A spatial assessment of the forest carbon budget for Ukraine

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - The spatial representation of forest cover and forest parameters is a prerequisite for undertaking a systems approach to the full and...     

X-Ray microanalytical techniques based on synchrotron radiation

The development of 3rd generation synchrotron radiation sources like European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in parallel with recent advances in the technology of X-ray microfocusing elements like Kirkpatrick-Baez (KB) mirrors, diffractive (Fresnel zone plates, FZP) and refractive (compound refractive lenses, CRL) optics, makes it possible to use X-ray microscopy techniques with high energy X-rays (energy superior to 4 keV). Spectroscopy, imaging, tomography and diffraction studies of samples with hard X-rays at micrometre and sub-micrometre spatial resolutions are now possible. The concept of combining these techniques as a high-energy microscopy has been proposed and successfully realized at the ESRF beamlines. Therefore a short summary of X-ray microscopy techniques is presented first. The main emphasis will be put on those methods which aim to produce sub-micron and nanometre resolution. These methods fall into three broad categories: reflective, refractive and diffractive optics. The basic principles and recent achievements will be discussed for all optical devices. Recent applications of synchrotron based microanalytical techniques to characterise radioactive fuel particles (UO(2)) released from the Chernobyl reactor are reported.     

Geographic variations in anthropogenic drivers that influence the vulnerability and resilience of social-ecological systems

Across the circumpolar North large disparities in the distribution of renewable and nonrenewable resources, human population density, capital investments, and basic residential and transportation infrastructure combine to create recognizable hotspots of recent and foreseeable change. Northern Fennoscandia exemplifies a relatively benign situation due to its current economic and political stability. Northern Russia is experiencing rapid, mostly negative changes reflecting the general state of crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union. North America enjoys a relatively stable regulatory structure to mitigate environmental degradation associated with industry, but is on the verge of approving massive new development schemes that would significantly expand the spatial extent of potentially affected social-ecological systems. Institutional or regulatory context influences the extent to which ecosystem services are buffered against environmental change. With or without a warming climate, certain geographic areas appear especially vulnerable to damages that may threaten their ability to supply goods and services in the near future. Climate change may exacerbate this situation in some places but may offer opportunities to enhance resilience in the long term.     

Satellite-Derived Mean Fire Return Intervals As Indicators Of Change In Siberia (1995–2002)

Under current climate change scenarios, temperatures in Siberia are expected to increase, and consequently, fire is also expected to increase. Potential climate-induced change is difficult to assess in Siberia because ground-based fire data are not complete. This investigation introduces a method by which potential climate-induced change can be remotely evaluated. Mean fire return intervals are established for 58 ecosystems across Siberia using eight years of satellite-based area burned data (1995 to 2002). Mean fire return intervals should decrease under current climate change scenarios, however the results do not currently demonstrate consistent evidence of fire-induced change. The overall boreal forest mean fire return interval is lower than the published mean, inferring increased fire. Most notably, using satellite data to calculate mean fire return intervals in individual ecosystems for the entire population of fire is shown to be a viable method by which potential climate-induced land cover change can be evaluated.     

The International Boreal Forest Research Association: Understanding Boreal Forests and Forestry in a Changing World

Boreal forests represent a biome of the planet whose unique characteristics are changing rapidly under the influence of both human and natural pressures. These forests hold the key to current and future supply of coniferous industrial wood and at the same time play a significant role in regulating Earth's climatic system. Expected to be one of the most rapidly impacted regions of the world by future climate change, the boreal biome has already been substantially affected by global change. It is likely that if unabated, continued change will lead to impoverishment and degradation of boreal ecosystems, with consequent loss of vital services upon which human society depends. An improved systems understanding of the functioning of circumpolar boreal forests is a pressing challenge for boreal forest science and is needed in order to estimate their resilience to perturbations, to predict likely responses to the changing environment, and to design mitigation strategies. With such understanding, coordinated international efforts can be focused on developing anticipatory strategies for adaptation to, and mitigation of dangerous consequences of global change for boreal resources. The International Boreal Forest Research Association (IBFRA) provides a focus for international research on these issues and serves as a global window for boreal forest science and sustainable forest management in the boreal region.     

Gamma-dose rates from terrestrial and Chernobyl radionuclides inside and outside settlements in the Bryansk Region, Russia in 1996-2003

In order to estimate current external gamma doses to the population of the Russian territories contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl accident, absorbed gamma-dose rates in air (DR) were determined at typical urban and suburban locations. The study was performed in the western districts of the Bryansk Region within the areas of 30 settlements (28 villages and 2 towns) with the initial levels of 137Cs deposition ranging from 13 to 4340 kBqm(-2). In the towns, the living areas considered were private one-story wooden and stone houses. DR values were derived from in situ measurements performed with the help of gamma-dosimeters and gamma-spectrometers as well as from the results of soil samples analysis. In the areas under study, the values of DR from terrestrial radionuclides were 25+/-6, 24+/-5, 50+/-10, 32+/-6, 54+/-11, 24+/-8, 20+/-6, 25+/-8, and 18+/-5 nGyh(-1) at locations of kitchen gardens, dirt surfaces, asphalt surfaces, wooden houses, stone houses, grasslands inside settlement, grasslands outside settlement, ploughed fields, and forests, respectively. In 1996-2001, mean normalized (per MBqm(-2) of 137Cs current inventory in soil) values of DR from (137)Cs were 0.41+/-0.07, 0.26+/-0.13, 0.15+/-0.07, 0.10+/-0.05, 0.05+/-0.04, 0.48+/-0.12, 1.04+/-0.22, 0.37+/-0.07, and 1.15+/-0.19 microGyh(-1) at the locations of kitchen gardens, dirt surfaces, asphalt surfaces, wooden houses, stone houses, grasslands inside settlement, grasslands outside settlement, ploughed fields, and forests, respectively. The radiometric data from this work and the values of occupancy factors determined for the Russian population by others were used for the assessments of annual effective doses to three selected groups of rural population. The normalized (per MBqm(-2) 137Cs current ground deposition) external effective doses to adults from 137Cs ranged from 0.66 to 2.27 mSvy(-1) in the years 1996-2001, in accordance with professional activities and structures of living areas. For the areas under study, the average external effective doses from 137Cs were estimated to be in the range of 0.39-1.34 mSvy(-1) in 2001. The average external effective doses from natural radionuclides appeared to be lower than those from the Chernobyl fallout ranging from 0.15 to 0.27 mSvy(-1).     

Estimating the Carbon Content of Russian Forests; A Comparison of Phytomass/Volume and Allometric Projections

Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change - As increased attention is being paid to the role Russian forests play in the global carbon budget, the desirability of being able to...     

Photodegradation of the herbicide goal

Photodegradation products of the herbicide Goal active ingredient were obtained with a xenon lamp and analyzed using direct inlet mass spectrometry, MS/MS and GC/MS. A number of products were identified and their generation pathways were established to be mainly Ar—O bond cleavage, dechlorination and photocyclisation. The latter process gives chlorinated and unchlorinated dibenzofurans some of which may be toxic.