MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/. A few teams of experts from the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Siberian Branch finalized studies of the fauna, wild nature and permafrost in the Murmansk Region’s areas of Nornickel’s presence. First results will be available in autumn already, the expedition’s press service told TASS.

"The expedition participants have studied the territories located in various distances from industrial assets in Monchegorsk, Zapolyarny and Nickel, where the Kola Mining and Metallurgical Company has divisions, as well as at the Murmansk port, where Nornickel’s Murmansk Transport Branch is operating. <…> The scientists will work at laboratories on the samples and materials, which they have collected on the Kola Peninsula near Nornickel’s enterprises. First results will be available in autumn already," the press service said, adding the team of experts featured specialists in ornithology, hydrology, soil studies, specialists in mammals, botany and entomology.

In Zapolyarny and Nickel, the experts picked eight locations to collect biology material. Those were locations in the sanitary-protective zones around enterprises, as well as the areas of strong impact - 5 kilometers from an enterprise, of light or medium impact, of minor impact, as well as background or reference territories - with a zero impact and in the distance of up to 30 kilometers.

According to Dmitry Taranenko of the Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals (the Siberian Branch, Novosibirsk), the experts wanted to assess how Nornickel’s enterprises on the Kola Peninsula affect biological diversity in various impact zones. Before the survey, the experts studied reports from the Pasvik Nature Reserve, the Lapland Nature Reserve and other local ecology institutions. Based on information in the reports, the scientists could identify the impact zones, where they planned to organize work locations in different distances from the enterprises.

"It’s good that Nornickel itself has ordered this large-scale survey in the areas of its presence," the press service quoted the expert as saying. "This is important not just for big companies - the results will be of importance for further work to preserve the nature and to plan further human activities."

Rodents and insects

The specialists studied vertebrates and invertebrates. For example, they set bait traps for small rodents, and checked them every morning. Another pollution indicator is insects living on the forest floor and soil, experts say. To study them, scientists use several types of soil traps, which they leave for several days, and also a soil drill. The collected material will undergo studies at the institute’s laboratories.

"After having analyzed the information we were given before the studies, our expectations were somehow different. We were prepared to see a strong impact from the enterprise and a vast impact area, but in reality in Nickel and in Zapolyarny we even had to change locations to set a reference point (in a reference territory, with a zero impact). This conclusion is apparent even now, before results of bio-chemical tests arrive," the institute’s expert Tatiana Novgorodtseva said.

Terrestrial and aquatic plants

"We touch on several topics - we study the vegetation cover and biological diversity. We analyze what plant communities are formed in certain territories, analyze formation patterns, their species diversity, and assess the impact of pollution. We also collect raw plant materials for chemical tests and to evaluate secondary metabolites - which chemicals plants accumulate in different conditions," Evegy Zibzeyev of the Central Siberian Botanical Garden (Novosibirsk) said.

Botanists studied algae, and the samples will be tested to see the composition and population density. Another plant diversity indicator is mushrooms and slime molds. The scientists have sampled them for laboratory tests. At the same time, while studying the areas around Monchegorsk and in the Pechenga District, the scientists pointed to species’ differences caused by natural zones.

"The studied objects, located near industrial complexes, are unique, since the first group is located near Monchegorsk - in the northern taiga zone. While Zapolyarny and Nickel are in another zone - the forest tundra with its interesting complex of plant communities, with birch woodlands and sparse woodlands, in this particular case - it is a combination of pines and birches. Those are interesting species that give a background of the vegetation cover - twisting birch, pine and a complex of shrub species - blueberries and lingonberries," Zibzeyev said.

Permafrost’s influence

Soil experts made cuts to analyze the soil layer, its diversity, and the amounts of turf. They point to an interesting aspect - the permafrost has affected the soil structures.

"The soil here is on a sandy loam substrate. These deposits formed here quite a time ago. The first impression is: this is a well-preserved site, with a little impact, even though it is quite close to the enterprise. We’ve taken samples of the mixed layer - the root layer and their sections to characterize the soils and soil-forming rocks. The next step is the lab work, where we will analyze the soil properties and will assess the level of elements and priority pollutants," Yuri Yermolov of the Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry Institute (Novosibirsk) said.

About Great Scientific Expedition

The basic biodiversity survey continues the work, which the Norilsk Nickel Company (Nornickel) and the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Siberian Branch began in 2020. Since the Great Norilsk Expedition this work has extended into another three regions. The survey’s purpose is to identify the company’s impact zones and to assess biodiversity in areas of Nornickel’s operations. The research results will become the base for a corporate system to manage the impact on biodiversity and to develop programs for its preservation and monitoring.