Аннотация:Siberia has experienced significant transformations over the past
70 years and particularly since the introduction of the market economy 25 years
ago. This has caused implications for landscape processes and for the status of
terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We review the role of science and technology in
monitoring, understanding and developing Siberian landscapes. Data sources were
international literature and own expeditions and studies. Russia has great traditionsin landscape research disciplines such as geography, soil science, hydrology and
agronomy. Substantial progress has been achieved in all these fields over the past
25 years. We found particular progress in landscape research based on international
projects in the fields of Arctic research, climate change and carbon cycle. Other
fields such as agricultural research remained traditional and underdeveloped. In the
1990s there was a great shift of knowledge and technology in the better-interlinked
English-speaking European scientific community. In Russia, at the same time, the
introduction of the market economy accelerated environmental problems, caused a
greater discrepancy between the livelihoods of urban and rural populations, created
new knowledge gaps and enlarged the gap between theory and practice in landscape
research. The decay of infrastructure in rural landscapes produced an inhospitable
environment for science and technology. In view of this, landscape research in
Siberia and in the Far East remained very traditional. Other deficits were based on a
lack of communication with the international community due to language barriers.
Cooperation between leading Russian and European scientists is still poorly
developed and funded.The Russian academic scientific system was highly organized
until 2013. However, efficiency was low and scientific outputs did not meet
the requirements of decision-makers. The ongoing reform of the academic system
entails the risk that precisely the opposite to the desired effects of higher efficiency
could come true, such as accelerated brain drain and loss of objectivity. We conclude
that Trans-Eurasian research cooperation is becoming very important in the
current critical transition phase. Modern analytical methods, sophisticated technologies,
models and evaluation schemes for landscape research and environmentally
friendly soil management technologies are available in the English-speaking
community. Substantial progress in monitoring, understanding and controlling
landscape processes in the framework of international research projects could be
achieved by applying new research methods in Siberia. We present some of them in
the following chapters of this book.