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Ongoing climate change can shift organism phenology in ways that vary depending on species, habitats and climate factors studied. To probe for large-scale patterns in associated phenological change, we use 70,709 observations from six decades of systematic monitoring across the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Among 110 phenological events related to plants, birds, insects, amphibians and fungi, we find a mosaic of change, defying simple predictions of earlier springs, later autumns and stronger changes at higher latitudes and elevations. Site mean temperature emerged as a strong predictor of local phenology, but the magnitude and direction of change varied with trophic level and the relative timing of an event. Beyond temperature-associated variation, we uncover high variation among both sites and years, with some sites being characterized by disproportionately long seasons and others by short ones. Our findings emphasize concerns regarding ecosystem integrity and highlight the difficulty of predicting climate change outcomes., The work was financially supported by the Academy of Finland, grants 250243 (O.O.), 284601 (O.O.), 309581 (O.O.); the European Research Council, ERC Starting Grant 205905 (O.O.) and Synergy Grant 856506 – LIFEPLAN (to O.O. and T.R.); Nordic Environment Finance Corporation Grant (O.O.); Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation Grant (O.O., T.R., M.H., L.A.); University of Helsinki HiLIFE Fellow Grant 2017–2020 (O.O.); and the Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence Funding Scheme (223257) to O.O. via Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics; the Kone Foundation 44-6977 (M.D.) and 55-14839 (G.T.); a Spanish Ramon y Cajal grant RYC-2014-16263 (M.D.); the Federal Budget for the Forest Research Institute of Karelian Research Centre Russian Academy of Sciences 220-2017-0003, 0220-2017-0005 (L.V., S.S. and J.K.); the Russian Foundation for Basic Research Grant 16-08-00510 (L.K.), and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation 0017-2019-0009 (Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences) (N.I., M. Shashkov).

European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant 205905 (to O.O.) and Synergy Grant 856506—LIFEPLAN (to O.O. and T.R.); Spanish Ramón y Cajal Grant RYC-2014-16263 (to M.M.D.) (...), Delgado, M.D.M., Roslin, T., Tikhonov, G., Meyke, E., Lo, C., Gurarie, E., Abadonova, M., Abduraimov, O., Adrianova, O., Akimova, T., Akkiev, M., Ananin, A., Andreeva, E., Andriychuk, N., Antipin, M., Arzamascev, K., Babina, S., Babushkin, M., Bakin, O., Barabancova, A., Basilskaja, I., Belova, N., Belyaeva, N., Bespalova, T., Bisikalova, E., Bobretsovz, A., Bobrov, V., Bobrovskyi, V., Bochkareva, E., Bogdanov, G., Bolshakov, V., Bondarchuk, S., Bukharova, E., Butunina, A., Buyvolov, Y., Buyvolova, A., Bykov, Y., Chakhireva, E., Chashchina, O., Cherenkova, N., Chistjakov, S., Chuhontseva, S., Davydov, E.A., Demchenko, V., Diadicheva, E., Dobrolyubov, A., Dostoyevskaya, L., Drovnina, S., Drozdova, Z., Dubanaev, A., Dubrovsky, Y., Elsukov, S., Epova, L., Ermakova, O.S., Ermakova, O., Esengeldenova, A., Evstigneev, O., Fedchenko, I., Fedotova, V., Filatova, T., Gashev, S., Gavrilov, A., Gaydys, I., Golovcov, D., Goncharova, N., Gorbunova, E., Gordeeva, T., Grishchenko, V., Gromyko, L., Hohryakov, V., Hritankov, A., Ignatenko, E., Igosheva, S., Ivanova, U., Ivanova, N., Kalinkin, Y., Kaygorodova, E., Kazansky, F., Kiseleva, D., Knorrem, A., Kolpashikov, L., Korobov, E., Korolyova, H., Korotkikh, N., Kosenkov, G., Kossenko, S., Kotlugalyamova, E., Kozlovsky, E., Kozsheechkin, V., Kozurak, A., Kozyr, I., Krasnopevtseva, A., Krugliko, S., Kuberskaya, O., Kudryavtsev, A., Kulebyakina, E., Kulsha, Y., Kupriyanova, M., Kurbanbagamaev, M., Kutenkov, A., Kutenkova, N., Kuyantseva, N., Kuznetsov, A., Larin, E., Lebedev, P., Litvinov, K., Luzhkova, N., Mahmudov, A., Makovkina, L., Mamontov, V., Mayorova, S., Megalinskaja, I., Meydus, A., Minin, A., Mitrofanov, O., Motruk, M., Myslenkov, A., Nasonova, N., Nemtseva, N., Nesterova, I., Nezdoliy, T., Niroda, T., Novikova, T., Panicheva, D., Pavlov, A., Pavlova, K., Van, P., Podolski, S., Polikarpova, N., Tatiana Polyanskaya81, Pospelov, I., Pospelova, E., Prokhorov, I., Prokosheva, I., Puchnina, L., Putrashyk, I., Raiskaya, J., Rozhkov, Y., Rozhkova, O., Rudenko, M., Rybnikova, I., Rykova, S., Sahnevich, M., Samoylov, A., Sank, V., Sapelnikova, I., Sazonov, S., Selyunina, Z., Shalaeva, K., Shashkov, M., Shcherbakov, A., Shevchyk, V., Shubin, S., Shujskaja, E., Sibgatullin, R., Sikkilah, N., Sitnikova, E., Sivkov, A., Skok, N., Skorokhodova, S., Smirnova, E., Sokolova, G., Sopin, V., Spasovski, Y., Stepanov, S., Stratiy, V., Strekalovskaya, V., Sukhov, A., Suleymanova, G., Sultangareeva, L., Teleganova, V., Teplov, V., Teplova, V., Tertitsa, T., Timoshkin, V., Tirski, D., Tolmachev, A., Tomilin, A., Tselishcheva, L., Turgunov, M., Tyukh, Y., Van, V., Ershkova, E., Vasin, A., Vasina, A., Vekliuk, A., Vetchinnikova, L., Vinogradov, V., Volodchenko, N., Voloshina, I., Xoliqov, T., Yablonovska-Grishchenko, E., Yakovlev, V., Yakovleva, M., Yantser, O., Yarema, Y., Zahvatov, A., Zakharov, V., Zelenetskiy, N., Zheltukhin, A., Zubina, T., Kurhinen, J., Ovaskainen, O.

