scholarly journals Comprehensive Palaeobotanical Studies of Lacustrine-Peat Bog Sediments from the Mazovian/ Holsteinian Interglacial at the Site of Nowiny Żukowskie (Se Poland) – Preliminary Study

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-45b ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Hrynowiecka ◽  
Artur Szymczyk

Abstract The environmental variability during the Mazovian/Holsteinian interglacial is better understood thanks to the results of multidisciplinary palaeobotanical studies. The perfectly preserved and abundant material from Nowiny Żukowskie in SE Poland has been the subject of numerous palaeobotanical analyses. The results both of initial pollen analysis and of the examination of plant macroremains provide a detailed view of changes in the palaeoenvironment of this area during the Mazovian/Holsteinian interglacial. Originally, the water basin was mostly the habitat of plants indicative of low trophy. The frequent occurence of swamp plants evidences a change in hydrological and climatic conditions consistent with the intra-interglacial climatic oscillation. In the subsequent part of the optimum, an expansion of swamps with Aracites interglacialis and Dulichium arundinaceum was recorded. The development of a peat bog overgrown by i.a. Sphagnum sp., Eriophorum vaginatum, and Andromeda polifolia was also observed. The growth of swamp and peat vegetation resulted in the nearly complete disappearance of aquatic vegetation, apart from species typical of the climatic optimum of the Mazovian/Holsteinian interglacial: Brasenia borysthenica and Aldrovanda dokturovskyi. The close of the interglacial was marked by the intensive development of peat bog and swamp communities with Carex rostrata, Menyanthes trifoliata, and A. interglacialis. The intensive increase in the number of A. interglacialis during the period described as the “birch oscillation” supports the hypothesis of noticeable changes in hydrological conditions at that time. The end of the described period is typified by a deterioration of climatic conditions, indicated by the increase in values for Betula humilis, B. nana, and Juniperus communis.

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 485
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Bartosik ◽  
Weronika Maślanko ◽  
Alicja Buczek ◽  
Marek Asman ◽  
Joanna Witecka ◽  
...  

Insects of the genus Lipoptena are parasitic arthropods with a broad host range. Due to the type of parasitism (hematophagy), their potential role as vectors of pathogens, i.e., Bartonella sp., Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., and Borrelia burgdorferi is considered. As the range of their occurrence has been changing dynamically in recent years and infestations of humans have increasingly been reported, these organisms are now the subject of numerous studies. Our research aimed to present the molecular characteristics of Bartonella sp. detected in Lipoptena fortisetosa parasitizing wild cervids in south-eastern Poland. Adults of Lipoptena spp. were collected from carcasses of roe deer and red deer between spring and autumn in 2013. The PCR method was used to detect Bartonella sp. in the insects. We report two new haplotypes of the rpoB gene of Bartonella sp. isolated from L. fortisetosa feeding on wild cervids in south-eastern Poland and the presence of this invasive ectoparasitic species in the studied area since 2013. Phylogenetic analyses of newly obtained Bartonella sp. haplotypes confirmed their unique position on the constructed tree and network topology. The rpoB gene sequences found belonging to lineage B support the view that this phylogenetic lineage represents a novel Bartonella species.


Author(s):  
Aleksandar Gajic

Theories of social collapse are not only the views that characterize ?societies deep in crisis?, but rather an expression of lack of belief in prosperity and central importance of the civilization in which we live. These theories follow processes of degradation of human societies, the decline of civilization`s powers and the loss of its cultural values resulting in their complete disappearance. This paper defines the subject of study and provides an overview of the history of these theories and their contemporary types by taking the main causes of collapse criteria as the basis for theory building. After the review of contemporary multi-factor analysis of collapse, mainly within the science of complex systems, full attention is focused on two atypical, yet very productive, contemporary theories of social collapse that are elaborated in detail: Jared Diamond`s theory, which studies social collapses by observing relations of other variables that can lead to collapse with environmental problems as central; and Peter Turchin`s theory which, revitalizing with modern scientific achievements Ibn Khaldun`s classical theory of ?asabia? (group feeling, spirit of community), sees social collapses as a consequence of the decline of cohesion provided by asabia. The final part of the work gives a critical review of these two theories and their relation with classical theories of social collapse (primarily those of Arnold Toynbee) and points to their mutual productive complementarity.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Equihua Zamora ◽  
Mariana Espinosa ◽  
Carlos Gershenson ◽  
Oliver López-Corona ◽  
Mariana Munguia ◽  
...  

We review the concept of ecosystem resilience in its relation to ecosystem integrity from an information theory approach. We summarize the literature on the subject identifying three main narratives: ecosystem properties that enable them to be more resilient; ecosystem response to perturbations; and complexity. We also include original ideas with theoretical and quantitative developments with application examples. The main contribution is a new way to rethink resilience, that is mathematically formal and easy to evaluate heuristically in real-world applications: ecosystem antifragility. An ecosystem is antifragile if it benefits from environmental variability. Antifragility therefore goes beyond robustness or resilience because while resilient/robust systems are merely perturbation-resistant, antifragile structures not only withstand stress but also benefit from it.


