The Civic Chamber of Russia acquaints with the results of the Large Scientific Expedition to study biodiversity in the regions where Norilsk Nickel operates

The Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS) and Norilsk Nickel presented the results of a scientific expedition to study biodiversity in the regions where the company operates at the Civic Chamber of Russia. 

In his speech, the head of the Large Scientific Expedition, Director of the Institute of Systematics of Animal Ecology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Viktor Glupov, noted that the main objectives of the study included, among other things, determining the boundaries of the zone of influence of the territories adjacent to the industrial facilities of Norilsk Nickel, determining the current state of biodiversity, identifying negative factors and threats to biodiversity from the production facilities of the company, as well as the development of recommendations for the preparation of programs for the conservation and monitoring of the biodiversity of animals and plants. 

The area of the territory within which the material was collected was about 71,300 sq. km. It was found that, as shown by the analysis of the distribution of fungal species across sites with different levels of pollution, tree-dwelling fungi were limited only by the presence of a suitable substrate and, apparently, pollution does not limit the distribution of this group of organisms and affects fungi indirectly - through the presence of suitable substrates and habitats. 

The distribution of vertebrates is primarily affected by the transformation of landscapes, and it is quite natural that the zone of significant influence has been greatly changed (buildings, construction and industrial complexes, etc.). 

It was revealed that there is no connection between the structure of the population of ground beetles and the expected degree of impact. Thus, there is reason to believe that the concentration of pollutants in the landfills in the places of registration of ground beetles does not reach values that can significantly affect the properties of the ecological communities of these ground beetles. 

In general, according to the totality of data obtained from the analysis of different groups of organisms, soils and plants, the total radius of impact of the company's enterprises in the Norilsk region on biological diversity does not exceed 5-10 km. 

For the Norilsk division, the study recommends monitoring the impact on biological diversity in the area where the Norilsk and Talnakh groups of enterprises are located, as objects with the most significant impact. It notes that in order to assess the state of the animal world, as the most dynamic system, annual monitoring of the main key groups of animals is required.