Specificity of the distribution of oxidized substance fractions in soils of technogenic landscapes

The accumulation and distribution of fractions of oxidized substances in soils of technogenic landscapes formed at coal mine waste dumps are investigated for the first time.     

Green algae in spruce forests in the north-east of European Russia

The green algal communities in podzolic soils under coniferous forest in N.E. European Russia were studied in areas that were subjected to different technogenic pollution intensities. Sixty-five green algal species belonging to 4 classes, 12 orders, 20 families and 27 genera were recorded. The algal communities in the investigated soils of the different type spruce phytocoenoses included from 15 to 38 taxa on one site. Indicator species were identified for background spruce forests (Chalmydomonas gelatinosa, Tetracystis aggregata, T. dissociata, Pseudopleurococcus botryoides, Myrmecia bisecta) and for aerotechnogenically polluted spruce forests (Actinochloris sphaerica). The results may be used for the monitoring of the ecological state of biota in soils under boreal forests of protected areas and spruce forests exposed to intense aerial technogenic pollution. Presented at the International Symposium Biology and Taxonomy of Green Algae V, Smolenice, June 26–29, 2007, Slovakia.     

Group composition of iron in embryozems of technogenic landscapes in the steppe core of the Kuznetsk Basin

Comparison of iron forms content in the profile of embryozems of technogenic landscapes in the steppe core of the Kuznetsk Basin and of zonal soils revealed a significant genetic difference. This is considered to be a diagnostic feature of the type, rate, and orientation of soil processes.     

Microbiological diagnostics of soil stage in the phyllosphere of the woodland ecosystem of Siberia

It is shown that the diagnostics of the stage of woodland soils affected by wildfires and forest cuts can be determined by the evaluation indexes of the range of the scale of abundance of typical ecologic-and-trophic groups of microorganisms (ECTGM), microbiological activity coefficients, reserve and abundance fluctuations, and metabolism. The degree of impact of the technogenic emissions on the forest cover, soil, and phyllosphere according to ECTGM abundance on the diagnostic environments and their fermentative activity is expressed with the help of an advisability functional relation.     

Ecological-physiological diversity of microbial communities in the anthropogenically impacted landscapes of Kuzbass

Data on the viable pool of microorganisms detected in the upper layer of technogenic soils formed on coal dumps, ash dumps and ore slurries are presented. The ecophysiological features of oligotrophic bacteria communities have been revealed; tiny colonial forms and biofilms of prokaryotes have been detected; the effect of recultivation and soil improvers on the composition of the major groups of microorganisms has been shown.     

Biochemical criteria for assessment of the population status of the northern birch mouse in technologic pollution]

Energy metabolism and microsomal oxidation in the liver of meadow mice caught near a source of technogenic pollution (0.5 km from the enterprise) were studied for 2 years for their peculiarities. Intensification of oxidative processes of succinic acid in the liver mitochondria and a tendency to a decrease of glycolysis in the liver homogenates were observed. Under conditions of technogenic pollution in liver of animals the level of lipid peroxidation and rate of aniline metabolism increase. Activation of the processes of aminopyrine metabolism took place in the meadow mice liver only for one season. The next year the rate of aminopyrine metabolism in the animals liver was lower. This is explained by the system inhibition under the effect of technogenic factors. Therefore, the investigation of biochemical indices is used to indicate the unfavourable effect of technogenic factors in the natural populations of small rodents.     

Characteristics of acute respiratory viral infections in children under conditions of technogenic environmental pollution

The results of observations on children with acute virus respiratory infections (ARVI) and who had long been residents of zones with different levels of technogenic pollution of the atmospheric air are presented. The technogenic pollution of the environment has been found to exert influence on the spread and clinical course of ARVI in children, this influence being the more pronounced, the higher is the level of xenobiotics in the atmospheric air. The severity of the disease is noted to depend on the development of a number of syndromes, aggravating the course of ARVI, such as the neurotoxic and bronchoobstructive syndromes. Bronchical and ENT lesions are the most frequent complication of the main disease. The child population residing under the conditions of high technogenic environmental pollution should be regarded as a group of risk subject to the aggravated course of ARVI, and the examination of sick children should be made with due regard to this circumstance.     

Effect of emissions from a Copper-Nickel Smelter on soil microbial communities in forest biogeocenoses of the Kola Peninsula

The effect of industrial pollution with emissions from the Severonikel Copper-Nickel Smelter (CNS) on soil microbial communities of forest biogeocenoses has been studied taking into account their relative location under tree crowns (near the stem, in the undercrown area, or under gaps in the canopy). The results show that increasing technogenic pollution results in a significant decrease in the microbial biomass, basal respiration, and maximum specific growth rate, as well as in dominance of K-strategists in the microbial communities of polluted soils. The effect of location under the crown, compared to the intercrown area, manifests itself in dominance of rapidly growing microorganisms with the r-strategy. However, emissions from the CNS inhibit the growth of r-strategists, and the location-dependent differences between microbial communities are leveled off in areas with the highest pollution level.     

