A survey of lichen diversity in the eastern Inner Mongolia (Northeast China) has revealed a new species of the genus Circinaria described herein based on morphological and molecular evidence. The new species, Circinaria yiae, is characterized by its saxicolous, crustose, rimose to areolate, greyish olive-brown thallus surrounded by a white-grey prothallus. Peripheral lobes of thalli are enlarged and elongated, giving it a lobate appearance. Central areoles are moderately to strongly convex, producing pseudocyphellae and forming simple or branched suberect to prostrate projections. Thallus lacks secondary lichen metabolites. Phylogenetic analysis including other Circinaria species showed that the new taxon is phylogenetically close to Aspicilia (Circinaria) wyomingensis that differs from the newly described species by growing on soil and plant detritus, forming rhizomorphs, and containing aspicilin. Aspicilia desertorum var. aspera f. hispidoides Mereschk. is moved to Circinaria and raised to the species rank, C. hispidoides.

Soil eukaryotes, including fungi, protists, plants, and animals, are central to biosphere functioning and resilience. The Global Standardised Soil Eukaryome Dataset (GloSED) is the first dataset encompassing the entire spectrum of soil eukaryotes, covering 4,063 sampling sites in 121 countries on all continents, revealing nearly one million operational taxonomic units. All samples were collected and analysed using a standardised protocol minimizing technical biases. Long-read sequencing of full-length ITS and 18S-V9 regions provide broad taxonomic coverage and high-resolution identification supported by specialist curation of "dark taxa". A rigorous bioinformatic processing ensures against homopolymer errors, PCR-mediated chimeras, and index switching providing high data quality. The dataset is supported by raw sequences and an open-source containerised workflow for reproducible analyses. The samples are accompanied by land-cover description and directly measured soil pH, δ13C, δ15N, as well as P, K, Ca, Mg, and total C and N contents. GloSED is the first database that enables ecological and biogeographic studies of entire soil eukaryotic communities from local to global scales.

As a result of a revision of the lichen genus Thelotrema in the Sakhalin Region (Russian Far East), two species are reported as new to the region. Thelotrema diplotrema is recorded for the first time in Russia, and T. suecicum is reported for the first time in Asia. T. diplotrema previously known only from evergreen forests in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia, and Asia, was found in an old-growth forest with bamboo understory on the bark of deciduous trees on Kunashir Island. This finding represents the northernmost locality of the species in the temperate zone. T. suecicum, a widespread lichen of rainforests and wet montane forests in the cool-temperate zones of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres (Europe, North and South America, Australia, and New Zealand), was collected in a warm, humid riparian forest on the bark of Alnus hirsuta in southern Sakhalin Island and in an oak forest on the bark of Quercus crispula on Iturup Island. Following this revision, three species of Thelotrema are confirmed for the Sakhalin Region, including the previously known T. lepadinum. Detailed morphological, anatomical, and ecological descriptions are provided, along with illustrations, diagnostic features of similar species, and an identification key for the species of Thelotrema and morphologically related taxa occurring in the region.

Growing evidence has shown that, apart from local environmental factors, changes in landscape-level factors by accelerated land-use change can also shape soil pathogenic fungal diversity. However, the global representativeness of such patterns remains unclear. Here, we assess how pathogenic fungal diversity in 511 soil samples worldwide responds to landscape factors, including landscape complexity index based on eight landscape metrics and quantity of different land cover types across six spatial scales (i.e., surrounding landscape, 250 m to 10,000 m radii from the sampling coordinate). We find that while soil variables explain over half of the variance, pathogenic fungal alpha diversity increases with landscape complexity and crop cover proportion, but decreases with grass and tree cover proportion, together explaining 23.4% of the total variance. Landscape factors have weaker impacts on beta diversity, explaining 13.0% of the variance. Across spatial scales, grassland ecosystems exhibit increasingly stronger responses to landscape variables compared to forest ecosystems. Landscape factors have a higher relative contribution to root-associated fungi than leaf/fruit/seed-associated fungi. Our results emphasize the importance of local factors and the complementary role of landscape patterns in shaping global soil pathogenic fungal distributions, highlighting scale-dependent effects across ecosystems and fungal functional groups.

