Home – Home – Jornals – Atmospheric and Oceanic Optics 2021 number 3

The Malyi Orgochor, Orgochor, Birbash, Sukhoi Ridge, Ichketosma, and Tosma uplifts in the eastern Issyk-Kul basin are fault-related anticlinal folds composed of Neogene and Quaternary sediments involved in tectonic movements. The folds have asymmetric transversal profiles, with low-angle southern limbs and steep northern limbs cut by segments of the South Issyk-Kul and Karkara reverse faults reactivated in the late Quaternary. The location and geometry of the two faults, which both show reverse and left-lateral strike slip components, correspond to neotectonic propagation of deformation from the Terskey-Ala-Too Range over almost the whole eastern Issyk-Kul basin. Judging by primary and secondary coseismic surface deformation in the area, the South Issyk-Kul and Karkara faults repeatedly generated large earthquakes ( M ≥ 7, I ≥ 9) in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. According to trenching results, the historical earthquakes that occurred in the first and 10-11th centuries accommodated motions on the South Issyk-Kul fault. The new seismotectonic and paleoseismicity data from the eastern Issyk-Kul basin provide updates to its seismic potential.

A 48 km long zone of surface deformation produced by the Ms = 7.3 intracontinental earthquake of 2003 in Gorny Altai is studied in its five segments between the Aktru and Irbistu rivers, where ruptures show the greatest offsets and distinct structural patterns. A total of 554 coseismic ruptures of five slip geometry types are analyzed in terms of length, orientation, and relative percentage. The rupture patterns are discussed with reference to previously published evidence and compared with other strike-slip zones worldwide.

We performed a comprehensive study of basanites from the Daur-Hentiyn Range and present the first data on their Sr and Nd isotope and mineral compositions (electron probe microanalysis). The study has shown that the basanites are chemically similar to the volcanic rocks of the South Baikal volcanic area (SBVA ) and are slightly different from oceanic island basalts in higher contents of Ba, Th, La, and Sr. The crystallization temperatures and pressures for the Fo0.85 olivine-melt equilibrium have been estimated, 1186-1137 °C, 1.09-1.06 GPa, and the sequence of mineral crystallization has been established. The obtained Sr and Nd isotope data indicate that the basanitic magmas were generated from material with PREMA and EMI isotope parameters.

We consider the distribution of trace elements and precious metals in sulfides and native gold of the Olimpiada deposit. Analysis of the obtained data provided conclusions about the source of ore substance and the parameters of the ore-forming fluid. We think that the deposit was formed by a medium- to high-temperature fluid with variable salinity and acidity/alkalinity, with chloride complexes dominating. The redox potential changed in the course of ore formation, but the ore mineralization formed under reducing conditions. The early Au-As mineralization might have formed with the major participation of crustal substance, but the supply of substance from another, probably deep-seated, source was also possible. The Au-Sb paragenesis differs significantly in REE and precious metals (primarily PGE) distribution, which might indicate a different source of substance (with a higher portion of a deep-seated component) during the formation of such parageneses. The Au/Ag ratios in sulfides, gold, and ores of the Olimpiada deposit point to the presence of Au and Ag sulfide minerals.

The paper focuses on compositional variations of olivine and chromian spinel in the Monchepluton and Pados-Tundra layered intrusions, which host significant chromitite mineralization. Ore-bearing dunite (with up to 25-30 vol.% Mcr) in the Sopcheozerskoe chromite deposit from the Monchepluton complex, Kola Peninsula, Russia, bears an assemblage of phases with exceptionally high magnesium contents: Fo96 + augite (Mg# = 94) + magnesiochromite, Mcr (Mg# ≈ 65); Mg# = 100·Mg/(Mg + Fe2+ + Mn). However, olivine in the host dunite has normal maximum values of Mg# comparable to those in cumulus olivine from layered intrusions worldwide (Fo≤91-92). The Fo96 phase in the Sopcheozerskoe deposit shows the most primitive composition ever reported from any layered intrusion. Magnesiochromite occurs as unzoned homogeneous euhedral crystals unaffected by subsolidus exchange or metasomatic effects. Olivine in ore-bearing dunite (20-25 vol. % magnesian chromite) from the Pados-Tundra complex attains Fo93, with the Mg# value notably higher than the range (Fo85.5-90.6) in olivine from orthopyroxenite, harzburgite, and dunite within the intrusion. Olivine and chromian spinel in the two complexes behave coherently, with covarying patterns of Mg# and Ni contents in olivine at R = 0.75 ( n = 160) and positive correlation between Mg# in coexisting chromian spinel and olivine grains at R = 0.8 ( n = 150). This behavior indicates that the two phases attained equilibrium during crystallization. It appears unlikely that the extremely high Mg enrichment in olivine (Fo96), as well as in all associated phases of the Monchepluton complex, would result from a subsolidus reaction between olivine and chromian spinel or low-temperature alteration of olivine. We suggest a more realistic explanation that the olivine (+ high-Mg augite)-chromian spinel assemblage crystallized from komatiitic magma under the conditions of progressively increasing oxygen fugacity ( f O2). The high Mg# in the Mcr-chromite-enriched system, above the maximum values common in cumulus olivine from layered intrusions (up to Fo96 against Fo≤91-92), may be caused by shortage of ferrous iron.

