Home – Home – Jornals – Siberian Journal of Forest Science 2026 number 3

Currently, more than 55 % of the world’s population lives in cities, and this figure is projected to increase by 70 % to 2050. One of the reasons for the mass migration of rural residents to cities is their desire to improve the quality of life. However, the dense construction of high-rise buildings has led to a monstrous concentration of people, which, combined with the growth of urban transport, has reduced the quality of the living environment to a level that poses a threat to human health and life. Today, urban plantings are considered as a universal tool for solving urban problems in terms of achieving an optimal balance between the services provided and the existing risks. Urban vegetation, especially woody one, has numerous properties that improve the quality of the environment and preserve human health in urban environments. The review shows that artificial intelligence methods open up great prospects for solving complex problems of monitoring air quality in the urban environment, and uncertainty about the oxygen-producing role of urban areas is revealed. A technique for automatic mapping of urban trees is presented, and a spatio-temporal neural network training system for assessing the carbon deposition potential of urban forests is described. The possibilities of using machine learning in the assessment and monetization of ecosystem services in urban trees are shown. Based on the results of deep learning, an assessment of the comfort level of the urban environment was carried out in connection with the density of buildings, the degree of greening, and taking into account the results of a survey of residents.

The article discusses approaches to updating the forest fire zoning of the Arctic region of Siberia based on geoinformation analysis and machine learning methods. The analysis of vegetation categories, spectral indices (NDVI), meteorological data series (air temperature, insolation, precipitation, thunderstorm activity) and relief categories is presented in relation to information on remotely recorded thermal anomalies («thermally active pixels») obtained from satellite monitoring data on vegetation fires for 2001-2023. Using the logistic regression method (nonlinear S-shaped coupling function), the weighting coefficients of predictors determining the probability of fire events were determined, among which the air temperature (β = 1.27) and the vegetation index NDVI (β = -0.53) were characterized by the greatest significance. Summarizing the influence of all the considered predictors, four zones are identified in the study area, characterizing the probability of fire events. Verification of the model based on independent data on thermally active pixels for 2024-2025 and the ROC analysis confirmed a high predictive ability (AUC = 84.3 %). It was found that 78.4 % of all thermal anomalies in the period 2001-2025 occurred in zones classified as highly and very likely to cause fires, occupying 24.4 % of the region’s area. A comparative analysis with the existing schemes of forest zoning states the need to shift the boundaries of the Siberian subarctic region (1A) to the north and expand the West Siberian zone (2A, 2B), which is determined by the current dynamics of fire regimes and, probably, economic development of the territories. The results can be used to optimize the system of monitoring and planning fire protection measures in the Arctic under the conditions of predicted climatic changes.

The analysis included indicators for the start and end of fire-hazard seasons, fire areas at detection and suppression, dates and times of detection, containment, and suppression, causes of fires, geographic coordinates, and fire frequency peaks in six groups of regions for the periods from 2015 to 2019 and 2021 to 2025. It was found that the start of the fire-hazard season has shifted by 10-20 days over the past 10 years in the central regions and the Urals. In the south, the dates of the fire-hazard season has shifted to such an extent that the fire-hazard season can be considered a year-round phenomenon ( p < 0.30). Based on the nature of the distribution and intensity of fire frequency peaks in the season four main types can be distinguished: unimodal - one clearly defined peak in July-August, typical of northern regions, such as the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions and the Sokha Republic (Yakutia); bimodal - two peaks of approximately equal strength, one in spring and one in autumn-winter, typical of southern regions, particularly the Krasnoyarsk Territory and steppe regions; double-peaked - two peaks of unequal strength, one in spring and one in August-September, typical of the central and Ural regions (Moscow, Sverdlovsk, and Tver regions); multimodal - several peaks of varying magnitude, unevenly distributed throughout the season, typical of the coastal regions of the Far East (Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais). These patterns must be taken into account when planning forest fire protection.

The article presents the results of a study on the introduction of maple ash ( Acer negundo L.) into phytocenoses in the specially protected natural area (SPNA) «Rudnichny Sosnovy Bor», located within the city limits of Kemerovo. It was revealed that under the influence of the invasive species, the structure and composition of different layers of forest communities were most altered in pine horsetail-forb associations with maple, pine-maple nettle-gramineous associations, pine-maple nettle-goutweed associations with a share of its participation of 12-18 specimens/400 m², and the least altered in the pine goutweed-forb association (2 specimens/400 m²). Under the canopy of maple ash, the projective cover of the herbage was reduced in some cases, dead areas formed. In the herbaceous layer, the proportion of weed species varied from 20 to 50 %, with the dominant species being: stinging nettle ( Urtica dioica L.), creeping couch grass ( Elytrigia repens (L.) Desv. ex Nevski), greater celandine ( Chelidonium majus L.), cocksfoot ( Dactylis glomerata L.), and dandelion ( Taraxacum officinale F. H. Wigg.). Therefore, the introduction of maple ash into the pine forest ecosystems leads to unwanted floristic pollution in a specially protected natural area. Further monitoring of the maple ash invasion process involving is necessary.

