Economic zoning in the USSR was focused on the practical tasks, first of all, comprehensive planning for the long-term development of the national economy. In the 1990s, with the beginning of radical political and economic transformations in the country, the economic zoning lost its practical significance. However, even under market economy, the objective processes of territorial division of labor, industrial and technological connectivity of enterprises and companies still persist, as well as, agglomeration processes. Recently, new factors and prerequisites for the growing importance of economic zoning have emerged, such as the restoration of multilevel strategic planning, changes in the geopolitical situation of the country’s development and the need to achieve industrial and technological sovereignty. With this background it seems that the need to take into account the objective processes of complex formation and district formation, and to perform a new multi-level economic zoning of Russia on this basis sharply increases. The article provides a possible scheme of seven large economic regions and 22 mesorayons. The main links of production and technological chains and priority activities are identified for the large regions. Such zoning could be useful for the long-term planning of sustainable development of the country and its regions.

   Modern climate change, accompanied by rapidly increasing global air temperature, changing precipitation patterns, frequency and severity of extreme weather events, may have a significant impact on the functioning, growth, and development of forest ecosystems.

   The aim of the study was to assess the effects of extreme weather events (significant positive and negative anomalies in air temperature and precipitation) on the carbon dioxide (CO₂) fluxes in boreal and temperate forest ecosystems in the Northern Hemisphere.

   26 greenhouse gas (GHG) flux monitoring stations of the global FLUXNET network with the most continuous observations were selected for the analysis of CO₂ fluxes. The stations are located in forest ecosystems of different biome types according to the IGBP classification. Meteorological conditions were analyzed using observations from meteorological stations and ERA5 reanalysis data. The results showed that the response of CO₂ fluxes to temperature and precipitation anomalies varies depending mainly on the type of forest ecosystem, its geographical location and regional climatic conditions. Extremely high air temperature in any season leads to increased CO₂ emissions to the atmosphere in all forest types studied, with the most pronounced response in coniferous forests. Negative air temperature anomalies in the warm season could have the opposite effect, either increasing or decreasing the CO₂ uptake by forest ecosystems, depending on the forest ecosystem type. No significant response of CO₂ fluxes to extremely low temperatures in the cold season was found. During periods of heavy precipitation, the emission of CO₂ to the atmosphere dominated in all forest ecosystems under study. At the same time, after a large amount of precipitation during the warm season, a cumulative effect of available soil moisture in the plant root zone on CO₂ fluxes was revealed. As a result the CO₂ uptake by vegetation increases due to the growing rate of plant photosynthesis under sufficient soil moisture conditions.

   Since the end of the last century the epicenter of environmental problems and global environmental threats has moved to Asia. Three economic giants played the main role: at first Japan, then China and India. In recent decades increasingly complicated and multidirectional environmentally significant processes have taken place in these Asian countries, which are at different stages of socio-economic development.

   The purpose of the study was to identify the main trends in the basic environmental characteristics of Japan, China and India and study the dynamics of their position in the context of the geoecological transition.

   The work was based on the concepts of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and the geoecological transition of D. L. Lopatnikov. Comparison of environmental and economic parameters was carried out on the basis of statistical data from the World Bank, OECD and national databases. Time series for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and carbon dioxide emissions were analyzed mainly for the period 1990–2020. The dynamics of the countries’ position on the curve over a 30-year period makes it possible to identify the trajectories of their environmental development, as well as determine prospects for the short-term future. According to the dynamics of key indicators, Japan is steadily on a downward segment of the curve, while China and India are on a downward segment for some indicators, having passed an inflection point during the period under study, and on an upward segment for other ones. The interpretation of dynamics of the environmental indicators revealed the main factors (economic, institutional, technological, etc.) which lay behind their environmental advancement. At the same time, the economic slowdown during the 2008–2009 global economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic had a different impact on the key indicators of the three countries. The position of countries in the international environmental ratings correlates with the level of socio-economic development, which fits into the logic of the EKC. While the first signs of a turn towards the greener economy are already visible in China, the same is still not true for India. The environmentally positive trends which were identified for the economic giants of Asia, with the exception of Japan, cannot yet be considered a long-term trend due to the relatively short series of data and the continuing diversity of their environmental prospects.