We present results of a study of plutonic-rock xenoliths from the Kharchinsky Volcano (Central Kamchatka depression). The studied xenolith collection comprises nine samples of peridotites and clinopyroxenites. The peridotites are identified as wehrlites, dunites, and harzburgites composed of olivine, clino- and orthopyroxenes, amphibole, and chromite in varying amounts. The clinopyroxenites consist mostly of clinopyroxene and often contain subordinate olivine, amphibole, hercynite, and magnetite. The xenoliths have interstitial segregations and veins composed of chlorite, plagioclase, K-feldspar, orthopyroxene, barite, fluorapatite, ilmenite, and, more seldom, anhydrite, phlogopite, and some other minerals. The study has revealed that veinlet minerals sometimes replace primary minerals and form pseudomorphs, thus indicating the metasomatic origin of interstitial and vein mineral assemblages. The thermobarometric calculations for minerals have shown that peridotites formed at ~1140 ºC and ≤10 kbar in the intermediate chambers at the depths from the spinel stability field to the Moho. Interstitial metasomatic alterations of rocks took place at ~400-850 ºC.

In this paper we present a stratigraphic scheme for the subdivision and correlation of the Cambrian deposits in the south of the cis-Yenisei area of West Siberia, which was adopted as a current scheme by the decision of the Interdepartmental Stratigraphic Committee in 2018. This scheme is based on the data from stratigraphic test wells (Lemok-1, Averinskaya-150, Tyiskaya-1, Vostok-1, Vostok-3, Vostok-4, etc.). In the study area, two structure-facies zones were identified: Kas (Lemok-1, Averinskaya-150, Tyiskaya-1, Vostok-4, and Eloguiskaya-1 wells), where sedimentary complexes accumulated in a salt subbasin, and Ket’ (Vostok-1 and Vostok-3 wells), with the deposition in an open sea basin. The boundary between these structure-facies zones is drawn along the inferred N-S-trending barrier reef zone. The rubrication in this paper is compiled in accordance with the requirements of the Stratigraphic Code of Russia for explanatory notes for regional stratigraphic schemes. Local stratigraphic subdivisions (formations, strata) are described and compared with the adjacent Turukhansk-Irkutsk-Olekma facies region of the Siberian Platform.

The least altered limestones of the Ukta and Eselekh formations in the Precambrian section of the Kharaulakh uplift have a minimum ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of 0.70673-0.70715. The lowest ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of the overlying Neleger and Sietachan formations is 0.70791-0.70817. Based on these data, along with the earlier obtained positive δ¹³С values (up to 8 ‰) for the Kharaulakh section, we have estimated the age of the Ukta and Eselekh formations at 800-670 Ma and the age of the Neleger and Sietachan formations at ~640-580 Ma. The Pb-Pb isochron age of the least altered limestones of the Eselekh Formation calculated from eight samples is 720 ± 30 Ma. This age permits us to define the lower part of the Kharaulakh section of the Ukta and Eselekh formations to be the late Tonian of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart or to the Upper Riphean of the General Stratigraphic Scale of Russia. The presence of reliably dated Upper Riphean sediments in the Kharaulakh uplift indicates a more complex structure of the Precambrian sedimentary cover on the Arctic margin of the Siberian Platform than assumed earlier.

The absorption spectra of a water molecule perturbed by argon pressure were measured in the 6700-7650 cm^-1 region. The spectra were recorded at an IFS 125HR Fourier spectrometer with a high signal-to-noise ratio at a room temperature with a spectral resolution of 0.01 cm^-1. The argon pressure was varied from 0 to 0.9 atm. Using three models of the line profile (the traditional Voigt profile, the quadratic Voigt profile depending on the velocity of the absorbing molecule, and the Hartmann-Tran profile), the parameters of the absorption lines of the water molecule were obtained. It is shown that the use of the HTP profile gives better agreement with the experimental data. For mass measurements at pressures above 300 mbar, it is suggested to use a relatively simple Voigt profile which depends on the velocity of the absorbing molecule.

