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■ EDITORIAL
=== СЛОВО РЕДАКТОРА ==
RESEARCH IN THE KOSTOMUKSHA STATE NATURE RESERVE (RUSSIA) AND OTHER PROTECTED AREAS OF NORTHERN EUROPE
Evgeny P. Ieshko1'* , Oleg L. Kuznetsov1 , Konstantin F. Tirronen1 , Sergey V. Tarkhov2
1 Institute of Biology of Karelian Research Centre of RAS, Russia *e-mail: ieshkoep@gmail.com 2Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve, Russia
Received: 21.12.2020. Revised: 08.04.2021. Accepted: 10.04.2021.
Protected Areas (PAs) perform essential biological and landscape diversity conservation functions. They also serve as nature labs and experimental grounds for various sorts of monitoring research around the world. An object for environmental co-operation between neighbouring countries is an international PA, such as the Finnish-Russian Friendship Nature Reserve with Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve as its component part. Research in its Russian part has been conducted by scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Russian universities and PAs in collaboration with their foreign colleagues. This special issue of the journal Nature Conservation Research celebrates an anniversary of the foundation of the international Friendship Nature Reserve. It reports some results and current data on the state of ecosystems and their components both in the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve and in some other PAs of Russia and Finland.
Key words: biodiversity, monitoring, rare and endangered species, boreal zone, terrestrial and aquatic communities, Valdai ice sheet
Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve is a Protected Area (PA), founded on 14.12.1983. It is situated in the Republic of Karelia (Russia) and adjoins the national border with Finland. Pristine north-taiga pine forests prevail in the PA, where the large Lake Ka-mennoe occupies 20% of its territory. On 26.10.1989, an intergovernmental agreement was signed establishing the Finnish-Russian Friendship Nature Reserve, which comprises the 490 km2 of the Kosto-muksha State Nature Reserve on the Russian side and five borderland PAs on the Finnish side, totalling 221 km2. On 18.09.1998, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe awarded a European Diploma for Protected Areas to the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve, recognising the high conservation status of its natural ecosystems. Since 14.06.2017, the Kos-tomuksha State Nature Reserve has been part of the UNESCO's Metsola Biosphere Reserve.
The Finnish-Russian Friendship Nature Reserve was established to promote environmental co-operation between Russia and Finland, in particular in nature protection and sane management of natural resources, long-term monitoring and research of the fauna, flora, and aquatic ecosystems. The designation of the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve was preceded by massive research carried out by the Kostomuksha Integrated Expedition of the Karelian Branch of the AS USSR (currently - Karelian Research Centre of RAS) in 1971-1975 (Biske & Nest-erenko, 1977). The results, produced by a wide range
of specialists from several institutes, formed the basis for the feasibility study in this PA (Belousova et al., 1988). For many years, the staff of the Karelian Research Centre of RAS has been conducting research in the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve. Some of these results are reported in this Special Issue. These articles deal with the biodiversity in other PAs in Northern Russia and in Finnish PAs comprising the Finnish-Russian Friendship Nature Reserve.
Bakhmet et al. (2021) provide data from integrated studies of soils and the soil cover of the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve with characteristics of the parent material and woody vegetation influencing soil-formation processes on the background. Soils of undisturbed areas in the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve, their morphological and physico-chemical properties provide reference for monitoring forest ecosystems disturbed by human activity.
Under the current climate instability, research on the natural trends of vegetation development against global climate changes is of high relevance, especially in areas previously covered by the Valdai (Weichse-lian) ice sheet, and not altered substantially by human activities afterwards. A detailed reconstruction of the formation history of contemporary north-taiga pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) forests in the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve (Filimonova, 2021), given against the backdrop of palaeoclimate changes in the Holocene, includes information on how they may change in the future under various climate scenarios. It was found
that deglaciation of the Finnish-Russian Friendship Nature Reserve area started around 9700 years before present (BP) and ended not later than 9500 ± 70 BP (according to radiocarbon dating). A notable increase in the proportion of Pinus in the forests was observed from 8750 ± 50 BP to a maximum in Late Boreal time, as evidenced by the dates 8240 ± 60 BP and 8090 ± 200 BP. Pine and birch-pine forests prevailed throughout the Atlantic period. In the warmer and more humid climate of that time, forests acquired a middle-taiga appearance, and the environment was favourable for the expansion of Alnus and, possibly, Ulmus. Picea started spreading in the Finnish-Russian Friendship Nature Reserve not later than 5700 BP, and since 5440 ± 40 BP its role in the plant cover has been substantial. The expansion of spruce forests reached its maximum in Subboreal time, especially after 3290 ± 70 BP, when they co-dominated together with pine forests. In this period, north-taiga forests formed in the area to persist until today. Since Subatlantic time, pine forests have dominated there.
