Home – Home – Jornals – Geography and natural resources 2016 number 5S

We examine four stages of research into the Baikal natural territory (BNT) accomplished by the V. B. Sochava Institute of Geography SB RAS. The research efforts have been made in the form of combined observations at permanent and semipermanent stations, different-purpose field expeditions and scientific generalizations as well as by orders of administrative bodies and economic entities; results were published in the form of books, papers and maps. The methodology of landscape planning is adapted to the special conditions and restrictions for nature management around Baikal. An important development was official approval of the ecological zoning of BNT that was developed in the Institute. Territorial planning documents and tools furnished a clue to determine criteria for assessing the ecological admissibility of siting facilities used for economic and other activities in the central ecological zone of BNT, and to prepare scientifically grounded recommendations for governmental authorities and municipal bodies regulating the inclusion of results of this assessment in territorial planning schemes. Particular emphasis has been placed on the spatial patterns in the formation of the ecological situation throughout the territory of Baikal’s water area and drainage basin as represented in the “Ecological Atlas of the Lake Baikal Basin” thus providing a possibility of substantiating the directions of an ecologically balanced and sustainable territories development of Russia and Mongolia in the future. Furthermore, the studies revealed a need to take into consideration the existing contradictions and differences in the Baikal policy priorities between the global, regional and local levels of territorial organization of society.

On the basis of data from monthly bulletins of the Irkutsk Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring for June-August 2001-2013, we investigated the association of the atmospheric circulation with potential summer ablation of the glaciers of the Baikal Range. As the indicator of ablation, we used the accumulated positive temperatures calculated for the mean height of the glacier zone. The summer seasons were classified into three groups: with high, low and moderate ablation. The maximum and minimum values of accumulated positive temperatures, respectively, were 1152 (the year 2002) and 787 °C (2013). The HYSPLIT model was used to identify the prevailing directions of air masses over the study area: westerly, southwesterly, northerly, and northwesterly. We assessed the contribution from the meridional component of the atmospheric circulation which has been enhanced over the course of the last decade. According to the dynamics of A. L. Kats’ zonal and meridional circulation indices, there occur summer seasons with a maximal (2007 and 2010) and minimal (2003 and 2012) intensity of the zonal circulation as well as inter-annual variations in the meridional circulation. Results of a comprehensive analysis of ground-level  and altitudinal synoptic maps, isobaric fields of absolute and relative topography, and the temperature regime over the glacier zone (NCEP/NCAR) revealed synoptic conditions contributing to an increase/decrease in glacier meltdown in the region under consideration. A study is made of the dynamics of frontal activity, the types of advection and of the warm wet air masses over the Baikal Range during summer seasons. A change in the frequency of all the circulation mechanisms used in this study involves a change in weather conditions and climatic regime, which favor an enhancement or a decrease in ablation for glaciers and has influence on the evolution of the entire glacier zone of the Baikal Range.

We examine the hydrothermal conditions (the Si index) for 1961-2010 in the natural landscapes of the Prebaikalian and Transbaikalian parts of the Baikal natural territory (BNT), including the respective shores of Lake Baikal. It is found that the driest months in the Prebaikalian and Transbaikalian parts, respectively, are May-June and June, when severe droughts occur in all natural landscapes. It is established that whereas the first two decades (1961-1970, and 1971-1980) were more humid, the last two decades (1991-2000, and 2001-2010) have been characterized by the driest conditions. The study revealed the occurrence of significant (p < 0.05) positive changes from May to September, pointing to an increase in the recurrence of droughts with a maximum in July. It is found that the Transbaikalian part of the BNT is characterized by a higher recurrence rate of droughts, and by larger (in magnitude) values of the Si indices. The period under consideration showed a change in the distribution of drought phenomena across time and space. The dry conditions encompassing more than half the BNT were observed prior to 1986 in separate months of the growing period or continuously during two months. Starting in 1986, there occurred drought periods three months long or longer. The highest recurrence rate of the dry years was generally observed across the territory after the 1990s. It is shown that excessive moistening has a discrete pattern of distribution.