Absorption in the 1-0 band of CO broadened by Ar is examined using the asymptotic line wing theory. An expression for the line shape is derived within the asymptotic line-wing theory (ALWT) when the center of mass motion is considered as classical whereas the other variables remain quantum. The line shape parameters are fitted to reach agreement between calculated and experimental data on the absorption in the CO band wing. The classical potential parameters are found from the temperature dependence of the second virial coefficient. A qualitative agreement is found between the quantum potential parameters and intermolecular potential surfaces from quantum-chemical calculations.

A method is suggested for retrieving the diurnal variation in the height of turbulent mixing layer based on the height-temporal distributions of the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy and variance of radial velocity obtained from measurements with a conically scanning coherent Doppler lidar. The accuracy of determining the mixing layer height by the method suggested is analyzed.

We present the results of a numerical study of the possibility of compensating for aero-optical aberration distortions of the beam wavefront by the method of aperture sensing based on the atmospheric backscatter signal. It is shown that the method makes it possible to partially compensate for aero-optical aberrations. The dimensions of a beam in the cross section become several times smaller than of a beam without adaptive control of the wavefront, and the intensity distribution becomes more symmetric about the optical axis.

A scheme of the new stage of the development of a generalized empirical model of optical characteristics of tropospheric aerosol in Western Siberia is described. An algorithm is suggested for accounting the particle size distribution function of absorbing matter and the condensation activity of aerosols. Optical characteristics have been calculated with the complex refractive index of particles of different sizes variable with the relative air humidity. Using the “haze” type of the “aerosol weather” as an example, the results of model calculation are compared with the average experimental data on the angular scattering coefficient in a small-angle range and the spectral behavior of the aerosol extinction coefficients.

Solution to the problem of light scattering by hexagonal atmospheric plates and columns and irregularly shaped particles 10 to 100 mm in size is presented in the form of a databank of Mueller matrices. It is intended for interpretation of data from ground-based and space-borne lidars. The solution is obtained for typical wavelengths used in laser sensing: 0.355; 0.532; 1.064 mm, as well as for the wavelengths of the near-IR region: 1.55; 2 and 2.15 mm. The solution was derived with the use of the physical optics method. Based on the Mueller matrices calculated, the color and linear depolarization ratios were derived.

The ways of further development of a multistage adaptive system for stabilization and image formation at the Large Solar Vacuum Telescope are suggested. The system was created at IAO SB RAS with the technical support of ISTP SB RAS, tested, and proved to be effective. In this system, the first stage provides image stabilization, the second stage corrects the wave-front shape using a flexible mirror controlled by a special wave-front sensor, and the third stage is post-detector frame processing. For post-detector correction of digital images, special processing software was developed based on high-speed parallel algorithms. The system can be improved by means of creating high-speed correlation tracking algorithms and adding a second set of wave-front sensor and flexible mirror mounted in a plane conjugate to the altitude of a layer of strong local turbulence.

The experimental results of the influence of excitation mode on the CuBr active element pulse duration are presented. One of the distinctive features of the research is the use of the train pulses for copper bromide molecules dissociation. The influence of train pulse number and delay time between the last pulse in a train and the excitation pulse on the laser pulse parameters is investigated. It is shown that the variation in the delay time allows one to change the duration of lasing pulse by more than 3 times.

Computer simulation of a panoramic three-range catadioptric system (lens) of a navigation video camera of unmanned miniature drones is presented. The optical system operates using a three-channel radiation receiver sensitive in three spectral regions.

A photoacoustic method was used to analyze gas samples vacuum-extracted from larch discs that survived the explosion of a space body in the Podkamennaya Tunguska area in 1908. The specificity of СО₂ accumulation in tree rings after the catastrophe was revealed, which could affect the dynamics of СО₂ emission by the trunks into the atmosphere.

