Post-fire redistribution of Cs and algal communities in contaminated forest soils in Belarus.

This study was carried out in the forest area of the Gomel region of Belarus contaminated by Cs following the Chernobyl accident of 1986. The aim of the study was to explore the effects of different types of wildfires on the biological availability of radionuclides and the distribution of algal communities in fire-affected soils. Soil samples were collected in 2017 and 2018 from sites burnt by surface and crown fires, and from two unburnt reference locations.

[Morphology, Ecology, and 18S rRNA Phylogeny of the Green Microalgal Order Protosiphonales (Chlorophyceae, Chlorophyta)].

The system of the green microalgal order Protosiphonales (Chlorophyceae, Chlorophyta) constructed based on morphological, ecological, and molecular genetic data is considered. Subdivision of the order (=macroclade Stephanosphaerinia) into four groups is proposed, with three probably corresponding to the families Stephanosphaeraceae, Chlorococcaceae, and Protosiphonaceae and the fourth having an indefinite status. The diagnostic characteristics of the families, genera, and species are discussed, as well as the independent rank of some taxa.