Biogeocenosis, Ecosystem
Following the traditions established by Academician V.N. Sukachev, IEE RAS staff continue to study problems of biogeocenology. Under the guidance of the station's longtime director, N.V. Dylis, the vertical and horizontal structures of phytocenoses were studied.
Work at the station is carried out at 50 permanent long-term monitoring plots in the broadleaf-spruce forest and meadow phytocenosis subzone. Recommendations for forestry in the Moscow Region and the organization of Moscow's forest-park zones were developed on the basis of this research. The results of fundamental research conducted at the Malinki Station have been used to justify nature conservation programs, including the creation of a network of biosphere reserves and the «Chronicles of Nature» program.
Scientists from IEE RAS, MSU, MSPU, and other universities study invertebrates living in soils and in terrestrial ecosystems. Particular attention is paid to trends in changes in animal populations under the influence of anthropogenic factors. The adaptations of animals to the soil habitat, and the taxonomic composition and structure of populations, are studied. This work develops Academician M.S. Gilyarov's ideas on the existence of direct and feedback relationships between the composition of soil fauna and the nature of the soil-forming process. Methods of zoological soil melioration to increase its productivity are also studied.
An inventory of the biodiversity of soil fauna and populations is being carried out. The formation of biosocial structures in economically important ant species is studied, taking into account their behavior under conditions of mass reproduction of pest insects and other invertebrates. Methods for using ants as a means of protecting forests from pests are being developed.
In 1964, a comprehensive Program for Biogeocenological Studies of Forest Ecosystems was prepared and published under the editorship of N.V. Dylis, which included a section on soil zoology compiled by M.S. Gilyarov. Subsequently, soil-zoological work at the Malinki field station was carried out in accordance with the main provisions of this Program. The Malinki field station, located in the central part of the Central Russian Upland, can serve as a regional center for organizing monitoring studies of the biotic components of forest ecosystems, including plant, animal, and microbial communities typical of the coniferous-broadleaf forest zone of Central Russia.
Invertebrate species of scientific interest occur on the station's territory.
Birds, Mammals, Fish
Ornithological observations at Malinki have been conducted since the 1960s. A total of about 140 bird species have been recorded here. Regionally rare species listed in the Red Data Book of Moscow Region nest here: the hen harrier, little owl, green and three-toed woodpeckers, spotted nutcracker, and barred warbler; the booted warbler is also thought to nest here. Among species rare for the near Moscow Region, the black kite, European nightjar, and mistle thrush nest here (Zubakin, 2002; Konstantinov et al., 1998; Sharikov, 2006). The area around the station is included among the key local ornithological areas of Moscow Region.
The bird life is richly represented, including species rare for the Moscow Region. Great spotted woodpeckers are common at the station, and green and grey-headed woodpeckers are considerably rarer; both species are fairly rare in the Moscow Region. The black woodpecker also occurs. Closer to the Zhiletovka River, another rarity can be seen — the white-backed woodpecker. Even rarer is the black stork, occasionally seen soaring over the forest. The spotted nutcracker can be found in the station's forests, not every year but often. Common buzzards and northern goshawks are common in the vicinity of the station, occurring alongside smaller raptors — hobbies and sparrowhawks. Dense thickets of bird cherry at the forest edge and along the Zhiletovka River are home to nightingales and common rosefinches. Bird cherry berries attract hawfinches. The wren builds its nest under tree roots right at the water's edge. Treecreepers, willow tits, nuthatches, and great tits often visit the forest edges and shrub thickets. Bullfinches and redpolls appear at the end of winter and in spring.
The white wagtail is a common resident of the station. Barn swallows nest in the laboratory and residential buildings. A colony of house martins, unable to tolerate close proximity to people, abandoned its usual nesting site; spotted flycatchers now often settle in their vacated nests.
Pied flycatchers settle in nest boxes hung around the territory. The chaffinch is one of the most common birds at the station. The European greenfinch is a fairly abundant species here. The redwing and fieldfare can very often be seen on the station's territory and in its surroundings. In spring, the whistling trills of the song thrush can be heard from the surrounding forests. Goldfinches and Eurasian siskins, familiar as cage birds, can be found on the station's territory. Ravens soaring in the sky serve as a kind of ornament to the station. Another corvid, the Eurasian jay, is a regular visitor to the rubbish heap. Throughout the summer, until the first snow, another delightful little bird — the European robin — can be found in the station's forests.