The article considers the preliminary results drawn and lessons learned from how the Russian federal center and regions counteract global threats. We point out the specific nature of Russia’s fight against COVID-19 that set it apart from a few other states, as well as delineate both adverse and favorable factors and conditions. This study shows that the Russian Federation, regardless of how grave the matter became, exhibited high resistance to the coronavirus crisis during the first COVID-19 wave. 2020 saw several growing trends toward decentralization in center-region relations. However, when decision-making powers were allocated to the regions, low-quality regional governance hindered their use. We take the context of jointly confronting global threats as a backdrop to show that Russia needs to find a compromise between “competitive" and “cooperative " sorts of federalism. The pandemic-related growth of the digital economy, remote working, telemedicine, etc., will magnify the digital divide among Russian regions, increasing asymmetry and competition. This situation will require unique forms of state regulation and public resources. The article concludes that none other than a dramatic knowledge economy breakthrough can ensure Russia’s future independence against similar global threats (along with the consolidation and strengthening of proactive and effective public administration practices at all levels: federal, regional, and local).

The paper considers internal (local) and transfer revenues of regional budgets. The goal is to assess policies to raise budget revenues that are based on regional economic development or transfer mobilization and their appeal to the regions. By contrasting the revenue structures and volumes in 2012 and 2018 at comparable prices, we show that transfer funding had reduced for most Russian regions. We assume the condition for increasing transfer earnings to be the region’s economic success or the promise of such. As far as internal revenues are concerned, the article demonstrates how weak the connection is between their dynamics and regional economic development. The growth of earnings from personal income tax is the only effect significant for the Russian region. State property remains valid as a revenue source only for a limited number of regions. Currently, regions have almost no alternatives to growing their income base, which is also based on economic development. However, the low return on efforts leads to the region being less active at developing its economy. A solution to the problem should be sought in improving the relationship between the economy’s state and regional incomes in the form of incentive deductions from generated federal tax revenues.

The study aims to select a health capital indicator and provide health capital estimates at a regional level in Russia based on econometric modeling for 2004-2018. The article uses data from The Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey. Relying on two specifications of ordinal logistic models and random effects panel logistic regressions, we find the socio-economic, demographic, behavioral and medical characteristics defining the health of the Russian population. The values for the self-reported health predicted from the regression models are used for the estimation of a health capital index for Russian men and women. We present health capital estimates for Russia and its eight macro-regions that reveal significant disparities in health capital among regions. This article's results may provide more precise health capital estimates in meso- and macro-level models and add a social filter in economic endogenous growth models for Russian regions. The revealed regional disparities in health capital estimates also call for a differentiated regional health policy designed to mitigate inequality while maintaining state guarantees of free and universal healthcare.

The article presents the results of a survey of students at a large Ural university to learn their opinion on factors making a company an employer of choice, interest in internships, criteria for choosing jobs, and potential forms of interaction with employers. The survey was conducted online among (n = 832) students of different faculties, courses, and modes of study at a regional university. When choosing a job, students are guided by wages, opportunities for professional self-actualization, availability of social guarantees, convenient working hours, the company’s ability to train and develop its employees. Most students look to gain work experience and do internships while also continuing their university studies. According to students, the ideal host company provides an experience that will undoubtedly be useful in work or employment. For students, internships are a valuable aspect of how universities and employers interact from the standpoint of future employment. They consider internships to be many things: work experience, a job related to their degree, and a way to get into the organization’s candidate pool. The most viable methods to gather data on internships are contacts with company employees, its website, judgment from teachers and university staff, and the Internet. Research findings may be used to structure and shape fruitful interaction between universities and employers: one should take into account modern students’ pragmatism and practicality. It is necessary to tackle such formats as paid internships, offering jobs to the best interns or graduates, arranging conferences, seminars, and regular meetings. Understanding the mindsets of today’s students, companies will be able to consider the special qualities of their future employees and trainees when employing and onboarding.

With the advent of social network sites (SNS), the privacy problem has become much more pressing than before. Online platforms offer opportunities for sharing large amounts of personal information willingly, which might be attacked and abused. This circumstance fosters a need to study what affects disclosure in social media. Foreign researchers have noted that socio-demographic factors influence the amount and type of data published in the SNS profile, with the marital status being one such possible factor. In this article, we study the marital status impact on self-disclosure in the VKontakte profile. We use content analysis as a research method to find out the information disclosure frequency in profiles of1333 randomly selected users. According to the results, marital status has a pronounced effect on how disclosed three out of 25 data types are. Married users are more likely to allow public access to Communities and Gifts, as well as the “Photos of me" album with their pictures tagged by other users. Unmarried or “actively searching" ones more often publish information declaring their identity and views (Personal priority, Important in others, Views on smoking, Views on alcohol, About me) and fill in their status. Future research should also look at other factors that may affect self-disclosure in the SNS profile. The study results can contribute to making a comfortable online environment and may be used to develop recommendations on privacy protection in social media.

