A review of exotic earthworm observations in the Canadian boreal forest and taiga zones

In the last decades, concerns have emerged that boreal forests could convert from a carbon sink to a carbon source, thus accentuating climate change. Although forest fire is generally mentioned as the main factor that could cause the boreal forest to transition to a carbon source, other factors, such as exotic earthworm activity, could also play an important role. Invasive exotic earthworms can also affect nutrient cycling, biodiversity and forest dynamics. In this context, a better knowledge of the distribution of exotic earthworms can help understand the likely changes in the ecosystems that they have colonized. Here we report the results of an exhaustive literature review of the presence of exotic earthworms in the Canadian boreal forest and taiga zones. We identified 230 sectors containing 14 earthworm species (11 exotic, 2 native and 1 putative native) in 6 provinces and 3 territories across Canada’s boreal forest and taiga zone. We also report 23 as-yet unpublished observations from the province of Quebec. We note the presence of earthworms in environments (acid soils, harsh climate) that were historically considered inadequate for their survival. This suggests that the portion of Canada’s boreal forests suitable for their presence or colonization is larger than what was previously believed. This study represents the first compilation of exotic earthworm presence in this large northern area. Factors that could affect their distribution and potential effects on boreal ecosystems are also discussed. Globally, several earthworm species seem to be overcoming the previously assumed limitation by temperature and pH.

IMAGES OF A BULL IN ROCK ART OF THE ANGARA

Изучение древнего наскального искусства требует междисциплинарного подхода. Cотрудничество исследователей петроглифов и палеозоологов позволяет провести реконструкцию состава палеофауны региона, помогает в интерпретации териоморфных образов. Предметом изучения данной статьи являются похожие на быков изображения в наскальном искусстве р. Ангара. Многие изображения датируются эпохой неолита - ранней бронзы. Причины их появления в таежном наскальном искусстве могли быть различными: влияние художественной традиции окуневской культуры с юга; стилизация образа лося или оленя; мифологизация образов таежных животных; наличие для древнего художника реальной натуры - дикого быка. Согласно данным палеозоологии в эпоху голоцена на Ангаре обитали реликтовые животные - бизоны, туры. Возможно, они обитали и на Среднем Енисее. Это позволило высказать предположение, что в наскальном искусстве изображен дикий бык, на которого охотился древний человек. The study of ancient rock art requires an interdisciplinary approach. Active cooperation of rock art researchers and paleozoologists makes it possible to reconstruct the composition of the paleofauna, to interpret theriomorphic images. The subject of the article is images similar to bulls in rock art on the Angara River. Many of the images date back to the Neolithic - early Bronze Age. The reasons for their appearance in taiga zone rock art could be diff erent: the infl uence of artistic tradition of the Okunev culture from the South; stylization of the image of an elk or a deer; mythologization of the images of taiga zone animals; the presence of a real animal in the nature - a wild bull. According to paleozoological data of the Holocene Epoch the Angara River valley was inhabited by relict animals - bisons, tours. Perhaps, they also lived in the Middle Yenisei. Therefore, we suggest that some petroglyphs depict a wild bull, which was hunted by an ancient man.

Influence of tillage methods on the yield of winter rye variety Sudarushka

The results of studying the elements of the technology of cultivation of a new variety of winter rye Sudarushka are presented. The research took place in 2019, 2020 in the sub-taiga zone of the Tomsk region. The impact of soil cultivation methods as well as the impact of humic fertiliser from peat Gumostim on the yield of winter rye Sudarushka is evaluated. The soils of the experimental plot are acidic (pH 4.3) soddy-podzolic loamy sandy loam. The arable horizon has a low humus content (1.5%), a low (0.2 mg/100g) content of nitrate nitrogen, a medium content of mobile phosphorus (19.2) and exchangeable potassium (7.1) and a high (11.0 mg/100g) content of mobile aluminium. The scheme of the experiment included four variants of cultivation: ploughing of fallow lands with PlN-4-35 + cultivation KPN-4,2, sowing without packing and with packing; disking with BDMK-2,8 + cultivation KPN-4,2, sowing without packing and with packing. Treatment with humic fertilizer from peat Gumostim at a concentration of 0.001% was carried out during the growing season in the beginning phase of the leaf-tube formation. The average yield of winter rye in the variety Sudarushka during the years of research was 4.66 t/ha in the variant with disking, subsequent cultivation before sowing and further sowing with packing, which is 0.34 t/ha higher than with the traditional method of soil cultivation. The application of humic fertilizer from peat Gumostim on cold sod-podzolic soils enabled the average yield of winter rye to be 4.31 t/ha y, which is 0.39 t/ha higher than without the fertilizer.

