Flora of the ussurian section of the Trans-siberian railway and its correlation with the characteristics of natural biomes

Проведена инвентаризация чужеродных и аборигенных видов растений вдоль Транссибирской магистрали на участке Тельман (Еврейская АО) - Хабаровск (Хабаровский край) - Владивосток (Приморский край) протяженностью 780 км. Исследована растительность 9 железнодорожных станций и участков железной дороги на перегонах, расположенных в трех естественных биомах: Амуро-Уссурийском подтаежном, Зее-Буреинском Приханкайском лесостепном и СихотэАлинском Южном. На каждом участке заложены площадки размером 100 м² в трех различных экотопах: на железнодорожном полотне, на откосах и на подошве железнодорожной насыпи в полосе отчуждения, всего составлено 66 геоботанических описаний. Выявлено 210 видов сосудистых растений: 22 вида древесных растений, 117 поликарпических и 71 вид монокарпических травянистых растений. Чужеродные для флоры Дальнего Востока виды составляют 35% найденных сосудистых растений, 11 из них входят в список самых опасных инвазионных видов России (ТОП-100). Наименее представлена группа древесных растений (10%), наиболее часто встречаются три дерева - инвазионный Acer negundo и аборигенные Salix nipponica и Ulmus pumila. Доля чужеродных видов минимальна в группе древесных растений - 18%. Максимальна доля чужеродных видов среди монокарпических трав (37 видов, 52%), причем большинство монокарпиков (28 видов) являются инвазионными.Наибольшее число видов (162, 77%) отмечено в Амуро-Уссурийском подтаежном биоме, 98 видов (47%) зарегистрировано в Зее-Буреинском Приханкайском лесостепном биоме и 72 вида (34%) - в Сихотэ- Алинском Южном биоме. Число видов коррелирует с природно- климатическими и флористическими характеристиками биомов; по снижению силы корреляции показатели располагаются в ряду: средняя температура → число видов сосудистых растений на 100 км² → среднегодовое количество осадков → общее число видов сосудистых растений. Наименее значимая корреляция с изученными характеристиками отмечена в группе монокарпических трав. Коэффициент сходства флор различных биомов сравнительно низок (Ks ≤ 45%), общими для всех трех биомов являются только 29 видов, причем 18 из них - чужеродные. Самое низкое сходство наблюдается между фитоценозами в полосе отчуждения: это демонстрирует сильное влияние естественной растительности на формирование «железнодорожной» флоры. An inventory of alien and native plant species along the Far East segment of Trans-Siberian Railway was carried out. The studied segment (780 km) runs from Telman station (Jewish Autonomous Region) through Khabarovsk (Khabarovsk Territory) to Vladivostok (Primorsky Territory). Vegetation was studied in three types of natural biomes - Amur-Ussuri Sub-Taiga biome, Zee-Bureya Prikhanka forest-steppe biome, and Sikhote Alin South biome. A total 66 releves were made. 210 species of vascular plants were identified: 22 woody, 117 polycarpic herbs and 71 monocarpic herbs. Alien species for the Far East account for 35% of the vascular plants found, 11 of which are included on the list of the most dangerous invasive species of Russia (Top 100). Woody species are the group that’s least represented (10%), and 3 trees are the most often recorded: invasive Acer negundo, native Salix nipponica and native Ulmus pumila. The maximum fraction of alien species is noted among monocarpic herbs (37 species, 52%), and the majority of these monocarpics (28 species) are invasive. The highest number of species (162, 77%) was recorded in the Amur-Ussuri Sub-Taiga biome. In the Zee-Bureya Prikhanka forest-steppe biome 98 species (47%) were recorded, and 72 species (34%) were recorded in the Sikhote Alin South biome. The number of species correlates with biomes’ natural-climatic and floristic characteristics; in terms of decreasing the force of correlation, the indicators are arranged in the following series: average temperature → number of vascular plant species per 100 km² → average annual precipitation → total number of vascular plant species in the biom. The group of monocarpic herbs has the lowest correlation with the studied factors. The similarity (Sørensen) of the species pool of different biomes is relatively low (Ks ≤ 45%); only 29 species are uniform to all three biomes, and 18 of them are alien ones. The lowest similarity was observed between the plant communities in the railway right of way: this demonstrates the significant influence of natural vegetation on forming the "railway" flora.

