The diet of Asian badger, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Meles leucurus</Emphasis> Hodgson, 1847, in Samarovskii Chugas Nature Park,Western Siberia

The diet structure of Asian badgers (Meles leucurus Hodgson, 1847) on Bol’shoi Chukhtinskii Island (Samarovskii Chugas Nature Park, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area) was studied by means of coprological analysis. Ten diet components were identified, including Siberian stone pine seeds (pine nuts), berries, earthworms, larval and adult insects, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. The proportion of pine nuts was especially large. Seasonal fluctuations in the occurrence frequency and abundance of different foods were insignificant, but some of them were found to markedly vary between years.     

Effects of Soil Hydrothermal Conditions on the Complexes of Soil Invertebrates in Coniferous and Deciduous Forest Cultures

The effects of hydrothermal conditions on the complexes of soil invertebrates in 20-year-old cultures of Siberian stone pine, larch, Scotch pine, spruce, birch, and aspen are considered. The role of soil temperature and moisture content in determining the density of pedobionts and their vertical distribution is revealed. Seasonal fluctuations of hydrothermal parameters are shown to affect the vertical migrations of soil invertebrates and the dynamics of trophic structure of their complexes under forest cultures during the growing season.     

The consequences of chronic radiation exposure of scots pine in the remote period after the chernobyl accident

Long-term observations on Scots pine populations (2003–2012) were performed in areas of Bryansk region radioactively contaminated by the Chernobyl fallout. Throughout the observation period, the frequency of cytogenetic alterations in the root meristem of germinated seeds of pine trees from radioactively contaminated test sites significantly exceeded the control level. Seeds developing under chronic radiation exposure were characterized by high interannual variation in viability. The quality of the seeds and their resistance to additional γ-irradiation showed no definite relationship with the level of radioactive contamination in the site and the radiation dose absorbed by the generative organs of Scots pine.     

Cs in a raised bog in central Sweden

The vertical distribution of ¹³⁷Cs activity in peat soil profiles and ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration in plants of various species was studied in samples collected at two sites on a raised bog in central Sweden. One site (open bog) was in an area with no trees and only a few sparsely growing plant species, while the other (low pine) was less than 100 m from the open bog site and had slowly growing Scots pine, a field layer dominated by some ericaceous plants and ground well-covered by plants. The plant samples were collected in 2004–2007 and were compared with samples collected in 1989 from the same open bog and low pine sites. Ground deposition of ¹³⁷Cs in 2005 was similar at both sites, 23?000 Bq m⁻². In the open bog peat profile it seems to be an upward transport of caesium since a clear peak of ¹³⁷Cs activity was found in the uppermost 1–4 cm of Sphagnum layers, whereas at the low pine site ¹³⁷Cs was mainly found in deeper (10–12 cm) layers. The migration rate was 0.57 cm yr⁻¹ at the open bog site and the migration centre of ¹³⁷Cs was at a depth of 10.7, while the rate at the low pine site was 0.78 cm yr⁻¹ and the migration centre was at 14.9 cm. Heather (Calluna vulgaris) was the plant species with the highest ¹³⁷Cs activity concentrations at both sites, 43.5 k Bq⁻¹ DM in 1989 decreasing to 20.4 in 2004–2007 on open bog and 22.3 k Bq kg⁻¹ DM in 1989 decreasing to 11.2 k Bq⁻¹ DM by the period 2004–2007 on the low pine site. ¹³⁷Cs transfer factors in plants varied between 0.88 and 1.35 on the open bog and between 0.48 and 0.69 m² kg⁻¹ DM at the low pine site.     

Effect of Mountain Relief and Industrial Air Pollution on Biometric Characteristics of Pine Stands

The effect of mountain relief and industrial air pollution on biometric parameters of pine stands was studied. The empirical–statistical models of the dependence of biometric characteristics on the parameters of forest sites were developed using raster modeling and multivariate analysis. The possibility of predicting changes in the biometric parameters at any site on the basis of these models is shown.     

