Dynamics of the surface air temperature and amount of precipitation in the Polar, Northern, and Southern Urals in the 20th century is analyzed. Charts of the temperature distribution in the Urals for the period from 1961 to 2000, taking into account the relief, are plotted in the geographical informational system on the basis of data of instrumental measurements at meteorological stations with the use of the multiple regression analysis and raster modeling. The northeastern direction of the warming gradient and increase of falling precipitations in the period under review is established. Time series of anomalies of the average annual air temperature and amount of precipitation in the 20th century at three meteorological stations, situated in the Polar, Northern, and Southern Urals, are analyzed. The tendency of the growth of anomalies of the average annual temperature and total amount of precipitation is revealed.

Climate warming impacts on alpine treeline dynamics. However, we still lack robust assessments of the long-term impacts of climate on tree recruitment at the treeline, particularly in remote areas such as the subarctic regions of Russia subjected to different climate influences. We expected that the treelines in two regions may have different features and dynamics patterns. We analyzed climate variables and assessed treeline dynamics by quantifying recruitment using the tree rings of ca. 7000 trees of four species (Betula pubescens Ehrh. ssp. tortuosa, Pinus sylvestris L., Picea abies Ledeb. ssp. obovata, Larix gmelinii Rupr.) along 14 altitudinal transects (series of study plots). We compared the Khibiny Massif (Kola Peninsula) and the western Putorana Plateau, subjected to oceanic and continental influences, respectively. In both regions, summers became warmer, and winters became snowier during the past century. At the low part of the treeline ecotone, tree recruitment has slowly increased since the mid-18th century at the Putorana Plateau and the mid-19th century at the Khibiny but accelerated in the early 20th century at both regions and reached a maximum peak in the second half of the past century. Treeline encroachment intensified in the 1930s at the Khibiny and the 1950s at the Putorana Plateau. Trees encroached in the tundra leading to upward treeline shifts in the late 20th century. The slope exposure affected the rates of treeline shift with higher upward advances on southern-oriented slopes. Tree recruitment and early-winter precipitation were positively correlated. The differences in species composition, treeline altitude and influences of slope orientation on treeline dynamics can be explained primarily by differences in the degree of continentality. The abundance of saplings in both regions allows the future encroachment of trees into tundra and further treeline upward shifts to be forecast.

The aim was to study effects of radioactive contamination of a territory on human adaptive mechanisms with special emphasis on cardiovascular risk factors. The adaptive reactions of the human body as a result of long radiation exposure were studied by analyzing heart rate variability and blood pressure. Methods: A sample consisted of 944 residents of the Urals region. Of them, 223 lived in the Techa River basin, into which liquid radioactive waste materials were released, 587 lived in the zone of the East Ural Radioactive Trace (EURT), and 134 residents lived in a non-polluted area. Short electrocardiograms (100 R-R intervals) were recorded. Continuous data were analyzed using Scheffe test two-way analysis of variance. Proportions were analyzed using tests assuming binomial distribution. Results: Heart rate variability and blood pressure were chosen as indicators of adaptive reactions of the human body. Substantial proportion of the population living in radioactive contaminated areas is in the state of the stress, as expressed by the deviation from the normal values of SI (at 52.2 % of the sample), SDNN (at 58.1 % of the sample), and from the normal values of VBI (at 42.7 % of the sample). Mean values of SI among residents of the Techa River basin were significantly different from the corresponding values among study participants from other territories. Conclusions: We observed significant effect of radioactive pollution on the state of adaptation mechanisms of the Urals region population. It is shown that regulatory system is in stress at significant part of population living in radioactive contaminated territories.

Previous studies discovered a spatially heterogeneous expansion of Siberian larch into the tundra of the Polar Urals (Russia). This study reveals that the spatial pattern of encroachment of tree stands is related to environmental factors including topography and snow cover. Structural and allometric characteristics of trees, along with terrain elevation and snow depth were collected along a transect 860 m long and 80 m wide. Terrain curvature indices, as representative properties, were derived across a range of scales in order to characterize microtopography. A density-based clustering method was used here to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of tree stems distribution. Results of the topographic analysis suggest that trees tend to cluster in areas with convex surface. The clustering analysis also indicates that the patterns of tree locations are linked to snow distribution. Records from the earliest campaign in 1960 show that trees lived mainly at the middle and bottom of the transect across the areas of high snow depth. As trees expanded uphill with a warming climate in recent decades, the high snow depth areas also shifted upward creating favorable conditions for recent trees growth at locations that were previously covered with heavy snow. The identified landscape signatures of increasing above-ground Arctic biomass in terms of tall vegetation can facilitate scaling to larger area regions.