LANDSCAPE AND ECOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF BIODIVERSITY ON BAIKAL SIBERIA SPECIALLY PROTECTED NATURAL AREAS

A comprehensive landscape and ecological analysis of 45 protected areas in Baikal Siberia reveals significant gaps in biodiversity conservation, particularly in forest-steppe and steppe regions. While 68.8% of these areas are concentrated in the Russian part of the Baikal Lake basin, with a mix of Nature Reserves (11.1%), National Parks (6.7%), and Wildlife Reserves (51.1%), only 8.9% are located in Mongolia. The study highlights an uneven distribution of protected territories, with critical ecosystems like mountain-taiga and forest-steppe landscapes underrepresented outside high-altitude belts around Baikal Lake. It underscores the urgent need to expand the network of protected areas to include ecotonic zones and heterogeneous landscapes, as proposed for the 'Selenginskaya Dauria' Steppe Reserve. This approach is essential for preserving the ecological diversity of Baikal Siberia, aligning with federal development plans.

ERDENI N. YELAYEV. (2026). LANDSCAPE AND ECOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF BIODIVERSITY ON BAIKAL SIBERIA SPECIALLY PROTECTED NATURAL AREAS. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.18581124