On the basis of hydrometeorological data on Lake Baikal for a long period of time, an analysis is made of the lake level fluctuations, and their association with secular and intrasecular hydraulicity cycles. We provide generalizing indicators of the long-term range and intra-annual amplitude of level fluctuations and dynamics, and the dates of reaching minimum and maximum values under natural conditions and at the period of regulated flow. We expanded and updated information available for monthly indicators of the level, useful inflow into Lake Baikal and water discharge in the source of the Angara river for a long period of observations. The study identified the boundaries of secular and intrasecular cycles, high- and low-water years on Lake Baikal, and their characteristics for the historical (1747-1903) and modern (1904-2015) periods. A classification of hydraulicity was made by categories (normal, decreased/increased, low/high, extremely low/extremely high, and disastrous) according to the probability of useful flow into Lake Baikal, and its quantitative indicators were calculated for each of the categories. Emphasis is placed on the causes, characteristic features, problems and risks associated with low- and high-water periods. It is established that the aforementioned periods, as a rule, are the result of changes in the atmospheric circulation processes accompanied by positive/negative anomalies of summer temperatures and atmospheric precipitation across significant territories adjacent to the Lake Baikal drainage basin as well as by global changes of climate. We determined the main risk factor for the regulation of the Lake Baikal level at low-water periods, i. e. the need for the stable operation of the water intakes and the associated maintenance of minimum water flow rates in the tail race of the Irkutsk Hydropower Power Plant (HPP) (1300 m ³ /s) taking into consideration the minimum design marks of the water intakes. It is established that the risks of high-water periods are associated with the discharges of flood waters through the Irkutsk HPP, and with eventual inundations which under current conditions are unavoidable even in the case of water flow rates from 2800 to 3000 m ³ /s, and would lead to significant inundations in the city of Irkutsk in the event that the amounts of 4700-6000 m ³ /s are discharged through the hydroelectric scheme.

We suggest an integral scheme for assessing the water and sediment discharge in the rivers of the Selenga river basin, based on using expeditionary, network and model data. Assessments are made of the changes in streamflow and in suspended and tractional sediments of the river, and relevant regularities are revealed. A forecast is made of regional changes in water discharge due to anthropogenic development of the territory. It is shown that the expected flow regulation of the Selenga and its tributaries in Mongolia would lead to a reduction in the maximum mean monthly streamflow by up to 14-15 %, and to an increase in the minimum winter flow by up to 73-75 %. Evaporation losses of the discharge from the projected reservoirs, and the water intake for the flow transfer will correspond to a decrease in the water level in Baikal by as much as 1 cm/year. The possible transformation of the territory’s water balance as a result of anthropogenic changes in landscapes during mining operations is investigated in terms of the regional mesoclimate model COSMO_CLM.

We examine the influence of rifting processes on the location of the lakes along the eastern shores of Lake Baikal, and on the formation of chemical composition of the waters contained by them. It is determined that the lakes are in different geologo hydrological conditions. It is established that their water areas liberate gas mainly consisting of methane and nitrogen; increased content levels of helium were discovered in free gas in areas where deep-seated faults occur. Manifestations of mud volcanism associated with methane discharges were observed. It is shown that the faults serve as the vehicle to discharge into small lakes fissure-vein waters which impart a peculiar kind of geochemical appearance to the water, and thick deposits of sapropel were produced under the warming effect of thermal waters. In the lakes there is taking place a transformation of chemical composition along the soda direction. In the water body with a retarded water exchange, the mineralization of the waters exceeds 1 g/L. On the eastern shore of Baikal’s Southern Holow, fissure-vein waters are not discharged, chemical composition is formed as a result of drainage of the Kabanskii bog massif, and the waters refer to the hydrocarbonate magnesium-sodium-calcium type. The emissions of free gas on this territory are dominated by methane.

The methodology of studying the streamflow formation mechanism based on using natural chemical tracers is discussed. Presented are the results from adapting and testing the technique for separation of runoff hydrograph according to genetic components (sources of alimentation) built upon the use of natural chemical tracers in term of the End-Member Mixing Analysis (EMMA) model. By using the procedure of EMMA analysis, we generated two complex model tracers, each of which representing a linear combination of initial chemical tracers. Its core is comprised of the method of Principal Component Analysis. The methodology was used within the program of experimental investigations on a small basin of the Laninskii creek flowing nearby the coast of Lake Baikal. The contributions from the sources of alimentation of the creek’s runoff are estimated. They include the rain waters with an insignificant contribution, the waters of the subsurface soil horizon having a tendency toward a predominance at the low-water period, and so-called aufeis waters making a significant contribution during the flood formation. Prevailing ions of anion and cation composition, the value of electrical conductivity and content of total organic carbon can be used as reliable tracers. The modeling results are in good agreement with the qualitative views concerning the runoff formation on the study territory. A broad range of possibilities and the prospects of the procedural tools of tracer hydrology are demonstrated.

