The history of permafrost landscape map compilation is related to the study of ecological problems with permafrost. Permafrost-landscape studies are now widely used in geocryological mapping. Permafrost-landscape classifications and mapping are necessary for studying the trends in development of the natural environment in northern and high-altitude permafrost regions. The cryogenic factor in the permafrost zone plays a leading role in the differentiation of landscapes, so it must be considered during classification construction. In this study, a map’s special content was developed using publications about Yakutian nature, archive sources from academic institutes, the interpretation of satellite images, and special field studies. Overlays of 20 types of terrain, identified by geological and geomorphological features, and 36 types of plant groupings, allowed the systematization of permafrost temperature and active layer thickness in 145 landscape units with relatively homogeneous permafrost-landscape conditions in the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. This map serves as a basis for applied thematic maps related to the assessment and forecast of permafrost changes during climate warming and anthropogenic impacts.

This article presents the results of long-term research and monitoring of the soil cover exposed to the impact of the mining and processing plant developing diamond deposits in the northeast of Siberia. The soil collection includes 436 samples of different types of Cryosols. Soil pH; soil organic carbon (SOC); granulometric composition; and mobile forms of Pb, Ni, Mn, Cd, Co, Cr, Zn, Cu, and As were identified in the samples. Multivariate statistics of the correlation matrix, clustering analysis (CA), and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to determine the sources of heavy metals. The intensity of the accumulation of chemical elements in the soil was assessed using calculated concentration coefficients (K_c) and the index of total contamination of the soil cover (Z_c). In the study area, Cryosols are characterized by biogenic accumulation of Ni, Mn, and Cd in the upper soil layer and Cr, Ni, Co, Mn, and Cu in the suprapermafrost horizon. Correlation matrix, CA, and PCA revealed three distinct sources that could be considered for the investigated potentially toxic elements (PTEs): anthropogenic, lithogenic, and the source which comes from a mixed contribution of anthropogenic and lithogenic factors. The most anthropogenic contribution in the heavy metals in the study area appears in Zn, Cd, As, and Pb. The assessment interpreted that origin of Mn in the area is most likely to be a natural source. The content of Co, Cr, and Ni are controlled by both lithogenic control and anthropogenic sources. Active accumulation of mobile forms of Mn, Zn, and Ni with anomalously high concentration coefficients can be traced in the soils in the impact zone of mining operations. Anthropogenic soil contamination is spread over an area of 260 km².

Extraction of diamonds from primary deposits in Siberia is associated with the development of kimberlite pipes in challenging environmental conditions, accompanied by a complex impact on the environment. The article presents the results of monitoring the soil cover of the Nakyn kimberlite field in the Yakutia diamond province, which is affected by the facilities of the Nyurba Mining and Processing Division. Development of primary diamond deposits has a large-scale impact on the subsoil, topography, and soil cover: creation of the world's largest quarries, formation of dumps more than 100 m high, arrangement of extensive tailings, formation of solid and liquid industrial wastes of various chemical composition. The research is aimed at studying the spatial and temporal patterns of the technogenic impact on the soil cover, identifying the nature and level of transformation of the microelement composition of soils based on the analysis of the intra-profile and lateral distribution of mobile forms of trace elements. The study targets in 2007-2018 were zonal types of permafrost soils of northern taiga landscapes, cryozems, occupying 84 % of the total study area, which are characterized by biogenic accumulation of mobile forms of Ni, Mn, and Cd in the upper AO, Acr horizons, and Cr, Ni, Co, Mn, Cu in the suprapermafrost CR horizon. We found out that the contamination of the soil cover of the industrial site at the Nyurba Mining and Processing Division is of a multielement nature with local highly to very highly contaminated areas. Over a ten-year observation period, areas of stable soil contamination are formed, where the main pollutants are mobile forms of Mn, Zn, Ni. We suggest that against the background of a natural geochemical anomaly associated with trap and kimberlite magmatism, technogenic anomalies are formed in the surface horizons of soils. They are spatially linked to technogenically transformed landscapes. One of the sources of pollutants is the dispersion of the solid phase of dust emissions in the direction of the prevailing winds, which leads to the formation of soils with abnormally high contents of mobile forms of Mn, Zn, Ni.

There are numerous studies on the effect of grazing on the physical and chemical parameters of soils. However, the impact of grazing on the temperature regime of the alas soils in Central Yakutia is still poorly understood. This paper presents the results of long-term observations of the state of the soil-and-plant cover of thermokarst basins—i.e., alases—located in the Lena-Amga interfluve and actively used as pastureland. Observations of the process of the self-restoration of grass cover and changes in the temperature regime of alas soils were carried out on different variants (with isolation from grazing and without isolation). A significant increase in the average height of the grass stand and its foliage projective cover was observed with a gradual reduction in the number of species when isolated from grazing. Changes in the structure of the alas vegetation cover influence the microclimate of the soil. As a result of livestock grazing, the mean annual soil temperature rises and the amount and depth of the penetration of active temperatures increase. The most severe changes in the temperature regime occur in years with an abnormally high cover of snow. The soil warming observed during grazing undoubtedly has a favorable effect on soil organisms. However, in conditions of climate warming, grazing, especially overgrazing, can disrupt the permafrost regime and thereby provoke or intensify thermokarst phenomena.

This article addresses the problem of pollution in the Lena River caused by gold mining enterprises operating in its upper regions. It highlights the ongoing industrial exploitation of ore and placer gold deposits in five regions within the Siberian and Far Eastern federal districts. The most large-scale development is carried out in the Irkutsk region, Buryatia, and Yakutia. Further intensification of gold mining activities will result in significant negative impacts on the ecosystems of the upper reaches of the Lena River basin. In this context, the potential applications of Sentinel-2 satellite data for assessing the ecological conditions of river systems in Yakutia are being explored. The most common water indices, NDTI, AMWI, and Harma, were used in this study. The indices were applied to analyze the area of the Vitim River mouth, which contains the highest concentration of active gold mining license areas in the basin. Test sites were allocated on the Vitim and Lena rivers, as well as on Lake Okhninskoye for control purposes. Water indices were analyzed using the ArcGIS software package, and statistical data processing was conducted in the MS Excel program. It is revealed that the best results for estimating surface water turbidity in the area of the Vitim River mouth are obtained using the AMWI index. Spatial regularities are demonstrated, and the seasonal dynamics of turbidity in the studied water bodies are analyzed. The proposed methodology using the AMWI index can be applied for operational assessment of the state of water bodies in Yakutia under conditions of active anthropogenic pollution. This can facilitate timely implementation of preventive environmental protection measures.