From July 22 to 28, scientists from Altai and Yugra State Universities conducted an expedition to the steppe specially protected natural areas of Altai Krai within the framework of the most important innovative project of national importance "Development of a system for ground-based and remote monitoring of carbon pools and greenhouse gas flows in the territory of the Russian Federation, ensuring the creation of a system for recording data on the flows of climate-active substances in the carbon budget in forests and other terrestrial ecological systems."
Andrey Bondarovich, Candidate of Geographical Sciences, an associate professor of the Department of Economic Geography and Cartography, and Alena Shibanova, Cabdidate of Biological Sciences, a research associate of the South Siberian Botanical Garden, represented Altai State University. Aleksandr Kaverin, a research associate of the Laboratory for the Study of Spatio-Temporal Variability of Carbon Balance in Forest and Marsh Ecosystems of the Middle Taiga of Western Siberia, took part in the expedition on part of Yugra State University. Kirill Nikiforov, Head of the Altaipriroda, also took part in the work.
"The goal of our expedition was to directly measure CO2 flows using a chamber method with gas analyzers, we were the first in Altai Krai to do it. The measurements were taken during the day, when plants are actively photosynthesising and absorbing CO2, and at night, when photosynthesis stops and they emit CO2 into the atmosphere. It is important to emphasize that these measurements are quantitative, exceeding various calculation methods in accuracy. In addition, we measured the moisture in the soil, and with the help of drones, we mapped areas of the terrain and built a relief map. Thus, the information on the state of the soil and vegetation cover was updated, and samples were taken to determine organic carbon in the soil and plants," says Andrey Bondarovich.
The scientist noted that this was a preparatory expedition. At the next stage they will work on agricultural lands: arable land, hayfields, and pastures.
These works are of crucial importance for the formation of a "national cadastre" of greenhouse gases.