A list of new floristic findings in the north-west of the Putorana Plateau (Taimyr Municipal District of Krasnoyarsk Territory – TSR) discovered in 2018–2020 is presented. A brief description of the surveyed areas is given. The annotated lists of plants are given: 1) new species for the entire territory of the TSR (8 species: Poa vivipara (L.) Willd., Carex buxbaumii Wahlenb., Juncus stygius L., Astragalus gulemiensis Sytin et Pospelov, Vicia sepium L., Hackelia deflexa (Wahlenb.) Opiz, Galium trifidum L., Saussurea purpurata (Fisch. ex Herder) Lipsch.; 2) species new to the Putorana Plateau (29 species, of which the most interesting are the findings of species included in the Red Data Book of the Krasnoyarsk Territory: Carex spaniocarpa Steud., Rumex aureostigmaticus Kom., Oxytropis czekanowskiiJurtz., O. tichomirovii Jurtz., Taraxacum byrrangicum Ju. Kozhevn.); 3) new localities of the species rarely found in the TSR (24 species, including extremely rare Dactylorhiza maculata (L.) Soó, Drosera × obovata Mert. et W. D. J. Koch,Potentilla drymeja Soják, Eritrichium sericeum (Lehm.) DC.)., Приводится перечень новых флористических находок на территории северо-запада плато Путорана (Таймырский муниципальный район Красноярского края – ТМР), обнаруженных в 2018–2020 гг. Дано краткое описание обследованных участков. Приведены аннотированные списки растений: 1) 8 новых видов для всей территории ТМР: Poa vivipara (L.) Willd., Carex buxbaumii Wahlenb., Juncus stygius L., Astragalus gulemiensis Sytin et Pospelov, Vicia sepium L., Hackelia deflexa (Wahlenb.) Opiz, Galium trifidum L., Saussurea purpurata (Fisch. ex Herder) Lipsch.; 2) 29 новых видов для плато Путорана, из которых наиболее интересны находки видов, внесенных в Красную книгу Красноярскогокрая: Carex spaniocarpa Steud., Rumex aureostigmaticus Kom., Oxytropis czekanowskii Jurtz., O. tichomirovii Jurtz., Taraxacum byrrangicum Ju. Kozhevn.; 3) новые местонахождения 24 видов, редко встречающихся на территории ТМР, в т. ч. крайне редкие Dactylorhiza maculata (L.)Soó, Drosera × obovata Mert. et W. D. J. Koch, Potentilla drymeja Soják, Eritrichium sericeum (Lehm.) DC.

