Kostroma Trans-Volga Area: Nature and Humans. An Environmental and social review

Author’s team. Kostroma Trans-Volga Area: Nature and Humans. An Environmental and social review. – Moscow, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Rasc, 2001. – 191 pages.

The Kostroma Region, 600 km North-East of Moscow, is the transition zone between mixed forests and the taiga. The ecosystems in this South European taiga subzone offer a unique value and scenic beauty, where human activities, mainly involving intense forest harvesting, have severely impacted the landscape during the last one hundred years.

This book provides a comprehensive description of the environment in this part of the Volga river basin. The different components of the physical environment – its geological base, geomorphology, climate, water bodies, soils, wildlife, resources and landscapes – are thoroughly covered. This information is supplemented by a socio-economic analysis of the area, i.e. human activities and their impact on the environment.

This publication is an essential reading for students in environmental sciences, human ecology and related disciplines. It is an invaluable source of information for students, teachers, policy makers, environmental managers and other professionals working in boreal forests.