三峡山地沟谷不同坡位土壤水分特征及对降雨过程的响应

土壤水分是影响地表植被生长发育及分布格局的重要因子，也是岩石圈-水圈-生物圈-大气圈水分循环的重要环节，其动态变化能够反映土壤水文过程的信息。基于高分辨率时域反射水分探针和小型气象站连续定位监测，获取2018~2019年三峡大老岭地区典型沟谷内坡上、坡中、坡下部位0~80 cm范围内各土层含水量及大气降水数据，分析了不同坡位土壤水分在月尺度，日尺度和小时尺度的变化特征及其对降雨过程的响应。结果表明：（1）月尺度上，土壤水分含量季节性差异明显，春夏季节（5~7月）是土壤水分储蓄期，土壤平均含水率为38.40%，夏秋季节（8~10月）是水分消耗期，剖面土壤平均含水率仅为35.04%。（2）日尺度和小时尺度，不同层次土壤水分含量对降水响应存在差异。0~40 cm深度土壤对降雨响应较快（响应时间<0.5 h），土壤水分与降雨量变化趋势相似；60~80 cm深度土壤对降雨响应存在明显的滞后现象（响应时间滞后0.5~3.0 h），且随深度加深，滞后时间呈阶梯式延长。（3）不同降雨条件下，土壤水分对降水的响应差异明显。随降雨量级由中雨增至大暴雨，土壤水分对降雨的响应加快，含水量变化曲线与降雨过程同步性增强，响应深度也逐层增加，土壤水分增量变大。（4）不同坡位对土壤水分的影响存在差异，上坡位对中雨、大雨响应平稳，中、下坡位对降水响应强烈，土壤水分增加迅速。产生不同坡位间响应差异的原因是各点微地形差异导致集水面积不同。     

Radon-222 exhalation from open ground on and around a uranium mine in the wet-dry tropics

Radon-222 exhalation from the ground surface depends upon a number of variables such as the 226Ra activity concentration and its distribution in soil grains; soil grain size; soil porosity, temperature and moisture; atmospheric pressure, rainfall and temperature. In this study, 222Rn exhalation flux density measurements within and around the Ranger uranium mine in northern Australia were performed to investigate the effect of these variables within a tropical region. Measurements were taken at the waste rock dumps, ore stockpiles, mine pits, and at sites where effluent water with elevated 226Ra concentration has been spray irrigated over land, as well as at sites outside the mine. The sites selected represented a variety of geomorphic regions ranging from uranium-bearing rocks to ambient soils. Generally, wet season rains reduced 222Rn exhalation but at a few sites the onset of rains caused a step rise in exhalation flux densities. The results show that parameters such as 226Ra activity concentration, soil grain size and soil porosity have a marked effect on 222Rn flux densities. For similar geomorphic sites, 226Ra activity concentration is a dominant factor, but soil grain size and porosity also influence 222Rn exhalation. Surfaces with vegetation showed higher exhalation flux densities than their barren counterparts, perhaps because the associated root structure increases soil porosity and moisture retention. Repeated measurements over one year at eight sites enabled an analysis of precipitation and soil moisture effects on 222Rn exhalation. Soil moisture depth profiles varied both between seasons and at different times during the wet season, indicating that factors such as duration, intensity and time between precipitation events can influence 222Rn flux densities considerably.     

Bioindication-based Estimation of Technogenic Impact on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus sylvestris</Emphasis> L. Populations in the Vicinity of a Radioactive Waste Storage Facility

The spectrum and frequency of cytogenetic aberrations in the reproductive (seeds) and vegetative (foliage) organs of Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) have been studied in the vicinity of the LSK Radon facility for radioactive waste storage and processing and in a 30-km zone around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The results indicate that the pine populations of these regions are exposed to mutagenic factors. In contrast to the 30-km Chernobyl zone, the increased environmental mutagenicity in the vicinity of LSK Radon and in the center of the city of Sosnovyi Bor is mainly accounted for by chemical factors. The results of additional acute γ-irradiation have shown an increased radiation resistance of Scotch pine seeds from the LSK Radon and Sosnovyi Bor populations. Regression analysis demonstrated a significant increase in the cytogenetic aberration rate in plants from the experimental plots throughout the study period (1997–2002).__________Translated from Ekologiya, No. 4, 2005, pp. 275–285.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Geras’kin, Vasil’ev, Dikarev, Udalova, Evseeva, Dikareva, Zimin.     

Climatic signal in radial increment of conifers in forest-steppe of southern Siberia and its dependence on local growing conditions

Radial increments have been studied in Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) growing in the forest-steppe zone of southern Siberia in areas with different landscapes and levels of soil moisture supply but uniform climatic conditions. It has been shown that the radial increment significantly depends on climatic factors, primarily temperatures in April to July and September, sums of precipitation in April to July and September to November, and hydrothermal coefficient in May. The climatiC response in the wood of conifers in the forest-steppe zone differs depending on their species-specific features and local growing conditions.     

