编号 5 (2024)

The article presents the main events in the history of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2024. The main attention is paid to the changes in the research topics. In the 40’s and 50’s it was closely associated with the tasks assigned to the institute in relation to the requirements of the post-war national economy. Since 1955, in connection with the direction of the Institute by S.S. Schwartz and the renewal of the staff, a period of reorganisation of the subjects began, which led to the transformation of the Institute of Biology into the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology. In the same year, research into radiobiology and population studies began. A new period of history began after V.N. Bolshakov became the director of the Institute in 1976. Several branches of the Institute were established, the number of staff increased and the scope of research broadened. Recent decades have been characterised by the mass arrival of young staff, the organisation of new laboratories and the increase in the number of publications in the most prestigious international journals.

Tritium (³H) has natural and man-made origin. High migration capacity, the presence of different physical and chemical forms, affinity with organic molecules and involvement in metabolic processes in the biosphere attract attention to this isotope in the field of radiation protection of living organisms and humans. The data of 319 publications (230 of them are in the Supplimentary materials) were analyzed based on laboratory and field studies to understand the approaches to the methodology of ³H dose assessment in reference plant and animal organisms specified in Publication 108 of the International Committee on Radiation Protection. The basic principles and features of calculating the absorbed dose rate from inorganic and organic forms of ³H for different levels of biological organization are described. More than half of the studies were identified that are not related to dosimetry issues, but analyze radiobiological effects. Prospects for further research may be associated with a differentiated approach to assessing doses from different forms of ³H, ensuring closer contact between laboratory and field studies, and shifting the focus from the organism level to the populations. The results obtained will find application in formulating problems in the field of radioecology and radiobiology, as well as in improving radiation safety standards associated with the work of existing nuclear industry enterprises and the development of new nuclear technology facilities.

Tree-ring chronologies based on the width of the annual ring of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) were studied at 8 test sites in island forests in the north of the Republic of Kazakhstan from the Turgai trough to the eastern part of the Kazakh small hills. An analysis of the relationships between the radial growth of pine and climate showed that the climate signal in chronologies can change depending on geomorphological conditions determined by the edaphic factor, relief and absolute elevations. These features must be taken into account when using tree-ring chronologies for spatiotemporal climate reconstructions.