EURO-ECO 2006 Hanover 1 - 2 December 2006	Environmental and Engineering Aspects for sustainable living
	European Academy of Natural Sciences, Hanover European Scientific Society, Hanover Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Moscow

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The National Park (NP) Losiny Ostrov is a unique protected area as it is situated inside the Moscow urban agglomeration. In the city itself, all components of the environment are disturbed. Nevertheless, the NP remains the area of wilderness. It is unique by its natural characteristics. From the viewpoint of geomorphology, the NP territory represents the combination of practically undisturbed landscapes of Central Russia: moraine and glaciofluvial plains, river valleys, and pre-quaternary depression. The diversity of its natural ecosystems is outstanding for the region: coniferous, mixed, and broad-leaved forests, grasslands, wetlands, and ponds are found within the relatively small park area (128 km2). Unlike urban forests of wood-meadow type, those of the NP possess a complete multilayered structure; even after the planting of monodominant stands, the forest communities develop towards the complication of structure and formation of typical grass cover. All this makes the NP the centre of maintenance of biological diversity in the urban agglomeration.

Forest and wetland ecosystems of the NP work as natural filters accumulating air-born pollutants. They regulate the hydrological regime of numerous small rivers and streams supporting in that way the water balance in the north-eastern sector of Moscow and its suburbs. Probably, the NP is the only area in Moscow where the soils underwent no human-induced changes. In connection with this, five soil units were entered the List of Valuable Soil Objects of Russia as intact standard soils of Moscow.

The studies demonstrate that the status of ecosystems of the NP is stable and controlled by natural processes. In connection with this, the natural complexes of Losiny Ostrov play a crucial role in the maintenance of ecological stability of north-eastern districts of the urban agglomeration. However, the fulfilment of their regulating and stabilizing functions is complicated by an increasing impact of adjacent urbanized territories. Under these conditions, the functioning of natural ecosystems of the NP requires a permanent control of their status and maintenance of their stability.

The program of complex ecological monitoring was worked out and implemented in the NP. It includes the following basic fields:

1. automatic control of air quality;
2. control of chemical composition of snow cover;
3. monitoring of groundwater levels and related changes in vegetation on background plots and sites with a disturbed hydrological regime;
4. studies of soil cover with the accent on overmoistening and intensity of contamination;
5. monitoring of forest ecosystems, including forest pest control, complex studies on permanent observation plots, and retrospective studies of forest stand development, and
6. recreation monitoring in the most visited sites.

By now, the volume of data obtained made it possible to determine the degree of disturbance of natural complexes, reveal the most vulnerable ones, and suggest practical measures providing their sustainable existence. According to the intensity of contamination and changes of hydrological regime, the areas of rehabilitation of natural complexes were revealed. The results of soil studies formed the fundament of general assessment of forest steadiness. The recreational monitoring made it possible to suggest the principles of forest management in the recreational zone of the NP. Timely pest control helped to reduce the damage caused by cambium beetle invasion. The data of monitoring and corresponding ecological evaluation are laid in the basis of long-term territorial planning in the NP. Moreover, complex examination of forest stands and factors of environmental impact makes it possible to determine the target structure of forest stands in different zones of the NP, corresponding to natural conditions, functional designation, and current and planned anthropogenic load. These examples demonstrate that the ecological monitoring can become an efficient instrument of long-term planning and management of NP territory and its natural complexes.