Earth’s Cryosphere, 2024, Vol. XXVIII, No. 2, p. 3-11.

ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN PERMAFROST ZONE

RURAL COMMUNITIES OF THE REPUBLIC OF SAKHA (YAKUTIA) UNDER CONDITIONS OF PERMAFROST DEGRADATION (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE VILLAGE OF ULAKHAN-AN)

A.A. Suleymanov^1,*, D.A. Aprosimov¹, N.I. Basharin^1,2, V.M. Lytkin^1,2

¹ Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrovskogo St. 1, Yakutsk, 677027 Russia
² Melnikov Permafrost Institute, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science, Merzlotnaya St. 36, Yakutsk, 677010 Russia
*Corresponding author; e-mail: alexas1306@gmail.com

The issues of permafrost degradation and its impact on life-support system are discussed by the example of the Ulakhan-An village (Khangalassky ulus, central Yakutia). The extent and forms of manifestation of thermokarst – the main negative cryogenic process in the area – and its consequences for the local population have been studied. To achieve the goal of the research, field observations of thermokarst have been conducted, an orthophotomap of the key area has been developed, and a survey of local residents via questionnaires and narrative interviews has been performed. As a result, the extent and intensity of thermokarst development have been clarified. At present, thermokarst is mainly at its initial stage. The main consequences of permafrost degradation for the local population and key actors of agricultural activity have been determined. The Ulakhan-An residents’ perception of and adaptation to the natural challenges that have arisen are noted.

Keywords: Yakutia, rural livelihoods, climate change, permafrost degradation, thermokarst.

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Recommended citation: Syleymanov A.A., Aprosimov D.A., Basharin N.I., Lytkin V.M., 2024. Rural communities of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) under conditions of permafrost degradation (on the example of the village of Ulakhan-An). Earth’s Cryosphere XXIII (2), 3–11.

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Full text.

INTRODUCTION

Climate changes taking place in recent decades involve a number of obvious and, at the same time, probably not yet fully realized challenges for humanity in terms of their possible consequences. These transformations pose a significant threat to northern communities, because, on the one hand, traditional environmental management, which is highly dependent on the state of the environment, remains among their representatives, and on the other hand, temperature changes in the Arctic and Subarctic occur faster than the average for our planet.

An analysis of data from 52 weather stations in Yakutia by Dr. Yu.B. Skachkov [2016] indicates an omnipresent increase in the mean annual air temperature over the past decades. On average for the region, from 1966 to 2015, the mean annual air temperature in Yakutia increased by 2.0°C.

The noted climatic transformations, along with the consequences of anthropogenic impact, led to accelerated degradation of permafrost. The most susceptible to permafrost degradation are the areas with the high volumetric ice content (>0.4), which in Yakutia account for about 40% of the total area of the region [Shestakova et al., 2021], and, first of all, those areas where deforestation took place and/or the heat-insulating ground cover was removed [Varlamov et al., 2021].

One of the villages in Yakutia, whose residents have come face to face with the problems caused by the degradation of permafrost and the development of thermokarst, is the village of Ulakhan-An administratively belonging to the Malzhagar 2nd nasleg of the Khangalassky ulus.

The choice of this particular locality for research was determined by a combination of several factors. Firstly, the authors were interested in a village, in which agrarian traditions are strong. The degradation of permafrost involves serious changes in the history of agricultural activity, including the conversion of significant areas into arable land and the need to maintain the existing lands in a functioning state. Secondly, in the selected rural village the population had to increase, requiring appropriate spatial development of the territory. Finally, due to the specifics of the data previously accumulated by the authors, we were interested in a village, in which thermokarst processes entered their active phase relatively recently. This was important in terms of the local population’s perception of the problems associated with the degradation of permafrost, as well as in the response to them. As shown below, the selected village meets all of the above criteria.

The goal of this study is to identify the scale and forms of manifestation of thermokarst processes occurring on the territory of the Malzhagar 2nd nasleg, determine their consequences for the existing life support system of the local population, study the perception of the ongoing changes in the state of the environment by local people, and their response and adaptation to the arising challenges.

