Vol 25, No 4 (2022)

The article describes the Bastak state nature reserve fir-spruce forests current condition. These plant communities had been subjected to anthropogenic impact, primarily logging of the main use in the area, before it received the status of specially protected. The study of plant communities was being carried out from 2004 to 2021 by using classical methods popular with both geobotanists and foresters. This allowed us to obtain a large array of data to analyze the plant community, both from the standpoint of geobotanical classification and allocation of forest types used in forestry. It was determined that fir-spruce trees grow only in the northern half of the Bastak reserve cluster Central, and on the slopes of the southern spurs of the Bureinsky ridge. Based on the original material, the authors identify four types of plant communities. In each type, the main structural units are described: tree stand, undergrowth, living ground cover and extra-level vegetation (if available) – indicating each component dominants.  It is given a brief taxation characteristics of plant communities and determined the tree stand formula. It is revealed that all the studied phytocenoses are characterized by a fairly constant species composition, high tree tier closeness and floral poverty of subordinate tiers, especially shrubs. It is determined that florist diversity of plant communities increases from the top to the foot of the mountains; the greatest species diversity is in the valley, and the least one is noted in the alpine fir-spruce forests. The authors have described the ecological conditions and the area of growth of different types of plant communities under study. All studied phytocenoses grow only in fresh or moist brown-taiga soils. The green-mossy fir–spruce forests have the greatest distribution over the area, and the  least one – alpine spruce forests. 

In the Amur province, it is allocated the Gonzhinsky gold mining center. From its deposits it has been extracted about 183 tons of gold. The center includes the Gonzhinsky ore-placer district and adjacent to it from the west and east the Burindinsky and Umlekan ore-placer nodes of the western flank of the Amur gold-bearing province North Bureinsky metallogenic zone. It is shown that the Gonzhinsky projection of the AmurgeoblockPrecambrian basementand its framing correspond to the gold ore center. The most significant gold deposits in terms of production, reserves and forecast resources are located within the center. The authors have made the formation analysis of gold deposits. It is given a description of the geological structure and gold content of the largest gold deposits – Pioneer gold-sulfide-quartz formation and Pokrovskoye gold-silver. The authors have defined the prospects for ore gold at the Gonzhinsky center.

The article presents the results of the analysis of surface waters, bottom sediments and muscles of the silver carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) from the upper reaches of the Olgokhta River. The results of laboratory studies have shown that the content of nutrients (NH4+, NO3-, NO2-, PO43-) in the river water does not exceed the maximum permissible values.Heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cu and Ni) in river water, with the exception of iron and manganese, are within the MPC. The high concentrations of Fe and Mn are explained by the peculiarity of the Burein geochemical province. The increased zinc content in bottom sediments is explained by the increased geochemical activity of this metal. The content of heavy metals in the muscles of carp compared to other rivers in Russia is one of the lowest. Presumably, zinc and iron accumulate most in the muscles. The data obtained on the composition and quality of water, bottom sediments, as well as the concentration of metals in the muscles of the silver carp can be considered background for the region due to the absence of anthropogenic load on the watercourse.

In the Russian Federation and other countries floods are getting more sever and occur more often. Among the Russian regions suffering from floods are the regions of the southern Far East, located in the Amur River basin; two severe floods occurred there in 2013 and 2019. The concept of flood risk consists of two components: exposure (physical factors) and vulnerability (socioeconomic factors). Flood vulnerability index evaluates the impact of floods on socioeconomic development of a studied region. It consists of vulnerability, liquidation capacity and adaptive capacity indices. An earlier study calculated risks of floods in the regions of Russia. However, calculation on the local level is more representative in showing most vulnerable territories within a region. This study describes an indicator method, earlier applied in the the Krasnodar region, for calculating the indices. The author presents the indices calculations for five districts of the Jewish autonomousregion, on base of the socioeconomic parameters taken from regional databases. According to the calculation results, the Obluchensky district  shows the lowestvulnerabilityindex (0.32),  while the Oktyabrsky district – the highest one (0.78). For the other three districts and Birobidzhan, the indices are average (0.46–0.66). The indices are also compared taking into accountthe population density. The  table and the map with colour gradients show the study results. In the following research these results are planned to be used for a comprehensive flood risk assessment based on physical and socioeconomic parameters.

Due to the current trends for changing the transport routes (shift of the world main transport arteries towards the countries in the East, increase in the trade flows distribution and in tariffs on main routes), the Far East transportis experiencing a heavy load. The shortage of railways and container terminals in the Eastern region have led to the accumulation of large loads intended for the northern territories of Magadan, Sakhalin, Kamchatka and Chukotka. This situation in the region makes us turn to the experience of the Soviet period – to study the conditions of functioningoftransport linkswith peripheral areas, to research the theoretical approaches and practical experience of cargo delivery. The author considers the system of cargo flows distribution between the base and northern ports in that period and concludes that cargo delivery to the northern territories, based on a system of transport and economic balances, was effective in optimizing transport routes and making decisions to balance the transport infrastructure.

The paper presents the main characteristics of migration processes in the Far Eastern capitals. Statistical data and the results of a sociological study made the empirical base of the research. The demographic situation in the administrative centers of the Far Eastern Federal District (FEFD) is characterized by heterogeneity.The objects for the study were being selected according to this trend. They include regional centers of the Far Eastern Federal District: with positive demographic dynamics – Yakutsk; negative demographic trends – Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Birobidzhan; and with unstable demographic dynamics – Blagoveshchensk, Chita, and Ulan-Ude. The growth / decline in the population of regional capitals is mostly due to migration processes. The largest number of migrations falls on intro-regional movements. A positive migration increase in the administrative centers of the Far Eastern Federal District is mainly due to the rural-urban migration, the rural population moving to regional capitals. One of the most mobile and stimulating social groups to migrate both to and from the Far Eastern capitals is the youth. The strategies associated with working on a rotational basis are very common. Far Easterners, while continuing their work on a rotational basis in the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District, tend to transport their families to other subjects of the Russian Federation, where, in their opinion, the medical, educational and sociocultural infrastructure is better and ensures their growing children more prospects and opportunities. In general, in most of the Far Eastern capitals under consideration it is observed an upward migration mobility. People with resource capabilities tend to move to the places with more developed social infrastructure, opportunities for jobs, professional self-realization in order to raise their living standards.

Tourist zoning is of both theoretical and applied significance for managing the regional development and tourism, which is a promising industry in the Jewish Autonomous region. Its recreational development is at a pioneer stage characterized by the lack of comprehensive information on the spatial distribution of recreational resource potential, tourist objects and  tourist zones. The paper presents the results of tourist zoning in the Jewish Autonomous region carried out by the authors on base of the resource principle, i.e. localization of tourist resources in the region. Within the Jewish Autonomous region, there have been identified nine  tourist zones. According to their  infrastructure characteristics and geographical location, they were rated into three groups of the priority, prospective and incidental development. It was defined the type of tourism for each individual zone on the basis of the available resources there.