Humus substances in the swamp ecosystems of taiga zone of Western Siberia

Eutrophic peatlands with a predominantly humate type of humus is dominated according to content of hydrophobic humus substances accumulated in the solid phase of peat. Oligotrophic peatlands with fulvate type of humus are characterized by minimal storages. Mesotrophic peatlands occupy a transitional position, both in terms of storage and in terms of the humus type – humate-fulvate. Hydrophilic components of the water phase are characterized by fulvate humus, regardless of the type of peatland, but differ in the proportion of the contribution of humus substances in the amphiphilic system of swamp ecosystems. It is the highest in the thickness of the oligotrophic peatland almost 31%, slightly lower in the mesotrophic – 25% and much less in the eutrophic – 6%. Structural features of macromolecules of humic acids of swamp waters of various genesis are determined. The humic acids of mesotrophic waters are adjacent to the group of reduced compounds, they are more enriched with aromatic structures and carboxyl groups in relation to oligotrophic waters. The humic acids of oligotrophic waters belong to a group of oxygenated compounds, have low enrichment of nitrogen, contain more methoxyl carbon and carbohydrates (polysaccharides). These structural features are caused by geochemistry of waters feeding the peatlands and specific mechanisms of humic acids synthesis on the swamps of different genesis. The volume of dissolved organic carbon stock from wetland ecosystems through system of taiga rivers of left bank of Middle Ob is 805 kt per year.

Current carbon storage in forests of two ecoregions of Russia

В связи с глобальным потеплением климата оценка углеродного цикла в лесных экосистемах приобрела особое значение. Один из методов определения депонированного в лесах углерода основан на использовании конверсионных коэффициентов биомассы (ККБ) и данных Государственного учета лесного фонда (ГУЛФ). Путем объединения моделей ККБ с данными ГУЛФ в двух экорегионах России – таежном и лесостепном – было установлено, что за 20–25- летний период накопление органического углерода в таежной зоне значительно меньше (5%) по сравнению с лесостепной зоной (39%). Несмотря на существующие риски стихийных бедствий в лесостепном экотоне, за четверть века наблюдается значительный рост депонированного углерода. Это произошло вследствие высокой доли молодняков в начале анализируемого периода, обладающих повышенным приростом по отношению к спелым древостоям. Сопоставимые результаты были получены одним и тем же методом в разных экорегионах планеты: от 8% за 5 лет в Китае до 68% за 50 лет в Японии. Сравнение результатов, полученных предложенным методом и методом IIASA (Австрия), показало минимальное расхождение (3%), что дает основание считать полученные оценки депонирования углерода близкими к реальности. Однако сохраняется неопределенность, связанная с качеством данных ГУЛФ и депонированием углерода в почве. Due to the global warming of the climate, the assessment of the carbon cycle in forest ecosystems has become particularly important. One method for determining deposited carbon is based on the use of biomass expansion factors (BEF) and State Forest Inventory (SFI) data. By combining BEF models with SFI data in two ecoregions of Russia – taiga and forest-steppe – it was found that over a 20–25-year period, accumulating the carbon deposition in the taiga zone is significantly less (5%) compared to the forest-steppe zone (39%). Despite the existing risks of natural disasters in the forest-steppe ecotone, there is a significant increase in carbon deposition over a quarter of a century. This was due to the high proportion of young stands at the beginning of the analyzed period, which have increased growth in relation to old stands. Comparable results were obtained by the same method in different ecoregions of the planet (from 8% in 5 years in China to 68% in 50 years in Japan). A comparison of the results obtained by the proposed method and the IIASA (Austria) method showed a minimal discrepancy (3%), which gives reason to consider the above estimates of carbon deposition close to reality. However, uncertainties remain related to the quality of the SFI data and the carbon deposition in the soil.

Forest Management Assessment of Biodiversity in the Taiga Zone

The need to preserve biodiversity has been recognized for decades, even centuries in North America, Europe and some other regions of the world. importance of preserving species and wildlife areas is emphasized in many cultures. Preservation of biodiversity in forest management, and especially in industrial logging, is one of the most important tasks of modern forestry. In many countries with the developed forest complex (Finland, Sweden, etc.), the task of preserving natural biodiversity has the same priority in the state forest policy as providing the forest industry with wood raw materials. The main requirements for the biodiversity preservation in Russia are enshrined in the National Standard (Forest Code of the Russian Federation, article 1) governing Voluntary Forest Certification. Organization of forest management in the Vologda region is carried out with consideration of significant aspects of biodiversity preservation. The research purpose is the forestry and economic assessment of biodiversity at the local level in the taiga zone (case study of the Vologda region). The assessment was carried out based on the inventory characteristic obtained in the field studies. The methodological provisions of E.A. Rai and S.I. Slastnikov were used to perform economic assessment of the preservation of key objects. A comparison of the costs of timber logging in biotopes and the income from its sale (in the case of logging stands in key biotopes with the subsequent sale of the resulting timber) showed significant differences between the objects under consideration. It is shown that according to the assortment structure, a significant part of the studied biotopes accrue to firewood. The cost of timber varies from 9.6 to 529.5 ths rubles. The amount of costs at different sites will vary significantly from 9.0 to 340.5 ths rubles due to the possible cutting of key biotopes. At the same time, a negative financial result is observed only at one site (a forest site with a habitat of Neckera pennata, which is included in the Red Data Book of the Vologda Region). The results demonstrate that the allocation of key sites and their further preservation is environmentally sound, but in some cases (when compared with the income from their cutting) is not commercially justified. For citation: Korchagov S.A., Khamitov R.S., Gribov S.E., Ivanova M.G., Belyakov D.V. Forest Management Assessment of Biodiversity in the Taiga Zone. Lesnoy Zhurnal [Russian Forestry Journal], 2021, no. 6, pp. 110–120. DOI: 10.37482/0536-1036-2021-6-110-120