It is important to understand the whole range of identified issues. Though the obvious relevance of the problem of climate change and the consequences of air temperature imbalance for the population of the Arctic and Subarctic has led in recent decades to a fairly active study of its various aspects by researchers, in relation to Yakutia, the body of scientific literature available on this topic is mainly represented by works focused on a separate study of emerging challenges.

The noted problem, in general, is typical for studies devoted to the analysis of the impact of climate change on the life of local communities, associated by their authors with changes in the regime of floods that have become more frequent and/or have taken a different scale [Boyakova et al., 2011; Vinokurova, 2011; Gotovtsev et al. 2018; etc.], as well as with catastrophic fires in recent years [Kardashevskaya, 2022; Solovyeva et al., 2020; Vinokurova et al., 2022, etc.] and with special works devoted to various aspects of permafrost degradation. Among the latter, naturally, first of all, it is necessary to note geocryological studies, the authors of which, among other things, presented an assessment of the thermal response of permafrost landscapes to climate change, identified the factors influencing the development of thermokarst processes, and established their intensity [Fedorov, Konstantinov, 2008; Saito et al., 2018; Varlamov et al., 2021; Lytkin, Syromyatnikov, 2021; Fedorov et al., 2022, etc.].

There are also works of purely humanitarian focus. Thus, N. Doloisio and J.-P. Vanderlinden studied the ideas about permafrost degradation that exist among the population of Yakutsk [Doloisio, Vanderlinden, 2020]. A number of studies have examined the social consequences of climate change, including those associated with permafrost degradation, for the indigenous peoples of Yakutia [Boyakova, 2016; Ananicheva et al., 2021; Grigoriev, 2022, etc.].

Unfortunately, studies prepared in close collaboration between representatives of the natural and humanitarian sciences are few in number. In this regard, it is necessary to note the work of Russian and Japanese scientists carried out in several villages of the Gorny and Churapchinsky administrative regions of Yakutia during 2016–2019 [Takakura et al., 2021]. In addition, with the direct participation of the authors of this study, an article devoted to the analysis of permafrost degradation and its consequences for the population of the villages of Yunkur and Amga (Olekminsky and Amginsky districts of Yakutia, respectively) was published [Lytkin et al., 2021].

The authors of the presented article take the position that the problems of permafrost degradation and its socioeconomic consequences should be studied in close cooperation between representatives of different scientific disciplines. It should be taken into account that there are no works concerning the development of thermokarst processes and their consequences in the area of the Ulakhan-An village. As our experience shows, each studied village has its own characteristics that should be taken into account for scientifically sound and effective management decisions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Field studies in in Ulakhan-An were conducted in the summer–autumn seasons of 2021 and 2022. Terrain observations were accompanied by aerial survey and photographs obtained using a DJI Mavic 2 Pro unmanned aerial vehicle. The drone flights took place in autonomous mode and were carried out at an altitude of 500 meters above the earth’s surface, which made it possible to achieve 70% image overlap. Overall, about 200 images were taken and processed using Agisoft software. As a result, an orthophotomosaic and a digital elevation model covering an area of 5.1 km²with a resolution of 11.5 cm/pixel were obtained. Further processing of the orthophotomosaic was carried out using ArcMap 10.1 software. The mapping process took place manually, and statistical indicators were calculated automatically using internal software modules [Lytkin, Syromyatnikov, 2021].

