Statistics on foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks as of October 1, 2015 in Russian regions isanalyzed. The role of several factors in shaping the geography of FDI stocks is shown, namely the specificfeatures of federal management due to the capital status of Moscow; the implementation of productionsharing agreements; the restrictions on foreign capital in the oil and gas sector actually imposed by thefederal authorities along with preserving a significant presence of offshore capital in metal industry; theindustrial assembly regime in the car industry.

The transition to sustainable development model includes the qualitative improvement of production on the basis of resource-saving technologies. The parameters of specific resource consumption of industrial production allow estimating the efficiency of different economies and making appropriate decisions. Calculation of resource consumption for individual countries with the purpose of their further comparison is rather difficult because the physical indicators are incompatible as they are measured in different units. A universal method is necessary which should be based on reliable calculations. The suggested model deals with the problem by applying the elements of the qualimetry and the PATTERN method. Correlation of the specific resource consumption of principal industrial facilities and the general level of economic development of each country made it possible to identify the contrasting types of countries, i.e. high-tech countries with low specific resource consumption, resource-efficient highly-developed countries through to the poorly-developed countries with the highest specific resource consumption. The suggested method of the estimation of industrial resource consumption could become applicable for the comparative evaluation of the efficiency of different economies.

A problem of emerging and re-emerging natural focal diseases in Russia is considered. The mostimportant diseases have been determined. The Russian and foreign publications were reviewed in order toconsider the current status of the problem, analyze the existing classifications of such diseases and identifythe causes of their occurrence. The spread of diseases with different types of distribution and dynamics hasbeen considered by the example of three model infections (tick-borne borreliosis, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagicfever and Astrakhan spotted fever). The nozoareals of model infections within Russia have been mapped.

Application of new possibilities in generalization, visualization and integrated analysis of biological and geographic information enables the effective application of biogeographical approaches for the organization of a system of nature protection areas. The research of the Department of Biogeography of the Lomonosov Moscow State University (case studies of three different regions, i.e. the Putorana Plateau, the Karkaralinskie Mountains in Central Kazakhstan and the Kaliningrad Oblast) demonstrate the possible use of the biogeographical monitoring of rare and protected species for the selection of priority territories for biodiversity conservation at various levels of the spatial organization of biota.

The article deals with modern trends in the development of biota mapping at the MSU Departmentof Biogeography. In the recent decade the increasing interest in biodiversity conservation, inventory,monitoring and assessment has contributed to the formation of a special thematic line in the biogeographicmapping. The thematic spectrum of maps and their scale range are permanently expanding. Small-scaleoverview maps show biota as a whole (e.g. «Zones and types of vegetation belts within the mountains ofRussia», «Biomes of Russia»). Regional level of biodiversity assessment is demonstrated by numerousmedium-scale maps, including regional atlases. Landscape-level investigations of biota and ecological-geographic differentiation of biodiversity are displayed on large-scale maps drawn for natural reserves,national parks and model study areas. The biodiversity assessment is supported by creation of databaseson separate groups of organisms for the whole country or particular regions using the remote sensing dataand GIS-technologies. The article discusses the problems of complex biodiversity mapping based on theecological and geographical approach to the characteristic of vegetation and animal population. It highlightsthe role of biota mapping in the educational process at the MSU Department of Biogeography.

A complex cladistic analysis of molecular-genetic and morphological data about the Monimiaceaefamily was carried out. The hypothetic modes of the family dispersal are reconstructed basing on the datareceived for the studied representatives of the Monimiaceae family from all parts of the range and availablefossils data. The family supposedly originated in Africa and penetrated into South America via the Antarcticway, and through the Arabian Peninsular and Sri-Lanka to South-Eastern Asia, Australia, New Zealand,New Caledonia, and further on to Madagascar.

