Mapping Yamal reindeer dietary preferences

In full (EN) Abstract:Large herbivores regulate ecosystem structure and functioning across Earth’s biomes, but vegetation community responses to herbivory depend on complex interactions involving the timing and intensity of herbivory pressure and other, often abiotic, controls on vegetation. Consequently, reindeer-driven vegetation transitions in the Arctic occur heterogeneously between and even within landscapes. Here, we employed…

Measuring freezing and thawing in the Kola peatlands with GPR

The active layer of permafrost which freezes and thaws is seasonally monitored using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) for variation in activity and thickness, especially in response to recent climate change. Ryazantsev wanted to find out whether GPR can provide useful information about thermal factors such as soil temperature change, thermal insulation and thermal conductivity. Remote sensing…

Green canopies in the urban Russian Arctic

The majority of residents in cities in the Russian Arctic are not indigenous to the area (approx 95%), mostly migrating from the south and west. They are not used to Arctic ecosystems and the Arctic climate with lower temperatures, permafrost, less rich soil and having to adapt to differing light with polar days and nights….