In addition, a sociological survey was conducted in Ulakhan-An and involved 66 respondents. Sociological survey questionnaires were specially developed. They consisted of 22 questions distributed among several conditional blocks. In particular, the sociodemographic (“passport”) questions were aimed, among other things, at obtaining information on the duration of the respondent’s residence in Ulakhan-An and, in this regard, assessing his/her ability to be a source of objective information not only about current changes in the state of the local environment but also about its dynamics in the past decades. The main blocks of the questionnaire were aimed at identifying the consequences of climate change and permafrost degradation, which, in the respondent’s opinion, occur in the village and its vicinity, as well as on his/her personal land plot; the existing adaptation practices, including migration options as one of the possible mechanisms for solving the arising problems, etc. The heads or leading specialists of the nasleg administration and representatives of key economic entities took part in the expert survey. The main objectives of the expert interviews and questionnaires were to obtain information on assessing the dynamics of the state of the environment at the local level, the existing and future consequences of climate change and permafrost degradation, as well as monitoring the established practices of response and adaptation. In addition, historical and anthropological research was carried out to study the history of the economic development of the village and adjacent territories. This part of the work included in-depth and narrative interviews based on a single questionnaire, mainly among old-timers, i.e., persons who have lived in Ulakhan-An for at least 50 years, and covered 7 people.

STUDY OBJECT: PHYSIOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS, FEATURES OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND POPULATION

The territory of Ulakhan-An (Fig. 1), according to the permafrost-landscape zoning, is located within the Lena–Amga alas group of middle-taiga provinces with continuous permafrost of 200–300 m in thickness and with active colluvial and solifluction processes on slopes. The temperature at the base of the layer of annual heat turnover varies from –1.0 to –2.0°C; the thickness of the active layer, depending on the location, varies from 1.5 to 2.0 m [Fedorov et al., 2018]. Geomorphologically, Ulakhan-An is located near the southern boundary of the Cis-Lena Plateau with a series of left-bank terraces of the Lena River of different ages and heights. The junction of the Lena River with the Ulakhan-An-Yuryakh River is found at about 41 km southwest of the city of Pokrovsk. The absolute heights range from 166 to 205 m a.s.l. Strath terraces of the Lena River are composed of loamy -sandy sediments of varying thickness.

The village of Ulakhan-An appeared at the end of the first half of the twentieth century as part of the implementation of the policy of consolidation of rural settlements. Before that, the anthropogenic impact on the territory was minimal. After the organization of the village, the anthropogenic load on the environment significantly increased because of the activities of the Chapaev and Pravda collective farms, and then the Ulakhan-An branch of the Bulgunnyakhtakhsky state farm. Continuous introduction of new territories into agricultural circulation took place from 1950 to the 1980s. Forest cutting and land plowing involved more than 344 hectares of land. Special studies demonstrated differences in the temperature regime of soils in anthropogenically disturbed areas and areas with natural landscapes unaffected or minimally exposed to human activity [Lytkin, Syromyatnikov, 2021]. The disturbance of the heat balance of the earth surface due to the removal of tree and shrub layers of vegetation cover during plowing leads to stronger heating of the soils under the influence of direct sunlight and a corresponding increase in the temperature of the permafrost; as a result, permafrost loses its stability [Varlamov et al., 2021].

It is important to note the fact that Ulakhan-An is one of the rather rare rural settlements in Yakutia, the population of which continues to grow (Fig. 2) [Filippova, 2019]. In 2022, 1132 people lived in the village. Traditionally, in the ethnic structure of the local village population, the overwhelming majority (more than 9/10) are Yakuts (Sakha).

A continuous growth of the population of Ulakhan-An naturally requires further spatial development of the village and the new construction. In the Soviet period, there was an active development of agriculture, which was extensive in nature and required the introduction of additional areas into circulation. As a result, Ulakhan-An was actually surrounded by arable land. After the collapse of the socialist economy and the beginning of market reforms in Russia, a significant part of these lands was abandoned. Some of the vacated lands were transferred for construction in the last years of the existence of the Soviet Union, but most of them remained ownerless for a long time and were used as pastures for cattle. Ultimately, already in the 21st century, these territories were also given over to the needs of housing construction. Thus, in Ulakhan-An, the Chechir microdistrict and the First, Second, Third, and Fourth arable microdistricts (unofficial names) have appeared in the recent years.

To conclude this section, let us dwell on a brief analysis of the air temperature regime over the past decades. Its indicators in the studied area correspond to the climatic trends noted at the beginning of the article. According to the weather station in Pokrovsk, which is the closest to Ulakhan-An, since 1966, the mean annual temperature has increased by approximately 2.5°C (Fig. 3).