The terpene hydrocarbon component composition of the essential oil isolated from the six populations of Siberian spruce needles ( Picea obovata Ledeb.) growing on the eastern macroslope of the Kuznetsk Alatau (Republic of Khakassia) and orographically isolated from each other, was studied by chromatograph mass spectrometry. The essential oil content ranged from 0.042 % to 0.763 %. Thirty-three compounds were identified, representing 99.88 % of the terpene composition. The main groups of volatile substances detected in all studied needle samples were monoterpene hydrocarbons (15.09 % to 33.08 %) and their oxygen-containing derivatives (66.59 % to 84.91 %). The following monoterpenes were predominant: camphene (9.55-15.44), limonene (4.49-6.05), α-pinene (2.35-5.92), β-myrcene (1.20-1.67), santhene (1.45-2.8) % of the total oil content. The following oxygen-containing derivatives were present: bornyl acetate (49.82-83.02), camphor (1.76-5.43), camphene hydrate (1.40-4.42), borneol (1.29-4.05), eucalyptol (1.07-3.30). A high content of bornyl acetate was detected compared to the essential oil of Siberian spruce growing in other regions of Russia. The ratio of the essential oil component groups indirectly suggests that some spruce stands are exposed to stress factors. The obtained data contribute to the elucidation of patterns in the biodiversity of Siberian spruce.

The results of long-term studies of microsporogenesis in autochthonous coniferous species in the northern taiga are presented. The phenorhythmics of microsporocyte meiosis has been studied. Characteristic disorders in meiosis are described. The total number of chromosomal abnormalities in microsporocyte meiosis increases with increasing environmental factors. Teratology of pollen and is described. The total number of anomalies in the total pollen pool is estimated. The number of abnormal pollen grains in the total pollen pool is small. The long-term dynamics of pollen viability has been studied. The indicators of pollen viability in all studied species vary greatly by year. The correlation between the total number of disorders in microsporocyte meiosis, the number of abnormal pollen grains, and pollen viability is not always clear enough. The number of such violations increases markedly only in years with extremely unfavorable weather conditions during microsporogenesis.

Pedunculate oak ( Quercus robur L.) is susceptible to infection by one of the most widespread phytopathogens - ascomycete fungi of the order Erysiphales , the causal agents of oak powdery mildew, which leads to reduced productivity of forest stands of this species. However, the molecular genetic mechanisms underlying resistance of pedunculate oak to powdery mildew remain insufficiently studied. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify transcription factor and protein kinase genes involved in the development of adaptive responses of pedunculate oak to the powdery mildew pathogen through the analysis of RNA sequencing data. The identification and differential expression analysis of transcription factors and protein kinases were performed using iTAK v2.0.2 and edgeR, respectively. As a result of RNA-seq data analysis, 2,813 significantly differentially expressed genes were identified, including 166 transcription factor genes and 186 protein kinase genes. Under powdery mildew infection, the largest number of differentially expressed transcription factor genes belonged to the MYB (38), AP2/ERF (23), NAC (17), and WRKY (15) families. It was found that, under infection conditions, genes of the WRKY , GARP-G2-like , BES1 , and BBR-BPC families exhibited the highest expression levels compared with the control. In contrast, genes belonging to the C2C2 , bZIP , HB-HD-Zip , C2H2 , SBP , B3 , zf-HD , SRS , OFP , and HB-WOX transcription factor families were downregulated under powdery mildew infection. Analysis of differentially expressed protein kinase genes in infected pedunculate oak trees revealed that the majority belonged to the RLK/Pelle family (167 genes), displaying both up- and downregulation patterns. Other protein kinase families - AGC , NEK, Group-Pl-2 , ULK , and WNK - were predominantly downregulated, CAMK genes were upregulated, whereas STE and TKL families showed bidirectional regulation in response to infection. The identified genes may be considered promising candidates for further functional studies aimed at elucidating their contribution to powdery mildew resistance in pedunculate oak.

Peat bogs occupy about 3-4 % of the Earth’s land area, they play a significant role in climate formation, river flow regulation, gas exchange with the atmosphere, and also make a significant contribution to the global carbon cycle. Therefore, the study of carbon accumulation in the biomass of various tiers of swamp forest systems is a priority aspect. Although much attention has been paid to assessing the biological productivity of swamp forest systems, there are significant problems with obtaining objective information about the organic carbon cycle in swamps. In particular, there is no data on the biomass of the main and lower tiers for the swamp forest systems of the Urals. In this study, for the first time for the Middle Urals, four sample plots were established in the gradient of distances 450, 200, 110 and 70 m from the Lake Iset (56.95°N, 60.39°E), on which the survey indicators of stands and the structure of the aboveground biomass of all functional plant groups were determined. The heights of the sample plots above sea level were 250-253 m, and the groundwater level varied from 0 to 5 cm from the surface. The average age in this gradient decreased from 163 to 37 years, the average tree height from 5.5 to 2.2 m, and the stem volume from 127 to 13 m³/ha. It was found that in this gradient, the biomass of the woody tier decreases from 77 to 8 t/ha, and the biomass of the lower tier increases from 1 to 4 t/ha. The comparison of the obtained results with data from other regions showed that the proposed indicators of the biomass structure of the woody and lower tiers have regional specifics.