The seventh issue of the Transactions of the Karelian Research Centre RAS, Ecological Studies Series, came out of press late in July. Papers for the issue were contributed by Russian scientists working in research organizations of Petrozavodsk, Ufa, Arkhangelsk, Tomsk, Khanty-Mansiysk, Kirov, and Kazan. In total, 16 original articles were published.

Modeling of the radiation regime under forest canopy is the topic of an article by a large group of scientists from the Ufa Institute of Biology of the Ufa Federal Research Centre RAS and the Ufa State Petroleum Technological University. The paper proposes an approach to assessing the radiation regime under forest canopy, based on a combination of REA5-Land global reanalysis data and field measurements of the leaf area index (LAI).

The article by Dmitry Moseev and Andrey Leshchev from the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the RAS North-Western Branch deals with the diversity of coastal plant communities in river estuaries of the White and Barents Seas characterized by different tidal ranges and salinities. Field surveys were conducted over a vast territory along the coasts of the White and Barents Seas in the estuaries of small rivers (in the summers of 2012-2018): Keret’, Tapshenga, Kyanda, Una, Kuya, rivers of Sukhoe More Bay (Bolshaya Nitsa, Kad’, Mudyuga), Chizha, and Chesha.

The productivity dynamics of sphagnum mosses in mires of mid-boreal Karelia is explored in an article by scientists from the Institute of Biology KarRC RAS Svetlana Grabovik, Oleg Kuznetsov, and Pavel Ignashov. The authors summarize long-term data collected during the period from 1979 to 2017 to identify productivity patterns in 11 Sphagnum moss species growing under various coenotic conditions in natural mires, in relation to the weather conditions.

The impact of high-intensity selection cutting on the condition and growth of a bilberry-type pine stand in the middle taiga subzone of Karelia was studied by scientists from the Forest Research Institute KarRC RAS Dmitry Teslya, Sergey Moshnikov, Vladimir Ananyev, and Aleksey Pekkoev. The results presented in the article demonstrate the effectiveness of selective cutting in protective mid-boreal mixed coniferous-deciduous stands for maintaining their stability and ecosystem functions, as well as the possibility of sane economic use of forest resources.

The article by scientists from the Department for Multidisciplinary Research KarRC RAS Nikolai Petrov and Viktor Tarasenko, as well as Director of the Forest Research Institute KarRC RAS Boris Raevsky is devoted to the structural characteristics of the forest fund in the Paanajärvi National Park. The scientists conducted a comprehensive analysis of digital cartographic and attributive databases of the national park's forest fund. In particular, they analyzed data on the distribution of the forest fund by land categories, and of forested land by dominant tree species, forest types, and site quality classes. Special attention was given to the forest structure as related to age structure types of coniferous stands.

Long-term dynamics of the main parameters of zooplankton in Lake Kamennoye (Northern Karelia) was studied in the article prepared by scientists from the Institute of Biology KarRC RAS Yaroslav Kuchko and Nikolai Ilmast. The scientists compared their findings with research results from 1972-1973 and 1992-1993, concluding that the ecosystem of Lake Kamennoye has remained in a natural state, which indicates the adequacy of the conservation regime enforced in the Kostomuksha State Nature Reserve.

A publication examining the experience of implementing environmental projects under cross-border cooperation programs (case study of the Kolarctic Program) was prepared by staff of the Department for Multidisciplinary Research KarRC RAS Dmitry Bazegsky and Anastasia Vasilyeva. Using the case of the Kolarctic program, the scientists evaluated the results of project activities on the Russian side, highlighting the most successful examples of using green technologies and developments to solve local environmental problems. According to the authors, new technologies and engineering solutions were most effectively used in the spheres of environmental education, resource saving, energy efficiency, development of ecological tourism, and establishment of protected areas. Implementation of the solutions will help build a green economy in Russian regions and conserve the northern nature.

The Bereavements section features a tribute to Tatyana K. Yurkovskaya, an outstanding Russian geobotanist and mire scientist. After graduating from the Leningrad State University, Tatyana Yurkovskaya took a doctoral course at the Institute of Biology of the Karelian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and from 1956 to 1968 she worked in the Laboratory of Mire Science and Amelioration. After moving to the Komarov Botanical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Tatyana Yurkovskaya maintained working ties with Karelia, which is reflected in many of her more than 350 scientific papers.

The next issue of the Transactions of the Karelian Research Centre RAS, Ecological Studies Series is due early in 2027. The preparations have already begun.