Based on long-term investigations, we compiled the soil and soil degradation maps for the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory (CEZ BNT). It was found that the soil cover has, in addition to the general facies and provincial peculiarities, a clearly pronounced beltedness, because most of the study territory is occupied by mountain ridges, and only a small part of it corresponds to a narrow lowland belt of the Lake Baikal shores, and to the river valleys. It is shown that the northern and northeastern parts of the CEZ BNT are characterized by a predominance (in automorphic conditions) of podzols and podburs with a weakly differentiated profile. The map displays a widespread occurrence of soddy podzolic soils on the southwestern and eastern shores of Baikal, both on the plain and in the foothill belt. The eastern macroslope of the Primorskii Ridge, immediately adjacent to Baikal, is distinguished by its steepness, and by an abundance of rocky cliffs. Podzols and podzolized burozems are of widespread occurrence on the southern coast of Lake Baikal, on the bedrock slope under dark-coniferous and grass aspen-birch forests with the undergrowth of dark-coniferous species. It is determined that carbo-lithozems of dark-humus and grey- and dark-humus soils tend to occur to the outcrops of marbles and their derivatives. It is established that the distinctive nature of the ecological conditions for soil formation in landscapes within the Lake Baikal drainage basin is responsible for the uniqueness and specificity of soils, and this may be exemplified by formation of coarse-humus burozems in conditions of Siberia, which is not typical for this region according to the general classification of soils of Russia.

We investigated the influence of two anthropogenic factors, plowing and fires, on soil formation in the delta of the Selenga river along the southeastern shores of Lake Baikal. The study revealed changes in soils transitional from soddy podburs to burozems that are almost entire drawn into the agricultural turnover, occurring on sandy waterworn terraces at the foot of the Khamar-Daban Range. It is established that heavy agricultural machinery on the fields leads to soil compaction and a decrease in water permeability, and promotes the processes of soil loss and subsoil plowing in the upper part of the slope as well as the fill processes in its gentle part. As a result, the main area of tillage experiences an increase in the thickness of the humus-accumulative layer accompanied by the formation of a thick subsurface horizon. It is determined that the soils of pine forests: humic podzolized psammozems, are transformed under the influence of forest fires; characteristic features of their post-fire development are revealed. It is found that among the anthropogenic factors under investigation, crown fires have the most negative influence on the soil. Plowing and ground fires have not only negative but also positive effects: in either case, the thickness of the humus-accumulative horizons and humus reserves increase.

In conditions of extensive and difficult-of-access territories of Siberia, data about distribution of plant and animal species are fragmentary; therefore, for identifying the potential habitats of species we propose to use computer modeling methods as implemented in the MaxEnt 3.3.3k program. Using information on environmental parameters in the known localities of a species being modeled, the program determines the likelihood of its existence on the remaining territory. As the source of information on environmental parameters, it is customary to use the WorldClim database. However, our attempt to model the geographic dis tribution for Anemone baicalensis Turcz. ex Lebed., a nemoral relict occuring in the Baikal region only on the Khamar-Daban Range turned out to be invalid because of a small number of meteostations, the data from which are included in WorldClim. To resolve this problem we made use of the GRID model of the Baikal natural territory (sc 1:1 000 000) constructed on the basis of data taken from published atlases of thematic maps. The GRID model was used to obtain the probable geographic distribution of a reasonably high accuracy. The largest value for the distribution of the species corresponds to the altitude above the sea level (62.3 %), and to the annual precipitation amount (36.8 %). The potential distribution area of A. baicalensis within the northern macroslope of the Khamar-Daban Range correspond to the entire nemoral refugium situated there. The spurs of the Baikal and Barguzin Ranges and the foothill areas of Eastern Sayan as identified in the model are also recognized as nemoral refugia. It might be recommended that WorldClim data should only be used in a small-scale modeling, whereas some other sources should be used for medium and large scales, such as the contemporary atlases of thematic maps in order to substan tially improve the quality of the resulting model.