Berry crop productivity assessment in Seltinsky and Vavozhsky forestries in Udmurt Republic

The study of berry crops was carried out on the territory of forest areas located in the southern taiga forests in the European part of the Russian Federation, in the taiga zone and in the area of coniferous-broadleaved (mixed) forests of the European part of the Russian Federation as well as in the zone of coniferous-broadleaved forests. By establishing circular plots in the prevailing types of forest, the dominant berry crops were determined such as cranberries (Vaccinium vítis-idaéa L.), blueberries (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) and wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca L.). The dependence of their yield on the age and the stand density was revealed. The biological, commercial and economic reserves of berry resources are calculated. It is established that there are sufficient volumes for harvesting berries in the studied forest areas. Recommendations on the rational and sustainable use of these resources are given.

Parameters of the autumn migration stopover of the chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita Vieillot, 1817) (Sylviidae, Aves) in the conditions of the middle taiga in the Eastern Russian plain

Parameters of the autumn migration stopover of the chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita (Vieillot, 1817) in the taiga zone of the Eastern Russian plain were estimated. The studies were carried out in 2015–2019, a total of 1,634 birds were included in our analysis. It has been established that migrating chiffchaffs can be conditionally divided into two groups. The first group consists of transit individuals leaving their stopover just on the day of arrival, without delay. The other group includes individuals who make stopovers for a longer period (4.87 days on average). For the birds of both groups, changes in their body weight and fat accumulation rate were revealed during one day and throughout the entire migration stopover. During an average migration stopover, birds retain their energy reserves at a certain level. In general, they accumulate no more than 5% of the average body weight in the population during the average stop period. A smaller proportion of migrants make multi-day stops when the fat accumulation rate is low. Every day of staying at a migration stopover leads to temporary surges and losses in body weight, with no increase in body fat. Birds, at the end of their migration season, spend more time and energy for looking for food. The part of migratory birds deciding to stop finds themselves in the most optimal conditions. This small group is the main reserve for preserving the population during the difficult period of migration.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ ЕСТЕСТВЕННОГО ЛЕСОВОЗОБНОВЛЕНИЯ ГАРИ УРАЙСКОГО ЛЕСНИЧЕСТВА ХМАО

Приведены данные исследований естественного лесовозобновления гари в условиях Западно-Сибирского среднетаежного равнинного лесного района таежной лесорастительной зоны (на примере Урайского лесничества, расположенного в юго-западной части Ханты-Мансийского автоном- ного округа – Югры на территории кондинского административного района). Оценка лесовозобновле- ния проведена по методу учетных лент, заложенных на расстоянии 50 и 100 м от стены леса. Данные исследований показали непрерывность лесовосстановительного процесса на гари. Отмечается наличие всходов, самосева и подроста высотных категорий «мелкий», «средний» и «крупный». лесовозобновле- ние гари происходит двумя древесными породами – сосной и березой. По существующим нормативам возобновление сосны оценивается как хорошее. По количеству всходов и подроста преобладает сосна. При удалении от стены леса на 100 м происходит уменьшение количества всходов и подроста всех кате- горий крупности в 2–3 раза в сравнении с аналогичными показателями на расстоянии 50 м от стены леса независимо от вида древесной породы. Во всех высотных категориях отмечается преобладание жизне- способного подроста сосны – до 90–100 %, что является основным показателем успешности лесовос- становления исследуемой гари на данном этапе развития. береза в большинстве случаев представлена сомнительными по жизнеспособности экземплярами. В качестве лесохозяйственных мероприятий мож- но предложить проведение мониторинга за состоянием подроста и уходные мероприятия за подростом. The results of features formations of post-fire pine undergrowth on burnt area of the middle taiga zone of Western Siberia (for example, Uraisk forestry department) in location of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area. Undergrowth was studied on tapes laid out parallel to the forest edges at a distance of 50 and 100. According to studies it is observed of reafforestation continuity of burned areas. The presence of sprouting and undergrowth of the high- elevation categories «small», «medium» and «large» is noted. The burned areas reforestation with two tree species – pine and birch proceed. According to current specification, the pine natural regeneration is assessed as «normal». The amount of pine undergrowth is greater than the amount of birch undergrowth. To be at 100 m from forest edges the number of seedlings and undergrowth decreases by 2–3 times in comparison with the same indicators at 50 m from the forest edges. There is a predominance of vital pine undergrowth – up to 90–100 %. This is evidence of the successful reforestation of burned areas at this stage of development.