Corrected anatomical and morphological data on Aspicilia grossheimii Oxner, a little-known crustose lichen species described from the Absheron Peninsula (Azerbaijan) are presented. The species has areolate, 1–5 mm thick, yellowish-white, grayish to greenish thallus, large apothecia up to 4 mm diam., surrounded by a whitish thalline margin, large spheroid spores, 20–34 µm diam., 1–4 per ascus, branching, moniliform paraphyses, and 8–14 µm long pycnoconidia, that characterize it as a representative of the genus Circinaria. According to the phylogenetic tree assembled using nuITS, nuLSU and mtSSU loci, Aspicilia grossheimii does not have close relationships with any known taxon within Circinaria. The species is known from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia (Republic of Daghestan and Astrakhan Region), and Romania (Dobrogea). A new combination, Circinaria grossheimii (Oxner) Paukov, Alverdiyeva et Ismailov, is proposed. Aspicilia calcarea var. dobrogensis Vězda is synonymized with Circinaria grossheimii.

Nine new records of lichens from Sakhalin and Kurils are presented including Caloplaca monacensis – new to the Russian Far East, Phaeophyscia constipata and Rostania ceranisca – new to the south of the Russian Far East, Massalongia cornosa and Mycoblastus alpinus – new to the Sakhalin Region, Heterodermia diademata – new to Kuriles, Bilimbia tetramera, Fissurina inabensis and Coenogonium pineti – new to Kunashir Island. For noteworthy species, information on distribution, ecology, and diagnostic traits of similar species is provided. Most of all reported species, namely Bilimbia tetramera, Caloplaca monacensis, Massalongia cornosa, Mycoblastus alpinus, Phaeophyscia constipata and Rostania ceranisca, are considered to be rare in the region.

This study reports new geographical occurrences for seven species of vascular plants (Cyperus michelianus, Gymnocarpium continentale, Rhynchospora alba, Scheuchzeria palustris, Schoenoplectiella supina, Veronica × schmakovii, and V. × sessiliflora), eight species of lichens (Chaenotheca chlorella, Lathagrium dichotomum, Myrionora albidula, Scoliciosporum perpusillum, Physcia alnophila, P. tenella, Peltigera collina, and P. extenuata), and nine species of Lepidoptera in the Altai Territory and the Republic of Altai. For each recorded species, localities and ecological preferences are detailed. Plants Veronica × schmakovii, V. × sessiliflora, and Rhynchospora alba are recorded for the first time in the Altai Territory; Scheuchzeria palustris and Gymnocarpium continentale for the second time. Scheuchzeria palustris and Rhynchospora alba, identified as rare fog-dependent plants, are recommended for inclusion in the Red Book of the Altai Territory. Lichen Chaenotheca chlorella is recorded as a new species for Southern Siberia; Lathagrium dichotomum is recorded for the first time in the Altai Territory; Myrionora albidula, Scoliciosporum perpusillum, Physcia alnophila, and P. extenuata are reported as new lichen species for the Salair Ridge; Physcia tenella and Peltigera collina are new records for the Salair botanical-geographical province within the Altai Territory. New faunistic records for Lepidoptera include first reports for the Altai Territory of the tortricids Cydia medicaginis, Cochylis pallidana, and Aethes cnicana; the chimabachid Dasystoma salicella; the erebids Catocala helena, Catocala bella, and Hypena crassalis; the noctuid Conistra rubiginea; and the lasiocampid Dendrolimus pini. Additionally, the cossid Dyspessa salicicola is reported as a new species for Western Siberia. The sphingids Agrius convolvuli and Macroglossum stellatarum are newly recorded for the Republic of Altai, with the latter's spring discovery suggesting the potential formation of a stable local population. The noctuid Orthosia cerasi is also reported for the first time in the Republic of Altai. Furthermore, this study contributes rare quantitative data on population dynamics, presenting an estimated population size for a newly documented locality of the lichen Lathagrium dichotomum. This information is crucial for conservation planning and assessing the status of this Red Data Book listed species.