Assessment of the reproductive capacity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus sylvestris</Emphasis> trees growing under conditions of chronic exposure to radionuclides of uranium and thorium series

The reproductive capacity of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) has been estimated in trees from the population growing in an area used to store tailings from uranium ore processing and radium production. Under such conditions, 12- to 15-year-old trees produce seeds of a quality inferior to that in areas with a normal background radiation level. As the weighted absorbed dose rate (at a weighting coefficient of 5) for generative organs increases from 0.002 ± 0.0003 to 0.344 ± 0.059 mGy/day, a proportional increase is observed in the proportion of empty seeds and the frequency of cytogenetic disturbances in the root meristem of seedlings, while the survival rate of seedlings decreases. The minimum absorbed dose rate leading to these changes in the pine population is 0.027 mGy/day, i.e., 12 times as high as the control value.     

Recreation and Radial Growth of Pine Forests of the Natural Monument “Lake Turgoyak”, Southern Urals

Russian Journal of Ecology - The study presents results of the influence of recreational impact on the radial growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in old-growth stands at the sites with the V...     

Effect of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Biatorella</Emphasis> canker on pollen viability and variation of shoot characters in Scots pine

Fungal canker caused by Biatorella difformis [Fr.] Rehm. has a deleterious effect on the productivity of Scots pine. Affected trees are characterized by decreased biometric parameters of shoots and needles and impaired pollen germination and tube growth. Their pollen has reduced contents of reserve nutrients and physiologically active substances.     

A study of the impacts of climate change on the geographic distribution of Pinus koraiensis in China.

The climatic conditions and elevation of the potential distribution area of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc) in China were determined by an ecological information system GREEN that has been developed by [Yan H, Booth TH, Zuo H, editors. GREEN--a climatic mapping program for China and its use in forestry. In: Matching trees and sites, ACIAR Proceedings No. 63. Australia: ACIAR, 1996]. The potential distribution areas of this tree species under current and predicted climatic conditions were mapped using IDRISI GIS. Based on the averages of rainfall and temperature predicted by 5 GCMs (GISS, NCAR, OSU, UKMO and MPI, i.e., an "averaged" model) and a new model HadCM2 for 2030, predictions were made on the future distributions of Korean pine. The result shows that the southern boundary of the potential distribution area of Korean pine will have a northward shift of 0.1 degrees to 0.6 degrees in latitude, and the northern boundary will have a northward shift of 0.3 degrees to 0.5 degrees, resulting in an expansion of the potential distribution area by 3.4% according to the average of the five models. However, the distribution areas will be decreased by 12.1% and 44.9% according to the scenarios predicted by HadCM2, which assumes annual increments of CO2 concentrations of 0.5% and 1%, respectively. The authors concluded that if the thresholds were properly selected the actual distribution and potential distribution of a tree species might agree. The projected distribution under changed climatic conditions depends on the GCM scenarios applied. Different GCM scenarios may sometimes give opposite conclusions, as in the case of Korean pine projected by the "averaged" and HadCM2 models.     

Cytogenetic Variation in Populations of Scotch Pine

Cytogenetic variation was analyzed in daughter populations of Scotch pine from the Voronezh Forestry. The dependence of the variation on the method of seed collection (the commercial method; the population method, when seeds from a group of phenotypically normal trees in the center of the forest are collected; or the individual method, when seeds from plus trees are collected) and on the ecological situation at the sampling site (ecologically safe conditions or chemical or physical pollution) was studied. The parameters of the mitotic rate and mitotic pathology were estimated at 7–9% and up to 5%, respectively. These parameters may be considered as normal when estimating the quality of seed progeny in pine and when pine is used as a test object in cytogenetic monitoring. The limits of variation and the spectra of cytogenetic characteristics allowing the pine populations to maintain their homeostasis were also determined.     

