Laboratory for Agroecological Monitoring, Ecosystem Modellling and Forecasting

• We have created RusFluxNet – a regional ecological monitoring system for flows of greenhouses gases in the setting of natural and anthropogenic changes in ecosystems of Central Russia.
• Our researchers have developed a forecast of impact of most probable scenarios of climate change on change of production potential of Russian agriculture in the 21st century.
• We have developed a framework for automated decision making support system for agroecological optimization of farming systems in the presence of global changes of climate and zonal agricultural landscapes of Central Russia.
• On the basis of the Laboratory the leading scientific school of Russia in agroecological monitoring has been created.
• The Laboratory has created the Ecological station of the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy to verify smart-technologies of ecologically safe land-use in the environment of representative ecosystems of the southern taiga zone of Russia.
• We have enhanced smart-technologies of agroecological monitoring that are adapted to the environment of representative ecosystems of the Central region of Russia.
• We have enhanced basic elements of the framework system for information and methodology support of the agroecological model of the production process of winter wheat in the environment of the Central region of Russia.

Implemented results of research: We have registered databases of the RusFluxNet regional network of economical monitoring in Moscow, Kursk, Tver. The design of soil exposure chamber for collecting greenhouse gases is widely used by students and postgraduates of the Department of Ecology of the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy and other research teams.

Education and career development:

• One doctoral dissertation, 14 candidate dissertations have been defended. From 30 to 50 bachelor degree theses and from 15 and 30 masters degree theses are defended annually.
• The Laboratory has conducted specialized seminars, sessions, work groups and conferences.
• We have published 17 coursebooks for bachelor and master degree programs and the postgraduate school in ecology and environmental management, agroecology and landscape design.
• On the basis of the Laboratory we have conducted case studies during Moscow Summer Ecological Schools MOSES that have been annually organized by the Department of Ecology of the Russian State Agrarian University—Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy since 2011.
• On the grounds of the Laboratory we have conducted additional training seminars in ecology, analysis of global changes and agroecological monitoring for tutor of leading agricultural universities of Russia and CIS, as well as for employees and regional representatives of major companies and agricultural holding.      

Organizational and structural changes:

• We have conducted qualitative modernization of field educational and experimental as well as laboratory analytical equipment for ecological and agroecological research.
• A new database has been created for data from field educational practice in ecology at the Central Forest Nature Reserve.

Collaborations:

• Tuscia University (Italy), Wageningen University (the Netherlands): joint research, student exchange, collaborative publications, implementation of collaborative projects within the 7FP LUC4C and the Erasmus+ «Training Capacities in Agriculture and Urban Rural Interactions and Sustainable development of megacitites – TAURUS» programs of the European Union
• University of Novi Sad (Serbia): joint research, scientific events and academic articles, training of postgraduates and academic staff members
• Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany): joint research and scientific events, implementation of a collaborative grant of the 7th Framework Program of the European Union No. 603542 LUC4C « Land-use change: assessing the net climate forcing, and options for climate change mitigation and adaptation»
• Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (SLovakia): creation of educational courses in ecology and assessment of impact on the environment for a wide range of users on the basis of the «Moodle» virtual educational environment, implementation of the collaborative grant of the European Union TEMPUS No. 530397 STREAM «Strengthening the Lifelong Learning in Environmental Sciences in Russia »
• University of Warsaw (Poland): creation of educational courses in ecology, implementation of a project within the Erasmus+ SUSDEV program of the European Union
• Xinjiang University (China PR): collaborative research and scientific publications
• Barilla G. e R. Fratelli Società per Azioni (Italy): collaboration in the «Screening quality of hard grain and field research in Russia» research program
• EuroChem Mineral and Chemical Company JSC: joint experimental research at the Ecological station of the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, conducting additional training seminars