoram Mountains, Western Himalayas, Gongga Mountains, Tian Shan, and Nyainqentanglha Mountains, over the past 30 years (1989–2019) to better elucidate the state of these mountain glaciers. Remote-sensing data are processed to delineate the glacier SLA across these mountainous regions, and nearby weather station data are incorporated to determine the potential relationships between SLA and temperature/precipitation. The mean SLAs across the Altai and Karakoram mountains ranged from 2860 ± 169 m to 3200 ± 152 m and from 5120 ± 159 m to 5320 ± 240 m, respectively, with both regions experiencing an average increase of up to 137 m over the past 30 years. Furthermore, the mean glacier SLAs across the Western Himalayas and Gongga Mountains increased by 190–282 m over the past 30 years, with both regions experiencing large fluctuations. In particular, the mean glacier SLA across the Western Himalayas varied from 4910 ± 190 m in 1989 to 5380 ± 164 m in 2000, and that across the Gongga Mountains varied from 4960 ± 70 m in 1989 to 5330 ± 100 m in 2012. Correlation analyses between glacier SLA and temperature/precipitation suggest that temperature is the primary factor influencing glacier SLA across these High Mountain Asia glaciers. There is a broad increase in glacier SLA from the Altai Mountains to the Karakoram Mountains, with a decrease in glacier SLA with decreasing latitude across the Himalayas; the maximum SLA occurs near the northern slopes of the Western Himalayas. The glacier SLA is lower on the eastern side of the Tibetan Plateau and exhibits a longitudinal distribution pattern. These results are expected to provide useful information for evaluating the state of High Mountain Asia glaciers, as well as their response and feedback to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tavan Bogd mountains (of which, the main peak, Khuiten Uul, reaches 4374 m a.s.l.) are situated in the central part of the Altai mountain system, in the territories of Russia, Mongolia and China. The massif is the largest glacierized area of Altai. The purposes of this study were to provide a full description of the scale and structure of the modern glacierized area of the Tavan Bogd massif, to reconstruct the glaciers of the Little Ice Age (LIA), to estimate the extent of the glaciers in 1968, and to determine the main glacial trends, and their causes, from the peak of the LIA. This work was based on the results of long-term field studies and analysis of satellite and aerial data. At the peak of the LIA, Tavan Bogd glaciation comprised 243 glaciers with a total area of 353.4 km2. From interpretation of Corona images, by 1968 the number of glaciers had decreased to 236, with a total area of 242 km2. In 2010, there were 225 glaciers with a total area of 201 km2. Thus, since the peak of the LIA, the glacierized area of the Tavan Bogd mountains decreased by 43%, which is somewhat less than for neighboring glacial centers (i.e., Ikh-Turgen, Tsambagarav, Tsengel-Khairkhan and Mongun-Taiga mountains). The probable causes are higher altitude and the predominance of larger glaciers resistant to warming. Accordingly, the smallest decline in Tavan Bogd occurred in the basins of the Tsagan-Gol (31.7%) and Sangadyr (36.4%) rivers where the largest glaciers are located. In contrast, on the lower periphery of the massif, where small glaciers predominate, the relative reduction was large (74–79%). In terms of general retreat trends, large valley glaciers retreated faster in 1968–1977 and after 2010. During the 1990s, the retreat was slow. After 2010, glacial retreat was rapid. The retreat of glaciers in the last 50–60 years was caused by a trend decrease in precipitation until the mid-1970s, and a sharp warming in the 1990s and early 2000s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) is affected by the balance of photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and climate, along with many other exogenous factors, such as the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere (CO2atm), nutrients, and water holding capacity of the soil. The relative contributions of CO2atm and climate to iWUE are still incompletely understood, particularly for boreal forests where the climate is undergoing unprecedented warming. We combined δ13C and δ18O in tree rings from the Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) in Northwestern China's Altay Mountains, which receives 190 mm in annual precipitation, to detect the drivers of long-term iWUE changes and their time-varying contributions over the past 222 years. A climate optimization approach was used to isolate the influence of climate from CO2atm influence on iWUE. We found that iWUE increased about 33.6% from 1790 to 2011, and rising CO2atm contributed 48.8% to this iWUE increase. The contributions of CO2atm and climate (drought conditions) varied during the study period 1790–2011. From 1790 to 1876, the climate was the most important factor contributing to the changes in iWUE. From 1877 to 1972, CO2atm was the main contributor; however, after 1973, the climate was again the dominant contributor to the increase in iWUE, especially during 1996–2011. During the period 1996–2011, climate substantially (83%) contributed to the iWUE increase. Our findings imply that, in the boreal forest in Northwestern China's arid region, iWUE experienced three changes: (1) the climate dominating from 1790 to 1876; (2) CO2atm dominating from 1877 to 1972, and (3) climate dominating again during the past four decades. We observed that the relationships between iWUE and tree-ring width shifted from positive to negative from 1996 onwards. These relationship changes indicate that CO2atm-mediated effects of increasing iWUE on tree growth are counteracted by climatic drought stress and iWUE increase cannot counter the stress from drought on tree growth in China's arid boreal forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollen taxa in sediment samples can be identified based on morphology. However, closely related species do not differ substantially in pollen morphology, and accurate identification is generally limited to genera or families. Because many pollen grains in glaciers contain protoplasm, genetic information obtained from pollen grains should enable the identification of plant taxa at the species level. In the present study, species identification of Pinus pollen grains was attempted using whole-genome amplification (WGA). We used pollen grains extracted from surface snow (depth, 1.8–1.9 m) from the Belukha glacier in the summer of 2003. WGA was performed using a single pollen grain. Some regions of the chloroplast genome were amplified by PCR, and the DNA products were sequenced to identify the pollen grain. Pinus includes approximately 111 recognized species in two subgenera, four sections, and 11 subsections. The tree species Pinus sibirica and P. sylvestris are currently found at the periphery of the glacier. We identified the pollen grains from the Belukha glacier to the level of section or subsection to which P. sibirica and P. sylvestris belong. Moreover, we specifically identified two pollen grains as P. sibirica or P. cembra. Fifteen species, including P. sibirica, were candidates for the remaining pollen grain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to recent global climate change, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) have become a serious problem in many high mountain areas. Accurately and rapidly mapping glacial lakes is the basis of other glacial lake studies that are associated with water resources management, flood hazard assessment, and climate change. Most glacial lake detection studies have mainly used medium to coarse resolution images, whose application is limited to large lakes. Because small glacial lakes are abundant and because changes in these lakes are small and occur around the lake shores, fine-resolution satellite imagery is required for adequate assessments. In addition, the existing detection methods are mainly based on simply applying a threshold on various normalized difference water indices (NDWIs); this cannot give appropriate results for glacial lakes that have a wide range of turbidity, mineral, and chlorophyll content. In the present study, we propose a region-dependent framework to overcome the spectral heterogeneity of glacial lake areas using a nonlocal active contour model that is integrated with the NDWI. As the first trial, the glacial lakes were detected using high-resolution GaoFen-2 multispectral imagery in the test site of Altai Mountains (northern Xinjiang Province). The validation of the results was carried out using the manually digitized lake boundaries. The average probabilities of false positives P F P and false negatives P F N were found to be 0.0106 and 0.0039, respectively. After taking into consideration the spectral features of the water and making slight NDWI threshold adjustments, this method can also be used for lake detection in any glaciated environment elsewhere in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]