We present an extensive, large-scale, long-term and multitaxon database on phenological and climatic variation, involving 506,186 observation dates acquired in 471 localities in Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. The data cover the period 1890–2018, with 96% of the data being from 1960 onwards. The database is rich in plants, birds and climatic events, but also includes insects, amphibians, reptiles and fungi. The database includes multiple events per species, such as the onset days of leaf unfolding and leaf fall for plants, and the days for first spring and last autumn occurrences for birds. The data were acquired using standardized methods by permanent staff of national parks and nature reserves (87% of the data) and members of a phenological observation network (13% of the data). The database is valuable for exploring how species respond in their phenology to climate change. Large-scale analyses of spatial variation in phenological response can help to better predict the consequences of species and community responses to climate change., Measurement(s)phenological event • climateTechnology Type(s)digital curationFactor Type(s)geographic location • yearSample Characteristic - LocationRussia • Ukraine • Uzbekistan • Belarus • Kyrgyzstan Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.11687169

The work was funded by Academy of Finland, grants 250243, 284601, 309581 (OO); the European Research Council, ERC Starting Grant 205905 (OO); Nordic Environment Finance Corporation Grant (OO); Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation Grant (OO and TR); University of Helsinki HiLIFE Fellow Grant 2017–2020 (OO); the Kone Foundation 44-6977 (MD); Spanish Ramon y Cajal grant RYC-2014-16263 (MD); the Federal Budget for the Forest Research Institute of Karelian Research Centre Russian Academy of Sciences 220-2017-0003,0220-2017-0005 (LV, SS and JK); the Russian Foundation for Basic Research Grant 16-08-00510 (LK), and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation 0017-2019-0009 (Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences) (NI, MSh)., Ovaskainen, O., Meyke, E., Lo, C., Tikhonov, G., Delgado, M.M., Roslin, T., Gurarie, E., Abadonova, M., Abduraimov, O., Adrianova, O., Akimova, T., Akkiev, M., Ananin, A., Andreeva, E., Andriychuk, N., Antipin, M., Arzamascev, K., Babina, S., Babushkin, M., Bakin, O., Barabancova, A., Basilskaja, I., Belova, N., Belyaeva, N., Bespalova, T., Bisikalova, E., Bobretsov, A., Bobrov, V., Bobrovskyi, V., Bochkareva, E., Bogdanov, G., Bolshakov, V., Bondarchuk, S., Bukharova, E., Butunina, A., Buyvolov, Y., Buyvolova, A., Bykov, Y., Chakhireva, E., Chashchina, O., Cherenkova, N., Chistjakov, S., Chuhontseva, S., Davydov, E.A., Demchenko, V., Diadicheva, E., Dobrolyubov, A., Dostoyevskaya, L., Drovnina, S., Drozdova, Z., Dubanaev, A., Dubrovsky, Y., Elsukov, S., Epova, L., Ermakova, O.S., Ermakova, O., Esengeldenova, A., Evstigneev, O., Fedchenko, I., Fedotova, V., Filatova, T., Gashev, S., Gavrilov, A., Gaydysh, I., Golovcov, D., Goncharova, N., Gorbunova, E., Gordeeva, T., Grishchenko, V., Gromyko, L., Hohryakov, V., Hritankov, A., Ignatenko, E., Igosheva, S., Ivanova, U., Ivanova, N., Kalinkin, Y., Kaygorodova, E., Kazansky, F., Kiseleva, D., Knorre, A., Kolpashikov, L., Korobov, E., Korolyova, H., Korotkikh, N., Kosenkov, G., Kossenko, S., Kotlugalyamova, E., Kozlovsky, E., Kozsheechkin, V., Kozurak, A., Kozyr, I., Krasnopevtseva, A., Kruglikov, S., Kuberskaya, O., Kudryavtsev, A., Kulebyakina, E., Kulsha, Y., Kupriyanova, M., Kurbanbagamaev, M., Kutenkov, A., Kutenkova, N., Kuyantseva, N., Kuznetsov, A., Larin, E., Lebedev, P., Litvinov, K., Luzhkova, N., Mahmudov, A., Makovkina, L., Mamontov, V., Mayorova, S., Megalinskaja, I., Meydus, A., Minin, A., Mitrofanov, O., Motruk, M., Myslenkov, A., Nasonova, N., Nemtseva, N., Nesterova, I., Nezdoliy, T., Niroda, T., Novikova, T., Panicheva, D., Pavlov, A., Pavlova, K., Petrenko, P., Podolski, S., Polikarpova, N., Polyanskaya, T., Pospelov, I., Pospelova, E., Prokhorov, I., Prokosheva, I., Puchnina, L., Putrashyk, I., Raiskaya, J., Rozhkov, Y., Rozhkova, O., Rudenko, M., Rybnikova, I., Rykova, S., Sahnevich, M., Samoylov, A., Sanko, V., Sapelnikova, I., Sazonov, S., Selyunina, Z., Shalaeva, K., Shashkov, M., Shcherbakov, A., Shevchyk, V., Shubin, S., Shujskaja, E., Sibgatullin, R., Sikkila, N., Sitnikova, E., Sivkov, A., Skok, N., Skorokhodova, S., Smirnova, E., Sokolova, G., Sopin, V., Spasovski, Y., Stepanov, S., Stratiy, V.І., Strekalovskaya, V., Sukhov, A., Suleymanova, G., Sultangareeva, L., Teleganova, V., Teplov, V., Teplova, V., Tertitsa, T., Timoshkin, V., Tirski, D., Tolmachev, A., Tomilin, A., Tselishcheva, L., Turgunov, M., Tyukh, Y., Vladimir, V., Vargot, E., Vasin, A., Vasina, A., Vekliuk, A., Vetchinnikova, L., Vinogradov, V., Volodchenkov, N., Voloshina, I., Xoliqov, T., Yablonovska-Grishchenko, E., Yakovlev, V., Yakovleva, M., Yantser, O., Yarema, Y., Zahvatov, A., Zakharov, V., Zelenetskiy, N., Zheltukhin, A., Zubina, T., Kurhinen, J.

