Tree stand assessment before and after windthrow based on open-access biodiversity data and aerial photography

The ground-based surveys of areas affected by storms might be difficult or even impossible because of the limited ability to move within the damaged area. Therefore, this work was aimed to estimate storm damage based on aerial photography and open biodiversity data available via the Internet. The study was carried out in the old-growth hemiboreal forests of the Kologrivsky Forest State Nature Reserve (Kostroma Region, Russia), which was affected by a catastrophic windthrow caused by a storm on 15.05.2021. The sampling area was 100 000 m2. We used our previous ground-survey studies and open-access biodiversity data available through the Global Biodiversity Information Facility for describing the forest stands composition before the catastrophic event. The aerial photography data were used for estimating tree stands damages after the windthrow. For remote data collecting, we used an unmanned aerial vehicle – quadrocopter DJI Phantom 4. Agisoft Metashape software was used for aerial photographs processing. The obtained photogrammetric digital elevation model (DEM) and orthophoto-mosaic were processed with QGIS software. Damaged areas were detected automatically based on the DEM. Individual fallen trees were visually detected using the orthophoto-mosaic. We found before the windthrow the study area was covered by old-growth stands developed naturally over a long time. The stand structure was multi-layered and uneven-aged. The ontogenetic spectra of late-successional tree species Picea abies (hereinafter – spruce) and Tilia cordata (hereinafter – linden) were normal. The old-growth stands were heterogeneous before the windthrow: the canopy closed multi-layered and uneven-aged stands, decaying spruce stands and areas where spruce completely fell out and the tree stand was absent. In addition, old-growth linden stands were present. According to the obtained results, the stand structure was critically changed caused by the windthrow. The DEM-processing results showed the windthrow strongly damaged 33.1% stands in the study area. Using the orthophoto-mosaic, we visually detected 759 fallen trees. Among them, 82.9% were associated with strongly-damaged areas. According to the DEM classification, the rest of the visually detected fallen trees were in non-damaged areas and canopy gaps established before the windthrow. The analysis showed that these were less damaged areas with survived stands or groups of trees after the storm. Thus, our results showed that it is necessary to use both the DEM and the orthophoto-mosaic for more accurate estimates. Our exploratory analysis of different tree stand damages found that apparently, spruce stands were more affected by the storm than linden stands. It is explained by the different wind resistance of spruce and linden and differences in regrowth density and species composition in these stands

Air temperature changes due to altitude above sea level in the Northern Ural Mountains

The research is devoted to an urgent modern problem: the identification of temperature factors that limit the distribution and survival of plants in the mountainous conditions of the Northern Urals. The article’s aim is to determine the air temperature in four altitudinal zones of the southern part of the Northern Urals (Sverdlovsk region 59º30´N, 59º15´E) and to identify regression relationships of the obtained temperature data with control temperature data from the nearest meteorological station. Registration of air temperatures was carried out from May to September 2019 around the clock, every two hours in the mountain forest zone (at an altitude of 460 and 640 m above sea level) under the canopy of Siberian stone pine forests, in the zone of subalpine woodlands with elements of mountain forest tundra (820 m above sea level) and on a plateau in the mountain tundra zone (1030 m above sea level). It has been established that the change in air temperature at different altitude levels and at the nearest meteorological station (far from 60 km, at an altitude of 202 m above sea level) occurs relatively synchronously. Difference between average daily temperatures at altitudes of 460, 640, 820 and 1030 m above sea level and the control data of the meteorological station is 2.2, 3.0, 4.7 and 5.1ºC respectively. For all altitude levels, a reliable close straight-line relationship between average daily air temperatures and meteorological station data has been established. The altitudes of 460, 640, 820 and 1030 m above sea level correspond to the coefficients of determination ( R 2) equal to 0.96, 0.95, 0.92 and 0.88. The relationship of the minimum temperatures of the corresponding altitude levels with the control data is also quite high ( R 2 is not lower than 0.7). With the help of the identified relationships and the obtained regression equations, it is possible to retrospectively restore the dynamics of the thermal regime according to the meteorological station data for mountain habitats of different altitudes in the southern part of the Northern Urals over a long period. Including extreme critical temperatures, which act as factors limiting the resettlement and survival of plants and determine the ecosystem biodiversity

