Financial Vulnerability of NGOs in Southeast Anatolia and Mediterranean Regions

Under the current and future climate crisis, a significant rise in soil salinity will likely affect vine productivity in several Mediterranean regions. During the present research, the rootstock effects on salinity tolerance of Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapevine cultivars were studied. In a pot hydroponic culture, own-rooted Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapevine cultivars or grafted onto the rootstocks 1103 P and 101-14 Mgt were drip-irrigated with saline water. A completely randomized 3 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment was designed with two vine rootstocks or own-rooted vines, two scion cultivars, and 100 mM NaCl salinity or control treatments, with six replications. A significant effect of scion cultivar, rootstock, and salinity was observed for most of the measured parameters. At the end of salinity stress period, leaf, shoot, root, and trunk nutrient concentrations were measured. Salinity stress increased Chloride (Cl−) and Sodium (Na+) concentrations in all parts of the vines and decreased leaf concentrations of Potassium (K+), Calcium (Ca+2), Magnesium (Mg+2), Nitrogen (N), and Iron (Fe). In contrast, salinity stress increased leaf Boron (B) concentrations, whereas that of Manganese (Mn) remained unaffected. Leaf chlorophyll concentration decreased from 42% to 40% after thirty and sixty days of salt treatment, respectively. A similar trend was observed for the CCM-200 relative chlorophyll content. Salinity significantly decreased steam water potential (Ws), net CO2 assimilation rate (A), and stomatal conductance(gs) in all cases of grafted or own-rooted vines. Sixty days after the beginning of salt treatment, total Phenolics and PSII maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) decreased significantly. The rootstock 1103 P seems to be a better excluder for Na+ and Cl− and more tolerant to salinity compared to 101-14 Mgt rootstock.

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Cyprus, Sardinia and Sicily: A Maritime Perspective on Interaction, Connectivity and Imagination in Mediterranean Prehistory

Cambridge Archaeological Journal ◽

10.1017/s0959774321000330 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-19

Author(s):

A. Bernard Knapp ◽

Anthony Russell ◽

Peter van Dommelen

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Iron Age ◽

Culturally Diverse ◽

Social Activity ◽

Social Dimensions ◽

Long Distance ◽

Social Actors ◽

Mediterranean Regions ◽

Trade Route ◽

Direct Trade

In this study, we outline a maritime perspective on interaction in the Late Bronze/early Iron Age Mediterranean. In response to what has elsewhere been termed the ‘maximalist’ approach, which foregrounds direct, long-distance trading connections between distant Mediterranean regions as a key feature of Late Bronze Age exchange systems, we propose a more nuanced, ‘minimalist’ and argue that notions of contact, connectivity and mobility need to be carefully distinguished if we wish to discuss both the material and social dimensions of maritime mobility. In particular, we critique the prominently proposed, allegedly direct trade route between Sardinia and Cyprus. The network we suggest hinges on multiply connected nodes, where a variety of social actors take part in the creation and maintenance of maritime connections. By unpacking several such nodes between Sardinia and Cyprus, we demonstrate that simply asserting the dominance of Sardinian, Cypriot or Aegean mariners falls short of the complex archaeological evidence and eschews possible social interpretations. In conclusion, we submit that maritime connectivity is an inherently social activity, and that a culturally diverse prehistoric Mediterranean was connected by multiple interlocking and overlapping networks.

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Capital Controls and International Trade: An Industry Financial Vulnerability Perspective

Journal of International Money and Finance ◽

10.1016/j.jimonfin.2021.102399 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102399

Author(s):

Kevin Lai ◽

Tao Wang ◽

David Xu

Keyword(s):

International Trade ◽

Capital Controls ◽

Financial Vulnerability

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Evolution of Burned Area in Forest Fires under Climate Change Conditions in Southern Spain Using ANN

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app9194155 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (19) ◽

pp. 4155

Author(s):

Pérez-Sánchez ◽

Jimeno-Sáez ◽

Senent-Aparicio ◽

Díaz-Palmero ◽

de Dios Cabezas-Cerezo

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Forest Fires ◽

Southern Spain ◽

Burned Area ◽

Change Scenario ◽

Absolute Deviation ◽

Average Temperature ◽

Mediterranean Regions ◽

Artificial Neural Network Ann ◽

Absolute Percent Error

Wildfires in Mediterranean regions have become a serious problem, and it is currently the main cause of forest loss. Numerous prediction methods have been applied worldwide to estimate future fire activity and area burned in order to provide a stable basis for future allocation of fire-fighting resources. The present study investigated the performance of an artificial neural network (ANN) in burned area size prediction and to assess the evolution of future wildfires and the area concerned under climate change in southern Spain. The study area comprised 39.41 km2 of land burned from 2000 to 2014. ANNs were used in two subsequential phases: classifying the size of the wildfires and predicting the burned surface for fires larger than 30,000 m2. Matrix of confusion and 10-fold cross-validations were used to evaluate ANN classification and mean absolute deviation, root mean square error, mean absolute percent error and bias, which were the metrics used for burned area prediction. The success rate achieved was above 60–70% depending on the zone. An average temperature increase of 3 °C and a 20% increase in wind speed during 2071–2100 results in a significant increase of the number of fires, up to triple the current figure, resulting in seven times the average yearly burned surface depending on the zone and the climate change scenario.

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