Confirmed cases of coronavirus infection, at first approximation, corresponds to models of diffusion of innovations. We applied models to analyze spatial patterns in Russia. The article describes in detail statistical and other restrictions that reduce the possibility of predicting such phenomena and affect decision-making by the authorities. Keeping current trends according to our estimates, as of May 12, the dynamics of confirmed cases will begin to decline in the second half of May, and the end of the active phase of the epidemic, at least in Moscow, can be expected by the end of July. The dynamics of confirmed cases are a reduced and delayed reflection of real processes. Thus, the introduction of a self-isolation regime in Moscow and many other regions has affected the decrease in the number of new confirmed cases in two weeks. In accordance with the model, carriers infected abroad (innovators) were concentrated at the first stage in regions with large agglomerations, in coastal and border regions with a high intensity of internal and external relations. Unfortunately, the infection could not be contained; the stage of exponential growth across the country began. By mid-April 2020, cases of the disease were recorded in all Russian regions; several cases were in the most remote and least connected regions. Among the econometrically identified factors that determine the spread of the disease, one can note a high population density in cities, proximity to the largest metropolitan areas, an increased share of the most active and often traveling part of the population (innovators, migrants), intensive ties within the community and with other countries and regions. The spread rate is higher in regions with a high population exposure to diseases, which confirms the theses on the importance of the region’s health capital. Moreover, the combination of factors and their influence changed in accordance with the stages of diffusion, and at the initial stage, random factors prevailed. In conclusion, some directions for further research are given.

The article examines the intensity of net intraregional and interregional migration of the population of regional centers and the secondary (by population) cities in 74 regions of Russia between 2012–2016. The information basis of the study is formed by municipalities’ indicators database for the relevant years. The low saturation of the Russian territory with cities should logically lead to the migration attractiveness of the secondary cities in the intraregional migration process, as they should be the important focuses of social and economic life. That should be expressed by a positive net migration coefficient. In fact, this is the case in 42 regions. In other regions, the final balance of intraregional migration of the secondary cities is negative. At the same time, migration can be considered as an indicator of the conditional well-being of the secondary cities both in the context of having their own stable hinterland and from socio-economic perspective. Regional centers are attractive for intraregional migrants almost everywhere. Such consistency is the result of the concentration of financial and other flows and powers in the regions’ capital cities and, regardless of the socio-economic situation, a better quality of life there compared to other municipalities of the same regions. Indicators of interregional migration are more ambiguous: from the standpoint of the net-migration balance not only the second cities of the regions, but also many regional centers are unattractive for interregional migrants. Limited demographic resources and the presence of the two powerful centers of migration attraction at the country level (Moscow and St. Petersburg) do not leave room for interregional migration growth to the most regional centers.

Retrospective analysis of Russia’s external relations makes possible to draw some conclusions and make a forecast on the geography and dynamics of these relations in the post-Soviet period. In Russian merchandise foreign trade the share of developed economies radically increased after the drastic decrease of this trade with near abroad countries in the 1990s. Despite the growth of Asian developing economies’ share, primarily China, emerging market economies would not take premier place in Russian merchandise trade in future. As to Russian foreign trade in services, developed economies prevail and will dominate in it primarily due to high level of development of service sector in these countries. In international capital movement Russia orients and would orient towards offshores and transshipment countries due to both tax evasion and insufficient property rights protection in Russia and this orientation results in Russian capital turnover between Russia and these countries. CIS countries dominate in Russian labor migration’ geography, prospect of immigration from those countries to Russia would depend on economic growth in Russia.

The dynamics of the mangrove vegetation area in seven provinces of the Mekong Delta was estimated for the period from 1988 to 2018. For analysis, we used remote sensing data obtained by Landsat satellites (Landsat4 for 1988–1989 and Landsat-8 for 2017–2018). When processing satellite images, the results of the visible (0.53–0.60 μm), near-infrared (0.53–0.60 μm) and short-wave infrared (0.53–0.60 μm) spectral ranges were used. According to the 1988 survey, the mangroves’ area in seven provinces of the Mekong Delta was 111.01 thousand ha; by 2018, the mangroves’ area was reduced by a third–to 75.8 thousand ha. The extinction rate of mangroves over a thirty-year period was about 1% per year. Given the territorial redistribution of mangrove vegetation during this time, the undisturbed sections of the mangrove forest that remained in their former borders had an area of 36.4 thousand ha. The main reasons for the reduction of mangrove vegetation were the replacement of mangroves with aquaculture ponds and coastal abrasion.

