NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF UKRAINE

INSTITUTE OF ECOLOGY OF THE CARPATHIANS

Address: 4, Kozelnytska str. 290026 Lviv, Ukraine

Tel./fax (+380 322) 42-74-30; E-mail: ecoinst@instecoc.cscd.lviv.ua

The Institute was founded in October 22, 1991 on the basis of Lviv Branch of N.G.Kholodny Institute of Botany. The main purpose of its organisation was to carry out the complex fundamental ecological investigation of biotic systems on different organisation levels and in connection with their efficient exploitation, management of their structural and functional organisation, prognosis and protection.

The Institute includes the following departments:

– Department of Ecosystemology;

– Department of Populational Ecology of Plants with the Carpathian Highmountaneous Biological Station;

– Department of Nature Ecosystems Protection;

– Department of Plant Ecomorphogenesis;

The Institute has started the organisation of two new Departments: Ecosystem Dynamics and Evolution and Mathematical Modelling of Ecological Processes.

The Institute collaborates with research Institutes in Austria, Byelorussia, Czechia, Hungary, India, Korea, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, and other counries.

The main trends of activities:

– Complex ecosystem research in the Carpathians and adjacent territories, substantiation of the ways of regulation of biotic system structure and functional relations for its optimisation, raising of productivity, efficient use, and protection;

– Investigation of subcellular and molecular mechanisms of plant onthogenesis, structural-functional organisation of populations under external factors affect and in relation with speciation;

– Elaboration of the theoretical and applied questions of natural territorial area protection, environment state indication, theoretical basis of monitoring and conservation of biodiversity, effective management in forestry, mountaneous pasture and hunting.

The Scientific orientations of Departments

Department of Ecosystemology

The complex investigations of structural-functional organization of natural and urbanized ecosystems and of biogeocenotic cover, their anthropogenic changes, and biogeocenotical process regulation modes, development of theoretical and methodical base of comprehensive monitoring of environment.

Department of Populational Ecology of Plants

The permanent investigations of populational organization of rare, relict, endemic and useful plant species, their structural changes under anthropogenic press, regulational mechanism and management of populations for their economical use and protection.

Department of Nature Ecosystems Protection

The ecological and chorological peculiarities of rare plant communities and species are investigated; the scientific foundation for gene pool and biodiversity of Ukraine protection indeveloped; the problems of conservation and effective control of processes on the territories under protection are studied.

Department of Plant Ecomorphogenesis

The initial changes and sequence of physiological, biochemical and morphological processes under inherent and external factors in the course of onthogenesis heredity program realization are studied; besiges the chromosomal races eco-geografical conditionality and cognition of role of ecological and onthogenetical facilities of adaptation and microevolution and possible ways of their regulation are investigated.

Organisation of two new Departments: Ecosystem Dynamics and Evolution and Mathematical Modelling of Ecological Processes in the Institute is planed. The main tascs of newly formed Departments will be as followings:

– study of peculiarities of natural system dynamics and evolution under the influence of production activities and environmental changes;

– modeling of ecological processes;

– ecological situation prognosing.

The Institute can propose to partners:

– information on structure, productivity, functioning and anthropogenic dynamics of forest, bush and meadow ecosystems and biogeocenotic cover of the Carpathians and Subcarpathians, peculiarities of extention and phytomass stock in population of usefull plant species;

– systematic development of economic management improvement on the timberline in the Carpathians, effective use of mountain vegetation, combating sorrel on the higt-mountain pastures;

– methodical recomendation for creationt of regional data-bases for regional investigation and monitoring of plants biodiversity;

– ecological expertise of business projects and recomendations for their optimisation;

– examination of expediency and protectional forms of biological blocks;

– projecting of effective hunting;

– masses indication of environment pollution;

– biotic objects caloricity determination;

– documentation of the unique device for thickness accretion recording – DPM-I (Dendrograph registrated model I);

– highly skilled consultation in ecology, nature protection plant morphogenesis, systematics, phytogeofraphy, populational biology and soil invertebrates role in organic matter destruction.

Presentation about the Institute.