The results of economic assessment of debris flow risk in terms of the annual damage probability for municipalities are presented. Calculations of risk account for geophysical parameters of debris flows, such as susceptibility of the territory to debris flows, their frequency and duration of debris flow hazard period, as well as socio-economic characteristics of municipalities based on data from the Russian Federal State Statistics Service. It was found that the highest calculated values of debris flows risk (direct and total) are typical of the Republic of Buryatia and the Irkutsk region. The maximum values of total debris flows risk at the municipal level correspond to the Bodaibo and Slyudyansk (Irkutsk Region) and Tunkinsk and Kabansk (Republic of Buryatia) municipalities. The highest vulnerability to debris flows was found for Nizhneudinsk, Slyudyansky (Irkutsk Region), Zakamensk, Kurumkansk, Muysk, Okinsk, and Tunkinsk municipalities of the Siberian Federal District, where the debris flows risk amounts to 1 to 2% of the municipal gross production.

The dynamics of frost mounds and thermokarst lakes as paragenetic geosystems is described basing on the dendrochronological analysis of larch and cedar cores collected in forest tundra (Novy Urengoy) and northern taiga (Nadym) landscapes of the Western Siberia Plain. During 1990-s – 2000-s there was a massive loss of trees along the shores of modern thermokarst lakes within forest-tundra and northern taiga landscapes. No destabilization periods were recorded in forest-tundra for the whole life cycle of larch since the mid-19th century. In the northern taiga soils were unstable during the entire period of tree growth. Around 2000 there was an activation of thermokarst processes in both landscapes due to warming and increased precipitation. The area of thermokarst lakes in the landscape structure has increased by several percent.

The indicator of definitive body height, i.e. height reached after physical maturity in the age of 20– 22 years, is rarely used in the contemporary geographic studies. However, historians and economists consider it as an important index of integral influence of the environmental life conditions on human-beings during the process of their growth and development. D.N. Anuchin was the first to apply the indicator of body height in Russian socio-economic studies. He distinguished the geographical areas of tall and low stature in Russian empire. Thereafter, his suggestions were proved and specified by V.V. Bunak and A.L. Purundzhan. 

Author attempted to study the geographical differentiation of the indicator of definitive body height in modern Russia using the information of the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey made by the Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE). The dataset includes the largest number of self-reported assessments of male and female body height in the significant number of Russian settlements.

The article reviewed the differentiation of the average body height indicator depending on the geographical location, ethno-racial differences, type of settlement and socio-economic status of the family. The last one is determined indirectly through the level of parents’ education and their professional activity. 

The paper considers theoretical and methodological approaches to determining the territory of inner periphery, and their specific features. It offers a summarized scheme for the uniform understanding of «center» and «periphery» notions found in scientific literature. The isochrone method applied in urban geography has been used for determining the periphery boundaries, which was not used for these purposes previously. A classification of methodological approaches to identify the inner periphery for different research purposes is suggested. A generalized version for determining the inner periphery in the Meshchera Region as a uniform zone of intersubjective interactions was elaborated.

The chemical composition (concentrations of As, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hf, Li, Mn, Mo, Nb, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sn, Sr, Ta, Te, Th, Ti, Tl, U, V, W, Zn and Zr) and physicochemical properties of bottom sediments of the Kosino lakes and artificial ponds (Bolshoy Dvortsovy, Vladimirsky, Nizhny Ivanovsky, Severny Vykhinsky, Novogireevsky, Suzdalsky, Olkhovy, Vostochny Terletsky and Zapadny Terletsky) in the eastern part of Moscow were studied. Bottom sediments with coarse grain size, neutral pH level (7,2) and average organic matter content of 3,6% are common within the area of study. As compared with the background sod-podzolic soils of Meshchera lowland the bottom deposits accumulate Pb6,2, Sb6,1, W6,0, Zn4,6, Cd3,5, Te3,2, Fe2,9, As2,8, Rb2,5, Li2,5, Zr2,5 (numbers means background excess, times). Bottom sediments of Vladimirsky and Severny Vykhinsky ponds are the most contaminated; the first of them is located within the recreation zone surrounded by the Prozhektor industrial area and the Entuziastov highway, while the second one lies near the junction of the Kosino highway and the Moscow ring road. The following pollutants are of high priority: Sb, W, Pb, Zn, Cd, As and Te. The estimated permissible concentrations (EPC) for soils are exceeded in the bottom sediments of Vladimirsky, Severny Vykhinsky, Novogireevsky ponds and the Chernoe Lake for Pb by 18 times, Zn – 9,8, As – 9, Cd – 4,4, Cu – 3,3, Ni – 2, Sb – up to 1,6 times. Less dangerous levels of pollution are typical for the Svyatoe Lake and the Olkhovy Pond, where the EPC of As, Zn, Ni and Cd are exceeded up to 3 times. In comparison with other mineral components of urban landscapes (soils, road dust and dust in the snow cover) bottom sediments accumulate Sb and Pb, indicating their inflow with transport emissions and further migration to the inferior landscape positions.

Dating and frequency analysis of surface wildfires in different types of landscapes were performed for three key sites in South-Eastern Meschera lowland by means of dendrochronological methods. Material for dating was sampled from pines with fire scars and from neighboring intact trees. Dynamics of fires was not consistent between sites. The statistical relation between wildfires and climatic characteristics was very weak but rather reliable. The conclusion is that high frequency of surface wildfires in South-Eastern Meschera was not a natural process in the region and was stimulated by anthropogenic factors.