The article shows how game theory and expert system technologies make it possible, using specially developed tools, to compare the public efficiency of large-scale projects in a situation of radical (non-stochastic) uncertainty within J. Kornai’s system paradigm. The proposed approach combines the ideas of the well-known methods PATTERN, cost-effectiveness, and Saaty AHP with some original authors’ solutions. The resulting software products serve as a means of support in complex investment decision-making. To exemplify their application, we provide experimental estimates for the comparative public efficiency of the Transpolar and Lena-Kamchatka railways.

Spatial development of the Far East is among Russia’s priorities. In this regard, identifying urban spheres of influence becomes essential for effective management decisions to coordinate the cities ’ and macroregion’s development processes. Due to very few adequate tools and technical challenges inherent in identifying urban spheres of influence, information on such spheres of urban influence is rarely used to draft strategic territorial planning documents. This study determines the spheres with principal component analysis, which provides a theoretical foundation for detecting influence areas between cities. As a result, we show the urban spheres of influence in their current state, observed in 82 cities in the Far East. Between cities in a macroregion, they are heterogeneous and differ in how much effect they have. Spheres of influence extend beyond their administrative boundaries only for six cities. Moreover, we have discovered regularities that need to be studied further, as the findings may contribute to the research on urban spheres of influence.

The article presents the authors’ view on the geopolitical processes currently ongoing in the Russian borderlands. The following issues are the focus for this study: maintaining the integrity of geographical space, ensuring transboundary waters are used rationally, analyzing risks and threats tied to new international transport corridors, and assessing whether transit through Russia should be restricting under the new geopolitics. We leverage works of the past and contemporary geopolitical approaches to study domestic and international practices of forming transboundary spaces and solving the problems of cross-border cooperation. The article provides rationale for the discovered specifics of borderlands’ socio-economic development and environmental cooperation in the basins of the largest North Asian rivers. We pay particular attention to the historical and cultural cooperation between the neighboring states and preserving memory of the victory over Nazism in World War II. The study’s findings are applicable in the regional management of socio-economic processes and environmental resource management in borderlands.

We address this study in the context of a role that educational institutions play in increasing the competitiveness of a city or an urban agglomeration. One of the most relevant objectives for educational management is the need to define mechanisms that tie together the education sector with city/agglomeration competitiveness. In order to compare the said urban competitiveness, one can choose from a wide variety of city ratings available at both commercial and academic sources. A rating is usually composed of integral indicators being used to evaluate how educational institutions contribute to rating positions of cities and urban agglomerations. We have performed a comparative analysis of the composition and weights of the said indicators. When any direct information on a rating methodology and/or indicator weights was absent, a correlation analysis was used to detemine a degree of connection between the mentioned indicators and the rating position. The results imply that we need to distinguish two rating types. The first type reflects the actual situation of a city/agglomeration. These ratings demonstrated a rather low weight of the indicator groups describing educational institutions to the ratings. If the information on indicators composition was accessible, the indicators describing higher education prevailed. The rating methodologies less frequently considered formalized institutions at other levels of education. The second type (identified via the said correlation analysis) reflects development prospects and increasing urban competitiveness. These demonstrate moderately strong and strong ties between a resulting city/agglomeration rank and a rank reflecting either functions or state of educational institutions.

The article analyzes how circular business models take shape and establishes prospects for their application in the oil industry. Changing consumer preferences, emerging demand for new materials and energy sources, more severe environmental restrictions, and active global decarbonization processes all require respective threats and opportunities included in long-term corporate strategies, as is reflected in this study. We demonstrate that circular business models may help accomplish strategic management and operations control goals to boost competitiveness, lower negative environmental impact, and reduce carbon footprint. Finally, we see that switching to the closed-loop economy is not an exclusively corporate responsibility. The public nature protection policy should reflect the global environment and climate change trends. Thanks to this, the government needs to create new development opportunities for the circular economy while keeping companies motivated to introduce the best available technologies and continuously improve manufacturing efficiency in terms of environmental and energy conservation.

