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In world science there are no approaches to identifying critical telecommunications infrastructure based on the concepts of human geography. The aim of our study was to develop such an approach and to test it using the example of a single fiber-optic network of the Russian Federation. The theoretical basis of the approach was the concept of economic and geographical location and its expansion in the form of info-communication and geographical location. This made it possible to estimate the position of any critical element through the parameters of the network formed by this element. In this context, critical telecommunications infrastructure includes nodes and communication lines, the accidental or intentional disconnection of which leads to the subsequent disconnection of other nodes and lines. It is proposed to distinguish between ordinary, critical, critically dependent and dependent nodes, as well as ordinary and critical lines. The methodical basis of the approach was the author’s algorithm for identifying critical nodes. The initial information was taken from the author’s database on domestic telecommunication lines and Rosstat data on the population of Russian cities as of January 1, 2022. One thousand one hundred and eleven out of 1117 cities were considered, since six cities were not connected to the single fiber-optic network of Russia. The implementation of the geographical approach made it possible to detect more than a hundred critical nodes (cities). The characteristics of the ten most critical nodes are given. The distribution of the number and population of cities across four types of nodes and federal districts of Russia has been carried out. It has been established that most of the critical lines are laid to small towns. The results obtained were discussed from the standpoint of research limitations, simulation of simultaneous disconnection of several critical elements and recommendations for laying new telecommunication lines. The practical significance of the results obtained may be related to the development of telecommunication measures to improve the stability of the fiber-optic network. Three directions of further research are proposed.

The purpose of the article is to summarize approaches and methods used abroad for estimating carbon emissions resulting from land use changes on global and regional levels. To understand the place of this topic in modern geoecology, an analysis of bibliometric indicators was carried out based on the Scopus аbstrаct and citation database. There has been a significant increase in publications on the research results of carbon emissions and removals under the influence of land use in the world since the early 2000s with over 200 articles published per year currently. The leading countries in terms of publication activity include China, the USA, Germany, Great Britain and Brazil, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences being the leader among organizations. The present-day research of carbon balance changes under the impact of land use change is based on the land cover change detection in the spatiotemporal aspect using advanced geoinformation technologies, and on modeling of carbon fluxes through the use of precise data consistent with the approaches 2-3 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change methodology. It has been established that most of the studies by leading scientific centers have common algorithm and stages. The article provides a description of these stages, namely the methods and specific tools used, as well as identifies their advantages and disadvantages. The general research algorithm includes, at the first stage, an assessment of the dynamics of land use/land cover change for different time spans, then carbon balance modeling as a result of land use changes, and development of regional policy measures on this basis. National peculiarities in application of methods and initial data are also revealed (cases of China, Brazil, etc.). It is concluded that it is necessary to further improve methods in the field of accuracy of land use/land cover classifications and timeliness of detecting its dynamics, as well as carbon stocks assessment. These factors determine the specific practical actions in the field of regional planning and the offset measures development under the climate policy.

The article highlights the factors and conditions for the formation of a regime of sustainable development of a territory with environmental management according to the criterion of completeness of the composition and functioning of geographical system ‘nature-economy-population’ of the territory. Completeness is a pass-through indicator of the optimality of systems of various kinds at the minimum and maximum levels of their existence and changes in the process of nature conservation, economic growth and improvement of society. The degree of completeness is a variant of the evaluation function that distinguishes geosystems of different locations and variable states by a set of interchangeable influencing factors of natural, economic and social origin and features of local conditions of the geographical environment. All the observed processes reflect the goal of striving for perfection in the form of completeness and safety of its systemic expression, for the ideal of existence, a priority development goal, only with the achievement and overcoming of which sustainable development is possible. The trends of completeness are distinguished as the upper and lower envelope lines (surfaces) of the diversity of the connection of data from field and statistical observations. Controlling additive influences shift the landscape norm of completeness of different locations. It is necessary to take into account special restrictions on the degree of incompleteness and overflow of system qualities. Models and methods of analysis are demonstrated by the example of restoration of forest plantations and the implementation of the investment process in the regions of Russia.

