SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR – DR. SCI. (BIOL.) L.M. BASKIN
HEAD – N.N. LVOV
MAIN RESEARCH AREAS
Костромская таежная научно-опытная станция
Лосята на Костромской биостанции
Белолобые гуси во время весеннего перелета останавливаются в долине р. Унжа
The Kostroma Taiga Research Station was established in 1977 as a field and experimental base of the Institute for studying the ecology of forest animals and the dynamics of plant communities. The station is located in Kostroma Region on the right bank of the Unzha River, a major tributary of the Volga (58° N, 44° E). The station's territory is characterized by a diversity of forest types, owing to its proximity to the boundary between the southern taiga and mixed-forest zones. A mixing of faunas of northeastern European, eastern (Siberian), and southern (broadleaf-forest zone) origin is also observed here. The area where the station is located is not contaminated with heavy or radioactive metals, and no human settlements are found for tens of kilometers around. Forests cover 70–90% of the territory, and game animal numbers are high in the more remote parts of the taiga.
A complex of enclosures has been built at the station (the largest covering 150 hectares) for keeping ungulates, allowing research to be conducted under conditions close to natural ones. Over the years of the station's existence, the ecology and behavior of European bison, cattle, elk and wild boar have been studied in the enclosures. Using aerial and satellite photographs of the territory taken from 1963 to the present, it has been possible to track the dynamics of forest fragmentation, changes in river valleys caused by beaver activity, the regrowth of burned areas after the major fires of 1972, and the overgrowth of fields and meadows after cultivation ceased.
A number of studies on the ecology and behavior of mammals, birds and insects have been carried out at the station. For 27 years, comprehensive studies of biocenoses have been conducted in the station's area, involving geographers, soil scientists, botanists and zoologists. Constant attention is paid to the impact of human activity, whether aimed at nature conservation, at changing nature (land reclamation, chemical forest management methods), or at its destruction (poaching).
From the station's earliest years, the Institute has campaigned for the establishment of a nature reserve in the vicinity of the station. The first success was the preservation of a tract of virgin forest, which was granted the status of a Nature Monument — the «Kologrivsky Forest».
The entire history of the station has been linked to student field practicals and the hosting of numerous school groups. Students and schoolchildren from all over Russia come both in summer and in the snowy season. Classes with them are conducted by Institute staff. The principle of «science as inquiry» is used: the participants independently study particular aspects of the ecology of mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles, collect plant herbaria, and take part in research projects.
KEY PUBLICATIONS
Zhivotny mir yuzhnoy taygi. Problemy i metody issledovaniya. / Ed. V.E. Sokolov. M.: Nauka, 1984. 224 p.
Kologrivsky les. / Ed. V.E. Sokolov. M.: Nauka, 1986.
Struktura i dinamika ekosistem yuzhnogo Zavolzhya. M. IEMEZh. 1989.
Kompleksnaya geoekologicheskaya praktika v yuzhnoy taige. / Eds. L. Hens, E.K. Boon, M.G. Sinitsyn, A.V. Rusanov, V.N. Solntsev. M. IPEE. 2001
Kostromskoe Zavolzhye. Priroda i chelovek. / Eds. L. Hens, E.K. Boon, M.G. Sinitsyn, A.V. Rusanov, V.N. Solntsev. M. IPEE. 2001