THE SCALE AND MAIN CONSEQUENCES OF PERMAFROST DEGRADATION

Based on the results of visual geomorphological and aerovisual observations and interpretation of the created orthophotoplan, the authors compiled a map of the development of thermokarst processes in Ulakhan-An on a scale of 1 : 13 000 (Fig. 4). As established, the total area of land covered by thermokarst is 0.21 km², which is 7.61% of the territory of the village. These areas are located on the territory of the mentioned microdistricts Chechir, First, Second, Third and Fourth arable land. The largest area subjected to thermokarst falls on bylars—slightly depressed areas deformed by subsidence funnels and hollows, on which a hummocky surface is formed [Soloviev, 1959]. They are formed as a result of the melting of the upper part of the ice wedges and form a specific polygonal microrelief. The depth of subsidence depressions between rounded high-center polygons ranges from the first tens of centimeters to 1.87 m (Fig. 5). In addition, several lakes were identified, which are the next stage of development of thermokarst known as duedya. Duedya is a basin filled with water with sufficiently sharp edges and uneven (hummocky) surface of the bottom and sides [Soloviev, 1959].

It should be noted that, according to respondents, thermokarst processes entered their active, “visible to the eye” phase on the territory of Ulakhan-An relatively recently – less than 10 years ago. However, they have already brought a number of negative consequences on the lives of the rural population. First of all, we are talking about the negative impact on the social well-being of local residents. During the research, it was found that respondents from Ulakhan-An obviously perceive the problem of permafrost degradation more acutely than, for example, residents of the villages of Yunkur (Olekminsky district) and Amga (Amginsky district), where we also conduct our research.

In this regard, the results of the sociological survey conducted by the authors in the named villages using a single questionnaire are indicative. Thus, in Amga, where, according to our data, thermokarst processes affect more than 18% of all courtyard territories, and in the zone of their development there are 540 residential and commercial buildings, 19% of respondents answered positively to the question about the experience of fighting various problems on their personal plots that were caused, in the opinion of the respondents, by the degradation of permafrost. In Yunkur, where about 20% of the courtyard area is subjected to degradation of permafrost, 249 buildings are located in areas with active thermokarst processes [Lytkin et. al, 2021], this problem was recognized as acute by 36% of the respondents. In Ulakhan-An, within which the development of thermokarst, as noted, is still significantly lower, 45.1% of respondents answered “yes” to the above question. Such a not very adequate assessment of the situation by the local population is one of the markers of the severity of the problem’s perception.

The reasons for such differences in the severity of perception of the problem, as it seems to us, lie, among other things, in the time of the of negative cryogenic processes on the territory of the studied villages. The residents of Amga encountered them in at the end of the Soviet period of national history; the residents of in Yunkur, in the 1990s, and, thus, had less time to adapt and accept life in conditions of permafrost degradation as an inevitable reality. The activation of thermokarst in recent years in Ulakhan-An is viewed by the local population as a completely unfamiliar phenomenon with unpredictable consequences.

In this regard, the story of a resident of Ulakhan-An, our informant no. 2, is also representative:

“In 2006, I received a plot of land to build a house for my only son on the territory of an old arable land. When we were allocated this plot, it was almost perfectly flat, like all former arable land. In 2010, after the village administration carried out communications, we began construction of the long-awaited house. However, when I arrived at the site in the summer of 2019, I was horrified to discover that in the immediate vicinity of the house, the process of permafrost thawing had begun. How badly the earth had sunk! I was already beginning to fear that the house itself might tilt and collapse. After all, I had invested quite a lot of money in the construction. Since then, I have been in torment; I don’t know how far the processes will go, whether it will be possible to live there at all or not… We are afraid to continue construction” (Fig. 6).

At the same time, for example, in Amga, as well as in its neighboring village of Chapchylgan, in 2019–2023, we observed active construction works in areas with significantly more mature depressions.

