Net primary production of Ural forests: Methods and results of automated estimating

Methodical approaches to forest biomass and net primary production estimating are studied and their regression models are designed. By means of combining these models and State Forest Account database of 305 forest enterprises of the Ural region the total forest biomass (9.11 billion tons) and net primary production (542 million tons) are calculated. The models and calculating algorithms are involved into the information system on the base of the Software AG platform Natural, which allows to estimate and to re-calculate forest biomass and net primary production on some territory in automatic mode.     

Halotolerant bacteria of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arthrobacter</Emphasis> degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Eight strains of bacteria capable of degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have been isolated from soils and bottom sediments sampled in the region of Verkhnekamskoe potash deposit (Berezniki, Perm krai) and classified with the genus Arthrobacter on the basis of phylogenetic analysis (16S rRNA genes) and morphological and chemotaxonomic characters. According to the results of 16S rDNA sequence alignment, strains B905, SMB11, SMB145, SF27, and DF14 show the highest sequence homology to the type strain of A. crystallopoietes (99.7%), and strain SN17, to the type strain of A. arilaitensis (99.8%). The isolated strains are capable of growing on naphthalene and phenanthrene (as the sole sources of carbon and energy) in the presence of 60 mg/l NaCl. Their cells contain large plasmids ranging in size from 85 to 130 kb. Plasmid elimination from Arthrobacter sp. SF27 has proved to result in the loss of capacity for growing on naphthalene and phenanthrene, suggesting a plasmid localization of genes responsible for degradation of these compounds.     

Morphophysiological responses of Pinus sylvestris L. and Picea obovata Ledeb. to industrial pollution under conditions of Northwestern Russia

Morphophysiological parameters of needles have been studied in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Siberian spruce (Picea obovata Ledeb.) trees of different life states growing under conditions of industrial air pollution with sulfur and heavy metals. Three functional clusters (tentatively named the initial, transitional, and disastrous clusters), each characterized by a certain metabolic status, have been revealed, and their quantitative and qualitative structure has been evaluated. The morphophysiological responses of pine and spruce are shown to be qualitatively different, depending on differentiation of trees with respect to vitality under conditions of industrial pollution. Probable factors accounting for these differences are discussed.     

Morphological Diversity and Variability of Sympatric Populations of Crucian and Prussian Carps in Radionuclide Contaminated Lakes in the Southern Urals

The variation in the body shape of crucian and prussian carps has been studied by methods of geometric morphometrics in sympatric populations from two geographically close lakes in the Southern Urals subjected to different degrees of contamination with anthropogenic radionuclides. Along with particular interspecies features, interpopulation differences have been detected as multidirectional reorganization of cyprinid morphogenesis under different ecological conditions of adjacent lakes. The morphogenetic divergence of crucian carp from adjacent lakes is almost two times smaller than that of the prussian carp coexisting with them. The increased intragroup morphodiversity in prussian carp indicates incomplete adaptation of the fish to anthropogenic radionuclide contamination of the lakes and their high morphogenetic plasticity and high adaptive potential than in crucian carp.     

Morphogenetic Effects of Drought and Nonselective Elimination in Population of Bank Vole (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Clethrionomys glareolus</Emphasis>) in Southern Taiga Subzone

Methods of geometric morphometrics have been used to estimate the influence ratio of nonselective elimination and drought factors on variation in the shape and size of the mandible in the population of bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus Schreb.) in the southern taiga subzone. Nonselective elimination of rodent populations for medical and sanitary purposes was carried out in a felling site located in a focus of hemorrhagic fever, in the spring of a climatically normal year and of a dry year. The summer samples of mature young of the year from control bank vole colonies and impact colonies (i.e., recovered after deratization) in adjacent years have been compared. The results show that drought, nonselective elimination, and the interaction of these factors have significant effects on the size and shape of the mandible. Changes in its shape under drought conditions are largely due to allometry. Morphogenetic effects of nonselective elimination are highly repeatable between climatically different years. A significantly higher level of within-group morphological disparity (MNND) of the undisturbed control cenopopulation in a dry year has been revealed, which indirectly indicates a stronger destabilization of morphogenesis upon exposure to the autecological factor. Every ecological factor contributes to the development of specific configurations of the mandible; i.e., it induces certain changes in morphogenesis in response to aut- and synecological effects and their combination.     

