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Fish and fish tissue are effective bioindicators due to their sensitivity to pollution and are frequently used for assessing aquatic ecosystem health. Establishing baseline metal concentrations in freshwater fish tissues within aquatic ecosystems is important prior to establishing industrial activities to help determine potential future industrial impacts. Historically, North-Eastern European Russia has been an area with relatively low levels of industrial development and is still in pristine condition. In this region the noise to background ratio for industrial contaminants may be disproportionately high. This study measured baseline metal concentrations in freshwater fish tissues collected from three study sites (Bolshoi Patok, Maly Patok and Kara River) in North-Eastern European Russia as bioindicators for overall aquatic ecosystem health. Seven fish species including European Grayling, Arctic Char, Whitefish, Perch, Pike, Roach, and Peled over a five-year period between 2000 to 2005. Fish tissue samples were analyzed for Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), and Zinc (Zn) metal concentrations. Metal concentrations measured in fish tissues in this study compared favourably to remote sites in Alaska in the US and Slovenia. Despite small variation between sampling sites, metal concentrations were relatively low and considered in pristine condition. Metal concentrations measured in fish tissues in this study represent baseline conditions which will be important to compare against using monitoring programs should the region experience future industrial development.

The purpose of the data paper was to introduce into scientific literature the results of scientific work carried out for the third edition of the 'Red Data Book of the Komi Republic'. The article reflects methodological approaches to the formation of a list of rare and in need of protection species and describes the corresponding datasets published in GBIF. Information about 7,187 occurrences of 438 rare species and infraspecies included in the third edition of the 'Red Data Book of the Komi Republic' have been published.

One of the main tasks of forest protection is to save the forests from damage during the outbreaks of mass reproduction of forest phyllophagous insects causing their further drying out. One of these species, Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar (L.)) belongs to the spring-summer phenological group of insects-phylophages. The defoliation of stands during the outbreaks of this species in the main part of its range usually occurs in June and early July, and after that the foliage has time to restore during the vegetative period. Whereas, on the northern boundary of this species range the heat availability is lower compared to other parts of its range, and the effect of defoliation is of considerable interest. The purpose of the study was to monitor stands after defoliation by gypsy moth and to analyze its effect on the sanitary state of the stands depending on the degree and multiplicity of defoliation on the northern border of the outbreaks (south of Sverdlovsk Region). Monitoring was carried out for 7 years after the end of the outbreaks. The changes in the sanitary state of stands and individual trees were analyzed on the basis of visual appraisal of the categories of tree state. For statistical processing, the methods of nonparametric analysis were used. The analysis showed that stands defoliation during gypsy moth outbreaks on the northern border of its range leads to a significant weakening of stands even in the most favorable, steadily fresh forest growing conditions. The results indicate that outbreaks on the northern border of the range of forest insect-phylophages and their consequences require more detailed study due to the high level of their ecological and economic significance.

A hybrid position-sensitive neutron detector with active 10B-layer and proportional chamber filled by the gas mixture Ar+25%CO2 is being studied. The detector is used on the neutron source based at the linear accelerator. Recording two pairs of pulse heights which are produced in two gas gaps by 7Li and 4He nuclei between the anode and two cathodes gives a possibility to determine the X and Y neutron coordinates. This detector permits time-of-flight measurements. A significant difference in pulse height spectra for slow and fast (several MeV) neutrons was observed in experiment. In recent experiments with 10B-detector we found that (1) the pulse heights depend on the neutron energy and (2) the position of the maximum in the pulse height spectrum varies monotonically versus the maximum neutron energy.

The Pechora Region (PR) has extensive natural resources supporting forestry, oil and gas industries. The objective of this integrated study was to identify if local and long range pollution and bio ...

Using interdisciplinary field research in the Usa Basin, northeast European Russia, we compared local inhabitants' perception of environmental problems with chemical and remote-sensing signatures of environmental pollution and their local impacts. Extensive coal mining since the 1930s around Inta and Vorkuta has left a legacy of pollution, detected by measuring snowpack, topsoil, and lichen chemistry, together with remote-sensing techniques and analysis of lake water and sediments. Vorkuta and its environs suffered the worst impacts, with significant metal loading and alkalization in lakes and topsoils, elevated metals and cations in terricolous (reindeer) lichens, and changes in vegetation communities. Although the coal industry has declined recently, the area boasts a booming oil and gas industry, based around Usinsk. Local perceptions and concerns of environmental pollution and protection were higher in Usinsk, as a result of increased awareness after a major oil spill in 1994, compared with Vorkuta's inhabitants, who perceived air pollution as the primary environmental threat. Our studies indicate that the principal sources of atmospheric emissions and local deposition within 25 to 40 km of Vorkuta were coal combustion from power and heating plants, coal mines, and a cement factory. Local people evaluated air pollution from direct observations and personal experiences, such as discoloration of snow and respiratory problems, whereas scientific knowledge played a minor role in shaping these perceptions.

The recent sediments from two deep arctic lakes, Mitrofanovskoe and Vanuk-ty, situated in the permafrost belt within the Bol’shezemel’skaya Tundra in the northern Ural region, were studied for diatoms, chironomids, spheroidal carbonaceous particles and stable lead isotopes. The magnitudes and rates-of-change in diatom and chironomid assemblages were numerically estimated. Instrumental climate records were used to assess statistically the amount of variance in diatom and chironomid data explained by temperature. August and September air temperatures have a statistically significant effect on diatom composition at both lakes. At Mitrofanovskoe Lake, major compositional changes in diatom and chironomid assemblages occurred at the turn of the 20th century and might be related to the regional increase in temperature. Chironomid-inferred air temperature also increased by approximately 1 °C since the early 1900s. At both lakes diatom compositional changes, coincident with the increase in June and September temperatures, also occurred in the late 1960s. These compositional changes are correlated with the increase in diatom production, sediment organic content and diatom species richness, and are likely to be a diatom response to the lengthening of the growing season. These changes are also correlated with the circum-Arctic temperature increase from the 1960s. A chironomid response to the late 1960s temperature increase was less pronounced at both lakes. Pollution levels are relatively low and pollution history is unrelated to ecological changes. Both lead isotopes and spheroidal carbonaceous particles show a clear atmospheric pollution signal, peaking in the 1980s.

Increasing anthropogenic pressure on the largest remaining tracts of old-growth boreal forest in Europe necessitates additional conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity in northeastern European Russia. In a regional network comprising 8 % of the Nenets Autonomous District and 13.5 % of the Komi Republic, 248 areas have varying protected statuses as state nature reserves (zapovedniks), national parks, reserves/sanctuaries (zakazniks), or natural monuments. Due to increased natural resource extraction in this relatively pristine area, designation of additional protected areas is critical for the protection of key ecological sites. The history of ecological preservation in these regions is herein described, and recent recommendations for incorporating additional ecologically representative areas into the regional network are presented. If the protected area network can be expanded, the overall environmental stability in these globally significant ecosystems may remain intact, and can help Russia meet the 2020 Aichi conservation targets, as set forth by the Convention of Biological Diversity.