Effects of pyrogenic factor on wetlands of Petrovskaya Pad' (Jewish Autonomous Region, Russia)

Abstract

In recent decades, a severe wildfire situation threatening the territory along the periphery of the Bastak State Nature Reserve (Russia) has developed in the Petrovskaya Pad'. In this paper, we assessed the current state of the vegetation cover and post-pyrogenic changes in the Petrovskaya Pad', based on the geobotanical survey during a joint expedition in 2009. At present, this area of the Middle Amur Lowland is a vivid example of wetland degradation due to the repeated wildfire impact initiated by the local people and agricultural workers in the Amur region. The widespread xerophytisation process of fen vegetation, due to a sharp drop in the groundwater level, was observed. A comparison with the data of previous studies led to the conclusions that now mesotrophic shrub-Sphagnum bogs, described earlier, have completely disappeared from the vegetation cover of the territory. We suggest that their degradation is caused by the continuously acting pyrogenic factor. In addition, the paper for the first time provides data on the dynamics of the acrotelm structure in the post-pyrogenic period, which were obtained during a nine-year monitoring. The profound changes in the acrotelm structure are responsible for the restoration of mesotrophic bogs taking decades.

Notes on the fauna of beetles (Insecta, Coleoptera) adjacent to the territory of the Mordovia State Nature Reserve

“…Biodiversity conservation is a very important issue, especially, in the face of challenges posed by envir onmental pollution, climate change, and urbanization (Oppenheimer 1989;Bengtsson et al 2000;Dossou, Glehouenou-Dossou 2007;Kovats, Akhtar 2008;Gebremedihin et al 2018;Kopoteva, Kuptsova 2019). It is generally accepted that the protection of life on Earth is not possible through individual efforts of dedicated teams -it is a responsibility of humanity at large and, at the same time, a condition of our survival on the planet.…”

Helminths in Myomorph Rodents (Rodentia, Myomorpha) from the National Park “Smolny” and Its Surroundings (European Russia)

“…The study of helminths of wild mammals in protected areas is of particular interest, because, the species diversity of both animal hosts and their parasites is most fully preserved here as a result of the special regime. In the context of global anthropogenic transformations of natural ecosystems, only protected areas are the most favorable places for animals to live in [11][12][13][14][15], the purpose of which is to preserve the biodiversity of forest ecosystems [16][17][18][19][20][21].…”