The development of thermokarst processes leads to deformation of residential and commercial buildings. As has been established, in Ulakhan-An, there are 12 buildings in the areas subjected to thermokarst or in close proximity to them (less than 5 m). One of the informants told us the following in this regard:

“In 2014, we built a house on the First Arable. At that time, it was the only house on this site; there were no neighbors. The house was built using traditional technology – a log house on a wooden foundation with a simple floor. Two years later, the house sank noticeably and a depression formed under it. The warmth of the house triggered the thawing of permafrost. To somehow solve this problem, it was necessary to spend a lot of effort and money. We filled up the soil under the house. As the original design of the house did not allow us to construct the double floor, we had to nail boards imitating it to the bottom of the floor joists (beams). Unfortunately, these boards sometimes fall off under their own weight, so my sons or even I myself climb under the floor and nail the boards back. This is a problem.»

Unfortunately, such examples are not solitary in Ulakhan-An. In particular, a similar situation is observed in the new microdistrict Chechir, where land plots were given mainly to young families with children. These families often do not yet have a reliable economic basis for existence and are quite vulnerable in social terms. At the same time, to solve the issues related to home repairs, to neutralize the consequences of permafrost degradation. or to prevent them (more about adaptation methods below) naturally requires certain financial investments. The increased burden has a corresponding impact on the economic well-being of local residents.

The activation of thermokarst processes is a factor limiting possibilities of agricultural development of the territory of the Malzhagar 2nd nasleg. Currently, there are two quite large agricultural enterprises (by the standards of Yakutia) in Ulakhan-An: the M.V. Pavlov farm and the Berte stud farm. In the latter, as of January 2023, according to data provided by the administration of the Malzhagar 2nd nasleg, 105 people worked, i.e., almost every tenth resident of the village. In total, there are 10 farms in the nasleg; they keep 934 heads of cattle and 1582 horses.

In the course of field observations of the state of the areas of economic activity of the Berte stud farm, its director noted the following:

“About 3-4 years ago, depressions began to appear in our fields, into which even equipment now falls during spring work. For us, such processes cause economic damage; we try to keep the fields in an almost perfectly level condition so that the combine can reap the entire harvest. If uneven areas appear, the combine goes obliquely and approximately 30–40% of the swath remains unharvested.”

During our inspection of the fields of the stud farm, the development of the initial stage of thermokarst – the formation of bylars – was revealed.

Thermokarst has also developed in more remote areas where the residents of Ulakhan-An conduct their traditional economic activities. In this regard, the story of a local resident, who is one of the most experienced hunters in the village, is interesting:

“In the Amchakh area (30 km south of Ulakhan-An), where my plot (hunting ground) is located, we built a large house 14 x 7 m, a good one, on a good plot. And what do you think? The ground below it sank a meter! In the spring, water still collects in this sinkhole. The house is located at a distance of about 50 m from the river, and there was a flat clearing there, so we built it on it. It all started three years ago.»

Due to the remoteness of these lands from Ulakhan-An, we were unable to support the opinion voiced by the respondent with our own observations. At the same time, the satellite images of the Amchakh area that we analyzed confirm the spread of thermokarst processes in the informant’s area (Fig. 7).

METHODS AND FEATURES OF POPULATION ADAPTATION

The mechanisms of adaptation of the population of Ulakhan-An to the intensification of thermokarst processes identified during the research basically coincide with those noted by us in other villages of Yakutia and relate, first of all, to changes in the technology of construction of residential buildings.

At the present stage, local residents are actively introducing methods that were not used at all or were rarely used before to prepare a site for construction and lay the foundation. This is, first of all, capital backfilling with rocks in order to create a thermal insulation “cushion.” The use of such backfill is somewhat facilitated by the fact that there is a quarry in the immediate vicinity of Ulakhan-An. In this regard, such backfilling is practiced more often and in larger volumes than in other villages we studied. However, even taking into account the noted favorable factor, the cost of such work is quite high (Fig. 8).