Presented are the results from investigating the components of geosystems, such as the soil and vegetation, and their response to changes of climate on the southwestern shores of Baikal (settlement of Listvyanka and adjoining territories), the most well-developed part of the central ecological zone. A characteristic of the soils of this settlement and its surroundings is provided, the soil-plant relationship is investigated, and the response of the soil to temperature changes is revealed. As a result of using a set of methods (standard and contemporary), we obtained new evidence concerning the components of geosystems for the southwestern shores of Baikal under current climate change. It is found that the territory of the settlement and its surroundings are experiencing a strong anthropogenic impact, which manifests itself in a change in the internal connections of natural complexes and, as a consequence, in a transformation of the dominant stable mountain-taiga geosystems. The detected high concentrations of trace elements in the soil tend to occur in roadside ecosystems and the residential zone. It is revealed that the concentrations of the trace elements Ba, Mn, Cu, V and Cr in tissues of the plants used in the study are relatively high. Grasses are distinguished by the smallest number of elements (Mn, Cu and V) which have maximally high values. The coefficient of biological absorption higher than 1 was observed in Ba, Mn and Cu. It is determined that the anomalous air temperatures in 2014-2015 had influence on soil temperature, cumulative active temperatures, and on the amplitude between winter and summer temperatures at a depth of 20 cm on different-aspect slopes. It is found that the northeastern slope is colder, is warmed at a later date in the springtime and has a longer period of subzero temperatures. It is revealed that the climatic anomalies in recent years implied a rise in winter temperatures of the soil, and an extension of the summer maxima, which was reflected in an increase of the time of the growing period, and the rate and length of ice setting on Baikal.

We present new data on the morphology of Murinskaya Banka (Southern Baikal) obtained during specialized expedition investigations by using the high-resolution multibeam echosounder, and the acoustic profile recorder system. The set of bathy metric data was subjected to a pre-assessment in the ArcGISforDesktop software package to construct the terrain model using the 3D-Analyst Module by the method of TIN interpolation based on a Delaunay triangulation. The MeshDenoise smoothing method, developed specifically for processing volumetric data, was used to eliminate all errors as revealed in the model after its analysis. For the first time for this upland, we obtained and analyzed, along with data from the multibeam echosounder, seis moacoustic data. We assessed the age boundaries of the epochs in the history of formation of Murinskaya Banka, including on the basis of palynological data on samples obtained by means of Deep Submergence Vehicle Mir. As a result, a detailed bathy metric map was constructed for the first time for the underwater upland, unconformities and faults in its internal structure were revealed, and the sedimentary genesis of its body was determined. By studying the morphological characteristics of the shoalbank and the adjacent territory of the coastland, it was found that the formation of the underwater upland was associated with the submergence of the coastal plain and the ancient delta of the Khara-Murin and Langatui rivers beneath the lake water line. This event could occur during the lake substage of the Neobaikalian stage that started about 0.15 million years ago. Nowadays there is taking place a rise of the shoalbank itself and of the coast, which is evidenced by intense incisions of the rivers flowing into the lake, and of the canyons.

Pyroclastic material was discovered on the pediment of the Barguzinskaya depression adjacent to the Ikatskii Ridge. It is found that the contents of SiO2 in it vary from 56.35 to 62.67 wt%, Na2O + K2O from 4.59 to 5.9, and Al2O3 from 20.4 to 26.5 wt%. According to K-Ar dating of a sample of aleurite containing glass, the lower limit of the baking and fusion of sedi mentary deposits is estimated at 8.5 million years. For identifying the source of pyroclastics, a borehole in the area of the dis covery exposed a sequence of sedimentary deposits of the Miocene-Lower Pliocene coal-bearing Tankhoi and Pliocene/Eo-Pleistocene ocherous Anosov formations. The profile of the Tankhoi formation revealed six layers with the transition from bog-oxbow deposits of layers 1-3 to lake deposits of layers 4-6. We identified considerable weathering of material in unite 3 characterized by an accumulation of brown coal layers as thick as 10 m. A comparative analysis of major oxides and trace ele ments of the sedimentation sequence of pyroclastics showed that the source of baking were represented by lacustrine aleurites of layer 4 overlaying directly the coal seam from layer 3. In most samples of pyroclastics, the interval Fe2O3 /FeO - 0.06-0.15 is correlated with Fe2O3 / FeO in the brown coal unite, which might point to fusion of sedimentary material under the action of the flow of reduced gases liberated from the coal intercalation. It is suggested that the coal seam self-ignited when exposed to the air during the rise of the Ikatskii Ridge at the time of restructuring of the northeastern Baikal Rift Zone 9-5 Ma.

