4 research outputs found
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Moscow University's field station in the Khibiny Mountains, Russian Arctic: A 70-year history to the present day
Abstract
The Khibiny Educational and Scientific Station (KESS) of the Faculty of Geography, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), was founded in 1948. It is one of the oldest stations of the MSU Faculty of Geography and the only one located north of the Arctic Circle. It is also one of the oldest continuously operating arctic field stations in the world. For more than 70 years, the research station has fostered scientific and international collaboration. Science and education carried out at the station have always gone hand in hand and the research results have been both theoretical and practical. Many generations of Russian geographers owe their successful careers to the research activities at the Khibiny station. Nowadays, it is one of the two major student training bases for the Faculty of Geography as well as a focal point of many national and international research projects, including the International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic (INTERACT) network.British Council; Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federatio
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Relation between leaf area index and NDVI for subarctic deciduous vegetation
We consider the relationship between leaf area index (LAI) and normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) for green-leaf vegetation from a subarctic study site, specifically to test whether relationships optimised for lower-latitude vegetation can be assumed to hold at higher latitudes. We focus attention particularly on dwarf-shrub vegetation, which has received little previous investigation.
We have collected hyperspectral measurements of the optical properties (reflectance and absorptance) of single leaves from dwarf shrub and tree species common to northern European Russia, and have developed a simple physical model of the properties of assemblages (âleaf stacksâ) of these leaves. The model is shown to provide a satisfactory explanation of the effect of varying the number of leaves in a stack on its NDVI, and can be easily adapted to make simple measurements using relatively inexpensive equipment. Our results show that the LAI-NDVI relationship for a vegetation canopy will saturate (approach within 10% of its limiting value) when the LAI reaches a value of around 2 to 3. Values this low are not uncommon in subarctic vegetation. It is also shown that dwarf shrub vegetation may show lower NDVI than trees for the same LAI.British Council Institutional Links Programme, grant 352397111
Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, project RFMEF161618X009
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Three decades of remote sensing subarctic vegetation in northern Russia: A case study in science diplomacy
Abstract
The vegetation at and beyond the northern edge of the worldâs boreal forest plays an important though imperfectly understood role in the climate system. This is particularly true within Russia, where only a small proportion of the boreal land area has been studied in depth, and little is known about its recent evolution over time. We describe a long-term collaboration between institutions in Russia and the United Kingdom, aimed at developing a better understanding of high-latitude vegetation in Russia using remote sensing methods. The focus of the collaboration has varied over time; in its most recent form, it is concerned with the dynamics of the Russian boreal forest during the 21st century and its relation to climate change. We discuss the support framework within which it has been developed and reflect on its relationship to science diplomacy. We consider the factors that have contributed to the success of a decades-long international collaboration and make recommendations as to how such joint efforts can be encouraged in future.British Council Institutional Links grant 352397111; Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation grant 14.616.21.0099; Russian Government Assingnment AAA-A19-119022190168-8; Global Britain and International Funds of the UK FCD