The most significant indicator of financial management performance in enterprises is the coefficient of return on all liabilities, measured as the ratio of net profit to the average annual amount of liabilities (from a financial statement for a previous reporting period). At the same time, the calculation is carried out regardless of funding sources. This indicator reflects the efficiency of using financial resources represented in liabilities. Another important indicator is the efficiency of using equity (or return on equity, ROE), net profit divided by the average annual shareholder’s equity. The ROE value is miscalculated here because, in this case, the definition of efficiency (the ratio of the effect to the costs that provide this effect) of using financial resources is violated. After all, all financial resources in the liabilities, irrespective of where the funds come from, are involved in generating income with certain profitability. Therefore, all liabilities may be considered as investments that determines the capitalization process. We justify this provision by building an optimization model for enterprise planning. Net profit is attributed to equity (authorized capital, retained earnings, and other indicators), long-term credit, and current liabilities (debt and payables: wages, supplier debt, taxes, social insurance, and others). However, most of the capitalization effect is not accounted for by equity. A new approach to enterprise management is established based on systemic asset capitalization, i.e. activities to incentivize companies and financial organizations’ performance with economic means as one of the areas for enterprise economy convergence.

Natural fragmentation of steel cylinders with different charge sizes is investigated, and the correlation of different cylinders is proposed. The Mott fragment distribution has some obvious shortcomings, including the difficulty of accurately determining the number of fragments. Besides, there is no unified and convenient method to describe the fragmentation behavior of shells with different structures. The results show that the fragmentation behavior of the cylinder is self-similar statistically and can be characterized by a new integrated linear formula C_L = a + b (C / M). Due to the existence of the end face and the charge clearance, the fragmentation performance of the cylinder is reduced to a constant value, and the effect of the wall thickness is small. The influence of the end face and charge clearance on fragmentation is investigated by 3D simulations, and the numerical results ensure good validation of the experimental data.

Forestry organization is the key task of forest planning that is completed in close connection with forest economy and forest management. Specific problems of sustainable forestry organization and forest use should be solved on this basis. In Russia forest planning development alternated with forestry declining stage and revival. A new declining stage of forest sector, inсluding forest planning, is clearly observable after the Soviet breakup. Forestry is a production industry in which laws of the market economy are in force. A basis of forestry revival would be an objective market ecological and economic valuation of forest resources that will be provided by reemerging forest planning. It is the forest planning that should create the forest economic base of the organization of forestry and forest use. This is an essential tool for forest planning, both strategic and operational. To paraphrase Prof. Mikhail M. Orlov, «forest planning is the guide of forest administration in the case of blindness of the latter». The change of the national forest management system owing to enactment of the Forest Code in 2006 led to significant degradation of the forest planning system, which caused transfer of forest management functions from the federal level to the regional level and a substantial reduction in the volume of forest planning fieldwork. The state owns the major part of the forest fund and it is the state, and not the Russian Federation region, that should provide up-to-date reliable forest information primarily to make grounded managerial decisions and to develop strategic and operative planning documents. The latest efforts of the Federal Forestry Service to revive intensive forestry will end in failure if the forest planning system is not revived on a modern innovative basis. This basis should include the forest economic base of forestry organization and forest use. This is an essential tool for forest planning.

A promising method for finding patterns in experimental data is regression models of mixed effects, which have not found wide application in forest science in Russia to date. Over the past two decades, interest in them has grown significantly in the world scientific community. Mixed-effect models are extensions of regression models for data that is collected by group. In forestry, for example, individual stands, trial plots, geographic regions, etc. can be considered as separate groups influencing the resultant trait. Compared to classical fixed effect models, the addition of a random component avoids violating the assumption of independence in repeated measurements. Therefore, parameter estimates are more reliable. Mixed-effect models are used to solve a wide range of problems in forestry, from describing pairwise relationships between individual tree variables to reflecting the dynamics of forest stands. By giving more accurate forecasts of variables in comparison with traditional models, which include only fixed effects, their introduction into production activities can increase labor productivity and economic efficiency of forestry. A large positive experience of using models of mixed effects abroad should not go unnoticed in the domestic forestry science. Their active use makes it possible to reveal new or hidden patterns in experimental data, thereby giving a new vector in the development of forestry, forest inventory and other forestry scientific disciplines.

