– The expedition tasks include research on the biodiversity of plants and animals in island ecosystems, assessment of the current state of the ground vegetation cover, study of the intensity of recreational use of this area in the Ladoga Skerries, – told Nikolai Petrov, Expedition Leader, Secretary for Science of the Department for Multidisciplinary Research (DMR) KarRC RAS.
Fieldwork in the Ladoga Skerries will be completed on August 7th. After that, the data and samples will be processed in the laboratory and analyzed.
Field team (left to right): Leading Researcher at DMR, Head of Forest Biotechnology Laboratory at FRI KarRC RAS Boris Raevsky, Junior Researcher at DMR KarRC RAS Yulia Tkachenko, Researcher, Secretary for Science of DMR KarRC RAS Nikolai Petrov, Senior Researcher at IB KarRC RAS Fyodor Fyodorov, Biologist at IB KarRC RAS Tatyana Yanchenko, Senior Researcher at IB KarRC RAS Sergey Simonov, Researcher at FRI KarRC RAS Vera Timofeeva
The expedition is part of the cooperation between the Karelian Research Centre RAS and the Ladoga Skerries National Park, the agreement for which was signed in November 2023. Collaboration between the organizations involves scientific research and implementation of scientific, conservation, educational, and sociocultural programs and projects.
The Ladoga Skerries National Park is situated on the north-western coast of Lake Ladoga. This protected area was established to conserve the valuable natural ecosystems and to manage their recreational and tourism use. The nomination papers for the park were prepared by specialists from the Karelian Research Centre RAS.
The park's territory, with narrow bays of Lake Ladoga cutting deep into the land, heavily rugged terrain and relatively high rocky ridges, is unique and unparalleled in Russia. Lake Ladoga itself is also a unique water body, being the largest freshwater body in Europe. The park boasts high biodiversity and recreational potential.