The destruction by fire of the above-ground part of the vegetation cover leads to the formation of special microclimatic conditions for the subsequent restoration of the steppe ecosystems’ components. In this regard, the analysis of long-term data (2015–2018) of autonomous recorders of temperature and humidity of the surface of the burned areas, near-surface layers of soil and air in the Burtinskaya Steppe area of the Orenburg Nature Reserve (Orenburg oblast) was conducted. Information on the snow cover occurrence taken as a result of snow surveying and analysis of remote sensing data (images from MODIS and Landsat) was taken into account. It has been revealed that the absence of formed vegetation cover in winter periods leads to a reduction in the snow cover’s thickness and duration of its presence. It is the cause of a more significant freezing of the soil at the bur burned areas and the deterioration of spring wetting conditions. The warm snowless period of the year is characterized by clearly pronounced daily amplitudes of the temperatures course, with an increased thermal background under conditions of increased insolation, both on the surface of the burned areas and in the near-surface layer of the soil. The results indicate that the microclimatic regime of burned areas in the first years after the fire is significantly different from the background areas. According to the considered indicators’ long-term dynamics, the recovery processes can be considered completed after four complete vegetation periods after the fire.

The article presents results of radiocarbon dating which were done for bottom samples of peat deposits of 40 mires from different regions of the Central Russian Upland. The results showed that the most “ancient” mires were formed on the bottom of river valley depressions and slopes of watersheds, confined mainly to the western slopes of the upland. Such mires began to form in the preboreal and boreal periods of the Holocene (10.7–8.8 ka BP) in floodplains, on sandy terraces and slopes of watersheds. In the Atlantic period (8.85.7 ka BP) a significant part of the mires on different terrain elements and in different regions was formed. In the Subatlantic period (2.5 ka BP–present time) the mires in karst-suffusion depressions on watersheds was formed. The process of mire formation began in the western part of the upland, which is characterized by the distribution of coniferous and broad-leaved forests. Later the process was spread to the south and south-east of the Central Russian Upland, to deciduous forests zone and forest-steppe areas. For this reason, the “youngest” mires are formed on the watersheds in the forest-steppe zone.

Reconstructions of the dynamics of soil formation conditions’ climatic parameters in Quaternary in the south of the East European Plain are performed. Reconstructions are based on the study of paleosols as indicators of biosphere evolution on the scale of geological and historical time. The completeness and reliability of paleogeographic reconstructions is determined by the selected research objects, including the paleosols of archaeological sites (kurgans) of the steppe zone of the European part of Russia, as well as loess-soil sections of the Azov region, containing a series of Pleistocene paleosols (the last 800 thousand years). Three independent methods were used to perform quantitative reconstructions of paleoenvironment: 1) magnetic method (magnetic susceptibility of soils) linking the soil “magnetic record” with the previous environmental conditions of the steppes and allowing to obtain quantitative climate characteristics (precipitation, aridity) in the Pleistocene and Holocene; 2) geochemical method based on empirical dependencies of geochemical coefficients of weathering, linking changes in the bulk chemical composition of soil mass and its elements with climate factors, as well as a complex of mineralogical studies; 3) methods of isotopic geochemistry, the isotopic composition of carbon, allowing us to obtain information about the climate regime of the territory, reconstruct some parameters of climate systems. Based on the obtained set of magnetic, geochemical, and isotopic parameters of soils and rocks, the optimal indicators’ set for paleoclimatic reconstructions is proposed. The climatic conditions (paleotemperature, paleoprecipitation, and aridity) of the natural environment of the Eurasian steppes in the Holocene and Pleistocene were modeled.

