environmental monitoring

Oil and petroleum products are a signifi cant source of environmental pollution, leading to the accumulation of hydrocarbons in the soil profi le. They contaminate groundwater, disrupt natural soil biochemical processes, interact with mineral compounds – thereby reducing their bioavailability to plants – and cause the poisoning and death of living organisms. The study of hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms is of considerable practical importance due to their ability to degrade hydrocarbons.

Studying the development of such an important group as cyanobacteria is an integral part of environmental monitoring of the Volga-Caspian region. Based on long-term data, a comparative description of the current state of the group of cyanobacteria of the Volga-Caspian region is indicated. The degree of similarity of marine and river species of the group of cyanobacteria for sections of the Volga River, Northern and Middle Caspian Sea was determined.