Rustam Pshegusov

Tembotov Institute of Ecology of Mountain Territories RAS

Current climate change, habitat degradation, pastoralism, shoot and bulb harvesting pose serious threats to the rare Caucasian endemic Fritillaria latifolia throughout its range. Knowledge of the limiting factors, species range dynamics in relation to climate change and the role of Protected Areas in species distribution are necessary to develop an...

Using mathematical modelling methods of Earth remote sensing data, the main factors of distribution of the nine most high-altitude alien plant species near the upper altitudinal boundaries in mountain ecosystems of the Russian Caucasus were identified. Among them – the amount of precipitation in the warmest quarter (not less than 260–360 mm), the a...

Overgrazing, grassland degradation, and soil erosion are significant problems in mountain semiarid ecosystems of the Central Caucasus. Semiarid highland grasslands mainly occur on southern slopes with shallow soils covering a rocky impermeable layer. These ecosystems experience more drought than the grasslands on the northern slopes, and like other...

One of the most important tasks in modern ecology theory is the formalization of the ecological niche. Advances in spatial analysis techniques and the availability of global databases on biodiversity and environmental parameters provide an unprecedented opportunity to integrate ecological niche components within a correlational modeling approach. T...

The article is available at the link: https://rdcu.be/duMkJ Current climate change, habitat degradation, and road network development contribute to the invasion of alien plant species in areas of more northern latitudes and higher altitudes. Using the maximum entropy method (Maxent), we built spatial distribution models of Ambrosia artemisiifolia,...

The paper presents the climatic and orographic modelling of basic units of the altitude-belt structure of Caucasus landscapes by A. K. Tembotov, obtained using the global databases WorldClim and ENVIREM (ENVIronmental Rasters for Ecological Modeling). The basis for climate typification of latitudinal zones and belt variants was the Keppen-Geiger cl...

In this study, we aimed to assess the current state of forest ecosystems on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus after the mass mortality of boxwoods. Soil and geobotanical studies were carried out in the Khosta Yew-Boxwood Grove, a convenient proving ground for assessment of the consequences of Cydalima perspectalis expansion. Hierarchical cluster...

This paper presents an approach to studying rangeland degradation by using remote sensing data, geographic information systems, and ecological niche theory. The role of environmental factors and land use in the spatial distribution of degraded rangelands in the Central Caucasus was assessed. Degradation stages were modelled in R using ENVIREM predi...

This paper presents an approach to studying rangeland degradation by integrating remote sensing data, geographic information systems, and ecological niche theory. The document provides information about the source data used in writing the manuscript.

This paper presents an approach to studying rangeland degradation by integrating remote sensing data, geographic information systems, and ecological niche theory. The document provides information about the source data used in writing the manuscript.

Background Ecological niche modeling of the main forest-forming species within the same geographic range contributes significantly to understanding the coexistence of species and the regularities of formation of their current spatial distribution. The main abiotic and biotic environmental variables, as well as species dispersal capability, affectin...

Adaptations of and developed in the tropical climate of the Mexican mountain region determine largely the predicted distribution of the species in the Caucasus. The complex factor of humidity is the main factor determining the potential distribution of and in the Caucasus (82 and 48% of the contribution in the Maxent models). Temperature and orogra...

This paper presents an approach to studying rangeland degradation by integrating remote sensing data, geographic information systems, and ecological niche theory. The document provides information about the source data used in writing the manuscript.

The basic trends of vegetation dynamics in meadow ecosystems of the Central Caucasus under the impact of current climatic changes were revealed on the example of sub-alpine meadows of the National Park < > and Sukan plot of the Kabardino-Balkarian State High-Mountain Reserve. In the past 20 years, in the mountains of the Central Caucasus, during th...

Overgrazing and grassland degradation are significant environmental problems in the mountain ecosystems of the Central Caucasus. The aim was to define the criteria for the stages of grassland degradation to provide land managers with useful guidelines on evaluating grassland status. We identified four stages of grassland degradation based on a stat...

Biological invasions and grassland transformation are significant problems in pasture ecosystems of the Central Caucasus. The aim was to study the main patterns of invasive processes in grasslands and included identification the main vegetation parameters and abiotic factors affecting the invasion and distribution of alien species ( Erigeron annuus...

Background: Ecological niche modeling of the main forest-forming species within the same geographic range contributes significantly to understanding the coexistence of species and the regularities of formation of their current spatial distribution. The main abiotic and biotic environmental variables, as well as species dispersal capability, affecti...

Roadside plant communities in the south of the Russian Black Sea region are characterized by relatively high adventivization and low invasibility. In these communities, the adventivization has been rapidly progressing due to the high abundance and competitiveness of invasive species in the region. The total projective cover of codominant species (f...

