Can Yandex statistics and google trends be used to detect people's interests in berries in the Russian Far East?

Ripening berries are one of nature's important contributions to people in the Russian Far East. We examined the spatiotemporal variability of people's interests in 12 types of berries and their attributes by accessing Yandex statistics (Yandex) and Google Trends (GT) about these topics in the Russian Far East. On Yandex, time-series data for people's interests in many berries for all target regions showed clear seasonal changes, with an annual peak that occurs at the time of ripening. Interest in berries was observed in many cities and regions in the far east of Russia, where indigenous peoples and Sakha traditionally utilize berries for subsistence. The attributes of accessed terms were closely related to terms about berry varieties and edible berries, berry purchases, photographs, and recipes. These results supported the usability of Yandex and GT data to evaluate the spatiotemporal variability of people's interests in berries. Despite systematic biases, such as in the Internet environment and user characteristics as well as limitations of spatial resolution and access period, the integrated use of Yandex and GT should be developed to evaluate the spatiotemporal variability of people's interests in berries, especially in areas that are difficult to access.