Russian scientists have identified an ecological disaster on Elbrus that went unnoticed for decades

Large-scale hidden ecological degradation of the Elbrus volcano, the highest mountain peak in Europe, has been identified by Russian scientists from RUDN, St. Petersburg State University and other scientific organizations. The results of the study were published in the journal Springer Socio-Ecological Practice Research DOI .

As reported to MK by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, during an international expedition, researchers discovered that over the past 200 years, the landscape of the northern slopes of Elbrus has changed dramatically due to anthropogenic impact. They came to the conclusion that Elbrus has suffered from the so-called shifting baseline syndrome.

“The ‘baseline shift’ syndrome is a phenomenon in which each new generation perceives the current state of nature as the norm, not noticing the gradual degradation,” explains Yaroslav Lebedev, senior lecturer at the Department of Rational Nature Management at the RUDN Institute of Ecology.

We compared modern data with the records of the first expedition to Elbrus in 1829 under the leadership of Georgy Arsenyevich Emmanuel and found that the once rich meadows with tall grass and woody vegetation turned into a "lawn" with sparse bushes and signs of desertification. Soil erosion and destruction of river banks increased, and biodiversity sharply decreased."

The scientists conducted field observations, assessing the condition of vegetation, soils, and water bodies (in hard-to-reach places, using drones and a stratospheric probe). They then compared historical data with 19th-century reports, interviewed tourists, and analyzed publications to identify public perceptions of environmental issues.

The expedition helped to clarify the main causes of degradation of the ecosystems of the northern slope of Elbrus. Firstly, it is overgrazing — uncontrolled grazing of domestic animals, which leads to the loss of plant communities and subsequent soil erosion. Secondly, it is deforestation, which deprives the ecosystem of stability and leads to its transformation. Thirdly, it is excessive anthropogenic pressure — mass tourism and active development of tourist infrastructure. Fourthly, it is climate change, expressed in the melting of glaciers, which provokes soil erosion. 35 percent of the surveyed territory of 3,500 hectares were destroyed, meadows were turned into "lawns" (that is, the height of grassy vegetation decreased from 1-2 meters to 10-30 centimeters), shrubs disappeared.

"For example, if in the 19th century deer, bears and roe deer lived on the slopes of Elbrus, today only a few species of birds and small mammals, such as mountain ground squirrels, which have adapted to living next to humans, are found here," says the expedition leader, senior researcher at the Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Anton Yurmanov. Of the vulnerable species, scientists have recorded only one - the alpine lizard.

Scientists believe that one of the serious problems is the lack of effective environmental protection measures aimed at restoring ecosystems or limiting grazing.

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