Boychuk (2021) has synthesised the available data and compiled an annotated list of 180 moss (Bryophyta) species in the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve. This accounts for 70% of the moss flora of the Kuitozero-Leksozero floristic province and 35% of moss flora in the Republic of Karelia. Twenty-six species are reported for the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve for the first time. Six of them (Campyli-adelphus elodes (Lindb.) Kanda, Racomitrium fas-ciculare (Hedw.) Brid., Didymodon rigidulus Hedw., Eurhynchium angustirete (Broth.) T.J. Kop., Grimmia elatior Bruch ex Bals.-Criv. & De Not., G. torquata Drumm.) are new to the Kuitozero-Leksozero floristic province. Five species are listed in the Red Data Book of the Republic of Karelia (2020): Campyliadelphus elodes (3 VU), Eurhynchium angustirete (3 VU), Nec-kera pennata Hedw. (3 NT), Diobelonella palustris (Dicks.) Ochyra (3 VU), and Sphagnum auriculatum Schimp. (3 VU). For the first three Red Data Book species, the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve is the northernmost locality, and for Diobelonella palustris it is the only locality in the Republic of Karelia.
Data on the lichen species richness of the Vod-lozersky National Park, a unique natural ecosystem in Lake Vodlozero and River Ileksa drainage basin, in the eastern margin of Fennoscandia, are presented using in a comparative approach (Tarasova et al., 2021). The lichen collection (565 herbarium specimens) gathered by Finnish researchers T. Ahti and O. Vitikainen from the Vodlozersky National Park and stored in the herbarium of the University of Helsinki Botanical Museum (H) was put to a detailed review. The known
species diversity of lichens and the related fungi in the PA is 473 taxa, including 445 species and subspecies of lichens, 11 species of non-lichenised, and 13 species of lichenicolous fungi. Vodlozersky National Park harbours 18 species listed in the Red Data Book of the Republic of Karelia (2020) and 16 species in the Red Data Book of the Arkhangelsk Region (2020).
Of particular interest are the results of the comparative studies of the bat (Chiroptera) fauna of eight PAs in the forest zone of European Russia (Belkin et al., 2021). Records from the middle-taiga subzone include nine bat species: Myotis nattereri Kuhl, 1817, M. mystacinus Kuhl, 1817, M. brandtii Eversmann, 1845, M. daubentonii Kuhl, 1817, M. dasycneme Boie, 1825, Plecotus auritus Linnaeus, 1758, Nyctalus noctula Schreber, 1774, Eptesicus nilssonii Keyserling & Blasius, 1839, Vespertilio murinus Linnaeus, 1758. Myotis nattereri and M. mystacinus were not detected in the northern taiga subzone previously. Ultrasonic signals from P. auritus, N. noctula and V. murinus were regularly recorded up to 66° N, which is much farther north that the species ranges indicated on IUCN Red List maps. An overall trend in the bat species richness is a regular increase in the number of species from north to south of the forest zone. Long-term specialised bat censuses in the Republic of Karelia and Arkhangelsk Region have demonstrated that E. nilssonii dominates in bat communities in the PAs, which happens only in the northern- and middle-taiga subzones.
An important group in the monitoring and assessment of the state of forest communities in PAs is formed by the numerous and taxonomically diverse small mammals. According to the long-term data presented here (Yakimova & Gaidysh, 2021), the population of this group of animals in the Friendship Nature Reserve is typical of north-boreal Fennoscan-dia. The number of species encountered in the areas over the study period was significantly lower than in Finland or in the Republic of Karelia on average, primarily because the subject has been understudied. A comparison of the species composition and abundance of small mammals among the areas surveyed within the Friendship Nature Reserve showed that the universal dominants were Sorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758 and Myodes glareolus Schreber, 1780, while the presence of other species in the communities varied. An important fact is agreement in abundance variations between some small mammal species in the area over the study period.