The paper presents new records for 29 vascular plant species from 12 Eurasian countries. Seven taxa (Agave sisalana, Austrocylindropuntia subulata, Lagurus ovatus subsp. nanus, Opuntia stricta, Orobanche serbica, Oxalis articulata, Vitis × instabilis) are reported from Albania, one (Allium carinatum) from the Europaean part of Russia, six (Dipsacus fullonum, Gagea shmakoviana, Mentha × dalmatica, Thymus indigirkensis, Thymus sergievskajae, Viola × sukaczewii) from the Asian part of Russia, two (Agrostis sozanensis, Poa mustangensis) from China, two (Carex muskingumensis, Sedum rubens) from Poland, two (Crataegus macrocarpa, Dactylorhiza lapponica) from Romania, two (Oxygraphis delavayi, Ranunculus eryuanensis) from Nepal, two (Erigeron bonariensis, Ophioglossum vulgatum) from Tajikistan, one (Ranunculus olgae) from Kazakhstan, one (Najas guadelupensis) from Hungary, one (Orobanche bartlingii) from Armenia, one (Crataegus petrodavisii) from Azerbaijan and one (Amaranthus powellii) from Georgia. For each species, synonyms, general distribution, habitat preferences, taxonomy with remarks on recognition, and differentiation the species from the most similar taxa occurring in a given country, as well as a list of recorded localities (often far from the previously known areas) are presented.

Land cover maps are the basic data layer required for understanding and modeling ecological patterns and processes. The Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map (CAVM), produced in 2003, has been widely used as a base map for studies in the arctic tundra biome. However, the relatively coarse resolution and vector format of the map were not compatible with many other data sets. We present a new version of the CAVM, building on the strengths of the original map, while providing a finer spatial resolution, raster format, and improved mapping. The Raster CAVM uses the legend, extent and projection of the original CAVM. The legend has 16 vegetation types, glacier, saline water, freshwater, and non-arctic land. The Raster CAVM divides the original rock-water-vegetation complex map unit that mapped the Canadian Shield into two map units, distinguishing between areas with lichen- and shrub-dominated vegetation. In contrast to the original hand-drawn CAVM, the new map is based on unsupervised classifications of seventeen geographic/floristic sub-sections of the Arctic, using AVHRR and MODIS data (reflectance and NDVI) and elevation data. The units resulting from the classification were modeled to the CAVM types using a wide variety of ancillary data. The map was reviewed by experts familiar with their particular region, including many of the original authors of the CAVM from Canada, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland, Norway (including Svalbard), Russia, and the U.S. The analysis presented here summarizes the area, geographical distribution, elevation, summer temperatures, and NDVI of the map units. The greater spatial resolution of the Raster CAVM allowed more detailed mapping of water-bodies and mountainous areas. It portrays coastal-inland gradients, and better reflects the heterogeneity of vegetation type distribution than the original CAVM. Accuracy assessment of random 1-km pixels interpreted from 6 Landsat scenes showed an average of 70% accuracy, up from 39% for the original CAVM. The distribution of shrub-dominated types changed the most, with more prostrate shrub tundra mapped in mountainous areas, and less low shrub tundra in lowland areas. This improved mapping is important for quantifying existing and potential changes to land cover, a key environmental indicator for modeling and monitoring ecosystems. The final product is publicly available at www.geobotany.uaf.edu and at Mendeley Data, DOI: 10.17632/c4xj5rv6kv.1 .