Climate change impacts on critical international transportation assets of Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS): the case of Jamaica and Saint Lucia

This contribution presents an assessment of the potential vulnerabilities to climate variability and change (CV & C) of the critical transportation infrastructure of Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS). It focuses on potential operational disruptions and coastal inundation forced by CV & C on four coastal international airports and four seaports in Jamaica and Saint Lucia which are critical facilitators of international connectivity and socioeconomic development. Impact assessments have been carried out under climatic conditions forced by a 1.5 °C specific warming level (SWL) above pre-industrial levels, as well as for different emission scenarios and time periods in the twenty-first century. Disruptions and increasing costs due to, e.g., more frequent exceedance of high temperature thresholds that could impede transport operations are predicted, even under the 1.5 °C SWL, advocated by the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and reflected as an aspirational goal in the Paris Climate Agreement. Dynamic modeling of the coastal inundation under different return periods of projected extreme sea levels (ESLs) indicates that the examined airports and seaports will face increasing coastal inundation during the century. Inundation is projected for the airport runways of some of the examined international airports and most of the seaports, even from the 100-year extreme sea level under 1.5 °C SWL. In the absence of effective technical adaptation measures, both operational disruptions and coastal inundation are projected to increasingly affect all examined assets over the course of the century.     

BRC4Env,a network of Biological Resource Centres for research in environmental and agricultural sciences

The Biological Resource Centre for the Environment BRC4Env is a network of Biological Resource Centres (BRCs) and collections whose leading objectives are to improve the visibility of genetic and biological resources maintained by its BRCs and collections and to facilitate their use by a large research community, from agriculture research to life sciences and environmental sciences. Its added value relies on sharing skills, harmonizing practices, triggering projects in comparative biology, and ultimately proposing a single-entry portal to facilitate access to documented samples, taking into account the partnership policies of research institutions as well as the legal frame which varies with the biological nature of resources. BRC4Env currently includes three BRCs: the Centre for Soil Genetic Resources of the platform GenoSol, in partnership with the European Conservatory of Soil Samples; the Egg Parasitoids Collection (EP-Coll); and the collection of ichthyological samples, Colisa. BRC4Env is also associated to several biological collections: microbial consortia (entomopathogenic bacteria, freshwater microalgae…), terrestrial arthropods, nematodes (plant parasitic, entomopathogenic, animal parasitic...), and small mammals. The BRCs and collections of BRC4Env are involved in partnership with academic scientists, as well as private companies, in the fields of medicinal mining, biocontrol, sustainable agriculture, and additional sectors. Moreover, the staff of the BRCs is involved in many training courses for students from French licence degree to Ph.D, engineers, as well as ongoing training.     

Climate change impacts detection in dry forested ecosystem as indicated by vegetation cover change in —Laikipia,of Kenya

The objective of the study was to detect and identify land cover changes in Laikipia County of Kenya that have occurred during the last three decades. The land use types of study area are six, of which three are the main and the other three are the minor. The main three, forest, shrub or bush land and grassland, changed during the period, of which grasslands reduced by 5864 ha (40%), forest by 3071 ha (24%) and shrub and bush land increased by 8912 ha (43%). The other three minor land use types were bare land which had reduced by 238 ha (45%), river bed vegetation increased by 209 ha (72%) and agriculture increased by 52 ha (600%) over the period decades. Differences in spatiotemporal variations of vegetation could be largely attributed to the effects of climate factors, anthropogenic activities and their interactions. Precipitation and temperature have been demonstrated to be the key climate factors for plant growth and vegetation development where rainfall decreased by 200 mm and temperatures increased by 1.5 °C over the period. Also, the opinion of the community on the change of land use and management was attributed to climate change and also adaptation strategies applied by the community over time. For example unlike the common understanding that forest resources utilisation increases with increasing human population, Mukogodo dry forested ecosystem case is different in that the majority of the respondents (78.9%) reported that the forest resource use was more in that period than now and also a similar majority (74.2%) had the same opinion that forest resource utilisation was low compared to last 30 years. In Yaaku community, change impacts were evidenced and thus mitigation measures suggested to address the impacts which included the following: controlled bush management and indigenous grass reseeding programme were advocated to restore original grasslands, and agricultural (crop farming) activities are carried out in designated areas outside the forest conservation areas (ecosystem zoning) all in consultation with government (political class), community and other stakeholders. Groups are organised (environmental management committee) to address conservation, political and vulnerability issues in the pastoral dry forested ecosystem which will sustain pastoralism in the ecosystem.     

Arsenate removal from underground water by polystyrene-confined hydrated ferric oxide (HFO) nanoparticles:effect of humic acid

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Arsenic decontamination from groundwater is an urgent but still challenging task. Polystyrene-based hydrated ferric oxide (denoted as D201-HFO)...