   Agrolandscape and ecological zoning of natural forage lands (NFL) has been developed at the Williams Federal Research Center of Forage Production & Agroecology for the information support of regionally, landscape and ecologically differentiated agriculture, rational nature management, preservation of soil fertility, and increase of productivity and sustainability of agroecosystems and agrolandscapes. The zoning covers 11 natural and economic (economic) regions of the country, i. e. Northern, Northwestern, Volga-Vyatka, Central, Central Chernozem, Volga Region, North Caucasian, Urals, West Siberian, East Siberian, Far Eastern. The set of documents for agro-landscape and ecological zoning of the NFL for each natural and economic region of Russia includes the following materials: map M 1:2 500 000, legend, database on lands, database on forage lands, database on negative processes, classification of forage lands, classification of deer pastures, strategy and promising ways of agricultural nature management. The NFL zoning was developed on the basis of the Map of Soil and Ecological Zoning of the Russian Federation M 1:2 500 000 elaborated at the MSU Faculty of Soil Science, which is used as a contour and information basis. Numerous cartographic and statistical data, and available literary and stock sources were used for the zoning, which was based on comparative geographical and agro-landscape-ecological methods. The agro-landscape and ecological zoning of the NFL provides zonal, regional, landscape and ecological adaptation and specialization for the development of agriculture, which allows using local natural resources with the greatest efficiency and minimizing the development of negative processes. The databases of the soil-ecological zoning map have been supplemented with new information and indicators characterizing the state of landscapes and their components, such as climate, relief, hydrological regime, soils, vegetation, NFL, the development of negative processes, ecological and economic conditions. This is a significant contribution to the inventory of lands and fodder lands, nature management and protection of agroecosystems and agricultural landscapes. In the future, it is advisable to combine materials and databases of the soil-ecological zoning of the Russian Federation and the agro-landscape-ecological zoning of NFL of different regions of the Russian Federation, created on a single basis, to assess and monitor the state of agrolandscapes, soils and forage lands, and take administrative decisions on nature management in agriculture.

   The paper describes the radionuclide composition of soils of the territories around the Khanka Lake and the bottom sediments of the lake and the Spasovka River flowing into the Khanka Lake. The questions of distribution and spatial variability of natural (238U, 232Th, 40K) and artificial (137Cs) radionuclides are discussed. Recently the economic activities in the lake basin have acquired particular importance, as the territory fell under the state program “Far Eastern hectare”. So the article emphasizes the importance of studying geo-ecological problems and pollution of the natural environment, as well as the need to take measures to address them. The paper provides a detailed characteristic of soil composition and properties in the vicinity of the Khanka Lake and identifies the conditions of the radial migration of radionuclides. Plains with excessive moisturing and water-retaining horizon are favorable for peat formation (peat horizon can reach 50 cm), which promotes radionuclide migration to deeper horizons. Clay sod-podzolic and podzolic-brown soils of clayey and loamy granulometric composition are formed on higher elevation territories, which on the contrary prevents the migration of radionuclides down the profile. The average content of organic components in soils was found to be 4 %. The mineralogical composition of some samples demonstrates the presence of potassium and sodium feldspars, accompanied by calcium langbeinite gypsum phases in the upper layers, indicating the use of salt sulfate mineral fertilizers. The proportion of organic matter in bottom sediments was 2–3 %. Background levels of radionuclides in the vicinity of the lake are 18–177 Bq/m² for 137Cs; 500–1800 Bq/m² for 238U и 323Th; 1300–11000 Bq/m² for 40K. There are no signs of the influence of radiation catastrophes on the study area. Intensive leaching of т40K from the lake catchment by river runoff was detected. The lowest content of 40K stocks was found in soils and river bottom sediments (up to 1–10 kBq/m²) and the highest in lake sediments (8–20 kBq/m²).

   The article examines the influence of “new rural residents” – immigrants from Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow, on a semi-peripheral district of the Non-Chernozem Region, as well as the transformation of its economy and society in connection with population replacement. Issues related to the territorial heterogeneity of the “new rural” influence are also considered. The research site, i.e. the Voskresensky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region is located 145 kilometers north of the city of Nizhny Novgorod. The presence of unique natural and symbolic resources, such as the Svetloyar Lake and the Vetluga River, attracts migrants from the large cities here.

   Research methods included in-depth and expert interviews, focus groups, participant observation and strategic sessions with local residents.