We investigated the changes in the subaerial surface of the Selenga river delta occurring under the effect of variations in the Lake Baikal level, erosion-accumulation activity, the river hydraulicity and, perhaps, due to tectonic processes. It is found that an increase in absolute elevations of the delta surface that began in 1956 was caused by multiple inundations of floodplains and terraces by the river waters at high-water periods. Bank outcrops with several horizons of buried soils were observed in the central part of the delta. A radiocarbon dating of horse bones and a pollen analysis of the profile of alluvial-delta deposits have been made. A retrospective analysis of topographic maps, nautical charts and space images is made. For a comparative analysis we generated hypsometric models, and the model of the evolution of erosion-accumulation processes. An assessment is made of changes in the area of the delta, the shoreline length, the lake percentage and the degree of channelization of the delta and its sectors. The findings can give evidence of the tectonic origin of a reduction in the area of the Sredneustyevskii sector on account of a compaction of waterlogged materials. Since 1956 the mean height of the delta surface has increased by 0.8 m as a result of an accumulation of alluvial deposits in the central part; the periphery of the delta continues to be inundated in the Sredneus tyevskii sector to a depth of 0.5 to 1.5 m. The rate of erosion-accumulation processes is characterized on the basis of experimen tal observations. In the main delta arms, the rate of bank erosion is estimated as moderate: up to 3 m/year in the central part. The area at the head of the delta showed a high rate intensity of bank caving, 10 m/year or more. A reconfiguration of the channel network and formation of new bifurcation nodes and delta branches are taking place to date.

We examine the ecological-economic problems of using the territory and the prospects for a further development of the social and communal infrastructure as well as the economic activities in the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural terri tory (within the boundaries of the Barguzinskii, Pribaikal’skii, Kabanskii and Severobaikal’skii districts, and of the city of Severobaikal’sk). An analysis is made of the economic activities carried out on the territory by enterprises and organizations. We highlight the main issues of socioeconomic development of territories related to the latest changes in the sphere of normative-legal regulation of nature management in the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory. It is shown that to resolve the identified problems requires a successful implementation of the measures foreseen by strategic programs of socioeconomic development of municipal formations as well as the measures for ecologization of the economic activities.

We investigate the private entrepreneurship of the population living in Irkutsk oblast’s administrative districts adjacent to the shores of Baikal. Three categories of sectors have been identified, which would be appropriate for further development on this territory, including in the settlements of the central ecological zone: nondestructive kinds of nature management, handling of waste, and reproduction of natural resources. The Ol’khоnskii district holds the lead in the level of business activities owing to agriculture, and to the rendering touristic services, with a minimal contribution from industrial production. The ecologically oriented kinds of activity of private entrepreneurship are dominated by consumption types of nature management, such as tourism, fisheries and gathering; however, products are not processed, and the only fish processing plant was shut down. Private businesses do almost not participate in activities related to restoration of the natural environment, including waste disposal. Private entrepreneurship has reached the highest level of development in the key settlements for tourism in the central ecological zone: Listvyanka, Sakhyurta, Baikal’sk, and Slyudyanka. Small settlements sustain their living conditions mainly through agriculture. State-level regulation of the economic activities of the central ecological zone is currently dominated by a prohibitive approach, which narrows the possibilities of raising the living standards of the local population. There is a need to promote the development of the sectors engaged in reproduction of the natural wealth, including forest-growing and fish breeding, with the involvement of the local population, which can be achieved through the management system for specially protected areas. Part of activity on waste gathering and disposal can also be transferred by state bodies to the private sector for outsourcing. For the central ecological zone it is necessary to have a separate program of development based on the principles of a “green” economy.

The central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory includes Baikal with its islands, the water protection zone adja cent to the lake as well as specially protected natural areas. Ten specially protected natural areas are adjacent to Baikal’s shores: three zapovedniks, two national parks, and five zakazniks; therefore, environmental restrictions are imposed on the economic activities carried out there. In the central ecological zone, most of agricultural production is concentrated on the territory of the districts of Irkutsk oblast and the Republic of Buryatia. The leading sectors of agricultural activity are livestock husbandry, and the production of grain crops and vegetables. Plant-growing is mainly an auxiliary activity intended to meet the needs for forage reserves and internal consumption. Agricultural production in the study region is shown in the context of administrative districts (municipal formations) forming part of the central ecological zone; in Irkutsk oblast: the Irkutskii, Slyudyanskii and Ol’khonskii districts, and in the Republic of Buryatia: the Barguzinskii, Kabanskii, Severobaikal’skii and Pribaikal’skii districts. The ter ritorial differentiation of agricultural development in the districts is considered, and the peculiarities of its sectoral structure are highlighted. An analysis is made of the structure of sown areas as well as of the gross harvest of grain and leguminous crops, potatoes and vegetables cultivated on open ground in enterprises of all categories for the time interval from 1990 to 2014. The characteristics of development of typical sectors of livestock husbandry for Irkutsk oblast and the Republic of Buryatia, such as cattle raising, sheep-breeding and horse-breeding.