“Urban area” is considered by the authors from the perspective of environmental (anthropogenic) geomorphology as a complex multi-level natural and anthropogenic system and as a land resource for the city development. Studies of the geological and geomorphological environment of the urban territory are aimed at identifying the relationships and dependencies of the urban environment state on these conditions and at developing measures for natural resource use management–choosing the option of land resources use without disrupting the normal functioning of the natural-anthropogenic system. The main object of the study is the territory of Moscow. The relief and the whole complex of relief-forming processes on the city territory determined the severe engineering and geological conditions that significantly affected the architectural and planning decisions, the location of industrial, residential and recreational areas. At the same time, urban development has significantly changed the natural relief of the area, that is everywhere observed within the city and in the adjacent territories. Many small elements and forms of natural relief have been destroyed. At the same time, the artificial relief forms (dams, embankments, ditches, etc.) have been created. A significant change in the structure of natural catchments’ surface and underground runoff is noted. A network of artificial overground (canals, ponds, drainage ditches) and underground (collectors, storm sewerage, drainage network) watercourses and water bodies have been created. In this case, the laws of proportionality of elements and relief forms are violated, the directionality and intensity of the relief-forming processes are substantially changed, that in some cases led and leads to threshold (critical) situations. The analysis of natural and natural-technogenic processes within Moscow area revealed the negative consequences–the degree of geomorphological hazard, its area distribution and changes occurring during in urbanization process. The problems of urban areas land resources management are considered. The authors propose a logical model for managing land (territorial) resources to maintain a favorable urban environment, including monitoring of geological and geomorphological processes, a structure for engineering and geological protection, risk assessment and ensuring public safety.

The paper discusses the status and prospects of the development of ocean and coastal zone natural resource use in Russia. Based on the works of the Murmansk Marine Biological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and other publications, the paper analyzes the main stages of the development of ocean and coastal zone natural resource use in the Arctic. The study highlights the importance of the large marine ecosystems paradigm as a determining stage in the functional analysis and monitoring of the development of the Arctic. It is shown that ocean and coastal zone natural resource use is significantly different from a similar process on land. These differences are caused by the fact that marine geographic spaces are characterized by subsystems with vague boundaries; so, it is exceedingly difficult to delineate marine geosystems. The Barents Sea as a marine geosystem with a specific set of geo- and ecosystem properties and functions makes it necessary to resolve a number of questions. The paper concludes that further development of ocean and coastal zone natural resource use in the Arctic is impossible without solving two issues that are the cornerstones of modern marine geography as an integrated discipline. These two issues are cumulative assessments of the ecological impact on marine ecosystems and economic assessment of the value of ecosystem products and services.

In the conditions of present-day climate changes forest-steppe landscapes are the effective model for studying boundary shifts between forest and steppe communities as well as degree of soil-phytocoenosis equilibrium under the control of relief. The paper focuses on the existence possibility of several equal-probability landscape states on the example of low-mountain forest-steppe in the State Nature Reserve “Shaitan-Tau” (the Sothern Urals, Orenburg oblast). We tested the hypothesis of discrepancies between the mobile attributes of forest and steppe phytocoenoses and the inert soil attributes. Discriminant models were built to describe how the occurrence of forest and steppe communities depend on their position in various types of landscape patterns. Geocircular patterns were described using morphometrical relief attributes characterizing flow dispersion and accumulation, geostationary patterns–using relief dissection attributes associated with morphology and genesis of landforms and rocks, and biocirculation ones–using attributes of topography-driven redistribution of solar radiation. We established soil-phytocoenotic attributes that indicate expansion or retreat of forest communities in the plots with high probability of correspondence to the ecological niche of forests. Nowadays, steppes can expand to the forest habitats on plateaus under the influence of summer warming and the higher frequency of fires, though features of forest soils can be preserved. At the north-facing slopes and in concave sites forests expand to steppe habitats in some locations. Shrubs have the least specific geomorphic niche and occur in typically forest and steppe habitats with approximately equal probabilities. They are treated as secondary communities increasing their occurrence at the expense of steppes or due to forest fires.

