Acrospermum compressum. [Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria].

A description is provided for Acrospermum compressum, which is saprobic on dead herbaceous stems. Some information on its associated organisms and substrata, dispersal and transmission, habitats and conservation status is given, along with details of its geographical distribution (North America (Canada (British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec)), USA (Alabama, California, DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin), Central America (Costa Rica), South America (Brazil (Bahia, Goias, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Sul), Colombia), Arctic Ocean (Denmark (Greenland)), Asia (China, Republic of Georgia, Kazakhstan (Almaty Oblast, East Kazakhstan), Pakistan, Russia (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Primorsky Krai, Sakha Republic, Sakhalin Oblast)), Australasia (New Zealand), Caribbean (Cuba), Europe (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia (Kursk Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, Moscow Oblast, Novgorod Oblast, Pskov Oblast), Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK)).

Trichodelitschia bisporula. [Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria].

A description is provided for Trichodelitschia bisporula, a dung-inhabiting fungus. Some information on its associated organisms and substrata, dispersal and transmission, habitats and conservation status is given, along with details of its geographical distribution (Africa (Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Zimbabwe), North America (Canada (Manitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Yukon), USA (Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah)), Central America (Panama), South America (Argentina, Chile, Falkland Islands/Malvinas), Arctic Ocean (Denmark (Greenland)), Asia (India (Goa, Tamil Nadu), Japan, Russia (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug)), Atlantic Ocean (Spain (Canary Islands)), Australasia (Australia (New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia), New Zealand), Europe (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark (including Faroe Islands), Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy (including Sicily), Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia (Kursk Oblast, Mari El Republic, Moscow Oblast, Murmansk Oblast, Pskov Oblast, Republic of Kalmykia), Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, UK)).

Cyathicula cyathoidea. [Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria].

A description is provided for Cyathicula cyathoidea, found on dead herbaceous stems, sometimes also woody twigs; soft fleshy cream-coloured superficial cup-shaped ascomata on slender stalks, but lacking hairs or prominent teeth; disc concave; cup tissues composed of parallel hyphae with very thick, refractive, gelatinized walls; asci with a pore bluing in iodine; ascospores aseptate, mostly less than 13 μm long. Some information on its associated organisms and substrata, dispersal and transmission, economic impacts, habitats and conservation status is given, along with details of its geographical distribution (Africa (Morocco, Zimbabwe), North America (Canada (British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Quebec), Mexico, USA (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington), South America (Argentina, Chile, Peru, Venezuela), Arctic Ocean, (Denmark (Greenland), Norway (Svalbard)), Asia (Armenia, China (Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Xinjiang), Georgia, India (Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh), Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan (Almaty Oblast, Chimkent Oblast, East Kazakhstan), Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russia (Altai Krai, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Kamchatka Krai, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Magadan Oblast, Primorsky Krai, Sakhalin Oblast), South Korea, Turkey), Atlantic Ocean (Portugal (Madeira), Spain (Canary Islands)), Australasia (Australia (New South Wales, Tasmania), New Zealand)), Caribbean (Cuba), Europe, (Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Russia (Kursk Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, Moscow Oblast, Murmansk Oblast, Novgorod Oblast, Smolensk Oblast, Tula Oblast, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug), Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK)).

Calloria urticae. [Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria].

A description is provided for Calloria urticae. Some information on its associated organisms and substrata, dispersal and transmission, habitats and conservation status is given, along with details of its geographical distribution (North America (USA (Delaware, Georgia, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Wisconsin)) Asia, (Armenia, Republic of Georgia, Kazakhstan (Almaty Oblast, East Kazakhstan), Russia (Altai Krai, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Primorsky Krai, Sakhalin Oblast)), Europe (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia (Arkhangelsk Oblast, Krasnodar Krai, Kursk Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, Moscow Oblast, Novgorod Oblast, Pskov Oblast, Smolensk Oblast, Vladimir Oblast), Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK)).

Lachnum sulphureum. [Descriptions of Fungi and Bacteria].

A description is provided for Lachnum sulphureum. Some information on its associated organisms and substrata, dispersal and transmission, habitats and conservation status is given, along with details of its geographical distribution (Africa (Morocco, Rwanda), North America (Canada (Manitoba, Ontario), USA (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington)), South America (Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul)), Asia (Republic of Georgia, India (Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand), Japan, Kazakhstan (Almaty Oblast, East Kazakhstan), Nepal, Russia (Altai Krai, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Primorsky Krai), Turkey), Australasia (Australia (Victoria), New Zealand (also Kermadek Islands)), Europe (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia (Kursk Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, Mari El Republic, Moscow Oblast, Vladimir Oblast), Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK)).

Agriculture of the Kursk oblast: trajectory of unsustainable development

Changes in the structure and territorial organization of agriculture of the Kursk region in the process of its adaptation to post-Soviet economic conditions are revealed. In the crisis 1990s, a strong decline in agricultural production was accompanied by a polarization of the territory into islands of relative prosperity in areas with better land and around large, economically successful industrial enterprises, on the one hand, and the northwestern periphery, characterized by degradation of agricultural production and renaturalization of agricultural landscapes, on the other. The recovery growth of agriculture that began in the 2010s has led to a new spatial structuring – the concentration of livestock in certain places during the selective development of agricultural land by agricultural holdings in the region. This deter- mines a high degree of territorial differentiation of scale, specialization, structure and technical equip- ment of regional farms. Multiple differences between the regions in the provision of farms equipment, the level of fertilization, the role of farms of different categories have been revealed. The center of the region has lost its leading position in agricultural production. Positive agricultural dynamics is accompanied by negative ecological processes: insufficient level of fertilization, monoculture in agriculture, deterioration of the structure of sown areas, poor utilization of increasing waste of livestock complexes. The modern agricultural specialization of the districts of the Kursk region and their characteristic agro- ecological problems are established.

Late Pleistocene (Eemian) mollusk and small mammal fauna from Mikhailovka-5 (Kursk oblast, Central Russia)

The locality Mikhailovka-5 is situated in the northern part of the Mikhailovka quarry in the northwest of the Kursk Oblast in central Russia. A rich mollusk fauna was collected along with small mammal remains from this lacustrine deposit located between Likhvinian (= Holsteinian) fossil soils and Valdayian (= Weichselian) periglacial deposits. The small mammal fauna is diverse, and includes numerous rodents, e.g., such indicative taxa as Arvicola ex gr. sapidus and Microtus ex gr. agrestis, a significant number of Clethrionomys glareolus and various insectivores. This assemblage closely corresponds to other Mikulino (= Eemian) faunas from the Russian Plain. The mollusk fauna includes a large number of terrestrial species, some of which have currently a more southern and western distribution. Both the molluskan and mammal faunas from Mikhailovka-5 indicate temperate climatic conditions, as evidenced by the diversity of insectivores, particularly the moles. Abundant remains of rodents of the genera Clethrionomys, Apodemus, and Microtus (Terricola) and of mollusks such as Acme, Macrogastra, Ruthenica, Punctum, and Acanthinula indicate the presence of extensive woodlands of mixed or broadleaf type, which were typical for this latitude during the Eemian interglacial. The palaeontological data provided in this paper, confirm that Mikhailovka-5 belongs to the Mikulino interglacial, as previously suggested by pedological arguments.