   The analysis of obtained data resulted in a typology of “new rural” residents, each type producing a different impact on the surrounding space. Key transformations of the lifestyle associated with the “new rural” are identified, namely new non-traditional types of agriculture, formation of “urban type” leisure, development of rural tourism by new-comers, complete replacement of the population in the most attractive settlements for city residents, as well as the emergence of associations of new-comers both territorial, and communities of “interests”. Key social conflicts were also identified among the new-comers and between them and indigenous residents, which limit the possibilities for development of the territory.

   The article presents the results of adaptation of the MIKE 21 Flow Model FM hydrodynamic module of the MIKE Zero software package to the Caspian Sea region using reanalysis data of wind and pressure fields, both for individual years and for a long-term period (2000–2020). The quality of modeling results was assessed using the statistical methods. The correlation coefficient between observed and simulated water levels for the period of 2000–2020 was 0,97 for Fort Shevchenko and 0,95 for Aktau. Model calibration allowed obtaining optimal values of model parameters, such as the Smagorinsky turbulent viscosity coefficient of 0,5 and the Manning roughness coefficient of 0,031. The evaluation for the multi-year period and the individual cases demonstrated that the modeling quality criteria were within acceptable limits. The results of the model verification based on the data for 2000–2020 and its testing for the storm surge on March 5–7, 2022, indicated that in the future the MIKE Zero software package could be used for operational sea level forecasting.

   The paper summarizes and systematizes available data on geological and geomorphologic structure of fluidogenic landforms on the Arctic shelves, in particular, pockmarks, pingo-like features, domes and craters. A small-scale map of the spatial distribution of fluidogenic landforms has been compiled. Geographical patterns of distribution of different types of fluidogenic landforms in the Arctic seas were identified, as well as main factors and conditions that determine their localization, morphology and modern activity. It is shown that fluidogenic landforms are complex formations with a multi-component source of fluids. Their distribution and accompanying gas manifestations in bottom sediments and water column are determined by complex combinations of factors. Among them the most significant are distribution and thickness of subaquatic permafrost and subpermafrost and the near-surface deep-sea gas hydrates. The amount of fluidogenic landforms at the bottom is influenced by specific features of oil and gas bearing structures and rocks with reservoir properties, as well as the influx of fresh land waters along the base of permafrost on the shelf, the degree of salinity of bottom sediments and the temperature of near-bottom water. In addition, fluidogenic morpholithogenesis is facilitated by the presence of structural channels for the influx of fluids to the surface in the form of faults and gas pipes in bottom sediments with the possible contribution of the jet degassing effect to the new formation of frozen rocks, accompanied by bottom heaving. Morphological differences in the structure of fluidogenic landforms are associated, in addition to the factors indicated above, with the history of the geological development of the shelf, in particular, with the time of submersion during the Holocene transgression and the impact of glaciation.

   Sensitivity of the seafloor temperature (TB) of the Arctic shelf seas to changes in surface air temperature (TA) for the period of 1850–2300 was studied, based on the results of five models from the CMIP6 ensemble (Coupled Models Intercomparison Project, phase 6) under a scenario with high anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The analysis is carried out in terms of ensemble statistics rather than individual models. Changes of both variables were calculated as a difference of mean values of the corresponding variable between pre-selected time intervals. These intervals characterized the pre-industrial state (1850–1900), modernity (2005–2015), the end of the 21^st century (2090–2100), and the end of the 23^st century (2290–2300). For the period of 2005–2015 the seas of the Siberian and North American shelves showed the sensitivity coefficients ∆TB/∆TA (∆ indicates changes relative to the pre-industrial period) less than 0,1 for average annual and winter values and up to 0.4 in summer. The results obtained for the summer period are in good agreement with available measurement data for the East Siberian shelf. The sensitivity coefficients for the Barents Sea during the period are higher, i. e. 0,17–0,44 for average annual values and from 0,4 to 0,6 for summer temperatures. Sensitivity coefficients for the 21^st–23^rd centuries show a significant increase, especially for the part of the Arctic shelf which would be free from ice. This is most pronounced for the summer period in the seas of the Siberian and North American shelves, where the regionally averaged values of sensitivity coefficients were up to 0,5 from pre-industrial values by the end of the 21^st century and increased to 0,8 by the end of the 23^rd century. For the last change in state, the sensitivity coefficient in summer in the Barents Sea sector was close to one. Analytical approximations of these dependencies are suggested, which allow calculations to be carried out using a model of thermophysics of the bottom shelf sediments.

