The Laboratory Staff Took Part in the International Expedition in Mongolia

In June-July of this year, the head of the laboratory, Robert Sandlersky, took part in long-term field studies of Mongolia's forest geosystems as part of the Joint Russian-Mongolian Integrated Biological Expedition of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Sciences of Mongolia.

The purpose of the field research was to continue the work started in 2021 by R. Sandlersky together with colleagues from the Research Institute "Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of Mongolia" to study the regularities of solar energy conversion parameters of mountain forest ecosystems of Mongolia on the basis of remote sensing data. A researcher from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing), Ang Li, also took part in this year's expedition.

The expedition surveyed key areas of typical mountain forest ecosystems located in northern and north-western Mongolia, in the aimags of Khuvsgel (site 1), Zavkhan (site 2) and Uvs (site 3). 
 
At all key sites, data were obtained from thermologgers (automatic temperature recording sensors) installed in 2021 and measurements of the hydrogen index (pH) of the top 10 cm of soil were made, tree ages were determined using an age drill and about 80 age cores were sampled. Average stand height (using a laser rangefinder) and diameter were measured for all points on all transects, and habitat characteristics were described (i.e. closures, projective cover and heights of main vegetation tiers, relief and microrelief type, projective cover of stones, bare soil and litter, degree of habitat disturbance). As a result of the work, maps showing invariants and dynamic components of the main biophysical parameters of the studied ecosystems calculated on the basis of multispectral space imagery (energy balance components, biological productivity) will be obtained and their links with the state of landscape components will be assessed