Regeneration successions of northern taiga spruce forests under reduction of aerotechnogenic impact

The development of the composition and structure of northern taiga spruce forests on the Kola Peninsula under regeneration succession with a reduction in emissions from the metallurgical combine are described. Parameters of species diversity and ecological-coenotic structure of plant communities, including algosinusia of soils, are assessed under different technogenic impacts. Significant indices of stable transformations of plants from different layers during the regeneration succession were revealed. Strongly transformed communities in the vicinity of the combine are shown to remain in a critical state due to the preserved high level of soil pollution and demutation changes of the taiga components in the course of allogenic succession.     

Morphological and Functional Changes in Small Mammals Exposed to Technogenic Pressure

The effect of technogenic pressure on the weight indices of major endocrine glands responsible for adaptation to adverse environmental conditions was studied in murine rodents. The data obtained in technogenic and natural ecosystems were compared. Using the method of morphophysiological indicators, it was shown that exposure to heavy pollution (emissions from lead and zinc smelters) caused a significant increase in the adrenal index of virgin animals (0.45–0.56 mg/g, compared to 0.15–0.33 mg/g in the norm); conversely, the liver index decreased to 39.0–49.0 mg/g (below the lower limit of the norm). The simultaneous increase in the adrenal index and decrease in the liver index of rodents in autumn are indicative of exhaustion, which leads to an energy breakdown and mass mortality. The core of the population in the next spring consists of juveniles coming from the neighboring biotopes with more favorable conditions. Thus, under the effect of technogenic pressure, a temporary population of small mammals is formed every year.     

Evaluation of Environmental Transformation in Areas of Hydrocarbon Deposits in the North of Western Siberia

The status of the environment in the development area of oil and gas condensate fields (OGCFs) in the north of Western Siberia (the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous okrug (YNAO)) has been evaluated on the basis of long-term investigations (1993–2016). The content of oil hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Fe, Pb, Cd, Ni, Co, Cr, Ba, Cd, and Mn) is determined in soils, natural waters, bottom sediments, and indicator plants (Larix sibirica, Betula nana, Salix lanata, Ledum decumbens, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Vaccinium uliginosum, and Cladonia alpestris). Species pleiads, corresponding to the ecological conditions of habitats and the intensity of technogenic impact, are specified with the use of the coefficients of interspecies conjugation of plants. A complex of indicators of the transformation of natural complexes under the effect of oil and gas extraction is proposed.     

Fish of small and medium rivers of Sakhalin Island: Spatial distribution,structure, and dynamics

Based on materials collected in 2004–2008 at 44 water courses of Sakhalin, eight main communities of fish habitation within channel zones with a definite combination of hydromorphological parameters were distinguished. The structure of communities is described, and specific indices of their abundance are provided. Comparative analysis of changes taking place in communities at seasonal changes and technogenic impacts demonstrated that seasonal rearrangements have a more pronounced pattern than changes initiated by technogenic intervention.     

Radioactive contamination of aquatic organisms of the Yenisei River in the area affected by the activity of the Mining-and-Chemical Combine

The study was done to investigate the content of manmade radionuclides in aquatic organisms of the Yenisei River near the Mining-and-Chemical Combine (MCC) and to estimate the exposure dose rates to organisms from various sources. The results of the investigation and calculations suggest that the main source of radioactive contamination of aquatic organisms is the coolant of the third MCC reactor, which is still being released into the Yenisei. Gamma-spectrometric analysis revealed 23 manmade radionuclides in the biomass of aquatic plants. The aquatic animal Phylolimnogammarus viridis and diatoms also contain manmade radionuclides. Among aquatic organisms, the highest dose rate is received by aquatic plants (up to 39 microGy/day). For most aquatic organisms under study, the dose received from the technogenic irradiation is an order of magnitude higher than the dose received from natural irradiation. The water moss (Fontinalis antipyretica) features the highest capacity to accumulate manmade radionuclides; hence, it accumulates the largest technogenic exposure dose among the study aquatic organisms.     

