Žurnal obŝej biologii

Finding solutions against the global biodiversity crisis is a key question in conservation biology. The ecosystem approach in biodiversity conservation is aimed at maintaining the connections and interactions between elements. The need for such an approach is dictated by the objectives of biodiversity management and natural resource conservation. Maintaining the integrity of communities and ecosystems helps protect species diversity and preserve ecosystem functions. To achieve economic and conservation goals, it is necessary to determine which ecosystems are vulnerable and which are sustainable. Such assessments are rapidly developed in world science, and the principles are considered in the methodology of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Ecosystems. The methodology is recognized as an international standard in assessing the ecosystem collapse risk due to decline in distribution, restricted geographic distribution with continuing declines or threats, abiotic degradation, disruption to biotic processes the cumulative impact of factors. The use of the IUCN ecosystem vulnerability criteria provides comparable assessments of the state of terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems. Assessment according to the IUCN criteria is a multidisciplinary scientific task, for the solution of which a variety of materials and analytical tools are used, including remote sensing data and mathematical modeling. The objective of the review is to reveal the principles of the methodology for assessing the vulnerability of ecosystems. The fundamental terms and concepts of the approach are considered, possible methodological solutions for assessment according to each criteria are discussed using forests as an example. Inclusion of this methodology in the practice of nature conservation in Russia will allow creating a national Red List of ecosystems. It will be the basis for determining regional and national priorities in the field of biodiversity protection and management decisions in nature management based on fundamental research.

The local population structures of two short-lived perennial species, Androsace albana and Eritrichium caucasicum, classified by ontogenetic stages were observed annually for 15 years (2009–2023) at permanent sites in the alpine belt of the North-West Caucasus. The uniquely long series of these data made it possible to discover the effects of vegetation dormancy in the life cycle of a short-lived species, which was fundamentally impossible with short series of about three to five years. Data of the “identified individuals” (A. albana) and “identified individuals from unknown parents” (E. caucasicum) types enable us to calibrate the corresponding matrix models of discrete-structured population dynamics and obtain the so-called annual population projection matrices (PPMs). The analysis of PPMs by mathematical means yields various quantitative characteristics of the monitored object, in particular, the viability measure of the local population. However, the revealed effects of vegetation dormancy make changes to the data series and raise the issue to revise the previous models and ensued characteristics. We show that including an additional state of death or vegetation dormancy into the life cycle, which is quite a logical move from the model’s viewpoint, does not make any sense in the task of assessing the population viability. When adjusted to fit the revised data, the calibration procedure, does naturally increase the previous estimates of the viability measure, thereby confirming an important role the vegetation dormancy plays as a mechanism to adapt the plant for stressful environment.

Based on the material collected during the expedition of the MMBI RAS in 2022 in the area of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago at depths 18–70 m, the species composition and quantitative characteristics of polychaetes were analyzed. Faunal complexes differing in structural characteristics and a set of dominant species were identified in the study area. The main factors determining the formation of complexes are the depth and characteristics of the ground. The coastal shallow waters of the Novaya Zemlya, covered with hard soils with a low content of organic matter, are characterized by low species diversity, low biomass and medium settlement density. The southern, deep-water slopes of the Novaya Zemlya, covered with soft silty-sandy soils, are characterized by high biomass and abundance, due to the development of the Spiochaetopterus typicus.