Environmental Assessment of the Tobolsk Industrial Zone Territory

Статья посвящена проблеме загрязнения окружающей природной среды промышленными предприятиями г. Тобольска. Исследования, проведенные на этой территории ранее, были произведены с недостаточным площадным охватом, либо с изучением только одного природного компонента. Проведено геохимическое исследование снежного покрова и почвы в промышленной зоне города и ее окрестностях. Определены концентрации нефтепродуктов, сульфат-ионов, взвешенных частиц и рН. Почвенный покров загрязнен преимущественно нефтепродуктами, остальные показатели в целом не превышают фоновые значения. Превышения ПДК загрязняющих веществ в почвенном покрове отсутствуют. В снежном покрове обнаружены единичные превышения взвешенных частиц и нефтепродуктов по сравнению с фоновым уровнем. Не отмечено прямой связи между локализацией загрязненных участков и преимущественными направлениями распространения выбросов от промышленных источников. Установлено, что промышленная зона г. Тобольска и ее окрестности не испытывают значительного влияния со стороны промышленных предприятий.The article discusses the actually problem of environmental pollution by industry plants. Tobolsk city is the industry center of petrol chemestry in Russia. The influence on nature by local plants was investigated earlier, but the received data were not sufficiently full. In this work the authors hope to receive more information. Snow and soil covers were researched in industrial park vicinity with geochemestry approach. Concentrations of oil products, suspended particles, sulfate ions and pH (potential of hydrogen) were defined in chemical laboratory. The results showed soil mainly polluted by oil products. Other parameters mainly do not exceed natural levels. Excesses more than MACs levels are not registered in soil. Single excesses of oil products and suspended particles are registered in comparison to the ambient level. The authors express their doubts with direct correlation between polluted area and leading directions of emissions. The authors come to the conclusion that industrial zone environment does not come under influence from petrol chemstry plants. The article analyzed real condition of natural components in this area. The authors would like to continue this research with investigating pollution of atmospheric air and natural waters in the future

Zooming in on Arctic urban nature: green and blue space in Nadym, Siberia

Urban landscape combines built-up areas with strongly altered natural (green and blue) and other open spaces. Voluminous literature examines urban socio-environmental interactions in tropical and temperate cities, whereas high-latitude cities are rarely considered. Here, we create a historical perspective on urban green (vegetation) and blue (water) spaces in a sub-Arctic city of Nadym in Russia. Our study explores a novel way to combine quantitative information from satellite imagery and biometric studies with qualitative information from interviews with stakeholders and residents. Such a joint analysis helps to understand dynamics of the urban green and blue space as well as its value for society. Furthermore, we propose objective indicators reflecting societal values of spaces in connection with recreational and ecological services. By contrast to temperate city studies, we found that green space is less used in summer, but still highly valued, deep lakes are used and valued more than warmer shallow lakes, and winter white space do not shrink but enhance the urban public space. Satellite images reveal inevitable loss of green space to urban construction and its remediation by artificial plantings (almost by 30% at present), whereas less valued blue space decreased almost three-fold. Interviews reveal that shallow lakes have reduced recreational values due to ice bottom and algae bloom. High values are attributed to deep artificial lakes, which are more than ten times deeper than natural lakes and do not freeze throughout in winter. Our biometric studies show that trees in urban environment are significantly taller than in the corresponding undisturbed areas. Since majority of the Arctic cities are built using very similar planning ideas and technologies, our findings shall help objective appreciation of green and blue spaces in other settlements

Initial soil formation by biocrusts: Nitrogen demand and clay protection control microbial necromass accrual and recycling

Microbial biomass is increasingly considered to be the main source of organic carbon (C) sequestration in soils. Quantitative information on the contribution of microbial necromass to soil organic carbon (SOC) formation and the factors driving necromass accumulation, decomposition and stabilization during the initial soil formation in biological crusts (biocrusts) is absent. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated the composition of microbial necromass and its contributions to SOC sequestration in a biocrust formation sequence consisting of five stages: bare sand, cyanobacteria stage, cyanobacteria-moss stage, moss-cyanobacteria stage, and moss stage on sandy parent material on the Loess Plateau. The fungal and bacterial necromass C content in soil was analyzed based on amino sugars - the cell wall biomarker. Microbial necromass was an important source of SOC, and was incorporated into the particulate and mineral-associated organic C (MAOC). Because bacteria have smaller and thinner cell wall fragments as well as more proteins than fungi, bacterial necromass mainly contributed to the MAOC pool, while fungal residues remained more in the particulate organic C (POC). MAOC pool was saturated fast with the increase of microbial necromass, and POC more rapid accumulation than MAOC suggests that the clay content was the limiting factor for stable C accumulation in this sandy soil. The necromass exceeding the MAOC stabilization level was stored in the labile POC pool (especially necromass from fungi). Activities of four enzymes (i.e., β-1,4-glucosidase, β-1,4-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase, leucine aminopeptidase, and alkaline phosphatase) increasing with fungal and bacterial necromass suggest that the raised activity of living microorganisms accelerated the turnover and formation of necromass. Microbial N limitation raised the production of N acquisition enzymes (e.g., β-1,4-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase and leucine aminopeptidase) to break down necromass compounds, leading to further increase of the nutrient pool in soil solution. The decrease of microbial N limitation along the biocrusts formation chronosequence is an important factor for the necromass accumulation during initial soil development. High microbial N demands and insufficient clay protection lead to fast necromass reutilization by microorganisms and thus, result in a low necromass accumulation coefficient, that is, the ratio of microbial necromass to living microbial biomass (on average, 9.6). Consequently, microbial necromass contribution to SOC during initial soil formation by biocrust is lower (12–25%) than in fully developed soils (33%–60%, literature data). Nitrogen (N) limitation of microorganisms and an increased ratio between N-acquiring enzyme activities and microbial N, as well as limited clay protection, resulted in a low contribution of microbial necromass to SOC by initial formation of biocrust-covered sandy soil. Summarizing, soil development leads not only to SOC accumulation, but also to increased contribution of microbial necromass to SOC, whereas the plant litter contribution decreases. © 2022 Elsevier Lt

Improving dialogue among researchers, local and indigenous peoples and decision-makers to address issues of climate change in the North

Abstract The Circumpolar North has been changing rapidly within the last decades, and the socioeconomic systems of the Eurasian Arctic and Siberia in particular have displayed the most dramatic changes. Here, anthropogenic drivers of environmental change such as migration and industrialization are added to climate-induced changes in the natural environment such as permafrost thawing and increased frequency of extreme events. Understanding and adapting to both types of changes are important to local and indigenous peoples in the Arctic and for the wider global community due to transboundary connectivity. As local and indigenous peoples, decision-makers and scientists perceive changes and impacts differently and often fail to communicate efficiently to respond to changes adequately, we convened a meeting of the three groups in Salekhard in 2017. The outcomes of the meeting include perceptions of how the three groups each perceive the main issues affecting health and well-being and recommendations for working together better