The share of forest resources of the Far East accounts for 43 % of the forest area and 33 % of the timber reserves of the Russian Federation. In general, the Far East federal district has the largest forest resources among regions of Russia, while the Far East forests are an important factor in the ecological sustainability of the territory. A significant part of forest complex of the Far East federal district has been developed and transformed. Forests are mainly represented by conifer tree species, the share of clear cuts in the region is relatively small, 45 % of forest fund lands are classified as exploitable, and the allowable cut by regions is developed to 56 %. The dynamics of timber harvesting has a steady downward trend (compared to 2015 in 2019 decrease in volumes is 359.3 thousand m³), care felling is 6 % of the total share of actually harvested marketable timber. The areas of untimely inventory (forest planning) of forest lands exceed 75 %, while the wooded area of the territory is 60.5 % as a whole. The main threat to the preservation of forest fund of the Far East federal district is represented by fires (they tend to grow annually in number and area), clearcutting, which are carried out in most regions in the forests, where they are impractical, and illegal logging (annual damage is estimated at hundreds of millions of rubles, and the share of persons brought to criminal responsibility in relation to the number of initiated criminal cases does not exceed 31 %). Subjects reports on the volumes of reforestation mainly due to natural reforestation, with an insignificant share of agrotechnical maintenance. Article attempts to analyze the data of official statistics (Execution..., 2020), in order to identify the characteristic contemporary trends in the development of the situation in the state of the forest fund of the Far East.

The rise in air temperature that has taken place in recent decades both globally and on the territory of the Russian Federation has an impact on many environmental processes, including the hydrological regime of rivers. According to the data of meteorological stations for 1952-2012, the change in the main climatic indicators in the studied territory of the Central Siberia was estimated. Analysis of meteorological data confirms that over the past decades, there has been a change in the average annual air temperature. Changes of air temperature in the study area are characterized by a stable tendency to warming at a rate of 0.26-0.36 °С/10 years. The average air temperatures for the warm (V-IX) and cold (X-IV) months have a positive tendency to increase. Based on cartographic materials and satellite images, data on dynamic of forest cover were obtained for nine catchments located within three landscape zones - forest-tundra, northern and middle taiga. A regional model of the relationship between river runoff with forest cover of catchments, geographical coordinates and average annual air temperature was development. Numerical experiments with the obtained model showed that an increase in the forest cover of the river catchments in northern latitudes contributes to an increase in the annual runoff, and in southern regions, to its decrease. The results obtained can serve as a theoretical basis for a sustainable forest management in order to obtain the desired hydrological effect.

The successions of the species composition of the dry land forests as well as the climate of the central part of the Sym-Dubches interfluve were reconstructed on the base of the layer-by-layer spore-pollen and radiocarbon analyses of bog sediments in two profiles. The analysis of the species composition of tree pollen and its percentage ratios in the spectrum made it possible to distinguish palynological zones and based on them to reconstruct the main stages (phases) of forest cover in the Middle and Late Holocene. It was established that in the second third of the Atlantic period the pine and birch forests mixed with spruce Picea A. Dietr. were developed on dry lands, and at the end of the period - the pine and birch forests with fir Abies Mill. and spruce were developed. During subboreal period change in the species composition of the tree stands as well as the development of pine-Siberian stone pine-birch and spruce forests took place. In the Subatlantic period the zonal taiga forests with dominance of two species - pine Pinus L. and Siberian pine Pinus sibirica Du Tour - grew on dry lands. Birch, spruce and fir species had a subordinate importance in forest formation. It was established that the regional features of the study area substantially leveled out the paleoclimate parameters what resulted in smoothing out the thermal maxima and minima, which are specific for the Western Siberia. We assumed that the successions of forest ecosystems occurred not only as a result of the Holocene climate fluctuations, but also as a result of their self-development.

Research has been carried out to study the effect of the first thinning on the overall productivity of mature pine stands in the forest-steppe zone of the Krasnoyarsk Kray. The results of the influence of felling from low to very high volume intensity on the value of the current periodic growth in mature pine stands of different initial basal area are presented. In pine forests of forb-green moss and lingonberry-forb-green moss types, a comparative analysis of the average annual periodic increase in the stock for 5-10 years was carried out. It was found that the increase is due to both the intensity of felling and the initial density of stands and varies within wide limits (from 2.4 to 7.3 m³/ha per year). On control plot, this value was 2.6-4.9 m³/ha per year. A positive dependence of the average current annual increment per 1 m³ of stand volume after the first thinning with the felling intensity was revealed. Thinning intensity optimums were determined for stands of different initial density at the age of 100-120 years. For initial densities of 500, 600, 700 and 800 trees/ha, it will be equal to 100 (20 %), 200 (33 %), 300 (43 %) and 400 trees/ha (50 %), respectively, which can be used for practical recommendations for the renewal felling. At the same time, the main criterion for the intensity of thinning of forest stands is their purpose (protective forests) and their condition (natural regeneration and wind sustainability).

