The article examines the influence of various natural-geographical and historical-demographic factors on rural population dynamics of Krasnoyarsk region. Considering the area size, the variety of climatic and socio-economic conditions, the nature of demographic processes, this region could serve as a model territory for studying the transformation processes of rural settlement system in Russia. The paper highlights the main historical stages of settling and formation of regional settlement system since 17th century. For modern period, from 1989 to 2020 years, rural population dynamics is investigated in depth at different scales: region – subregion – district – settlement. Original author’s population maps are attached. Among the main factors that determine rural population dynamics and rural settlements stability, the authors select four key indicators for detailed analysis: 1) distance from rural settlement to district center or sub-regional center; 2) population size of settlement; 3) age of settlement (date of foundation); 4) type of landscape where the settlement is located. The results confirm the influence of all these factors on the rate of rural settlements depopulation; however, the importance of these factors varies in certain subregions and districts. The distance factor is most significant in the Central subregion. The population size of settlement is a significant factor in the East, but loses its importance in the Central, South and North subregions. Analysis of the age of settlement and the type of landscape made it possible to highlight the most stable rural settlements – those that were founded in the 18th century in forest-steppe landscapes.

Complementary tools for managing the territory – geoinformation monitoring (GIM) and geoinformation systems (GIS) – in unity provide the collection, storage, processing, presentation and visualization of geographical data. GIS is a part of the information block of the organizational system of territorial management, and the GIM solves the problems of linking the observed situation with the GIS, fills the invariant GIS database for solve numerous problems. Monitoring of old and new sources, spatially distributed data of different origins occupies a special place in GIM. The GIM-GIS technology was developed and implemented on the example of municipal districts of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia when solving various problems using space monitoring data and corrective ground-based surveys. In a system analysis using GIM-GIS technology, regions are considered as an updated geo-informational object of territorial planning and management in a specific landscape environment to ensure safety and efficiency of life. For processing local information, triad schemes of formal data synthesis based on group operations are proposed. The collection, preparation and cartographic visualization of data in the GIM-GIS on infection of the local population with tick-borne encephalitis in the Baikal region have been organized.

The impact of excessive atmospheric moisture on crop production sustainability under forthcoming climate change in the Non-chernozem region of the European Russia is evaluated. Focus is placed on field crops, as they have important food value and are the forage base for dairy farming. Their vulnerability to over-wetting is characterized by recurrence of years with the G.T. Selyaninov Hydrothermal Coefficient (HTC) values greater than 1.8, which correspond to external conditions for the lodging occurrence. Based on the results obtained from the model runs of the transient GCMs with complete description of the physical mechanisms and relationships inside the model blocks, the change in air temperatures, precipitation totals and the HTC values for slice 2021–2030 is assessed. It is shown that when the scenario of controlled greenhouse gas emission into the atmosphere is implemented (that corresponds with UN initiatives to ensure sustainable development until 2030), the northern part of the Non-chernozem region of the European Russia is revealed as most vulnerable to crop over-wetting effects. In the middle part of this zone, the effects of severe crop over-wetting may occur as well. In this regard, the set of adaptation measures and strategies is discussed aimed at mitigating the adverse impact of climate change.

The purpose of the work is to summarize the currently available information concerning the mechanisms of microplastics transport and accumulation in the surface waters and to compare it with the continental seas in this regard. The article summarizes the data published in the foreign and Russian literature. The comparative analysis of the original materials received by the authors in the process of research in the Baltic Sea and the Onego Lake using identical methods of microplastics determination is presented, the results are compared. The main emphasis is on the ways and volumes of microplastics entering the continental seas and the World Ocean. A statistically higher amount of microplastics was found in the bottom sediments of the Onego Lake. Possible reasons for this difference were discussed. Fibers are the most common form of microplastics in the Baltic Sea and the Onego Lake. In the bottom sediments, fibers accumulate mainly in sedimentation zones with low hydrodynamic activity (in the Baltic Sea – on depths more than 80 m, in open part of the Onego Lake – on depths more than 40 m, in large bays – on 20 m). There is a connection between the fiber content and the parameters of the bottom sediments. The thermohaline structure affects the vertical distribution of microplastics in the water column, slowing its deposition. Lakes accumulate mainly hydrodynamically heavy particles: polymers with a high specific density, fragments, granules, films. The rate of fibers in the total pool of microplastics in lake sediments is less than in the sea. Lakes act as filters, purifying the surface waters from microplastics as they enter the continental seas and the World Ocean, and becoming their primary storage water bodies.