The local flora method has been used by Russian botanists for studying vast wilderness areas. The method strives to determine the total flora within a certain limited area and provides comparable data for spatial comparisons between different locations and temporal comparisons at the same location. Complete vascular plant diversity was sampled in 240 localities with an area between 100 and 300 km2 each throughout the Russian Arctic. These data were incorporated in a specially developed Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). This database provides a unique opportunity to study spatial gradients of different floristic variables. Pairwise similarity of species composition and proportions of various phytogeographical groups in local floras were used in a floristic subdivision of the Russian Arctic. The floristic units derived by this method often resembled subprovinces of B.A. Yurtsev (1994. J. Veg. Sci. 5(6): 765–776), but there were also several areas of nonalignment. Application of local floras for monitoring of temporal changes has several constraints. However, nine local floras were revisited 20–70 years after the initial survey. Increases in the number of Boreal and Hypoarctic species were recorded in the southern local floras. Standardized methods and the use of modern technical tools for accurate documentation could enable use of this approach at observatories across the Arctic.

Resulting generalization of herbarium and literature data and our own observations, a list of vascular plants growing on Putorana plateau territory was compiled, including 736 species (without adventive). The history of the plateau flora study since the 70s of the last century is described. The analysis of geographical and ecological-coenotic structure of the flora is carried out, according to the results of which it can be attributed to the hypoarctic type. The cluster analysis of the flora let to distinguish 3 clusters within the territory – the eastern one, with the flora of the moderately hypoarctic subtype, the central one and the southwestern one, the flora of which belongs to the hypoarcto-boreal subtype. Considerations concerning the history of the formation of the plateau flora are presented. Plant invasion on the Putorana plateau occurred both from the north, where Arctic species penetrated into the highlands, and from the south and west – these are boreal species mainly of the Eurasian and Asian fractions. A certain role in the formation of the flora is played by historical factors, especially the impact of the occurrence and melting of glaciations, which differ in different parts of the plateau.

The Byrranga Mountains (Gory Byrranga) are the most northern mountainous massif of the Taymyr Peninsula (Poluostrov Taymyr) in the Russian Arctic. Although studies of them began in 1736, they are one of the least studied areas of the Arctic. The region has no population, is remote, and has difficult access. As a result, the mountainous tundra ecosystems are preserved practically in a pristine state. The mountains are composed of siltstones and intrusive rocks of neutral composition; vast areas along all the mountain chain are occupied by exposed limestone. Rivers flow in deep intermontane depressions while lakes are found mainly in faults. The climate is an extremely severe continental type. Microclimatic areas provide some relief and support a rich and diverse flora. There have been 391 species and subspecies of vascular plants recorded, but no reliable data on the number of species of mosses and lichens are available. Relict thickets of tall willows are found in protected valleys of piedmont brooks, whereas relict alder-tree thickets occur on warm slopes. The mountain fauna includes nine mammal and 56 bird species. Intermontane depressions serve as corridors for seasonal migrations of wild reindeer that usually spend summers in the southern piedmont areas. Northern piedmonts and wide intermontane depressions are places where herds of musk-ox, introduced in the 1970s, concentrate. The bird fauna of relict willow thickets is highly specific and the fish fauna is quite diverse (16 species), but some species in Taymyr Lake (Ozero Taymyr) have been overexploited. This paper provides the first detailed biogeographical description of the Byrranga Mountains in English.