Лесные типологии в Российской Федерации

Цель работы – сравнительный анализ основных российских лесных типологий: лесоэкологической Е.В. Алексеева – П.С. Погребняка, фитоценотической В.Н. Сукачева, генетической Б.А. Ивашкевича – Б.П. Колесникова, динамической И.С. Мелехова. Сравнение выполнено по следующим позициям: содержание понятия классификационной единицы (тип условий местопроизрастания, тип леса); особенности выделения границы классификационных единиц; классификационные признаки для определения типа условий местопроизрастания; отличительные черты классификации фитоценозов для установления типа леса; степень учета сукцессионной динамики лесных насаждений и влияния антропогенных факторов; уровень внедрения в практику лесного хозяйства и регионы внедрения. Установлено, что в процессе развития лесных типологий понятие о типе леса изменялось от участка леса, однородного по составу, строению и внешнему облику (однородность в пространстве), в естественных классификациях до представлений о типе леса, с приоритетом однородности по происхождению (генезису), процессам развития и динамике (однородность во времени) в сравнении с однородностью состава и структуры в генетических и динамической типологиях. Приведено географическое распространение лесоэкологических, фитоценотических и генетических классификаций типов леса в Российской Федерации на настоящий момент. Лесоэкологические классификации используются в основном в южных регионах европейской части России и на Северном Кавказе. Лесные типологии, созданные на основе генетического подхода, нашли применение в Западной Сибири, на юге Дальнего Востока и в Восточной Сибири, в некоторых регионах Урала. В остальных субъектах Российской Федерации используются фитоценотические классификации типов леса. Объединение существующих типологий в единую классификацию возможно на основе генетического подхода, т. к. естественные типологии в рамках данного подхода могут являться составной частью генетических классификаций. Решение проблемы объединенного использования в одном регионе разных типологий обеспечит уровень лесоустройства, позволяющий оптимизировать лесопользование и сравнивать полученные данные как для субъектов Российской Федерации, так и для страны в целом. Для цитирования: Фомин В.В., Иванова Н.С., Залесов С.В., Попов А.С., Михайлович А.П. Лесные типологии в Российской Федерации // Изв. вузов. Лесн. журн. 2023. № 6. С. 9–30. https://doi.org/10.37482/0536-1036-2023-6-9-3

Polymorphisms in the adrenergic neurotransmission pathway impact antidepressant response in depressed patients

Mood disorders are a prevalent mental health disorder. The adrenergic neurotransmission pathway presents an opportunity to determine whether genetic mutations impact antidepressant response. For this study, 163 patients with major depressive disorders were enrolled to measure treatment response using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17). More than half of the patients had never been treated with antidepressants previously. Patients were genotyped for 14 SNPs within ADRA1A, SLC6A2, ADRβ1, MAOA and COMT to determine the impact of adrenergic neurotransmission polymorphisms related in antidepressant response. Patients were treated mainly with SSRIs and TCAs. The difference in HAMD-17 scores between the measurement periods were defined as the outcome measure. Multiple linear regression was conducted to determine the association between the genotypes and difference in HAMD-17 across the study period. Covariates of age, sex, antidepressant medication and depression diagnoses were included in the regression. Throughout the study HAMD-17 scores were measured at initiation, at two weeks and at four weeks for each patient. The difference in HAMD-17 scores was found to be 11.2 ​± ​4.4 between initiation and two weeks, 7.8 ​± ​5.3 between two week and four week, and 19.0 ​± ​5.3 throughout the entire study. SLC6A2 rs1532701 homozygous G/G Patients were associated with improved ΔHAMD-17 across week 2–4 and the entire study (B ​= ​7.1, p ​= ​0.002; B ​= ​6.7, p ​= ​0.013) compared to homozygous A/A patients. SLC6A2 rs1532701 homozygous A/G patients were further associated with improved ΔHAMD-17 compared to homozygous A/A patients at week 2–4 (B ​= ​2.8, p ​= ​0.023). Through our investigation, we were able to determine the genes within the adrenergic pathway to investigate further. To further elucidate these findings, replication and combination with other neurotransmitter pathways to better map the mechanism of actions of antidepressant for tailored treatment would be suggested

Preliminary pharmacogenetic study to explore putative dopaminergic mechanisms of antidepressant action

