From the editor-in-chief

An attempt for revealing the geographical aspects of participation of Russia in the international flow of capital with the help of comparative analyses is made in the article for which Russia is compared with other countries with analogue level of development. Specific features of export and import of capital to Russia is considered first of all as a consequence of its national economic model.

In the articles there are many opportunities are being disclosed of applying the cluster approach in developing the tourism in Perm region. Defi ning the competitive tourist advantages of the region, implementing the district divisions, selecting the appropriate protoclusters, revealing its spatial and sectoral structure and, finally, proposing the dominants, then the formation of the tourist clusters could begin.

This issue contains the results of the researching about the role of the mediators in the world’s diamond branch. There are shown the results of the formation of the mediation functions over the companies and, as a consequence of areas, the rough diamond and the polish diamond branches that have been involved in the functioning. The author propounds her own method of defi nition of quantitative estimates of the activity of mediators. There are indentified the geography of the mediation and shown the place of Russia in the mediation operations in the world’s diamond branch.

Representation of Russian reserved areas network for conservation of natural soil’s diversity was estimated on the base of cartographic information. This analysis has shown that reserve areas are irrationally allocated and not sufficient for comprising of Russian soil diversity by reserves and national parks. The 24 out of 76 cartographic divisions are not represented in reserves and national parks. Soils with the most significant area and specific to certain regions of this list are the following. In this list there are luvy-calcic and vorony-calcic chernozems are known as the most fertile soils of all world; existing in the only region on earth unique cambic and calcy-cambic cryosols thaptoumbric albeluvisols, that are very interesting from the scientific point of view. Taking into account the soil regulation role in biocenoses we suppose that the development of new natural reservations in designated areas will contribute to the optimization of reserved areas network of Russia. The compilation of Red Data Book of Russian Soils is shown to be promoted for conservation of soil diversity of the country.

The features of winter regime of valley water storage reservoirs depending on natural and anthropogenic factors are revealed. Legality and necessity of mutual study of water and ice regime is shown, as it makes possible to understand deeper the specific features of its manifestation in different parts of water storage reservoirs.

Problems of anthropogenic protoxide of Arctic region are discussed. Data on vulnerability of Arctic territory toward the acid pressure and specific features of the process development are presented. On example of Kola subarctic region detailed characteristics to factors and mechanisms of soil and water protoxide are given. Characteristics of ecological consequences of the process development are given.

Study of agrochronosequences of automorphic graw forest soils on the territory of Central Russian Upland (Belgorod and Tula oblast) and North-East of Central Plains of USA (Iowa) shows of trend direction of transformation of these soils into Chernozem. Increasing thickness of humus profiles during their plowing up is considered a general specific feature for three examined region.

During the global warming, the increase of frequency of heat waves, which courses the augmentation of mortality of sick people. Also the heat waves can be a result of restrictions of duration of outdoor works that is especially important for droughty areas of European Russia. The relationship between the thermal influence increase on the man and processes of desertification connected climate warming is obvious. The examination of the territory from the point of view of its extremeness and possible exhibiting there of catastrophic processes, was supplemented by investigation of the influence of temperature on the people. In this investigation effective temperature, the heat waves, and daily average amplitude of air temperature are used. The basic tendencies of the thermal load modification on the people in Russian south areas for the last decades were defi ned. The combined analysis of monthly average thermal load indexes on the people and seasonal average anomalies of NDVI shows, that the thermal load on the people increased in the years with the greatest decreasing of phytomass.

Retrospective analyses of zoogeographical studies on Valday highland for the period more than 100 years: from the beginning of 20 century up to the beginning of 21 century, including the working period of Valday permanent station of the Institute of Geography RAS in 1973–2010. Main trends and specific approaches toward the studies of the mammals are revealed. Results from the first fauna and zoogeographical studies up to the modern analyses of spatial distribution of the mammals, conducted with the use of modern methods are discussed.

Features of vegetation development of food-land and drained areas swaps with different types of peatbog deposits, specific features of swamps formation in spatial and temporal aspects of the territory of Near Volga Highland in Holocene are discussed in the article.

The history of early thematic maps – hydrographical ones, maps of metallurgical works, maps of forest and mineral resources – is briefly concerned. The reasons (historical prerequisites) for their emergence are defined. The way of development of these thematic maps in the course of 300 years (from the 17th to the 19th century) is traced.

Историко-географическая литература пополнилась новым фундаментальным исследованием, посвященным жизни и деятельности крупного отечественного ученого первой половины XX в., физико-географа, организатора науки Андрея Александровича Григорьева. Он был не только организатором и идейным вдохновителем создания крупнейшего географического академического учреждения нашей страны – Института географии, но и на протяжении нескольких десятилетий возглавлял его “прообраз”, а затем и сам институт.

Книга представляет собой крупное завершенное научное исследование проблемы экологии высокогорных ландшафтов на примере горных экосистем Северного Кавказа в Приэльбрусье.

Актуальность монографии безусловна. Морской транспорт и в целом морехозяйственная инфраструктура почти не освещаются в современной научной и научно-популярной литературе, не считая небольшого числа узкоспециализированных изданий.