To solve the problem of assessing the external load on the Russian part of the Irtysh River from the catchment, the ILLM model was used. It takes into account the contribution of point and diffuse sources to the formation of the load and makes it possible to calculate the removal of impurities from the catchment. The model takes into consideration the influence of hydrological factors and chemical retention by the catchment and its hydrographic network. In order to provide the model with the necessary input information, classification of the underlying surface types has been performed using PROBA-V and Sentinel-2 satellite images. Data on the content of nutrients (N and P) and trace elements (Cu and Zn) in soil and river waters of the studied territory were collected and analyzed. Based on the processing of materials on the activities of more than 800 agricultural enterprises, the number of livestock, and organic and mineral fertilizer inputs were estimated, and the total nitrogen and total phosphorus inputs to the hydrographic network were calculated. The external load (including the diffusive component) of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and metals (copper and zinc) was assessed for both the entire Russian part of the Irtysh basin and for seven of its sub-basins, including the Tobol, Ishim, Om and Konda rivers. According to the calculation results, the contribution of the transboundary load to the outflow of the considered chemicals in the outlet sections of the transboundary rivers was evaluated. It is shown that the ratio of the contribution of different components of the external load to the outflow varies depending on the water content of a year.

The first experience of developing a legend and mapping a medium-scale “Population map of small rodents (Rodentia: Cricetidae, Muridae, and Sminthidae) of Primorskii krai” at a scale of 1:800 000 for the Russian Far East is outlined. The research was based on these authors’ material on the spatial distribution of myomorphic rodents collected by the authors during 1973-2004, and on published data (the analysis used more than 22 000 rodents of 12 species). The main principle in this study is the landscape-biotopical one, where the map legend is based on the habitat. A legend was developed, based on N.V. Tupikova’s principles. The pictograms proposed by N.V. Tupikova were a visual and informative alternative to the text rubrications of the map. We have generalized and reduced species abundance gradations to three (low, medium, and high), the semantic content of which has become individual for each species separately and reflects the maximum value of abundance noted in a particular type of habitat. The legend made it possible to estimate the polyvariance of the population, due to the asynchrony in the dynamics of the species included in them (contours with such structures can be characterized by increased instability). An analysis of data was carried out, which took into account the entire structural diversity of communities during the years of population peaks, not associated with regular changes in the population observed during changes in the population phases of abundance. The transformation of the structure of the animal population in the natural-anthropogenic succession series of the main plant formations is shown to give the map predictive and retrospective capabilities.

One of the priority areas of joint research of the Dzherginsky Nature Reserve and V.B. Sochava Institute of Geography SB RAS is thematic geoinformation mapping of ecosystem components, with the aim of optimizing the accumulated information and planning scientific, recreational and environmental activities. The development of the methodology for compiling maps and legends, the introduction of geographic information systems and computer data processing significantly expand the modern possibilities of zoological mapping. The paper discusses the experience of compiling a zoological map of the population of mammals in the Amut Depression, made at a scale of 1:50 000, based on a previously compiled map of the vegetation of the depression and using Landsat 5 TM and 7 ETM+ images, forest inventory plans, and landscape and topographic maps of different scales. The territory is characterized by a relatively low species diversity of mammals, which is associated with rather severe natural and climatic conditions of their habitat. The collected and generalized information on the distribution of 26 species of mammals in the Amut Depression served as the basis for compiling a large-scale map including 58 sections in the main layer, reflecting the patterns of spatial organization of the animal population, represented by five types and three subtypes. The initial mapping units were the population of mammals, taken within the boundaries of plant associations; it was this unit of vegetation cover that was the first to be used by V.B. Sochava. The generalization of disparate data by creating a map of the population of mammals makes it possible to visualize the structure and distribution of various types of population as well as to identify the general patterns of their formation over a vast territory.

The problems of assessing the status of rare species of Acridoidea and their populations in the south of Asian Russia and neighboring territories are discussed. Using an example of steppes and forest-steppes of the southeast of the West Siberian Plain, the possibility of a comparative analysis of maps of species locations in different periods of research to identify changes in the distribution of populations is shown. The possibilities and limitations of ecological-geographical modeling of distribution were demonstrated for two model species, namely, Aeropedellus baliolus, an inhabitant of flat steppes, and Stenobothrus newskii, an endemic of the western part of the Altai-Sayan mountain system, generally characterized by a very stable distribution. The possible results from using different sets of variables are evaluated. It is shown that the use of extended sets of variables (including data on absolute altitudes, and vegetation type) is justified for endemics of mountain systems. It is emphasized that habitat mapping, primarily in different time periods, in combination with one or more approaches to ecological-geographical modeling, makes it possible to identify areas of probable existence of populations of rare species, which is extremely important for areas with low density of collection points. The use of sets of bioclimatic variables calculated in accordance with different long-term projections of climatic transformations makes it possible to estimate, to a certain approximation, the probable trends in changes in the distribution of species.

