Status Report About Understanding, Monitoring and Controlling Landscape Processes in Siberia

Abstract

Siberia has experienced significant transformations over the past 70 years and particularly since the introduction of the market economy 25 years ago. This has caused implications for landscape processes and for the status of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We review the role of science and technology in monitoring, understanding and developing Siberian landscapes. Data sources were international literature and own expeditions and studies. Russia has great traditions in landscape research disciplines such as geography, soil science, hydrology and agronomy. Substantial progress has been achieved in all these fields over the past 25 years. We found particular progress in landscape research based on international projects in the fields of Arctic research, climate change and carbon cycle. Other fields such as agricultural research remained traditional and underdeveloped. In the 1990s there was a great shift of knowledge and technology in the better-interlinked English-speaking European scientific community. In Russia, at the same time, the introduction of the market economy accelerated environmental problems, caused a greater discrepancy between the livelihoods of urban and rural populations, created new knowledge gaps and enlarged the gap between theory and practice in landscape research. The decay of infrastructure in rural landscapes produced an inhospitable environment for science and technology. In view of this, landscape research in Siberia and in the Far East remained very traditional. Other deficits were based on a lack of communication with the international community due to language barriers. Cooperation between leading Russian and European scientists is still poorly developed and funded. The Russian academic scientific system was highly organized until 2013. However, efficiency was low and scientific outputs did not meet the requirements of decision-makers. The ongoing reform of the academic system entails the risk that precisely the opposite to the desired effects of higher efficiency could come true, such as accelerated brain drain and loss of objectivity. We conclude that Trans-Eurasian research cooperation is becoming very important in the current critical transition phase. Modern analytical methods, sophisticated technologies, models and evaluation schemes for landscape research and environmentally friendly soil management technologies are available in the English-speaking community. Substantial progress in monitoring, understanding and controlling landscape processes in the framework of international research projects could be achieved by applying new research methods in Siberia. We present some of them in the following chapters of this book.

Appendix: Environmental Education Abilities in Soil-Ecological Summer Schools in West Siberia

Since 1995 soil-ecological summer schools have been taking place across bioclimatic zones in West Siberia plain and altitudinal belts in the Altai Mountains. They are organized annually by a group of scientists from Russia and Germany. The main goal of the excursions was to answer growing demands for better education and research on mutual interdependencies between climate, geological substrates, vegetation cover and other factors as a tool for practical land use improvement.

The sites of the summer school are selected as a logical sequence of changing climate conditions from north to south in West Siberia including plains (horizontal climate zones) as well as mountains (vertical climate zones) (Fig. 8). They focus on landscapes of exceptional beauty and highly interesting natural objects, both with extreme emotional impact on the participants’ learning abilities as a tool of long-term motivation for sustainable land use. Virgin ecosystems and sites untouched by human activity are included for simplified teaching of the complex interrelations between factors of landscape formation unconcealed by the artefacts usually caused by a long history of land use or by the wide-scale pollution in developed countries.

Fig. 8

Typical landscapes used by soil ecological summer schools a Mountain desert, b Mountain tundra, c Mountain forest tundra, d Southern Taiga, e Forest steppe. The floristic diversity of forest steppe grasslands in West Siberia is still very high due to extremely low human impacts. About 60 species of vascular plants per 100 m² have been found at some locations. Photos Christian Siewert

The introduction lectures at every site provide information about their geology, relief, climate, vegetation cover, soil formation and history of human exploration together with the main aspects of local culture and challenges of social life development. They try to mediate a simple access to understanding long-term needs in local productive land use taking into account global trends.

The field lectures which follow are the main method of education at the summer school. They are dedicated to illustrating the most important local features, which are sometimes incredible to foreign participants, using easily available natural materials from the surroundings. Teaching methods include experiences by means of hearing, touching, feeling or even tasting (Fig. 9). Short walks (around one hour) across the countryside without trails or prepared adventures allow participants to feel the landscapes under their feet, to catch its colours, sounds and smells. The personal experience obtained this way empowers the participants to gain their own insight into the complexity of natural conditions in a most unforgettable way. This supports open discussions providing a better understanding of the details of both local and global consequences of human land use.

Fig. 9

Teaching soil science and soil–vegetation interactions. a The profile shows a Chernozem in the forest steppe. From their inherent properties Chernozems are the most fertile soils of the globe. b Minutes and examinations are part of the open air summer school. Photos Pavel Barsukov

The teaching goals and needs determine the organizational features which support a deep personal perception of the environment. Almost the entire route of the summer school, all accommodation and meals are held outdoors. The summer school participants must adapt to the weather conditions; they have to walk, live in tents, collect their own experience and “sense of places”, and they have to accept everyday life in nature as a source of ecological knowledge. A specialized service team manages daily challenges including the completion of bureaucratic demands (e.g. visa formalities and registration of foreigners), reliable transport, a supply of tasty food, most possible accommodation and the organization of cultural events. It consists of drivers, a cooking team and assistants under the supervision of Russian scientists from leading research institutes and universities.

The results are reflected in excellent evaluation results, several multiplier effects, research projects, some generous funding by different organizations, and more. The participants especially appreciate the experience they gain, which supports the long-term mitigation of global change in land use and connected job opportunities. The following photographs provide some visual impressions about these courses. More information is given in the publication by Siewert et al. (2014).