Green algae in tundra soils affected by coal mine pollutions

Green algal communities were investigated in clean and pollution-impacted tundra soils around the large coal mine industrial complex of Vorkuta in the E. European Russian tundra. Samples were collected in three zones of open-cast coal mining with different degrees of pollution-impacted soil transformation. A total of 42 species of algae were found in all zones. The species richness decreased from 27 species in undisturbed zones to 19 species in polluted zones. Under open-cast coal mining impacts the community structure simplified, and the dominant algae complexes changed. Algae that are typical for clean soils disappeared from the communities. The total abundance of green algae (counted together with Xanthophyta) ranged between 100–120 × 10³ (cells/g dry soils) in undisturbed zones and 0.5–50 × 10³ in polluted zones. Soil algae appear to be better indicators of coal mine technogenic pollution than flowering plants and mosses. Presented at the International Symposium Biology and Taxonomy of Green Algae V, Smolenice, June 26–29, 2007, Slovakia.     

Dynamics and ecological-genetic variability of cytogenetic disturbances in Scots pine populations experiencing technogenic impact

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) populations in the vicinity of nuclear industry facilities were monitored. Aberrant cells occurrence in root meristem of germinated seeds from the impacted pine populations was found to be significantly above the reference level during all six years of observations. In the reference population, changes of cytogenetic disturbances with time appeared to be cyclic while in the impacted populations, technogenic stress was strong enough to destroy the natural regularities. The increase in cytogenetic disturbances was accompanied by growth of fluctuations magnitude; deviations of basic oscillation parameters from the reference values rose along with technogenic impact level. Variability in cytogenetic response increased under technogenic stress. Inter-family component of variability predominated, though its contribution slightly decreased in impacted populations. A tendency for destabilization of a repetition coefficient dynamics was found under technogenic impact. A portion of the seeds was exposed to 15 Gy of gamma-rays, and higher radio-resistance in the impacted populations was observed. In the reference population, a family-related analysis of cytogenetic variability components after acute y-exposure revealed significant contributions of "family" and "germination conditions" factors as well as their interactions. On the contrary, in populations existing under chronic stress, considerable modifications in the structure of ecological-genetic variability were found, their degree increasing with technogenic impact severity.     

Experimental estimation of the possible use of submersed macrophytes for biotesting bottom sediments of the Yenisei River

The laboratory testing of bottom sediments (BSs) from the Yenisei River containing different concentrations of technogenic radionuclides, heavy metals, and biogenic elements (N and P) based on aquatic such plants as Elodea canadensis (Canadian waterweed) and Myriophyllum spicatum (Eurasian watermilfoil) has revealed a higher sensitivity of roots to the general quality of BSs than shoots: shoot length (9%) < root length (11%) < root number (15%) in M. spicatum; shoot length (22%) < root length (42%) < root number (44%) in E. canadensis. In contrast to M. spicatum, the growth parameters of roots and shoots in E. canadensis have differed in a significant statistical manner between most BS samples. A reverse correlation has been found between the increase in shoot length and the activity of technogenic radionuclides in BSs, which is mostly significant in E. canadensis (r ² = 0.90–0.95, p = 0.05). Since the growth of shoots and roots in E. canadensis has turned out to be more sensitive to changes in the quality of BSs than that in M. spicatum, E. canadensis can be considered more prospective for biotesting BSs.     

Adaptation of the flora to anthropogenic impact in the southern Volga Upland

Analysis of the flora has been performed in the main types of anthropogenic biotopes in the south of the Volga Upland (within the Saratov Region), including urbanized areas, technogenic sites, forest plantations, and agrocenoses. The results show that only 908 out of 1379 vascular plant species listed for the study region occur in such biotopes, their number reaching a maximum of 636 in technogenic sites and decreasing to a minimum of 438 in agrocenoses. It is hypothesized that the aboriginal flora of the southern Volga Upland has a buffer capacity and will retain its basic structural pattern even if two-thirds of its constituent species are lost.     

Principles of assessment of the soil-ecological state of technogenic landscapes

Methods are proposed to diagnose and assess the soil-ecological state of technogenic landscapes (dumps of coal open-pit mines of Kuznetsk Basin) at different stages of their formation and design, and to determine the soil-ecological efficiency of recultivation.     

Mesopedobiont-based bioindication of soil pollution in the lower Priamurye

In areas of local soil pollution with heavy metals (HMs), high-protein low-ash mesopedobionts with the lowest background concentrations of Pb, Zn, Co, and Sr (oligochaetes, chilopoda, and some coleopterans) fix increased concentrations of these pollutants in their biomass more often as compared to other invertebrates. Such creatures are the most HM sensitive, and their mass species can serve as bioindicators. The biological consumption coefficient is not suitable for ecological control. Use of a Bioindicator control within the same geochemical background seems more appropriate for this purpose. This is of decisive importance when setting norms for the maximum technogenic pressure on a soil.