Research from Tatarstan between 2018-23 reviewing winter bird species richness: We show for the first time the results of a study into the spatial distribution of birds in forests at the eastern edge of Europe (Republic of Tatarstan, Russia) and changes from early to late winter. A transect method was used to census randomly selected…
Category: Forest
How are Russian apples and apple trees faring with climate change?
Trees Researchers analysed and completed physiological-biochemical studies to find out the impact of climate change and winter stress on different species. They compared species from the North Caucasian Federal Scientific Center of Horticulture, Viticulture, Winemaking (SKFNCSV) with three non-native species that are ripe in winter. They found two species appear to be most suited to…
How Krasnoyarsk could transition from coal to pellet heating
Coal has been used as a primary energy fuel across Siberia but in recent years this has been changing. Finding an optimum balance between transitioning from coal, increasing production of wood pellets but not at the expense of reducing carbon sequestration is an ongoing challenge. In 2012 the national Ecology project launched a range of…
Can Steppe trees grow fast enough to suit international climate agreements?
Researchers from Voronezh reviewed the planned timeframes for carbon absorption / emissions reduction in the Paris climate agreement, which has separate credits for projects lasting 5, 10 and 15 years with some extensions. A common method is to use reforestation together with forestry management to help absorb carbon. They noted that most Reducing Emissions from…
Highway to decomposed organic matter – heavy metals in Central Siberian forests
Mining and potential toxic elements (PTE) causing soil contamination is an internationally researched issue due to the transfer and resilience of the metallic elements in the soil affecting ecosystem health. Metals move from mining dump sites either as airborne elements or through plant root structures into the soil. The researchers studied the Vilyui plain on…
What are soil CO2 emissions after Siberian wildfires?
Siberian boreal forest regions act as carbon sinks but are also affected by climate change impacts such as wildfires. Wildfires release carbon into the atmosphere and change soil decomposition and respiration. The scientists wanted to examine soil emissions, temperature, moisture and properties during successions after wildfires, using taiga study sites in Central Siberia. They expected…
How West Siberia’s atmosphere may help prevent anti-microbial resistance
Russian scientists have been studying proteins and particles in atmosphere aerosols for over 20 years. Generally, microorganisms over marshlands are less well studied. The researchers wanted to investigate bioaerosols in the atmosphere over Vasyugan marshes in Siberia, approximately 52,000 km2. They wanted to measure the concentration of proteins and culturable microorganisms. The mix of forest,…
Pine trees enjoying Russian warmth
A study by Krasnoyarsk Science Centre in 2019 caught attention, highlighting how birch trees are ‘climbing mountains’ with e.g., the increases in temperature affecting their habitats. Researchers from the Botanic Garden Institute in Yekaterinburg and the Institute of Soil and Water Conservation in Xianyang, recently studied Pinus Sibirica species (Siberian cedar/stone pine) in the Ural…
Siberian trees are telling the humans it’s too hot !
Increases in sea ice melt, permafrost melt and wildfires are observed whilst Siberian temperatures continue to escalate beyond previous records, for example 38°C last year inside the Arctic Circle. To understand the changes, researchers looked at proxy records. Historically in the Siberian Arctic they have mostly included low-resolution pollen records and laminated lake sediments. They…
Mounds of mires
Researchers from Tuvan and Tomsk universities wanted to understand the impact of climate change on palsa mires which are frozen mounds of peat bogs found in the highlands of southern Siberia. They are caused by permafrost and can be several metres high and up to several hundred km2 in area. When reading existing research they…
Russian Climate Research 