Currently, one of the urgent problems of preserving regional flora is the task of identifying invasive species. For this, it is necessary to monitor the distribution of these species and clarify their cultural areas. Landscaping in the South of the Russian Far East makes extensive use of North American woody plants - ash-leaved maple Acer negundo L., desert false indigo Amorpha fruticosa L., false Virginia creeper Parthenocissus inserta (A. Kern.) Fritsch, staghorn sumac Rhus typhina L. Some of them (desert false indigo, black locust Robinia pseudoacacia L.) actively reproduce vegetatively, sometimes creating continuous thickets. This makes it possible to consider them potentially invasive species for the territory of the south of the Far East, although at present they do not intrude into natural coenoses. At the same time, ash-leaved maple, populating disturbed territories, can subsequently grow together with emerging native species (Siberian elm Ulmus pumila L., Manchurian ash Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr., willows Salix spp.), it may be considered as the first stage of its introduction into natural communities. Rarely, it forms monodominant forest stands. Black locust is often intensively vegetatively distributed and, in some cases, is involved in the formation of secondary plant communities. False Virginia creeper and staghorn sumac are found only at the landing sites, but false Virginia creeper can run wild. Ash-leaved maple has the most extensive secondary range (PrimorskyKrai, Khabarovsk Krai), it is somewhat inferior to false Virginia creeper. The remaining species are distributed in Primorsky Krai only. It is important that, together with North American woody plants, in some cases their pests penetrate. Climate change and anthropogenic factors can lead to expansion of the cultural ranges of both North American woody plant species and their pests.

Pozdnyakov’s mountain ash Sorbocotoneaster pozdnjakovii Pojark. is a hybrid genus with a single species that arose from spontaneous hybridization of Cotoneaster melanocarpa Lodd. × rowan Sorbus sibirica Hedl. (Rosaceae), endemic to the flora of Russia. In the Peter the Great Botanical Garden Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences it is known since 1953, from locus classicus of the natural provenance. The seed reproduction of the second generation was obtained for the first time in 2010. The germination ability was low 4-14 %. In natural conditions the species grows in sharply continental climate. There are cases of the rotting of plants soaking and destruction of plants from Phytophthora in the Saint-Petersburg’s the Peter the Great Botanical Garden at the end of the 1980’s. Under conditions of noticeable climate warming, it is necessary to do uninterrupted phenological observations, monitor the disease resistance, to develop agrotechnical cultivation maps.

The article is devoted to discussing problem of reducing numbers of the dark European honeybee Apis mellifera mellifera L. in the natural and historical habitats. By analyzing changes in forest legislation and administrative policies on the territory of the European part of contemporary Russia, it is established that one of the main causes of the identified problem is lack of housing for migrating bee swarms due to the extremely insufficient number of old-growth trees with suitable for habitat hollows. The aim of the work is to justify the creation of network of specially protected natural area (OOPTs) - of botanical natural monuments and entomological reserves of regional importance as organizational measures for protection, guarding and recovery of the dark European honeybee populations. The key elements of the OOPTs are proposed to make communities of insect and plants that are in protocooperation with each other - trees, in the hollows of which live colonies of dark European honeybee. With the purpose of reducing the probability of breaking the trunk with large hollows, the system of care for trees is presented, which is based on the reduction of the windage for the crown and its stabilization: the reducing tree height, the increase in laciness crown, the formation of a symmetrical crown, installation of tree crowns stabilization and protection system against breakdowns. Creation of OOPTs aimed at conservation and restoration of the Dark European Honeybee populations will contribute to the conservation and increase of biodiversity, the organization of systematic study of the dark European honeybee populations and other pollinating insects, the formation of a network of environmental routes with upbringing, enlightenment, educational and scientific character, the disclosure of the recreational potential of the territory, the employment of the local population by creating additional jobs

Article analyzes the scientific achievements and heritage of Mikhail Antonovich Shemberg, a well-known dendrologist, who made a great contribution to the study of Siberian forests. He carried out a critical taxonomic treatment of birch Betula L . genus, developed new methodological approaches based on population-taxonomic analysis. M. A. Shemberg was the first who studied the variability of different features of birch species growing on the territory of Siberia and the Far East, revealed the patterns of their variability in individuals, populations, different parts of the area. He carried out a diagnostic assessment of these characteristics for the purposes of taxonomy and revealing of the intraspecific structure. The approaches of Mikhail A. Shemberg are widely used by specialists in the study of various generic complexes of woody plants. The pedagogical and public activity of Mikhail A. Shemberg is characterized. A list of major scientific works and list of theses defended under his supervision are given.