Expedition Leader, Researcher of DMR KarRC RAS Nikolai Petrov explained that the current monitoring phase is focused on island ecosystems in the Ladoga Skerries. Last year Tulonsaari Archipelago was surveyed, while the survey perimeter this year comprises islands from Riekkalansaari to Putsaari.
Expedition participants (left to right): Arsenii Lezzhov, Laboratory Assistant, IG KarRC RAS, Vera Timofeeva, Researcher, FRI KarRC RAS, Nikolai Petrov, Expedition Leader, Researcher, DMR KarRC RAS, Boris Raevsky, Leading Researcher, DMR KarRC RAS and Head of Forest Biotechnology Laboratory FRI KarRC RAS, Yulia Tkachenko, Junior Researcher, DMR KarRC RAS, Maria Matantseva, Senior Researcher, Zoology Laboratory IB KarRC RAS, Fyodor Fyodorov, Senior Researcher, Zoology Laboratory IB KarRC RAS, Tatyana Yanchenko, Biologist, IB KarRC RAS
Scientists explore the land use/land cover structure using modern remote sensing methods. For this purpose, surveys are conducted on the ground to obtain in-situ keys – plots of known area and configuration with thoroughly described components of the communities. Data generalized into thematic classes can be used to interpret satellite imagery of the land cover across more extensive adjacent territories.
– As a result of such work in Tulolansaari area last year we found that at least a third of the total pine forest area on the archipelago’s islands were affected by surface fires of varying intensity during the past 30 years. This is most likely a consequence of human impact, specifically heavy recreation pressure, – shared Boris Raevsky, Leading Researcher at DMR KarRC RAS.
An output of this work will be modern maps of the forest cover and its dynamics.
Unique landscapes of the Ladoga Skerries National Park
Researcher of the Forest Research Institute KarRC RAS Vera Timofeeva studies the flora of the Northern Ladoga area. She says it’s one of the richest local floras in Karelia owing to certain geological, geographical, edaphic and other features. The park harbors at least 748 species of vascular plants.
– In the past, the larger islands of the Ladoga Skerries were actively used for farming. Various planted food and decorative plant species have survived at the sites of old farmsteads: different types of gooseberry, wild rose, strawberries, and others. Some of them are gradually becoming naturalized in Karelia, and it would be interesting to observe their future fates, – commented Vera Timofeeva.
Ladoga Skerries are a refugium for the biological diversity of the Ladoga region. More than 65 locations with concentrations or occurrences of individual red-listed vascular plant species have been identified here. Eight species are listed in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation, including the bog myrtle, Dortmann's cardinal flower, the leafless epipogium, and others. Forty species are listed in the Red Data Book of the Republic of Karelia.
The focus of attention for the Institute of Biology KarRC RAS is the fauna of the Ladoga Skerries. As Senior Researcher of the Zoology Laboratory Fyodor Fyodorov explained, the census of terrestrial vertebrates in the Northern Ladoga region based on which the list of animals inhabiting the territory of the future national park was compiled was conducted by zoologists almost a quarter century ago. At that time, the list included a total of 49 mammal species. The new surveys warrant its revision.
– Some small mammal species not encountered in Karelia since the 1950s were delisted. On the other hand, five bat species not known for the Ladoga area previously were added: Daubenton’s bat, pond bat, Brandt’s bat, parti-colored bat, common noctule. Some species were recorded using an ultrasonic detector, while others were identified during a recent bat capturing effort conducted by our colleagues in the immediate vicinity of the Ladoga skerries—on Valaam Island and in some other areas. In effect, eight species of bats may be living in the national park. There were only three on the old list: Northern bat, brown long-eared bat, and whiskered bat – the scientist said.
Zoologist Fyodor Fyodorov at a beaver lodge in the Ladoga Skerries
Compared with other parts of the republic, the beaver population of the park is relatively small: food and suitable habitats are in deficit. As a result, beavers in the Ladoga Skerries can be encountered at rivers in central parts of large islands or on the mainland and in channels running between islands with mud banks and deciduous forest.
– Another specific behavioral pattern for beavers in the park is that, due to the scarcity of suitable habitats and limited food resources, dispersing animals often occupy settlements abandoned by other families, as they typically have the most favorable siting, – added Fyodor Fyodorov.
Senior Researcher of IB KarRC RAS Maria Matantseva told us about ornithological observations. This year, surveys were largely conducted on islands with spruce forests and so birds typical of such habitats appear on the records: European Robins, Eurasian Wrens, Goldcrests.
The European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) — a species of the Old World flycatchers family
– Among the rarer species, it is always interesting to spot raptors. Our records include Hobbies, hawks - the Goshawk and the Sparrowhawk - as well as the red-listed Common Buzzard and White-tailed Sea Eagle. Other protected species we encountered were Gadwalls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and Caspian Terns. It is wonderful that all these species nest in the Ladoga Skerries. We found two Gadwall broods with small ducklings. On the last days of the expedition, we were fortunate to see Red-necked Grebes, curious waterbirds very rare in our region, – the ornithologist remarked.
According to the expedition leader Nikolai Petrov, the integrated monitoring program is designed for four years. Upon its completion, the national park will get up-to-date maps of the forest cover and its dynamics, and the results of species inventories, including rare and red-listed ones. It’s especially importantly that the new data will be useful in planning economic and recreational activities in the protected area.
– The monitoring is carried out under the cooperation agreement between the Karelian Research Centre RAS and the Ladoga Skerries National Park. Scientists delved into the work with great enthusiasm. Previously, specialists from KarRC RAS were the ones to prepare the national park’s nomination papers, so continuing the efforts to monitor and conserve the valuable northern ecosystems means so much to us, – summed up Nikolai Petrov.
Photos by Maria Matantseva and Fyodor Fyodorov
