The paper provides description of landscape structure for one of the most humid regions in Tuva located near the border of the Zapadny (West) and Vostochny (East) Sayan mountains. Humid spectrum of altitudinal zonality is characterized by dominance of tundra and taiga landscapes. Winter temperature inversions in the valley bottoms favour better conditions for the larch (Larix sibirica) forests in comparison with Siberian pine (Pinus sibirica) forests. Within the stepped slopes high drainage in convex positions provides dominance of Siberian pine-and-larch forests on the podbur soils. Poor drainage and soil water emergence in concave positions favour fir-tree (Abies sibirica) and spruce (Picea obovata), increase of herb layer height and density as well as humus accumulation in soils. Ratio of Siberian pine and larch communities near the tree line is controlled by degree of relief ruggedness. Landscape diversity in tundra altitudinal belt is determined by snow redistribution among concave and convex landforms as well as by cryogenic processes.

The article considers altitudinal landscape zonality of the natural park Ergaki, located in the West (Zapadny) Sayan. The analysis of the medium scale landscape map, created by the authors based on field studies data, reveals peculiarities of geosystems distribution according to altitude intervals. Data integrating allows to identify two altitudinal belts: the tundra-goltsy belt, rising above 1600 m, and the mountain taiga belt, presented by the combination of dark-coniferous and light forest. The taiga belt soil cover is presented by alfegumusovy section (podburs and sod podburs) and lithozems. Soil spatial differentiation at the subtype level is displayed in landscape profile. The utilization of entropy index, which represents changes in spatial and typological variety, allows to complement the identified peculiarities of geosystems distribution according to altitude.

According to the long-term observations in the Altai-Sayan region the article analyzes the interannual variability of the day amount with precipitation of 10 mm or more (R10 index), and the maximum 5-day precipitation totals (max5 index) for the period 1976-2012 years. These indexes affect the occurrence of rainfall floods. In this region R10 index varies considerably from year to year and the trends differ. Max5 index slightly decreases at all stations except Minusinsk, coefficient of variation fluctuates from 30 to 46 %. The high positive correlation (correlation coefficient 0.8) between the maximum discharges of rain floods and max5 index is shown. The analysis of interannual variability of the R10 and max5 indexes reveals that daily precipitation change asynchronously in the Altai-Sayan region

The glaciers of mountainous regions of the world have been reducing for more than 150 years, but the highest rate of reducing occurred in recent years. Analysis of materials of the Northern slope of Terskey-Alatoo mountain range (Tian Shan) from the Catalogue of glaciers of 1960s-1970s and satellite data of 2010 has shown that glaciers have lost more than 40 % of their area for the last 50 years.

The paper deals with a research of cyclic changing of the morphological pattern of landscape. By a cyclic changing we mean the process of nature unit changing which is characterized by repeating succession of changes. This process is not strictly periodical but one can find certain traces of periodicity in it. Our research revealed three classes of the cycling processes, which were found in nature as real cases. It is shown that all classes of the cyclic processes of morphological landscape patterns changing initiate the state of dynamic equilibrium.

For the first time a deterministic and stochastic model of runoff and non-point (diffuse) nutrient load on Lake Onega from the catchment area was developed. As a source of information about structure of catchment land surface the results of satellite images interpretation were used. Using the model the parameters of distribution of runoff and nutrient load on Lake Onega were calculated.

The article considers the influence of various factors on the development of agriculture in the Northern part of Iran. There has been made comparisons with the current state of agriculture in Russia. There have been identified the most important factors determining the agricultural specialization of the Northern and Southern macro-slopes of Elburs, as well as their coastal and valley subtypes. It is proved that the diversification of agriculture is determined by the differences in natural conditions (the trend is from the East to the West and from the North to the South) as well as different density of population (intensive agricultural development on territories with high population density and extensive type in the underpopulated areas). It turns out that a number of field crops (rice, saffron) and perennial plants (tea, barberry, olive) are cultivated in narrow local (in-provincial) areas of specialization. Tehran urban agglomeration and the South Caspian rural agglomeration influence the localization of particular agricultural productions. The current trends of agricultural development are identified on the basis of the latest agricultural census.

The challenges of post-industrial society in the geographical science are studied. It is shown that for the last decades geography is experiencing a certain crisis due the loss of connection between the physical and socio-economic geography, as well as between the individual geographical sciences, with the result that geography has lost its object of study. The necessity of strengthening of the geographical monism is on the way to a common unrequited geography, which should be the subject of environmental (geographic) studies. Geographic monism can manifest itself most clearly particularly in regional studies and country studies. There are fears of certain marginalization of regional studies and country studies in the system of geographical science. Unfortunately, a country geographical description is not considered as a major contribution to science. Country studies are pushed out of the geographical science. However, it is through country studies geographical sciences acquire humanistic depth, most vividly demonstrating its integration capabilities through tourism. Due to its natural-human position tourism aims to overcome the interdisciplinary barriers in geography. Apart from tourism mapping can play a similar role as well as geo-ecological studies, researches in the field of sustainable development, researches in the field of the territorial organization of the economy and society, the spatial self-organization of society. The proposed innovated geography, which has its own object of study, will be able to find its own niche in the hierarchy of sciences, which no one can claim.

This paper reviews the second edition of a biography of Alexander Middendorf (1815-1894) - a prominent naturalist and a scientific traveller, a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. The biography was produced in co-authorship by two scholars from Russia and Estonia. It sheds a new light not only on this important scientist (who is not a familiar figure for a non-specialist audience) but also on the whole community of the Baltic naturalists and travellers who played an important role in the exploration of nature and natural resources in the Russian empire in the nineteenth century.