The current structure of the types of forest exploitation is determined having regard to the natural and socioeconomic preconditions as well as highlighting the problems and prospects of their development. The most promising kinds of activity are identified in the sphere of harvesting food forest resources and their processing, recreation, hunting management and hunting and growing of planting material of forest plants. The study revealed the main problems in forest exploitation associated with the existence of definite natural conditions and resources as well as with the socioeconomic characteristics of territorial development, and with the requirements of normative-legal legislation on the protection of Lake Baikal. Emphasis is placed on a significant increase in areas of leased forest ranges (by a factor of 3.2), and in the number of contracts signed (by a factor of 1.3). The process of studying the problems used the method of statistical analysis, collected, summarized and interpreted information and generated the information base for the kinds of activity. The findings can be useful in developing programs of territorial planning, and normative-legal documents on governance of the kinds of forest management in the central ecological zone.

We examine the scientific problem of studying the interrelationships of population distribution and dynamics and develop ment of the human potential in Cisbaikalia in conditions of the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory. The inter relationships of territorial and functional development of local systems of population distribution are determined. Territorial tendencies and problems of population distribution and demographic development of Cisbaikalia are revealed by using a statisti cal and a cartographic method. The characteristics of the natural and migration movements of the population are compared in the spatiotemporal context. The population dynamics has been calculated displayed cartographically at the level of municipal formations for 2010-2016. The technique, developed by these authors, was used in calculating the Human Development Index both componentwise (education, health, and per capita income) and integrally. An assessment is made of the current human potential of municipal formations in Cisbaikalia as a crucial factor of territorial development. We determined the main tenden cies and problems of changes in the demographic situation on the study territory which imply a decrease in the population size due to the migration outflow beyond the region, and to the gradual ageing of the population.

This paper provides an overview of the main facilities of social infrastructure and considers their distribution in the Irkutsk-related area of the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory. It is pointed out that this territory with a special modality of economic management serves as the life-sustaining environment for the local population requiring adequate living conditions. Attention is drawn to the fact that the social infrastructure is an important sustainability parameter of the population distribution system. It is found that the main elements of the social infrastructure are far from being present in every settlement. It is emphasized that a large number of settlements are at significant distances from services centers so that access to social infrastructure facilities is reduced. Centers and settlements with a different development level of the social infrastructure are identified: district-level centers, grassroots-level centers of municipal formations, settlements with a minimal set of institutions of social infrastructure as well as settlements not having such institutions. Different investigation techniques have been used, namely the statistical and cartographic methods, and field investigations.

This paper focuses on the process of tourism development at Baikal in the competitive field of ecological and economic priorities. The crucial development factors for the Baikal region as a world-level tourist destination: a rapid development of the global system of international tourism, a critical need in the sector for new territories with a high natural-recreation potential as well as the foreign-policy and domestic-economy conditions facilitating domestic tourism development in Russia. Critical indica tors of development of the territorial tourism system are pointed out, among them the volume and structure of tourist flows, characteristics of the tourist infrastructure, including the number and capacity of accommodation facilities. Analysis of data for 1974-2014 bears witness to the formation of the Baikal-centered tourism system. The study identified more than 40 zones of recreational development, most of which are concentrated at settlements with a low population size. A characteristic of the land reserves of the Baikal natural territory is provided according to the development potential of the most suitable kinds of recre ational activity. It is established that an expansion of the tourism system within the boundaries of the central ecological zone would create the conditions for incorporation of territories at a distance from the shores which have been previously considered promising for tourism.

We examine the scientific-methodological foundations and applied issues of territorial planning and determine the principles of tourist-recreational organization of the territory. On their basis, we developed the schemes of planning structure and func tional zoning of the territory of the Sarma scientific-training ground (STG). Identification of the planning elements took into account the natural, historical-cultural, socioeconomic and tourist-recreational characteristics of the territory, and the land owners and users. The STG is located on the western shore of Lake Baikal in Priol’khonie, in the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory. Most of the STG does not form part of the specially protected natural territories but, according to the pattern of use and the regime of environmental protection, it has much in common with national parks. In this connection, the principles of territorial planning being used in national parks is taken as a basis in carrying out the planning organization of the STG. The spaces that do not form part of the specially protected natural territories in the central ecological zone occupy more than half its area and are actively used for tourist-recreational, scientific and educational purposes; however, they are almost no documents on their territorial planning. The documents developed in this study are essential in organizing recreational, ecological-educational and scientific activities not only on the Sara STG but also on other similar sites where special environ mental and economic restrictions are in effect.