The paper focuses on the influence of proportion of forest cover and arable lands on hydrological and hydrochemical properties of runoff for small rivers in the taiga zone flowing entirely or partially within agrolandscapes. The objective of the research was to determine ratio of land use types in a small basin that supports water migration parameters close to the background conditions. Since 2013 fourteen seasonal measurements of runoff and hydrochemical properties in 15 gauge lines were performed. To reveal matter sources the hypotheses about statistically significant linkages between ions concentration and quantitative parameters of land use and relief in a basin were tested. The linkage density and type of relationship can vary depending on year and season. During vegetation period in wet years the higher forest cover results in decrease of runoff modulus. Variability of runoff modulus is inversely related to the proportion of forest cover. Agriculture contributes to changes in hydrochemical properties by means of surface erosion on plowed slopes which results in the input of Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3 – , mineral P, and NO3 – during snowmelt. Forest cover less than 20–25% and plowing encourage the change in biogenic elements ratio in surface water with decrease of organic P and increase of mineral P, NO3 – and K+ concentrations. Improvement of ecological network should be aimed at the increase of forest cover in small basins at the expense of steep valley slopes, gullies, and distal sectors of deluvial fans. This would sustain the chemical composition of water and annual runoff of dissolved substances close to regional background conditions.

The Shubarkol coal deposit in the Karaganda region (the Republic of Kazakhstan) was an area to study geoecological conditions and predicted disturbances of a territory designed for reclamation. Various options for the reclamation of the territory disturbed by the open-pit coal mining are analyzed. Basing on the integrated analysis of natural conditions the optimal reclamation method was chosen that provides both the reduction of environmental tensions and the maximum restoration of the ecosystem biosphere functions, and also the improvement of socio-economic situation in the area.

The first data on fluorine content in surface (streams, lakes) and ground (springs) waters of the Matua Island were obtained. The fluorine concentration is from 9.2 to 307 mg F/l, averaging ~95 mg F/l, which corresponds to the average value for World Rivers, but is 1,5–2 times lower than the average fluorine content in river waters of Japan and Kamchatka. It was concluded that the main sources of fluorine on the island are cyclic sea salts, soluble weathering products and volcanic exhalations, which play an important role even during the period of low volcanic activity before next eruption of the Sarychev Peak volcano.

Basing on the detailed integrated studies, the history of the Protva River valley development is considered. Specific features of the geological and geomorphologic structure of the differently aged terraces are established. The obtained lithologic-mineralogical and palynological characteristics of their alluvium are a reliable diagnostic and correlation criterion. The erosion-accumulative cycles of valley development were identified for the late Neopleistocene. Palynological data provided for the reconstruction of the landscape and climatic conditions of terracing, including the paleoclimatic rhythms of the late Neopleistocene, MIS5, MIS-4, MIS-3, MIS-2. The materials obtained make it possible to unequivocally speak of pronounced cooling in the central region of Russia during the Kalinin period, weaker in intensity than that of the Late Valday era of the Ostashkov Ice Age. The epochs of cooling are separated by the Middle Valday warming.

In less than twenty years, the Russian food products retail chain has gone through all main stages of development: from the initial penetration of foreign networks and a period of active territorial expansion, to the current stage, characterized by increased concentration and competition in the market, as well as the transition of leading networks to multi-format. Principal results of the development of domestic network trade in food products are reviewed at the levels of regions, large cities and individual companies using the official statistics and aggregated data of the largest retailers. The socio-economic heterogeneity of Russia and the catch-up nature of development have led to uneven coverage of the country’s territory by food chains: innovative waves in retail trade do not reach the lower levels in the service centers hierarchy. There is a small group of regions where an active growth of network commerce continues, while in the rest of the territory their development is close to saturation or just in its infancy. In the eastern and southern regions the network trade faces heavy socio-economic and socio-cultural barriers. The new, more advanced stage will see further polarization of consumer space: large cities will lengthen their lead over the rest of the country in terms of the level and variety of services provided.

Despite more than 30-year history of acquisition and application the radar images of the Earth are not so widely used for thematic mapping as images in the optical range. This fact is explained by their less availability until recently, and the complexity of visual analysis and processing. The rapid increase of the open radar data amount after the launch of Sentinel-1 satellites determines the timeliness of studies aimed at developing the techniques of radar data use for thematic mapping. The results of studies carried out recently at the Laboratory of Aerospace Methods involving the radar data from the Radarsat-2 and Sentinel-1 satellites are presented. Several case studies covering different territories and areas of research, such as agricultural lands in the Volga River delta, dynamics of relief of the Tolbachinsky Dol (Kamchatka), modern natural-territorial complexes of the Kotelny Island (the New Siberian Islands), demonstrate the possibility of obtaining new characteristics of the objects. The variety of radar data types, including multipolarization and multi-temporal, as well as interferometric data, makes it possible to use the variability of objects state and the geometric properties of the surface for describing and mapping of territories. Techniques for radar data processing have been developed, aimed at creating the thematic maps. The possibility of creating maps on the basis of proposed methods is validated.

Case study of the Kuzreka village in the Tersky district of Murmansk region allows considering the influence of rural and city community on the functioning of a settlement which exists in fact, but not de jure, and several GA (garden associations) which are located in its vicinity and form a uniform residential territory. Basing on the results of included observation by an author of the article and deep interviews with residents of the village the main social types of inhabitants are presented in the article, short description of their activities is given, and the importance and need of statistical accounting of the similar, pulsing rural settlements at the local level is shown. The authors indicate the need of including this type of settlements in the typology of rural settlements, because they become more numerous both in peripheral territories, and especially in the impact zones of agglomerations.