Results from mapping coenotic groups of true bugs (Order Heteroptera) coenotic groups mapping on the basis of the vegetation map are presented. The geobotanic map for the key site (Senokosnyi Island, Selenga River valley, Eastern Cisbaikalia) was created. The map includes eight legend items corresponding to vegetation contour types of the level of groups of associations, two of which contain derivative (pyrogenic) variants. For each group of plant associations, the species composition of true bugs was revealed. In total, 62 species of Heteroptera were registered on Senokosnyi Island. Comparing to the groups of associations of the geobotanical map, for Heteroptera insects ecotone habitats were additionally distinguished. The ecotones are formed along the border between densely closed Japanese elm mesophilic grass forests and adjacent meadows. Using the Sørensen coefficient the similarity of the true bug species composition in different plant associations has been computed. The true bugs species composition both of pyrogenic variants of elm mesophilous grass forests and willow communities have been combined into one cluster with a high similarity coefficient. Ecotones and elm mesoxerophilous herbaceous forests were also combined into one cluster. Based on the data obtained, a map of the population of true bugs was created, which includes nine items of the legend. In general, the distribution of Heteroptera obeys the distribution of plant communities. In some cases, however, there are differences in the true bugs spatial distribution when compared to the vegetation contours, for example, for ecotone habitats. As a consequence of ground fires, most of the characteristic species of bugs that inhabit the plant litter, the soil surface, and the grass layer disappear from the post-pyrogenic habitats. At the same time, the role of mesoxerophilic species inhabiting open biotopes becomes stronger. The method of coupled mapping can be applied for creating maps of invertebrate populations in different territories.

Biological invasions into dark coniferous forests of Western Siberia by dangerous alien stem pests: four eyed fir bark beetle (Polygraphus proximus Blandf.) and small spruce bark beetle (Ips amitinus Eichh.) were studied using traditional and modern methods of mapping. Along with the monitoring of invasion carried out in Tomsk oblast, which included a wide survey of its territory to obtain factual data on the degree of degradation of damaged forests, special attention was paid to the use of GIS technologies. Using an example of some aspects of these invasions, the features and possibilities of compiling as well as using map material for scientific and applied purposes are presented. The high efficiency of spatiotemporal assessment of observed processes and phenomena at the local level by using modern mapping methods with the involvement of ground monitoring material and orthophotos from unmanned aerial vehicles is shown. A spatial assessment of the degree of degradation, vital state, and the amount of damage caused by invasive bark beetles in model areas using GIS is made. The highest degree of risk from the expansion of P. proximus and I. amitinus was revealed for the southern and southeastern parts of Tomsk oblast. The use of the GIS functionality made it possible to create a series of original thematic maps that reflect various aspects of the spatial features of invasions, which permits short-term forecasts of the origin and spread of pest foci, monitoring and control of their development, as well as identifying the direction of the pest spread process at different levels of the territorial hierarchy.

This paper considers the use of the comparative-geographical method in investigating soil-biotic communities from the Tunka depression, for the purposes of cartographic modeling of the spatio-temporal state of taxonomic diversity of soil zoocenoses. To assess the current state of the soil biota, it is proposed to use the Margalef index which implies the value of the number of taxa with a total abundance in soil invertebrate communities. The limits of these changes make it possible to single out a uniform scale with five categories of diversity. The functional and trophic structure of soil zoocenoses with the identification of dominant species of pedobionts permits determination of the optimal composition of the indigenous population of biocenoses as well as understanding the mechanisms of recovery with a decrease in anthropogenic impacts. The generalized data obtained should be represented on a cartographic model. To do this, it is proposed to use a landscape basis which, in turn, reflects both the terrain features and the totality of the set of natural factors: from hydrothermal conditions to the phyto-edaphic appearance of the study area. In general, the results of the study can be used for timely decisions aimed at preserving biological diversity of the region, which, in turn, is one of the main principles of world ecology. An attempt is made to combine and analyze theoretical and methodological knowledge of soil zoogeography and its practical application with the possibility of further development of a so-called symbiosis with related branches of geography, biology and cartography. The results of the research can be used in planning measures for optimal nature management with access to the next level, i. e. the predictive level, which permits management of the processes occurring within the ecosystem of the region.