We provide an overview of the cultural heritage sites of federal and regional significance within the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory that refer to different historical epochs. A historical-cultural zoning of the central ecological zone is suggested for the first time on the basis of analyzing the landscape and historical-cultural aspects. We consider and analyze the territorial and quantitative distribution of the sites for the Southern-Baikal, Olkhon, Ust’-Selenga, Barguzin and Northern-Baikal historical-cultural zones that are characterized by particularly peculiar landscape features which can be taken into account when developing recommendations regarding the pattern and methods of recreational use. It is established that the cultural heritage sites serve as a major factor for tourism development on the Baikal natural territory. It is determined that a special attractiveness is provided by the cultural heritage sites of federal significance as well as by the sites with clearly pronounced ground-based structures. The study revealed the current importance of generating the database on cultural heritage sites in conditions of formation of contemporary ecologically oriented land use.

We examine the ecological-economic problems and conflicts in the sphere of land use, water use and recreational activity related to the characteristic features of the normative-legal and administrative regulation of nature management on the Baikal natural territory. Among them are the prohibition of the transfer of lands of forest reserves occupied by protective forests to lands of other categories, including lands of settlements; problems of state registration of the property rights to tracts of land that are included on the List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and allotment of tracts of land for dacha non-commercial partnerships; the prohibition of the disposal of industrial and consumption waste in the central and water-protection zone, and other restrictions. The significance of the supporting infrastructure (construction of pollution control facilities, garbage gathering areas, etc.) for the development of tourist-recreational activity is illustrated by specific examples. Problems with the development of the natural environment monitoring system are highlighted.

Presented are the data of monitoring of power generation facilities located in the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory. For specifying the location and classification of the power grid facilities, thermal and diesel electric power plants and boilers we developed the information system for the power generation infrastructure in the central ecological zone. It is found that most consumers in the central ecological zone receive electricity in a centralized manner from the power systems of Irkutsk and the Republic of Buryatia and that there are only some local areas of autonomous electric power supply. It is established that the most severe impact on the natural environment in the zone comes from the boilers, and from the Baikalsk thermal power station. Furthermore, the boilers of Irkutsk oblast use almost all kinds of energy resources. In the Republic of Buryatia, coal is the main type of fuel. On the basis of systematized data on the capacity series of the boilers, and on the type and characteristics of fuels, we calculated the volume and ingredient composition of air emissions of pollutants. Among the areas of the central ecological zone, the largest emissions from the power generation facilities correspond to the Severo-Baikal’skii district of the Republic of Buryatia, and to the Slyudyanskii district of Irkutsk oblast. We compiled the list of a possible mitigation of the anthropogenic load on the natural environment in the central ecological zone, including a modernization of boiler equipment, the transfer to ecologically clean types of fuel (natural gas, and timber processing waste), the use of electric energy for heat-supply purposes, and the use of renewable energy sources (geothermal, solar and wind power stations, and heat pumps).

Presented are the results of investigations made as part of the R&D program «Investigation of the negative impact of emis sions and discharges of harmful (polluting) substances on the Baikal natural territory, and working-out of scientifically groun ded recommendations for their regulation». An assessment is made of changes in the amount of emissions from the organized stationary sources in the settlements of the Baikal natural territory. Motor transport emissions are calculated for settlements and along the federal Irkutsk - Ulan-Ude motor road. It is determined that the, in general, study territory does not show any sub stantial increase in pollutants emissions from stationary sources; motor transport emissions tend to increase because of an increase of the automobile fleet. Pollutions are assessed for the types of economic activity affecting the state of the atmospheric air of Baikal’s ecosystem. It is established that the largest contribution to pollutants emissions on the Baikal natural territory is made by the production and distribution of electric energy, gas and water as well as by transport and communication lines, manufac turing industries, and mining of minerals. We calculated the emissions from stove heating in settlements located in the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory. Mathematical models and snow survey data have been used in assessing the volumes of main pollutants depositing on the lake surface.