A key animal species in the international Friendship Nature Reserve is Rangifer tarandus fennicus (Lonnberg, 1909). The Metsola Biosphere Reserve, within which the Russian part of the Friendship
Nature Reserve is situated, contains habitats of the Kuhmo-Kiitehenjarvi subpopulation of R.t. fennicus and is of great importance for this animal (Panchenko et al., 2021). The Friendship Nature Reserve mainly includes its summer pastures, rutting and calving areas, but some animals also use the area in winter. Telemetric tracking of the animals' locations and movements proved that R.t. fennicus continue their seasonal migrations across the Russian-Finnish border. This is evidence that the continuity and genetic entity of the animals living in the Finnish Kainuu region and in the Republic of Karelia are maintained. This is a precondition for the future well-being of this endemic member of the North European fauna.
Insects in this special issue are represented by fungus gnats in the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve. This is the name most authors use to denote several families within the superfamily Sciaroidea. According to long-term surveys (Polevoi, 2021), the list of fungus gnats comprises 177 species, belonging to the families Bolitophilidae, Diadocidiidae, Kero-platidae, and Mycetophilidae. The revealed diversity is relatively low and most of the recorded taxa are common in Fennoscandia. However, a number of rare and remarkable species was found, indicating a potentially rich fauna. Five species (Mycomya obliqua (Say, 1824), Sciophila krysheni Polevoi, 2001, Syntemna morosa Winnertz, 1863, Mycetophila de-vioides Bechev, 1988, Mycetophila haruspica Plass-mann, 1990) are reported for the first time from the Republic of Karelia and Russia. Mycomya obliqua is also new for the Palaearctic region.
Important information for integrated ecological assessment of edaphic conditions in PAs can be derived from studies of soil nematode communities. Surveys have demonstrated (Sushchuk & Matveeva, 2021) that the soil nematode fauna of coniferous forests in the international Friendship Nature Reserve is made up of 45 nematode genera belonging to 29 families, with the highest diversity demonstrated by bacterial feeders (42% of the total number of taxa detected). A general trend for all the surveyed forests was a decrease in nematode abundance and biomass from the forest floor towards the mineral soil layer, which was more pronounced in soils on the Finnish side. Analysis of the relative abundance of functional guilds of nematodes showed that forests in Eastern Finland had the nematode fauna more uniformly distributed across soil horizons. Analysis of the eco-trophic structure of nematode communities in soils under the coniferous forests revealed a high abundance of bacterial feeders, fungal feeders and nematodes associated with plants, while plant parasites were scarce or missing.
The state and abundance of the populations of juvenile Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758 and Margaritifera margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758 are reliable ecological indicators of the well-being of northern riverine ecosystems. In this sense, the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve performs an important mission of conserving these endangered species of the European fauna. The conditions for cohabitation of juvenile S. salar and M. margaritifera in the River Kamennaya (Kem River catchment, White Sea drainage basin) were studied (Zotin et al., 2021). Data on the abundance, spatial distribution and age structure of juvenile S. salar and M. margaritifera are presented. The patterns of M. margaritifera glochidial infection in S. salar juveniles at different ages, determining the reproductive performance ofM. margaritifera, are characterised. The rates of growth and metamorphosis of M. margaritifera glochidia encysted on juvenile S. salar gills were described using histological methods. The results of this study will be used to prepare recommendations for the conservation of the M. margaritifera and S. salar populations in the River Kamennaya. The primary concern here is augmentation ofjuvenile S. salar numbers and M. margaritifera settlement in the river's rapids with a high density of young individuals.
Economic development of the Republic of Karelia is closely related to utilisation of natural resources, particularly forest resources. These high-impact activities should focus on a three-fold task: i) preservation and restoration of natural ecosystems, ii) securing ecological safety in this area, iii) sustainable development of the economy. This is the only way to achieve both high efficiency of nature conservation, and success of socio-economic programs that guarantee abandonment of development harming people and the environment. These tasks predetermine the topics of research carried out by the institutes constituting Karelian Research Centre of RAS and other Russian research organisations. Long-term studies of the populations of various groups of organisms and ecosystems in PAs of Eastern Fennoscandia and North European Russia generate a solid background for the monitoring and modelling of the dynamics of natural ecosystems under global climate change.
References
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S.G., Shelekhova T.S. 2021. Characteristics of soils
and the soil cover in the Kostomuksha State Nature
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6(Suppl.1): 47-60. DOI: 10.24189/ncr.2021.004 Belkin V.V., Fyodorov F.V., Ilyukha V.A., Yakimova A.E.
