Nature Chronicles

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Nature Chronicles

Nature Chronicles

In Russian nature reserves there is a special system for monitoring natural processes which is called "Nature Chronicles". It is a scientific program number one for all the nature reserves of Russia.

Generally, it is a scientific report, which comprises all information on ecosystems health and their components in the nature reserve and in the surrounding area in a particular year.

Preparation of the Nature Chronicles is a part of the state target of the nature reserve. The Nature Chronicles is then sent in the form of a report to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation.

At the beginning of the twentieth century the principled approach to scientific research in Russian nature reserves was formulated by Professor Kozhevnikov G.A. who was the pioneer of the Russian reserve management and studies and the first chairman of the All-Russian Society of Nature Conservation. In his research paper, dated to 1911, he highlights 'scientific necessity of monitoring completely intact nature; nature which is not affected by human activity'. He also emphasizes that 'it is only in those circumstances that we can find out the biological balance, which reigns in nature'. Later on, Pr. Kozhevnikov G.A. outlines the complete program of scientific research in nature reserves ("How to manage scientific work in nature reserves", 1928), which ultimate goal is to 'study laws of organic evolution'. Therefore, it takes very much time to study gradual changes of the flora and fauna living organisms in connection with environmental changes. That is, it is initially assumed that nature reserves cannot rely on considerate results delivered rapidly, as it happens in field studies, especially in few explored areas (Nature Chronicles in nature reserves…, 1985).

Flora and fauna inventory as well as mapping became the first stages of the research. From then on the ideas set by Pr. Kozhevnikov and other nature reserve management founders (Sukachev V. N, Pachoskiy I., Dokuchaev V.V., Borodin I.P., Kashkarov D.N., Formozov A.N., etc.) formed the basis of the Nature Chronicles program in all the nature reserves of Russia.

The main focus of the Nature Chronicles is directly connected with the tasks, solved by Pasvik Nature Reserve, namely:

integrated monitoring of the northern ecosystems,
conservation and study of wetlands and waterfowl fauna,
study of pine forests health in the northern limit of distribution area in Europe.

Scientific Department staff and resource persons participate together in the preparation of the Nature Chronicles. Inspectors of the Conservation Department help with data collection as well.

Monitoring methodology

There is a monitoring network or a special network of sampling and discount areas and routes for conducting research in Pasvik Nature Reserve.

We are gathering the information for Nature Chronicles:

at the same stations;
on the same methodology;
continuously;
for many years.

The nature reserve area is an open-air scientific laboratory; it is indelibly eliminated from economic use and serves for conducting research in conditions of the Far North on the border between northern taiga and forest tundra in the valley of Pasvik River.

When collecting data at the same stations and on the same methodology during continuous long time, we have an opportunity to gather comparable, unified material about the state of the following objects:

nature complexes: forests, wetlands, mountain tundra, meadows, Pasvik river waters and lakes;
and their components: fish, birds, mammals, vascular plants, lichen and other objects.

This allows us to monitor changes in flora and fauna, composition and structure of individual species populations and objects of groups for the long term.

When collecting data at the same stations and on the same methodology during continuous long time, we have an opportunity to gather comparable, unified material about the state of the following objects:

nature complexes: forests, wetlands, mountain tundra, meadows, Pasvik river waters and lakes;
and their components: fish, birds, mammals, vascular plants, lichen and other objects.

This allows us to monitor changes in flora and fauna, composition and structure of individual species populations and objects of groups for the long term.