Mammals living in the station's forests are less conspicuous than birds. They include elk and wild boar. Foxes and hares are more common. In spring and early summer, hares are frequent visitors to the station. Stoats and weasels also occur, hunting the numerous mouse-like rodents. The latter include several species of mice and voles, whose numbers fluctuate greatly from year to year, sometimes accompanied by significant epizootics. Traces of muskrat can be seen on the duckweed of Dylis Pond, and, with luck, the animal itself, resembling a wet cat in the water.
Among insectivorous mammals, hedgehogs, moles, and shrews are common on the station's territory.
Among amphibians and reptiles, the common frog, pool frog, common toad, smooth newt, and viviparous lizard occur at Malinki.
Museum of Nature of Central Russia
The Museum of Nature of Central Russia (MNCR) was established under the auspices of the station. It includes a collection of taxidermied birds and mammals, fungi, bird nests, botanical collections dating back to the 1960s, osteological specimens, and much more (Fig. 14).
The Museum appeared in February 2005, and not simply on empty ground, but on a site that started from a distinct disadvantage. The space — a large room — was extremely cluttered. The wall cabinets were packed with 40-year-old chemical reagents, and chemical glassware, both usable and broken, was scattered everywhere. The floor had rotted and collapsed. Such was the legacy left behind. In twenty-degree frost, in an unheated room, two station staff members and one volunteer, led by the museum's future director, cleared out these Augean stables. Within a very short time, the room was completely renovated. The IEE RAS Directorate helped with funds for tools and materials.
The taxidermy collection was donated to the Museum by V.A. Valuev, Cand. Sci. (Biol.), President of the Bashkir Ornithological Society; all the exhibits were made by him and his son. This whole treasure trove was transported from Ufa that same frosty winter, with several transfers along the way. The final stretch through the forest was covered by tractor. The exhibits were also set up by the station's own staff. In early spring, materials were brought in by tractor; the exhibition design was developed by the donor of the taxidermy collection, who, together with a station worker, installed everything himself. With the first warmth, work began on creating the interior settings for the exhibits, using exclusively natural materials. Photographs of habitats were taken right in the vicinity of the station and enlarged as backdrops for the biogroups.
The MNCR's mission is to introduce visitors to the unique flora and fauna of the Malinki forest and other forests of the Moscow Region, as well as to the research carried out at the station by Academy of Sciences staff and university faculty. Students also take part in this work, and practical classes are organized for them here. Particularly valuable specimens are displayed as photographic images, allowing these species to remain undisturbed.
Preserving Nature and Species Diversity
The Malinki forest is subject to intense anthropogenic pressure. Trees are cut down by poachers, and the ground cover is trampled by mushroom pickers and gatherers of berries, flowers, and medicinal herbs. All of this disrupts the ecosystem and changes its appearance. We must protect the heritage we hold from further degradation. Giant hogweed is spreading over ever-larger areas of meadows, fields, and forest edges, crowding out other plants and thereby negatively affecting biodiversity. In spring 2007, experimental studies of the invasive weed Sosnowsky's hogweed began at the Malinki Station, with the aim of preventing its spread and preserving biodiversity.
Particular danger is posed by developers in the surrounding area, who keep building new cottage complexes. Their residents regularly visit the Malinki forest, leaving undesirable consequences behind them. In addition, these areas often become the target of hunting expeditions, for both game animals and birds. All of this calls for urgent measures to grant protected status to the Malinki biocomplex, otherwise the change to the ecosystem may become irreversible.
In order to preserve natural ecosystems and their components, as well as the sample plots laid out almost 40 years ago, and to ensure continuity of observations, IEE RAS has made repeated attempts to establish a state nature refuge on the territory of the «Black Alder Forest» nature monument. A protected status would make it possible to continue studying the dynamics of natural ecosystems and their components, as well as to expand biogeocenological research and biodiversity monitoring in this natural area under conditions of growing anthropogenic pressure near the megacity of Moscow.
