In memoriam of the polar geobotanist Natalia Evgenievna Koroleva (1963–2024)
Authors: Borovichev E. A. , Kopeina E. I. , Neshataeva V. Yu. , Tatarenko I. V. 
Published: July 2024

The Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden-Institute named after N. A. Avrorin (PABGI) Kola Research Centre RAS, Russian Botanical Society, and the Russian geobotany have suffered an irreparable loss. On April 6, 2024 after a serious illness the outstanding geobotanist, a well-known specialist in the field of studying flora and vegetation of the Far North, a leading research scientist of the PABGI, PhD Natalia Evgenievna Koroleva has left us.

Natalia Evgenievna was born in 1963 in Chernovskoe village, Kirov Region, in the family of agronomist and school teacher. After school graduation, in 1981 she entered the Moscow State University, where she specialized in the Department of Geobotany under the supervision by Prof. T. A. Rabotnov and Prof. A. P. Tyrtikov. After the University, in 1986 she was firstly enrolled in the Laboratory of Biocenology and afterwards in the Laboratory of Flora and Plant Resources of the PABGI.

From 1986 to 1990, she passed the postgraduate probation in the Komarov Botanical Institute RAS (St. Petersburg) under the supervision by Prof. B. N. Norin. In 1991, she defended her PhD thesis «Vegetation classification of the mountain tundra belt of Khibiny» and received the degree of candidate of biology (PhD).

Throughout her scientific life, Natalia Evgenievna was associated with PABGI having gone from probationer to the senior researcher in the Laboratory of Flora and Plant Resources. For many years, she was a Head of Murmansk Branch of the Russian Botanical Society (RBO).

She organized and led a lot of geobotanical expeditions to the Murmansk Region and Spitsbergen Archipelago. The geography of her field researches was highly diverse. She brilliantly knew not only the vegetation of the Kola Peninsula, but as well other regions of Russian Arctic, Norway, Finland and Spitsbergen.

The study and conservation of species and community diversity of Arctic and Subarctic vegetation, namely the plant cover of the Kola Peninsula and Spitsbergen Archipelago and revealing its transformation under the man impact, was in the focus by Natalia Koroleva scientific interests. She made a great contribution to the study of the Murmansk Region flora and vegetation, the regional Red Book conducting, plant cover monitoring and Nature conservation.

In the Natalia Koroleva person, Russian vegetation science has lost an outstanding scientist, the specialist in phytocoenology, vegetation classification, the study of biodiversity and Nature conservation. She elaborated the vegetation classification method based upon the analysis of the uniformity of plant species distribution with similar ecology in particular plant community groups. Using this method, Natalia Evgenievna and her colleagues developed a detailed classification of plant communities and habitat types of zonal and mountain tundra and highland heaths of the Kola Peninsula and Spitsbergen that has resulted in numerous publications.

She had published about 150 scientific papers and 10 monographs, books and guides to the Nature reserved territories of Khibiny Mountains, Lovozero Tundra, Spitsbergen and many others that put a huge impact in the development of vegetation science and Nature conservation in the Murmansk Region. She was an editor of many scientific proceedings and collective monographs.

Natalia Evgenievna greatly contributed to the training of young scientists: For ten years (2001–2011), she gave lectures at the Apatity Branch of Moscow State Technical University in the ecology, biodiversity, and vegetation classification. Some Master’s and PhD theses were prepared under her supervision.

Natalia Evgenievna devoted a lot of time and efforts to the work in RBO. For about 25 years she was a Head of Murmansk Branch of RBO and a member of its Council, took part in the Organizing Committees of numerous conferences, symposiums and workshops held by RBO.

The memory of Natalia Evgenievna Koroleva — an outstanding geobotanist, teacher, environmental activist and popularizer of science — will always remain in her numerous scientific works, and in the hearts of students and colleagues.