2021. Characteristics of the bat (Chiroptera) popula-
tion in Protected Areas in the northern and middle taiga subzones of European Russia. Nature Conservation Research 6(Suppl.1): 17-31. DOI: 10.24189/ncr.2021.002 Belousova N.A., Danilov P.I., Simin V.B., Korshunov G.T., Kuznetsov O.L. 1988. Kostomukshskyi State Nature Reserve. In: State Nature Reserve of European part of RSFSR. Part 1. Moscow: Mysl. P. 90-99. [In Russian]
Biske G.S., Nesterenko I.M. (Eds.). 1977. Biological resources of Kostomuksha district, direction of using and conservation. Petrozavodsk: Karelian Branch of AS USSR. 190 p. [In Russian] Boychuk M.A. 2021. Mosses (Bryophyta) of the Kos-tomuksha State Nature Reserve, Russia. Nature Conservation Research 6(Suppl.1): 89-97. DOI: 10.24189/ncr.2021.018 Filimonova L.V. 2021. Vegetation dynamics in the Kos-tomuksha State Nature Reserve (Russia) and surroundings against changes in the natural environment during the Holocene. Nature Conservation Research 6(Suppl.1): 98-115. DOI: 10.24189/ ncr.2021.019 [In Russian] Panchenko D.V., Paasivaara A., Hyvarinen M., Kraso-vskij Yu.A. 2021. The wild forest reindeer, Rangifer tarandus fennicus, in the Metsola Biosphere Reserve, Northwest Russia. Nature Conservation Research 6(Suppl.1): 116-126. DOI: 10.24189/ncr.2021.026
Polevoi A.V. 2021. Fungus gnats (Diptera: Bolitophili-dae, Diadocidiidae, Keroplatidae, Mycetophilidae) in the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve, Russia. Nature Conservation Research 6(Suppl.1): 5-16. DOI: 10.24189/ncr.2021.001 Red Data Book of the Arkhangelsk region. Arkhangelsk,
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Konstanta, 2020. 448 p. [In Russian] Sushchuk A.A., Matveeva E.M. 2021. Soil nematodes of coniferous forests in the Finnish-Russian Friendship Nature Reserve. Nature Conservation Research 6(Suppl.1): 76-88. DOI: 10.24189/ncr.2021.015 Tarasova V.N., Androsova V.I., Sonina A.V. 2021. Lichens of the National Park «Vodlozersky», Russia. Nature Conservation Research 6(Suppl.1): 3246. DOI: 10.24189/ncr.2021.003 [In Russian] Yakimova A.E., Gaidysh I.S. 2021. The species composition and abundance of terrestrial small mammals in the Finnish-Russian Friendship Nature Reserve. Nature Conservation Research 6(Suppl. 1): 127-136. DOI: 10.24189/ncr.2021.028 Zotin A.A., Murzina S.A., Efremov D.A., Oulasvirta P., Iesh-ko E.P. 2021. Ecology of Margaritifera margaritifera (Bivalvia, Margaritiferidae) in the River Kamennaya, White Sea Basin, Russia. Nature Conservation Research 6(Suppl.1). DOI: 10.24189/ncr.2021.005
ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ В КОСТОМУКШСКОМ ЗАПОВЕДНИКЕ (РОССИЯ) И НА ДРУГИХ ОСОБО ОХРАНЯЕМЫХ ПРИРОДНЫХ ТЕРРИТОРИЯХ
СЕВЕРНОЙ ЕВРОПЫ
Е. П. Иешко1 * , О. Л. Кузнецов1 Э, К. Ф. Тирронен1 , С. В. Тархов2
1Институт биологии Карельского научного центра РАН, Россия *e-mail: ieshkoep@gmail. com Государственный природный заповедник «Костомукшский», Россия
Особо охраняемые природные территории (ООПТ) выполняют важнейшие функции по сохранению биологического и ландшафтного разнообразия. Они служат также природными лабораториями и полигонами для различных мониторинговых исследований во всем мире. Объектами для сотрудничества соседних стран в области охраны окружающей среды выступают международные ООПТ. Таковым является российско-финляндский заповедник «Дружба», включающий российский заповедник «Костомукшский». Научные исследования на ООПТ России ведутся учеными Российской академии наук, университетов и ООПТ при сотрудничестве с иностранными коллегами. Предлагаемый читателю специальный выпуск журнала «Nature Conservation Research. Заповедная наука» посвящен юбилею создания международного заповедника «Дружба». В нем представлены некоторые итоги и современные данные о состоянии экосистем и их компонентов, как в Костомукшском заповеднике, так и некоторых других ООПТ России и Финляндии.
Ключевые слова: биоразнообразие, Валдайский ледник, наземные и водные сообщества, мониторинг, редкие и исчезающие виды, тайга