The article presents the first records: for Russia of one species of chrysophyte algae and one species of agaricoid basidiomycetes, for the Republic of Belarus of three lichenicolous fungi and four species of slime molds, for Uzbekistan and Tajikistan by one species of lichens, and the first records for regions of Russia: one charophyte for the Tambov Region, one diatom species for the Udmurtian Republic, five species of siphonous yellow-green algae for the Republic of Altai, Altai Territory and Nenets Autonomous Okrug, 22 species of basidiomycetes for St. Petersburg, Tyumen Region, and Republic of Altai, including two new species for the Asian part of Russia, two new species for Siberia, and three new species for West Siberia, nine myxomycetes for the Altai Territory, Novosibirsk Region, and Republic of Altai, two species of lichenicolous fungi for the Tver Region, eight species of lichens for the Irkutsk, Omsk, Tver regions, Altai Territory, Republic of Tuva, 19 species of mosses for the Kurgan, Magadan and Ryazan regions, Republic of North Ossetia — Alania, including one new species for the Caucasus. The data on their localities, habitats, distribution are provided. The specimens are kept in the herbaria ALTB, GSU, IBIW, LE, MAG, MSK, NSK, OMSK, PTZ, TOB, YSU, VU, of Institute of Botany, Plant Physiology and Genetics of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, collection of the Laboratory for Algology in the Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in the private collections of V. S. Vishnyakov, S. M. Goskova, and S. I. Genkal

First records for Russia of one colorless chrysophyte species, five species of desmid algae, and two species of lichens, first record for Georgia of one freshwater green alga, first record for the Republic of Kazakhstan of one yellow-green alga, first records for the Republic of Belarus of three species of myxomycetes, first record for the Republic of Azerbaijan of one species of lichens, and first records for regions of Russia: two species of siphonous yellow-green alga for the Krasnodar Territory and Nenets Autonomous Okrug, some species of basidiomycetes for the Arkhangelsk, Kemerovo, Kurgan, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tyumen regions, Altai Territory, and Republic of Altai, four species of lichenicolous fungi for Samara and Tver regions, some species of lichens for the republics of Karelia and Tuva, Tver Region, and Altai Territory, some species of mosses for St. Petersburg, Kursk, Irkutsk, Voronezh regions, Republic of North Ossetia – Alania, and Kamchatka Territory are presented. The data on their localities, habitats, distribution are provided. The specimens are kept in the herbaria ALTB, BAK, GSU, IBIW, LE, MSK-F, NSK, OMSK, SMR, SVER, TBI, TOB, VU, YSU, in the Algae collection of the Department of Mycology and Algology of Biological faculty of Moscow State University, or Vaucheria collection of the Laboratory for Algology at the Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Sequences of ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 fungal nrDNA regions of some specimens have been deposited in the GenBank.

Umbilicaria ahtii sp. nov. is described based on morphological and molecular characters. The new species resembles Umbilicaria vellea but the former has larger and submuriform ascospores, a darker lower surface, longer dark brown to black rhizinomorphs, and lacks thalloconidia directly on the lower surface and basal part of the rhizinomorphs. Phylogenetic analyses (ITS, mtLSU and RPB2) confirmed the distinctness of U. ahtii and indicated its sister relationship to U. meizospora. Umbilicaria ahtii is described from Finland and is currently known from several localities in Northern Europe (Svalbard, Norway, Finland, Kola Peninsula in Russia), Asia (Kodar Range, Siberia) and North America (Alaska). Within the U. vellea group, new molecular data confirmed U. koidzumii as a widespread, separate species sister to U. cinereorufescens. Diagnostic traits and variability of species, as well as their distribution patterns and nomenclature, are discussed.