   Suburban rural areas are characterized by a number of various relationships between rural and urban populations. A common feature of suburban areas in the post-Soviet period is the intensification of two types of spatially expressed relationships, namely labour migrations of rural population to the city centre and dacha recreational trips of city residents to the countryside. The article considers the regional specifics of the Chuvash Republic (a multi-ethnic region with an increased share of rural population and a rapid expansion of the regional centre agglomeration), and identifies factors of spatial heterogeneity of the post-Soviet transformation of the population of villages in the suburban Cheboksary district. The analysis of the evolution of settlements was preceded by a spatial analysis of the regional rural population dynamics by inter-census periods since 1979. Territorial differences in the intensity of both the emergence of gardening partnerships, and individual housing construction allow the identification of three spatial zones according to the nature of the interaction of rural areas with the city centre: 1) “immediately suburban”; 2) “transitional” and 3) “traditional rural”. The settlements of the “immediately suburban” zone are characterized by the highest intensity of relocation of the urban dwellers to permanent residence i.e. the classical suburbanization. The “transitional” zone experiences the largest migration influx of population from peripheral rural areas, and the “traditional rural” zone demonstrates the largest relative differences between the permanent and summer seasonal population numbers. Rural settlements of different types are characterized within each zone, such as local rural centres, “dormitory settlements” with farms and “dormitory settlements” without places of collective labour. The post-Soviet population dynamics of settlements located at different distances from the city was analyzed, and a conclusion was made about the primary role of transport accessibility of the city centre as a factor in the spatial differentiation of the distribution of the rural population. The availability of jobs in a settlement within the “immediately suburban” zone is not important for its sustainability, while on the contrary, the role of this factor increases in the “traditional rural” zone of the district. As a result, “dormitory settlements” without jobs are both the best in the region in terms of post-Soviet population dynamics (if they are less than 20 km from the city centre, they are transformed into cottage estates) and the worst (if they are more than 40 km away).

   The study deals with the analysis of wind waves in the Arctic seas of Russia along the Northern Sea Route. Data on wind wave parameters were obtained on the basis of the WAVEWATCH III spectral model, and data on wind and sea ice concentration for the period from 1979 to 2021 – from the NCEP/CFSR/CFSv2 reanalysis. Estimates of the distribution of the average, maximum and 95th percentile height of significant waves and the duration of ice-free period along two variants of the route along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) have been obtained with a space resolution of ~20 km. Trends of the parameters under consideration were also estimated for 43 years. The minimum duration of ice-free period is about 30 days on the northern route of the NSR in the East Siberian Sea. The minimum duration on the southern route is never less than 65 days. The average annual wave height during the ice-free period exceeds 2 m in the Barents Sea, 1,6 m in the Chukchi Sea and is no more than 1,2 m for the rest of the route. The maximum wave height and the 95th percentile of wave height are significantly lower on the southern route. The trends for the duration of the ice-free period are positive all along the NSR, and amount to 15–20 days per 10 years. The maximum trend values of 52 days per 10 years are observed north of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago. The minimum values of trends for the ice-free period are observed in the area of the Vilkitsky Strait and in the northeastern part of the Kara Sea. The maximum trend for wave height during the ice-free period is observed in the eastern part of the East Siberian Sea reaching 0,33 m in 10 years on the northern and 0,12 m in 10 years on the southern route of the NSR.

   The article discusses local features of the migration behavior of rural youth based on the results of an expedition survey of a mountainous rural district of Dagestan. Among the sources of information were official and school statistics and the results of interviews with the local population. There is a significant post-Soviet population growth in the Levashinsky district, among other things, due to the low emigration of the rural population. It was found that a significant part of young people remain in rural areas. The reasons are the presence of relatively profitable places of employment in the agricultural sector, trade and other economic activities. The most common variants of migration behavior of rural youth are: “Studied until grade 9, and stayed in the village to work”, and “Studied until grade 9/11, and left for work”, while the least common is: “Studied until grade 11, went to study and returned”. The migration behavior of rural youth in the district differs both from Russia as a whole and the region, and for particular settlements. The differences in migration attitudes of the surveyed rural communities are described for four villages of the Levashinsky district, i.e. Levashi, Kutish, Naskent and Ulluaya. It was found that each local settlement community of the Levashinsky district has its own specifics of migration situation, which, for example, is not directly related to the ethnic structure of the population.