Late Cretaceous granitoids of the Sikhote–Alin orogenic belt, southeastern Russia: implications for the Mesozoic geodynamic history of the eastern Asian continental margin

We present new U–Pb age data for granitoids in the Central Sikhote–Alin orogenic belt in SE Russia, which refute the established opinion about the absence of the Late Cretaceous magmatism at the eastern margin of the Paleo-Asian continent. It was previously thought that a period of magmatic quiescence occurred from 88 to 50 Ma, related to subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate under the eastern margin of the Paleo-Asian continent, although this is inconsistent with evidence from the Sikhote–Alin, Sakhalin, and Japan regions. Three suites of plutonic rocks with different ages were identified in this study. The first suite has ages of 105–92 Ma and formed in a syn-orogenic setting. The second (86–83 Ma) and third (ca. 73 Ma) suites formed during the post-orogenic stage of the Sikhote–Alin orogenic belt. The second and third suites were coeval with Late Cretaceous granitoids that formed in a suprasubduction continental arc known as the Eastern Sikhote–Alin volcanic–plutonic belt (ESAVPB). However, the studied rocks are located far inland from the ESAVPB. The ages of the studied granitoids coincide with the timing of a change in the angle of convergence between the Paleo-Pacific Plate and eastern margin of the Paleo-Asian continent. This change in motion of the oceanic plate with respect to the continental plate was probably caused by a rupture in the subducted slab (i.e., a slab tear), followed by asthenospheric upwelling and partial melting of the overlying crust, which ultimately generated post-orogenic intrusive magmatism.Supplementary material:https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5738616

The ground beetles (Caraboidea) of the southern Sikhote-Alin Mountains

This paper presents the results of 30 years of field studies on the Caraboidea fauna of the southern Sikhote-Alin Mountain, Russian Far East. Material was collected at 300+ geographical localities within 18 administrative and seven urban districts of the Primorsky Krai, Russia. A total of 55,953 adult ground beetles belonging to 426 subspecies, 411 species, 86 genera and three families were studied. The families Rhysodidae and Trachypachidae are represented by one species each, while the family Carabidae the remaining 409 species. The resulting sampling-event dataset includes 12,852 occurrences. This is the first dataset underlying an accurate and referenced taxonomic composition, as well as the geographic distribution of the Caraboidea in the southern Sikhote-Alin Mountains, Primorsky Krai, Russian Far East.

Municipal Districts in the System of Landscape-Ecological Zoning of the Northern Sikhote-Alin

The process of landscape-ecological zoning of a large natural object makes it possible to represent spatial combinations of geosystems that perform the most important ecological functions. To preserve them at the level of municipal district government, it is necessary to identify ecologically significant landscapes that can be optimally used in the economy and at the same time being part of the regional system for preserving the natural environment. This is a case study of two municipal districts of Khabarovsk Territory – Vanino and Sovetskaya Gavan, their place in the landscape-ecological zoning of the Northern Sikhote-Alin, the dynamics of spatio-temporal changes in the categories of regional landscape-ecological zoning within these districts have been considered.

Upwelling of Deep-seated Fluid in the Sikhote-Alin Region, Far East of the Eurasian Plate

Spring waters with high-pCO2 content are widely distributed in the Sikhote-Alin region in Russia. Mukhen spa is one such spring located in the northern Sikhote-Alin region. This spa has two types of upwelling spring waters and exhibits distinct chemical signatures. One of the springs originates from a shallow aquifer and features hydrogen and oxygen isotopic ratios of meteoric water with a high 3He/4He ratio, whereas the other originates from a deeper aquifer and features a distinctly negative δ18O with a lower 3He/4He ratio. To understand this apparent discrepancy and the water circulation dynamics beneath Mukhen springs, we utilized all published data concerning the major solute elements and isotopic ratios of Mukhen spring waters and compared them with the He isotopic compositions on several springs in the far eastern region, which are newly analyzed in this study. The results show that the shallow aquifer comprises meteoric water that interacts with the crust enhanced by the gas component welling up from deep underground, while the fluid in deep aquifer fingerprinted the hydration reaction of silicate and involves a mantle component possibly delivered by a deep-seated fluid and/or gas upwelling along the tectonic fault through the western margin of the Sikhote-Alin region.

Orthoptera and Dermaptera of the Sikhote-Alin State Nature Reserve

An annotated list of 37 species of Orthoptera from five families and three species of Dermaptera from two families reliably recorded from the Sikhote-Alin State Nature Reserve is given. All species of Dermaptera and 15 species of Orthoptera are new for the fauna of this reserve.