Adaptations of Abies nordmanniana, Picea orientalis, Pinus sylvestris, Fagus orientalis, and Carpinus betulus to the abiotic environmental conditions of the study area largely determined their predicted distribution in the Caucasus. The ecological niches of the species mostly coincided in two analyzed complex environmental factors (characteristics...

Based on the results of the studies conducted in the forest areas of the basins of the rivers Belaya and Malaya Laba, there has been compiled a typological scheme of the coniferous and mixed forests of North-Western Caucasus (NWC) which included 21 forest types, that are distributed into 12 groups. The forest stands of the studied forests types is...

Reduction of biological diversity of lichens, reduction of the distribution of rare species and their disappearance due to habitat disturbance are significant problems in the Caucasus. The aim was to study the main patterns of distribution of the rare lichen species Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. and included identification the main abiotic factors...

In response to expansion of Cydalima perspectalis Walker, 1859, mass scale drying of Buxus colchica Pojark. resulted in succession of forest communities of the Western Caucasus in 2014–2017. Changes in illumination of the forest low storeys were conducive to intensive growth of such herbaceous plants as Symphytum grandiflorum DC., Asarum intermediu...

Various types of forest and meadow plant communities of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic (CentralCaucasus) from the steppes to the alpine were examined by the route method during floristic investigations in 2018–2019. New locations of five rare species of vascular plants of the region natural flora were found (Picea orientalis (L.)Peterm., Taxus bacca...

The paper presents a comparative analysis of spatial localization parameters of coniferous and coniferous-deciduous forests in various landscape and climatic conditions of the Western Caucasus. During the study, we set the task of determining parametric variables that would reflect the most significant factors of distribution of coniferous and coni...

The first leopards were released into Caucasus nature in 2016 and 2018 as result of the first step of Federal leopard restoration program. They were equipped with GPS collars with satellite transmitters. The data obtained from the collars was used to create and verify a mathematical model of the potential habitats of this species and evaluate the p...

The article presents an overview of materials on the pasture load dynamics on mountain meadow ecosystems of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic in the XX-XXI centuries. The livestock number in the public sectors and private business in different periods of development of the pasture animal husbandry system are presented. The article describes the stat...

Sorghum halepensed (L.) Pers, an invasive species, grows in diverse phytocenoses from plains to low-mountain zones of the Caucasus. Predictive modeling showed that at present there are significant areas in the Central, Eastern Caucasus and North-West coast of the Black sea (up to the middle-mountain zones) which are potentially adequate and optimal...

Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers is a North American invasive species that invades hay meadows and pastures from the plain to the high mountainous zone of the Caucasus. Leads to a decrease in biodiversity and forage value of meadows. Predictive modeling using the MaxEnt method showed that at present, in the valleys of large rivers of the Caucasus, there a...

The rare endemic plant Fritillaria latifolia Willd. growing in subalpine meadows of the Western and Central Caucasus has the SR life strategy of life. The ecological and phytocenotic patience enables this species to withstand the impact of limiting factors, such as high anthropogenic load and interspecific competition, for a long period of time. F....

The paper presents a comparative description of the parameters of the spatial localization of the spatial localization parameters of coniferous and coniferous-deciduous forests in various landscape and climatic conditions of the Western Caucasus. In the course of the study, the task was set of determining parametric variables that reflect the most...

This monograph provides a comprehensive review and analysis of the available literature on the monitoring of big cats. Special attention is paid to the most up-to-date methods based on recent advances in technology, resulting in useful tools to remotely and noninvasively study animals in natural habitats, essential when working with rare species. E...

High-mountain meadow phytocenoses in the upper Malka-river of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (Central Caucasus) have been long used by the local population in cattle-breeding, and the unique thermal spring of mineral water “Dzhily-Su” has been put to medicinal use. The pasture/recreation ratio of anthropogenic impact on meadow ecosystems of this...

The Red Data Book of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic is an official publication containing information on the characteristics, distribution, ecological, biological and phytocenotic features, limiting factors and measures for the protection of plant species, fungi and animals, approved by the Government of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic "On the l...

В монографии проанализированы и обобщены практически все доступные литературные источники, посвященные мониторингу крупных хищных. Особое внимание уделено самым современным методам, основанным на активном развитии технологий и позволяющим дистанционно и неинвазивно исследовать животных в естественных условиях, что принципиально важно при работе с р...

The quantitative data on dynamics of areas in main forest types (pine, birch, hornbeam, beech and oak forests) of Kabardino-Balkaria for 20 years since 1986 are obtained from the analysis of hyper spectral Landsat 5 TM space images. To calculate forest areas, the digital terrain model built on SRTM-fi le and two-dimensional Landsat 5 TM cosmic imag...