The article considers the contribution of Felix Ivanovich Kozlovsky (1928–2000) to the theory of anthropogenic soil evolution, agropedogenesis and mechanisms of soil cover structuring. He proposed the concept of structural and functional models of migration flows in landscapes. F. I. Kozlovsky is a major Soviet and Russian soil scientist and specialist in the field of landscape geochemistry. He worked at the experimental land reclamation station in Ubinskoye (1954–1957), in V.V. Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute (1957–1978) and the Institute of Geography RAS (1978–2000) in Moscow. It is stressed that Kozlovsky was the first to propose the concept of a soil individual and formulate the principles of stationary studies of soil migration processes. He also developed their structural and functional mathematical model. Kozlovsky revealed autooscillation of subaerial salt accumulation in steppe soils, agrogenic alkalization of soils, increased soils’ compaction when the particles are autogenously grinded in the lower horizons while expanding and swelling. It is reported that he developed the theory of anthropogenic evolution of the soils, the theory on agropedogenesis and the structure of soil cover. He left a significant scientific legacy that combined mathematical logic and rationality, philosophical depth and breadth; his scientific conclusions were often paradoxically simple and unexpected. They were ahead of time and are still in demand today.

The historical trajectory of the human geography genesis in Uzbekistan as a part of the common scientific and educational space of the USSR is analyzed. Main factors, peculiarities and priorities of its development in the post-Soviet period are elucidated. The human geography in Uzbekistan was originated in 1920s, but it has formed and taken the relevant shape only in the early 1960s, in line with tradition of the complex regional field research. Two main scientific directions emerged and evolved within it: first, geography of agriculture, and, second, population and urban geography. The inventory of the human geography divisions in universities of Uzbekistan is made; main achievements of the scientific schools (in the field of agricultural geography headed by Z.M. Akramov, and in the field of population and urban geography headed by A.S. Saliev) are represented. The contemporary priorities of human geography in Uzbekistan are determined by relevant social, demographic, economic, natural and environmental challenges both on national and regional scales. The particular attention is given to scientific activities of the Geographical Society of Uzbekistan and its international scientific collaboration, including the cooperation with Russian Geographical Society and Association of Russian Human Geographers.

The program for the virgin and fallow lands’ development adopted in the USSR in 1954 is the largest megaproject of the 20th century, with unprecedented ecological and socio-economic consequences. Large areas of steppe landscapes of Russia and Kazakhstan (more than 43 mln ha) have been ploughed. “Power” methods of influencing natural steppe landscapes with the aim of agricultural production intensifying led to their degradation and destruction. The consequences of these policy are well known: processes of erosion, dust storms, soil depletion, degraded land abandonment, and subsequently steppes’ autoreduction in the vast expanses of the steppe zone have developed. The anthropogenic impacts generated by the irresponsible and insufficiently scientifically grounded land resources use led to the loss of valuable land areas that are of major, not only economic, but also biospheric and environmental importance. Ecological and socio-economic changes and consequences still affect the steppe landscapes’ structure and functioning and the entire economic activity of regions that have undergone a “total” plowing. The study of these problems is of great relevance, despite many years have passed. Establishing the effectiveness of the project raises many questions. It is necessary to rethink the system of interaction “steppe–society”. It demands of the formation of new approaches to the use and protection of steppe landscapes. The main scientific directions of the strategy for the steppe landscapes’ conservation, restoration, and management were determined: land reform improvement including formation of efficient landowners and the state fund of low-productive lands; cultural rehabilitation of degraded landscapes (creation of cultural landscapes); identifying steppe land use types according to various natural, ecological and socio-economic characteristics, taking into account environmental restrictions and prohibitions; legislative establishment of the type of steppe natural resource use; transition to nature-like technologies in the agricultural sector; declaration at the state and international levels steppes’ special role on carbon sequestration; wider plant resources use in medicine and industrial production.

Book review: Kolomyts E.G. Pacific Megaecotone of Northern Eurasia. Evolutionary Model of the Continental Biosphere. M.: Geos, 2017. 496 p.