The houses themselves are now built on a foundation made of various materials: metal frames, wooden beds and piles, used car tires filled with concrete (Fig. 9). In the last three cases, village residents strive to create the effect of a ventilated underground. In particular, we noted the case of the construction of a residential building on five-meter larch piles (Fig. 10).

In recent years, the age-old traditions of using the technology of insulated basement floors (subfloor) have received new life. As before, its main purpose is additional thermal insulation. However, if in the past the subfloor was intended to prevent the cold emanating from the proximity of permafrost from entering the house, now it is intended to protect the permafrost from the warming effects of residential premises. In this regard, it should be noted that most of the private households in Ulakhan-An have switched to gas heating in recent years, thanks to which it has become much easier to maintain sufficiently high temperatures than when using stove heating.

The use of subfloor technology, in addition to additional financial, labor and time costs, has another limiting effect. If earlier the residents of Ulakhan-An tried to equip their houses with underground root cellars for long-term storage of vegetables and other products, then in the case of the construction of a double floor, such traditional practices of the local population become impossible and can lead to a reduction in the development of household plots (now on the total land area 0.9 hectares of open ground, villagers mainly grow potatoes and cabbage; on 0.1 hectares of protected ground, they grow carrots, beets, cucumbers, and tomatoes).

Of course, the most important resource for adaptation of the residents of Ulakhan-An to the consequences of permafrost degradation is traditional rural collectivism, which makes it possible, among other things, to jointly put into practice the aforementioned rather labor-intensive construction technologies, to use, for example, the underground storage facilities of relatives and close acquaintances to store grown produce, etc. In general, it allows people to look into the future with optimism and awareness that in the event of further negative changes they will not be left alone with the problem.

Another potentially important tool for adaptation may be the emerging interest among the population, managers of economic entities, and administration in receiving recommendations from the scientific community on how to mitigate the problems arising from the degradation of permafrost. In this regard, we note the great involvement in our research and assistance in organizing it from the management of the Berte stud farm.

Conclusion

The development of thermokarst processes in the area of Ulakhan-An village occurs unevenly. They are most active in the eastern part of the village, where new construction takes place on the former agricultural land. Thermokarst landforms are represented by bylars – landforms characteristic of the initial stage of alas formation. In such territories, if a set of thermokarst control measures is not applied, further development of initial thermokarst depressions into small thermokarst lakes (duedya) takes place. In addition to the lands of the village, thermokarst covers territories at a certain distance intended for traditional environmental management.

Thermokarst processes negatively affect the social well-being of the local population and their confidence in the future. The degradation of permafrost leads to the deformation of residential and commercial buildings and public areas; it limits the possibility of developing traditional economic activities. The challenges that have arisen place a financial burden on the village residents, local farmers, and the nasleg administration.

During the research, it was found that the perception of developing thermokarst by the residents of Ulakhan-An is more acute and painful than that in other studied villages. One of the consequences of this perception is the specific response of local residents to the consequences of thermokarst, including, for example, the freezing of construction work for an indefinite period and the actual abandonment of designated areas.

At the same time, responding to ongoing changes in the state of the environment, the population of Ulakhan-An develops appropriate adaptation mechanisms, based, among other things, on traditional rural collectivism, and involving, first of all, a change in construction technology, as well as updating the request for practical recommendations from the scientific community of.

It should be noted that our research is currently only at its initial stage and the conclusions drawn from it do not claim to fully cover all the problems associated with permafrost degradation and its consequences. For example, the planned determination of the rate of thermokarst development may affect the perception of this problem by the population of Ulakhan-An, the dynamics of which will be traced and a larger number of respondents will be involved. In this regard, we note not only the need to deepen and develop our research but also the advisability of scaling such interdisciplinary work to as many villages in Yakutia as possible, whose residents are faced with the consequences of permafrost degradation.

Acknowledgments. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant no. 19-78-10088; https://rscf.ru/project/19-78-10088/

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Received May 18, 2023
Revised December 11, 2023
Accepted January 15, 2024
Translated by E. Shelekhova