No 8 (2022)

Natural pastures in arid regions are most prone to degradation which often occurs as a result of human activity. For example, overgrazing and a change in land use in the south of Chyornye Zemli in Kalmykia region in the middle of the last century have led to the emergence of the first and the only anthropogenic desert in Europe in the 1980s. However, in the 1990s, vegetation began to recover due to significant economic changes in the USSR and Russia and the reduction of grazing pressure in Kalmykian pastures. By mid–late 2000s, a desert had turned into a secondary anthropogenic tall-grass steppe with the dominance of feather grass and wheatgrass, minor presence of psammophytes, and a small fraction of weed pasture species. Since that time, the pasture communities have changed dramatically once again. Dry years combined with high grazing pressure favored the expansion of non-stabilized sands. Vegetation height and especially cover that were increasing during the steppe formation have decreased sharply. With some delay, the rodent community has reacted to the changes in the plant communities. The process of desertification that began five years ago as a result of pasture degradation gave an advantage to typical representatives of the desert fauna such as the midday gerbil. A rather rapid population growth and recolonization of the previously abandoned territories in the 2021–2022 may be a warning signal of upcoming abrupt transition of the population of the midday gerbil from low- to high-abundance state. If this expectation is true, there is a high probability of reemergence of natural plague foci in Kalmykia.

Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis has been used to study a cordierite group mineral found at the Bellerberg deposit (Eifel, Germany). This mineral is distinguished by the increased content of Fe in comparison with Mg in its chemical composition. The hexagonal cell parameters are a = 9.8759(3) Å, b = 9.3102(3) Å, V = 786.40(3) Å3. The crystal structure has been solved in the space group P622 and refined to final R-value of 5.9% for 860 independent reflections with |F| > 3σ(F). The main structural features of the mineral are reflected in its crystal chemical formula (Z = 1): K0.12[Fe2][(Mg0.85Fe0.15]2Al3[Al1.5Si1.5][Si8.4Al3.6]O36, where brackets denote the composition of the octahedral and tetrahedral structural sites. Studied mineral is an iron analogue of indialite with a highly ordered structure, reduced symmetry, and space group P622 that has been for the first time established in natural compounds.

The data on a new rare discovery of a skeleton of bony fish in the Lower Maastrichtian deposits of the Mountainous Crimea are presented.

A new method for analysing genetic admixture of populations (60). The tree fern genome (60). Drink coffee, live long (62). Why woopeckers don’t get concussions (shock absorbance has nothing to do with it) (64). New insectivorous Nepenthes specializes in soil animals (66).

Знания — фундамент современного мира. Они обеспечивают нас всеми теми благами, без которых наша жизнь уже немыслима: средствами связи и передвижения, лекарствами, совершенными технологиями нашего быта и многим, многим другим. Формула «пока еще не знаем, но непременно узнаем» побуждает нас к тому, чтобы узнать, разрешить очередную научную загадку и на этой основе создать нечто принципиально новое, что сделает нашу жизнь еще более комфортной и удобной. В общем, погоня за новыми и новыми знаниями… А кто мы без них?!