The first records for Russia of one species of siphonous yellow-green algae, ascomycete, and lichenicolous fungus, and the first records for regions of Russia: nine species of siphonous yellow-green alga for the Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Moscow, Volgograd regions, two diatom species for the Tyumen Region, nine species of basidiomycetes for the Novgorod, Tomsk regions, and the Republic of Tuva, three species of lichenicolous fungi for the Orenburg Region and Krasnoyarsk Territory, 23 species of lichens for the Arkhangelsk, Irkutsk, Murmansk, Sakhalin regions, Altai, Buryatia and Komi republics, Altai and Khabarovsk territories, 15 species of mosses for the Arkhangelsk, Magadan, Orel, Voronezh regions, Kamchatka Territory, Republic of Tuva, and St. Petersburg, one species of liverwort for the Krasnoyarsk Territory are presented. The data on their localities, habitats, distribution are provided. The specimens are kept in the herbaria ALTB, AR, H, IBIW, IRK, KPABG, LE, MAG, NSK, PTZ, PZV, SMR, SYKO, VU, in the diatom collection of the Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology RAS, the Tobolsk complex scientific station RAS or Vaucheria collection of the Laboratory for Algology at the Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters RAS. Sequences of ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 nrDNA regions of some specimens of fungi and ITS1-2 nrDNA and trnL-F cpDNA of one liverwort have been deposited in the GenBank.

During the study of the lichen biota of Sakhalin Island, Arthonia phaeobaea was identified basing of morphological and anatomical data. This is the first record of this rare saxicolous coastal lichen in Asia and Russia; the species was previously recorded only in Central and Northern Europe (including Arctic) and North America. The species is characterized by its thin, smooth, brown-gray continuous thallus without lichen compounds, usually with numerous black pycnidia and small, black, rounded to elongated, weakly convex apothecia, dark brown epithecium K–, pale hypothecium, colorless, (2)3–4 cross-septate ascospores constricted centrally and usually with unequal cells, hyaline conidia, narrowly ellipsoid or oblong. The maritime distribution of the species has been noted. The differences from other coastal saxicolous Arthonia species in a global scale, as well as saxicolous Arthonia, known in Russia, are discussed.

Phylogenetic analysis based on nu ITS, nu LSU, and mt SSU ribosomal DNA fragments revealed a new genus in Megasporaceae described here as Atrostelia Paukov, Davydov Yakovchenko. Phylogenetically, it is close to Aspiciliella but differs in radiate-placodioid thalli, large, 23–36 μm spores, and substictic acid as a secondary metabolite. The genus is represented by a single species, Atrostelia magnifica Paukov, Davydov Yakovchenko, which is endemic to the Mongun Taiga massif, Republic of Tyva, Russia. The phylogenetic reconstruction supported 9 genera in Megasporaceae: Aspicilia, Aspiciliella, Atrostelia, Circinaria, Lobothallia, Megaspora, Oxneriaria, Sagedia, and Teuvoa, while Agrestia, Chlorangium, and Sphaerothallia were synonymous with Circinaria.

The first data of a special study of freshwater lichens of the Mongun-Taiga massif are presented. The annotated list includes 23 species from 15 genera and 9 families. All species are new to the Mongun Taiga massif. Among them, Porpidia hydrophila and Staurothele areolata are new to the Republic of Tyva, Verrucaria praetermissa is a new record for Siberia. Data on the distribution and ecology of species are presented, and for representatives of Verrucaria, morphological features of the studied samples and differences from morphologically similar species are additionally discussed.

Umbilicaria africana, hitherto only known from Africa, South America, Antarctica, and the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia is reported from the West Chukotkan sector of the Arctic and North Eurasia as whole. Morphological details of the Arctic material are provided. Umbilicaria aprina is excluded from the flora of the Chukotkan sector of the Arctic as a previous erroneous identification of the specimen of U. africana. The bipolar distribution of U. africana is discussed. Based on analyses of migratory bird species composition and their ecology in localities where arctic-alpine U. africana was collected, we suggest that the Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) might play an important role in the long-distance dispersal of specific propagula (thalloconidia) of U. africana from East Africa, and the Arctic Warbler (Phylloscopus borealis), the Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis), or less probably the Pechora Pipit (Anthus gustavi), from Australasia (Malay Archipelago).

Null cosmic strings are shown to disturb gravitational fields of massive bodies and create outgoing gravitational waves (GW). Perturbations of the metric caused by a straight null string and a point-like massive source are found as solutions to linearized Einstein equations on a flat space-time. An analytic approximation for their asymptotic at future null infinity is derived. A space-time created by the source and the string is shown to have asymptotically polyhomogeneous form. We calculate GW flux in such space-times and demonstrate that the averaged intensity of the radiation is maximal in the direction of the string motion. Opportunities to detect null string generated gravity waves are briefly discussed.