For purposes of ensuring the switch-over to the new system of ecological standardization based on setting ecosystem normative of environmental quality and using the best available technologies, we examine the need to improve the techniques and methods of standardization of admissible impacts on the ecosystem of Lake Baikal. A study is made of the negative influence of discharges of harmful (polluting) substances on the unique ecological system of Lake Baikal. The scientific substantiation has been developed for the normative of maximum permissible impacts on the lake’s ecological system and the methods of determining them. On the basis of a statistical processing of hydrobiological and hydrochemical data for Lake Baikal, collection and analysis of initial information on the main components of the chemical balance in Lake Baikal, assessments of the anthropogenic load on the lake, and calculations of the balances of pollutants, we determined the normative of permissible impacts on the ecosystems of Baikal and its hollows (Southern, Middle, and Northern) regarding inputs of chemical substances and suspended solids as well as microorganisms.

An assessment is made of the hydrogeological situation on the industrial site of the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill (BPPM) in the mode of operation of the enterprise. A profound transformation of the natural hydrogeochemical and thermal fields has been ascertained, resulting in the formation of contrasting (in mineralization, composition (sulfate and carbonate) and alkali-acid state)) groundwater with a temperature of 20-50 °C. The structure of the hydrogeochemical anomaly has been analyzed. It is ascertained that it undergoes intra-annual changes in the magnitude of mineralization and, partly, in composition. A series of discrete hydrogeochemical logging surveys showed that at the period of infiltration recharge the mineralization decreases to 1 g/L, and the composition approaches a sulfate-hydrocarbonate composition. During production shutdown intervals there occurs a clearly pronounced effect of piston-like displacement of polluted waters by the transit runoff: the maximum of mineralization is shifted right up to the discharge boundary, Lake Baikal. It is found that the transport of pollutants with the groundwater flow to Lake Baikal occurs with an attenuation in depth. Zonal experimental-seepage investigations showed that the profile totaling 50 m in thickness exhibits four approximately equivalent intervals with the effective velocity (from top to bottom) of 1.9; 0.84; 0.30 and 0.15 m/day. Thus it has been determined that 63 % of the most polluted groundwater flow is discharged trough the upper interval, and a mere 10 % through the two lower (least polluted) intervals. It is concluded that the liquidation of the BPPM will lead to the disappearance of the anomalies. Observations at regular intervals and specialized investigations from 1992-2013 testify that in the event that the pollution source is liquidated, the groundwater flow will be cleared of the polluting components to a local background level within a year.

Presented are the results of investigations made in 2013-2014 with the purpose of developing the system of biodiversity monitoring on the specially protected natural territories within the Lake Baikal drainage basin. The investigations used model areas, i. e. specially protected natural territories (Baikalsk State Nature Biosphere Reserve (Zapovednik), Zabaikal’skii State National Park, and Kabansk State Nature Reserve (Zakaznik)). The existing methodological level of biodiversity monitoring is outlined, and an array of scientific and scientific-organizational problems in carrying out observations is revealed. The investigations resulted in the development of the Program of biodiversity monitoring in the state nature reserves and national parks of the Baikal natural territory as well as the methodological recommendations for its implementation. It is shown that the development of a unified program of long-term biodiversity monitoring must be based on the novel methodological approaches and techniques and that there is a need for an obligatory unification of all the main techniques used in collecting data within the «Nature Records» program.

A general characteristic is provided for the foreign and Russian ecological insurance market, and the institutional peculiarities of its formation are considered. Particular emphasis has been placed on a deficit of national normative legal acts serving as the «engine» of generation of off-budget funds by participating users of nature of the contemporary market economy. The Baikal region comprising three constituent entities of the Russian Federation (Irkutsk oblast, Republic of Buryatia, and Zabaikal’skii krai) is regarded as a model territory for analyzing a relatively recently emerging (for Russia) direction of the insurance market. The study revealed structural features (the relationship of the obligatory and voluntary sectors of ecological insurance), and the magnitude (the number of licensed insurance organizations, and the annual turnover) as well as the qualitative potential of the regional ecological insurance market. This market is represented by encompassing the main types of hazardous production facilities on the basis of the effective classification of ecological risks in the form of a table. We initiate the implementation of the regional law «On obligatory ecological insurance» (following the example of a number of other constituent entities), because the future prospects of development of the Baikal region are predetermined by the location of Lake Baikal on its territory, the drainage area of which has a special regime of nature management.