Overview: Recent advances in the understanding of the northern Eurasian environments and of the urban air quality in China – a Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX) programme perspective

The Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX) Science Plan, released in 2015, addressed a need for a holistic system understanding and outlined the most urgent research needs for the rapidly changing Arctic-boreal region. Air quality in China, together with the long-range transport of atmospheric pollutants, was also indicated as one of the most crucial topics of the research agenda. These two geographical regions, the northern Eurasian Arctic-boreal region and China, especially the megacities in China, were identified as a "PEEX region". It is also important to recognize that the PEEX geographical region is an area where science-based policy actions would have significant impacts on the global climate. This paper summarizes results obtained during the last 5 years in the northern Eurasian region, together with recent observations of the air quality in the urban environments in China, in the context of the PEEX programme. The main regions of interest are the Russian Arctic, northern Eurasian boreal forests (Siberia) and peatlands, and the megacities in China. We frame our analysis against research themes introduced in the PEEX Science Plan in 2015. We summarize recent progress towards an enhanced holistic understanding of the land-atmosphere-ocean systems feedbacks. We conclude that although the scientific knowledge in these regions has increased, the new results are in many cases insufficient, and there are still gaps in our understanding of large-scale climate-Earth surface interactions and feedbacks. This arises from limitations in research infrastructures, especially the lack of coordinated, continuous and comprehensive in situ observations of the study region as well as integrative data analyses, hindering a comprehensive system analysis. The fast-changing environment and ecosystem changes driven by climate change, socio-economic activities like the China Silk Road Initiative, and the global trends like urbanization further complicate such analyses. We recognize new topics with an increasing importance in the near future, especially "the enhancing biological sequestration capacity of greenhouse gases into forests and soils to mitigate climate change" and the "socio-economic development to tackle air quality issues".Peer reviewe

Study of Androgenic Plant Families of Alloplasmic Introgression Lines (H. vulgare) –T. aestivum and the Use of Sister DH Lines in Breeding

One of the limitations in obtaining the genetic diversity of doubled haploid (DH) lines via anther culture is the development of families of regenerants, and each family represents a clone. This work examines the results of studying this phenomenon in anther culture of alloplasmic (H. vulgare)–T. aestivum and euplasmic lines with 1RS.1BL and 7DL-7Ai translocations and hybrids between them. Parameters of androgenesis such as the number of embryo-like structures, the total number of regenerants, and the number of green regenerants per 100 anthers varied depending on the genotype. In all genotypes from embryo-like structures, predominant development of families of plantlets rather than single plantlets was found. The source of family plantlets was polyembryos. About 75% of families consisted of regenerants at the same fertility level. On average, 37.74%4% of the R0 plants were fertile. The sister DH lines of three hybrid combinations were formed from seeds of R1 plants (2n = 42) with high fertility and in the presence of wheat–alien translocations. After four years of breeding trials, the sister DH lines of three families with fungal disease resistance increased yield, and some parameters of grain quality exceeding the controls were identified as promising for breeding

Assessing and Mapping Changes in Forest Growing Stock Volume over Time in Bashkiriya Nature Reserve, Russia

There is growing recognition that forest ecosystems are a key component in the global carbon cycle, and there is a clear demand for their study. This research is a comparative analysis of forest growing stock volume (GSV) and determination of annual growth in Bashkiriya Nature Reserve (Russia) for 1979 and 2015 using 8395 and 8405 observation plots, respectively. Also, we evaluated the spatial distribution and produced digital maps of the species and their GSV for each year. The results showed that pine and birch were the dominant species (60.5 and 24.8% of the area in 2015, respectively) and there were no significant changes in the area of stands during the 36-year period. We found that the GSV in the reserve had increased by an average of 23.2% over the 36-year period. Specifically, the total forest GSV increased from 7,678,960 in 1979 to 10,003,890 m3 in 2015, representing an annual gain of 0–1.5 m3/ha. The increase in GSV was mainly associated with an increase in birch and pine trees. The annual growth of GSV was determined as 1.8–2.1 and 1.4 m3/ha per year for pine and birch forests, respectively. However, these types of trees belong to the age categories of mature and overmature stands, i.e., with reduced intensity of GSV gain. Digital maps produced as part of this study provide a visual representation of the changes in forest spatial patterns and GSV over time, highlighting areas of the reserve where the stock has increased or decreased. This study leveraged a substantial dataset, which provided valuable retrospective insights into the dynamics of pristine forest ecosystems, allowing for the assessment of changes over a 36-year period. Overall, this study highlights the importance of the ongoing monitoring and assessment of GSV levels, especially in the context of rapidly changing environments and climates

Assessment of Chemical Properties, Heavy Metals, and Metalloid Contamination in Floodplain Soils under the Influence of Copper Mining: A Case Study of Sibay, Southern Urals

The ecotoxicological condition of soils around mining areas is most often unsatisfactory, which affects entire ecosystems and human health. This research sought to analyze the morphological, agrochemical properties, and content of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Zn) and metalloids (As) of soils located in a floodplain. The study was conducted within the city of Sibay (Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia). The soil samples were collected from the floodplains of the rivers Karagayly and Khudolaz. According to morphological studies, the soil cover was represented by the Lithic Leptosols, Stagnic Phaeozems, and Fluvisols. The results showed that the soils were characterized by high values of organic matter, potassium, and low levels of phosphorus. Soils that were located away from the city in the Karagayly River were not contaminated. However, the floodplain areas pertaining to the urban district and located near the quarries were characterized by severe anthropogenic soil pollution, disrupted integrity of the soil cover, decreased vegetation, and accumulating labile forms of heavy metals and metalloids. The highest degree of pollution was observed in the floodplain soil of the river Khudolaz where all elements exceeded the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) level. Soils in the floodplain of the Karagayly river were marked by an increased degree of contamination of Zn: exceeding MPC by 1.6 times. With the trend toward an arid climate, the ecotoxicological condition of floodplain soils is an important challenge

New particle formation in boreal forests of Siberia, Finland and Estonia

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