In August 2023, the combined expedition “Crillon 2023” was accomplished that exploring the terrestrial, aquatic and marine biotopes in the southeastern part of the Crillon Peninsula (Sakhalin Island, Russia). A group of specialists carried out field work in ichthyology, invertebrate zoology, entomology, botany, lichenology, bryology, mycology, parasitology, microbiology, and marine biology. In the previously underexplored territory of the southeastern part of the peninsula, an appreciable amount of data on species diversity was collected, including more than 200 species of plants, 101 species of lichens, 127 species of mosses, and 117 species of basidial macromycetes. Marine coastal communities of the littoral and sublittoral zones were examined, including those achieved by scientific diving techniques. As many as 119 species of invertebrates and 20 species of seaweed were recorded. Information was collected on 20 species of fish, including data on helminth infection. Parasitological studies included the search for microsporidia in all available animal hosts, as well as search for rhizocephalans: parasites of arthropods. Rare and endangered animal, plant and fungal species were found that are included in the Regional and Federal Red Books as well as those not previously recorded from Sakhalin. The preliminary results indicate great potential for further study of the eastern part of the peninsula from the point of view of biological sciences as well as the prospects for establishment of a biological station in this area for long-term research and development.

Molecular study of Circinaria specimens collected in arid habitats of the Chuya Steppe showed the existence of two different growth forms, crustose and vagrant, in C. tominii that implies a more complex lifecycle of the species compared to that postulated by Mereschkowsky for vagrant taxa. An ITS phylogeny revealed the position of Circinaria tominii relative to three vagrant species, C. alpicola, C. aschabadensis and C. jussufii. Circinaria tominii was first collected in 1926 and was rediscovered in its type locality 90 years later in the only habitat near Ortolyk settlement in the Republic of Altai (Russia). The species is found on soil in stony habitats of the Chuya Steppe. The estimated abundance of the species reaches several hundred specimens.

Gravitational shockwaves are geometries where components of the transverse curvature have abrupt behaviour across null hypersurfaces, which are fronts of the waves. We develop a general approach to describe classical field theories on such geometries in a linearized approximation, by using free scalar fields as a model. Perturbations caused by shockwaves exist above the wave front and are solutions to a characteristic Cauchy problem with initial data on the wave front determined by a supertranslation of ingoing fields. A special attention is paid to perturbations of fields of point-like sources generated by plane-fronted gravitational shockwaves. One has three effects: conversion of non-stationary perturbations into an outgoing radiation, a spherical scalar shockwave which appears when the gravitational wave hits the source, and a plane scalar shockwave accompanying the initial gravitational wave. Our analysis is applicable to gravitational shockwaves of a general class including geometries sourced by null particles and null branes.

The Northeast Asian endemic species of lichen-forming fungus Umbilicaria krascheninnikovii is herein discussed in the global context of biogeography and phylogeny of the U. aprina group. The name U. krascheninnikovii has been erroneously used by lichenologists for Umbilicaria spp. from high latitudes or altitudes worldwide, as there are omphalodisc apothecia and rough “crystals” of a necral layer on the upper surface. To test the monophyly and phylogenetic relationships within the U. aprina group, four independent DNA regions (nrITS/5.8S, RPB2, mtLSU, and mtSSU) were used for six rare species, including a dozen specimens of U. krascheninnikovii from its locus classicus in Kamchatka. The study is based on the phylograms obtained using maximum likelihood and a Bayesian phylogenetic inference framework. As a result of phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses, it was shown that U. krascheninnikovii is a neo-endemic of the areas of modern volcanism in Kamchatka, Japan, as well as in the Kurile Islands, where this species was recorded for the first time. The morphology of U. krascheninnikovii is herein described and illustrated. Increasing the role of the sexual process and reducing asexual thalloconidiogenesis are shown to be apomorphic traits in the U. aprina group. The combination of sexual and asexual reproduction provides adaptive advantages in changing environmental conditions.