In this paper som periods of air pollution, observed in China during the recent years are analyzed. Iti showed that high concentration of particulate matter (PM) minimizes the boundary layer height and leadsto increasing pollutant concentrations. Critical number for concentration is 200 gm– 3 – after it feedback between boundary layer height and concentrations became stronger.

The procedure of rapid synchronous hydrological surveys of three polygons in different parts of the slow-circulating valley Mozhaisk reservoir performed on July 19, 2014, under the «Triple polygon–2014» experiment is presented. The grid density of 58 stations (st.) within the three polygons ranged from 1 st. per 14 ha to 1 st. per 5 ha. Such stations concentration was never reached during limnological surveys on lakes and reservoirs, either in Russia or abroad. This made it possible to perform a reliable, statistically valid estimate of a microscale heterogeneity (patchiness) of water composition and properties in different parts of a multi-stretch reservoir under the same weather conditions. Survey data showed the patchiness of measured values of temperature (coefficient of variation Cv reaching 0.03), oxygen content (Cv up to 0.49) and chlorophyll «a» (Cv up to 0.22), due to water masses vertical stratification and changing synoptic conditions during the day. It was detected that the spatial variability of non-conservative water quality indices is often more pronounced in thermocline layers rather than the surface layers of summer-stratified valley reservoir. Results of cartographical and statistical evaluation of spatial heterogeneity of water quality indices obtained during the experiment can be applied to improve the monitoring of reservoirs – the centralized water supply sources and recreational centers, and suggest the procedures for the simulation of their hydro-ecological regime by mathematical models.

The quality of annual and seasonal temperature and precipitation simulation by global climate models for the Lena river basin is evaluated as a stage for the construction of possible climate change scenarios, which can be used in hydrological applications. The observed climate is characterized by climatic data of the CRU (Climatic Research Unit) global archive; they were interpolated to the 0,5° latitude/longitude grid for 1938–1999 period. To assess the quality of model climate simulation the Nash-Sutcliffe criterion was used. The evaluation of the quality of simulation of annual and seasonal temperature and precipitation characteristics in the Lena River basin allow ranking the CMIP3 climate models.

Specific features of Russian urbanization are discussed in connection with both the polarization of social and economic space under sharp domination of Moscow and its agglomeration and the seasonal country sub – and counter-urbanization which replace the migration of population and work places from the сities to the suburbs. The example of the Central Russian megalopolis as a principal area of the concentration of demographic and social and economic capacity of the country makes it possible to analyze the spatial gradients of polarization between Moscow in its official borders, the «real city», the Moscow agglomeration, agglomerations of the capitals of surrounding areas and off-agglomeration territories. Specific features of seasonal country and labor recurent mobility of the population within the megalopolis with different motives and rhythms are considered. Special attention is paid to centripetal migrations which are the most brightly expressed through labor commuting and seasonal work.

An empirical relationship describing the changes in evaporation from a water body in relation to itsdepth and wave heights is used to assess the intensification of monthly average evaporation from theCaspian Sea surface. The data used in this study includes the digital bottom relief model of the Caspian Seawith a spatial resolution of 5 km, data on significant wave heights (SWH) and the latent heat net flux. SWHvalues were calculated by means of the SWAN numerical model based on wind fields from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis. Latent heat net flux values were derived from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis as well. The averaged February, May, August and November values are described in this study. The impact ofwaves and bottom depth on the evaporation is most expressive in the shallow northern part of the CaspianSea. The values of evaporation increase range there from 10–15 W/m2 in May to 20–40 W/m2 in August.This effect is also observed in the southeastern areas of the sea and off the Apsheron Peninsula; in the lattercase the intensification of evaporation is observed only in February and November, i.e. during the stormiestseasons.

New methods of social-geographical studies have been tested, such as construction of «family trees»and analysis of social networks. The first one makes it possible to reveal the migrations for a long periodof time and the possibilities of existence of rural-urban communities. The analysis of social networksprovides unique data for the study of the actual migrations of population.