Background: There is sufficient evidence that interference of dopaminergic neurotransmission contributes to the therapeutic effects of antidepressants in unipolar and bipolar depression. Methods: Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD 17) scores of 163 at least moderately ill patients with major depressive disorders were used to establish treatment response. HAMD 17 score status was measured before initiation, after two weeks, and after four weeks of treatment with various antidepressants. The possible association between response and genotype in a total of 14 variants of dopamine neurotransmission-related proteins was investigated. Results: DRD4 rs11246226 CA heterozygous patients were found with a greater improvement of HAMD 17 score when compared to homozygous C patients during 0–2 weeks and 0–4 weeks. Patients with MAOB rs1799836 heterozygous GA and homozygous A also demonstrated improved scores during 2–4 weeks and 0–4 weeks. Conclusions: The results are preliminary due to the limited population size and the small number of variants. Further research into the involvement of habenular dopamine D4 receptors in the antidepressant response is desirable

Limited Associations Between 5-HT Receptor Gene Polymorphisms and Treatment Response in Antidepressant Treatment-Free Patients With Depression

Major depressive disorder has become a prominent cause of disability, as lifetime prevalence has increased to similar to 15% in the Western world. Pharmacological effects of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) are mediated through 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor (5-HTR) binding. Serotonin regulation of amygdala activity is attained through activation of three 5-HT2 family receptor subtypes, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, and 5-HT2C. Specifically, HT2A and the HT2C receptors have similar gross cerebral distribution and function, with higher constitutive activity found in HT2C than in HT2A. We investigated the possible association of 5-HTR gene polymorphisms to specific and non-specific antidepressant treatment responses in treatment-free patients in Siberia. 156 patients, aged between 18-70 years and clinically diagnosed with depressive disorders, were treated with antidepressants for 4 weeks. Patients were genotyped for a subset of 29 SNPs from the following 5-HT Receptor genes: HTR1A, HTR1B, HTR2A, HTR2C, HTR3A, HTR3B and HTR6. Primary outcome was measured by differences in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (Delta HAM-D 17) scores between baseline/week two, week two/week four and baseline/week four. Univariate linear regression was initially conducted to determine the 5-HTR SNPs to be studied within the multiple linear regression. Multiple linear regression analyses over the three time periods were conducted for Delta HAM-D 17 with independent factors including: age, gender, depression diagnosis, antidepressant treatment and selected 5-HTR SNPs. We found improved increment HAM-D 17 in patients taking tricyclic antidepressants (0-4 weeks: B = 4.85, p = 0.0002; 0-2 weeks: B = 3.58, p = 0.002) compared to patients taking SSRIs. Over the course of study, significant associations between 5-HT receptors SNPs and antidepressant response were not identified

Data on 30-year stand dynamics in an old-growth broad-leaved forest in the Kaluzhskie Zaseki State Nature Reserve, Russia

The article provides primary data on repeated tree measurements collected during two censuses on a permanent sampling plot (440 m × 200 m) established in the old-growth polydominant broad-leaved forest in the Kaluzhskie Zaseki State Nature Reserve (centre of European Russia). The time span between the inventories was 30 years, and a total of 11 578 individuals of ten tree, one shrub species, and several undefined tree species of three known genera were registered. During the surveys, tree identity, stem diameter at breast height (DBH) of 1.3 m, and life status (alive or dead) were recorded for every tree individual with DBH ≥ 5 cm. Additional attributes were determined for some individuals. Field data were digitised and compiled into the PostgreSQL database. An accurate data quality assessment, validation, and cleaning (with documentation of changes) have been performed before data standardisation according to the Darwin Core standard. Standardised data were published through the GBIF repository. From 1986 to 1988, 9811 individuals were recorded within the initial census, including 3920 Corylus avellana individual shrubs. Corylus avellana shrubs were recorded without measuring DBH. From 2016 to 2018, 7658 stems were recorded in the recensus, including 3090 living trees marked during the initial census, and 1641 other living trees reaching the DBH of at least 5 cm. Corylus avellana was not included in the recensus. Thus, over 30 years, about 65% of living tree individuals have survived, but the total number of living trees has not changed considerably. The mean diameter of shade-intolerant tree species (Quercus robur, Fraxinus excelsior, Populus tremula, and Betula spp.) has increased the most remarkably during 30 years. For these species, the increase in average diameter, along with the decrease in numbers, is associated with the death of young trees, presumably due to low illumination under the canopy. Contrastingly, shade-tolerant tree species (Ulmus glabra, Tilia cordata, Acer platanoides) increased in number, while their mean diameter increased slightly or even decreased, that evidences the successful regeneration of these species under the canopy. These data are relevant for investigating forest ecology questions at spatiotemporal scales as a model of natural succession