The vegetation at and beyond the northern edge of the world’s boreal forest plays an important though imperfectly understood role in the climate system. This is particularly true within Russia, where only a small proportion of the boreal land area has been studied in depth, and little is known about its recent evolution over time. We describe a long-term collaboration between institutions in Russia and the United Kingdom, aimed at developing a better understanding of high-latitude vegetation in Russia using remote sensing methods. The focus of the collaboration has varied over time; in its most recent form, it is concerned with the dynamics of the Russian boreal forest during the 21st century and its relation to climate change. We discuss the support framework within which it has been developed and reflect on its relationship to science diplomacy. We consider the factors that have contributed to the success of a decades-long international collaboration and make recommendations as to how such joint efforts can be encouraged in future.

Perennially frozen loess deposits in the Klondike goldfields include paleosols formed in full-glacial environments, correlated by Alaskan distal tephra with Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 2 and 4. Patterns of organic and inorganic carbon and clay distribution, microstructures, and profile morphologies indicate that soil formation occurred in a base-rich environment in which organic matter accreted predominantly as root detritus. At sites approximately 20 km apart, the expression of cryoturbation and ice wedge development decreases in strength upward in loess–paleosol sequences correlated with MIS 4, suggesting increasing aridity. Configurations of cryoturbation features and ice-wedge thaw unconformities, the presence of numerous ground squirrel burrows, and an absence of peat accumulation suggest that these substrates were predominantly well-drained, with active layers of equal or greater thickness than in modern soils on similar sites in the west-central Yukon. Some characteristics of these paleosols are similar to those of modern steppe and tundra soils, consistent with plant macrofossil evidence for local ecological diversity during full-glacial conditions in eastern Beringia.