贵州喀斯特峰丛山体土壤水分布特征及其影响因素

喀斯特峰丛山体土壤水是喀斯特地区水文及生态环境的重要影响因素。研究喀斯特峰丛山体土壤水分布及其规律对贵州喀斯特地区控制水土流失、防治石漠化、恢复生态环境具有重要的理论和实际意义。选取贵州普定县岩溶区内典型的喀斯特峰丛山体,利用时域反射（TDR）测定山体不同位置在不同植被覆盖、地形、土壤特征及岩石分布下的土壤含水率,分析喀斯特峰丛山体土壤水的空间分布规律及其影响因素。结果表明：各种土地利用类型的山体土壤含水率总体由山体上部向下逐渐减小,土壤含水率随埋深加大显著增加,随坡度的增加而减小。总体上植被覆盖地带土壤含水率高于裸露土壤,相同条件下,林地、低矮灌丛、草地对土壤持水性的影响依次减小。岩石上覆土层较厚时,土壤含水率较高;土层浅薄时,土壤含水率偏低.     

Climate changes in the past century and radial increment of pine in the Southern Ural steppe

Changes in the main climatic factors (air temperature and total precipitation) and their effect on the radial increment of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) over the period from 1933 to 2002 were studied in an insular pine forest growing in the steppe zone of the Southern Urals. Evidence for a significant increase in the amount of precipitation and air temperature in the second half of this period was obtained. Functions of response of radial increment indices to climatic parameters were analyzed. Relative contributions of air temperature and precipitation to variation in the radial increment of pine in different time intervals proved to differ in relation to climate changes during the past century.     

Bioindication of the anthropogenic effects on micropopulations of Pinus sylvestris,L. in the vicinity of a plant for the storage and processing of radioactive waste and in the Chernobyl NPP zone

Results of a comparative analysis of the frequency and spectrum of cytogenetic anomalies are presented for reproductive (seeds) and vegetative (needles) samples taken from Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris, L.) micropopulations growing at sites with differing levels of radioactive contamination in the Chernobyl NPP 30 km zone, and at the location of a facility for the processing and storage of radioactive wastes (the 'Radon' LWPE, near the town of Sosnovy Bor in the Leningrad Region). The data obtained indicate the presence of genotoxic contaminants in the environment of the tree micropopulations. Chemical toxins make the main contribution to the environmental contamination in the Sosnovy Bor area as compared with the influence of ionising radiation in the Chernobyl 30 km zone. The higher radioresistance of seeds of Scotch pine growing on the area of the 'Radon' LWPE and in the centre of Sosnovy Bor town was revealed with acute gamma-radiation.     

Ecophysiological Responses of Larix sibiricaLedeb. and Pinus sibiricaDu Tour Undergrowth to Climate Change

The effects of probable climate change—an increase in atmospheric CO₂(by two times), air temperature, precipitation—on CO₂exchange and temperature dependence of net photosynthesis in the larch and Siberian stone pine undergrowth formed in the light larch forests of West Siberia were studied in chambers with an artificial climate. The change of the aforementioned ecological factors caused an increase in the temperature optima of photosynthesis and the range of optimum temperatures (in the case of Siberian stone pine, to a slightly greater degree). Therefore, the ranges of both species may broaden, and the Siberian stone pine can expand to the north, displacing larch tree stands.     

Gradient analysis of the chrogenetic structure of lowland and highland scotch pine populations

Gradients of genetic distances (GGDs) between 26 adjacent cenopopulations of Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) along the transects through the distinct landscape-ecotopic isolation borders were analyzed graphically. The results made it possible to reveal and quantitatively estimate gradients and borders of gene-pool structural patterns in populations of this species in the central part of Northern Eurasia. In lowland areas, the most distinct borders were found between pine populations growing on dry lands and bogs (Pineta sphagnosa) in the forest zone of the Transural region, as well as between the Arakaragaiskii and Amankaragaiskii island pine forests in the steppe zone (Northern Turgai). In highland areas (the Urals and the Carpathians), the greatest GGDs were observed between low-mountain (about 600 m above sea level) and middle-mountain (850–900 m) populations. Analysis of GGDs is a promising gene-geographic method for determining population borders and studying the chorogenetic structure of species.     

Influence of nonsymbiotic and symbiotic parameters of underground organs on the development of aboveground organs in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus sylvestris</Emphasis> seedlings

A method is described for comparing the influences of nonsymbiotic and symbiotic parameters (accounted for by the plant itself and by the plant together with ectomycorrhizal fungi, respectively) of under-ground organs on the development of aboveground organs. The method has been used to analyze 4- to 12-month Scots pine seedlings from 26 habitats. The results show that 24 to 88% (on average, 54%) of total variation in the weight of aboveground organs is dependent on specific structural features of roots and mycorrhizae, with nonsymbiotic and symbiotic parameters of underground organs accounting for 5–73% (on average, 36%) and 3–45% (on average, 18%) of this variation.