2012 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Pogorzelec ◽  
Barbara Banach

This paper presents the results of a pilot field study, conducted in July 2007, designed to make floristic evaluation of the peat bog area adjacent to the western shore of Lake Bikcze (Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie Lakeland). The main aim of the study was to confirm the occurrence of populations of rare and legally protected plant species in this area and to identify, on a preliminary basis, habitat conditions in their stands. The occurrence of populations of the following strictly protected plant species: <i>Betula humilis</i>, <i>Salix lapponum</i>, <i>Salix myrtilloides</i>, <i>Carex limosa</i>, <i>Drosera intermedia</i>, <i>Drosera rotundifolia</i>, <i>Dactylorhiza incarnata</i>; and partially protected species: <i>Menyanthes trifoliata</i>, has been confirmed in the studied peat bog. Both an investigation of abiotic factors, conducted <i>in situ</i>, and an analysis of the species composition of the flora in terms of habitat preferences of particular groups of taxa have shown that the described rare plant species find suitable conditions for their growth and development in the studied peat bog.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1072 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Jin ◽  
Yanxiang Jin ◽  
Xufeng Mao

Land use/cover change (LUCC) affects canopy interception, soil infiltration, land-surface evapotranspiration (ET), and other hydrological parameters during rainfall, which in turn affects the hydrological regimes and runoff mechanisms of river basins. Physically based distributed (or semi-distributed) models play an important role in interpreting and predicting the effects of LUCC on the hydrological processes of river basins. However, conventional distributed (or semi-distributed) models, such as the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT), generally assume that no LUCC takes place during the simulation period to simplify the computation process. When applying the SWAT, the subject river basin is subdivided into multiple hydrologic response units (HRUs) based on the land use/cover type, soil type, and surface slope. The land use/cover type is assumed to remain constant throughout the simulation period, which limits the ability to interpret and predict the effects of LUCC on hydrological processes in the subject river basin. To overcome this limitation, a modified SWAT (LU-SWAT) was developed that incorporates annual land use/cover data to simulate LUCC effects on hydrological processes under different climatic conditions. To validate this approach, this modified model and two other models (one model based on the 2000 land use map, called SWAT 1; one model based on the 2009 land use map, called SWAT 2) were applied to the middle reaches of the Heihe River in northwest China; this region is most affected by human activity. Study results indicated that from 1990 to 2009, farmland, forest, and urban areas all showed increasing trends, while grassland and bare land areas showed decreasing trends. Primary land use changes in the study area were from grassland to farmland and from bare land to forest. During this same period, surface runoff, groundwater runoff, and total water yield showed decreasing trends, while lateral flow and ET volume showed increasing trends under dry, wet, and normal conditions. Changes in the various hydrological parameters were most evident under dry and normal climatic conditions. Based on the existing research of the middle reaches of the Heihe River, and a comparison of the other two models from this study, the modified LU-SWAT developed in this study outperformed the conventional SWAT when predicting the effects of LUCC on the hydrological processes of river basins.


1884 ◽  
Vol 37 (232-234) ◽  
pp. 3-22 ◽  

The present paper, as regards its subject-matter though not in form, is part of a general investigation of the rainfall of India, which has occupied much of my spare time for some years past, and the results of which are already partly embodied in a memoir which I hope, in the course of a few months, to issue as an official publication of the Indian Meteorological Office. The idea that the snowfall of the Himalaya exercises a direct and important influence on the dry land winds of North-Western India is not now put forward for the first time. It has been the subject of frequent reference in the annual reports on the meteorology of India since 1876, as well as elsewhere; and in a report on the administration of the India Meteorological Department lately issued, I summarised very briefly those points in the experience of the previous five years which have seemed to justify its provisional adoption as a basis for forecasting the probable character of the monsoon rains. Relying on this experience, in the month of June last, I put forward in the Government Gazette, a note giving warning of the probability of a prolonged period of drought in the approaching monsoon season, and the result, if not in exact accordance with the terms of the forecast, has been so far confirmatory of the general idea, as to induce me to put the facts of past experience formally on record, and thereby challenge attention to the subject. If I am right in the inference that the varying extent and thickness of the Himalayan snows exercise a great and prolonged influence on the climatic conditions and weather of the plains of North-Western India, it is probable, that with more or less modification according to the local geography, causes of a similar character will be found equally operative in other regions, and perhaps on an even more extensive scale.


2006 ◽  
Vol 128 (4) ◽  
pp. 826-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustapha A. Chaker ◽  
Cyrus B. Meher-Homji ◽  
Thomas Mee

The inlet fogging of gas turbine engines for power augmentation has seen increasing application over the past decade. This paper provides the results of extensive experimental and theoretical studies conducted on impaction pin fog nozzles. It covers the important area of the fog plume pattern of impaction pin nozzles and examines fog-plume uniformity. The subject of sprinkle (large droplet formation) from the nozzles is also examined in detail and is shown to be nonsignificant. The effect, on evaporation rate, of ambient climatic conditions and the location of the fog nozzle with respect to the gas turbine inlet duct has been analytically and experimentally analyzed. An analytical model is used to study the evaporation dynamics of fog droplets injected in the inlet ducts. The model is validated experimentally in a wind tunnel.


2021 ◽  
Vol XII (2(21)) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Cirlig ◽  
◽  
◽  

Phacelia tanacetifolia Benth., which is a species with high potential as forage and honey plant, served as the subject of a new study. The species is characterized by short growing season, staggered and long flowering period (about 55 days depending on the climatic conditions and the date when it was sown). Under laboratory conditions, the germination capacity of the seeds is 84-92 %. The climatic conditions of the Republic of Moldova allow P. tanacetifolia plants to complete the whole ontogenetic development cycle – they bloom, bear fruit and produce viable seeds.


2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Stachowicz-Rybka

Abstract Lacustrine sediments at the Łuków site bear a record of the Ferdynandovian interglacial, correlated with Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 13-15, including two warm periods of interglacial rank (climatostratigraphic units Ferdynandovian 1 and 2) separated by cooling/glaciation (Ferdynandovian 1/2). On the basis of plant macroremains analysis, the type of local vegetation in the lake and its surroundings as well as changes in climate, trophic conditions and water level were reconstructed in detail. Ferdynandovian 1 was a time of development of tall sedge swamps. The presence of Najas marina and N. minor also suggests high levels of eutrophication, particularly in the younger part of the climatic optimum. The occurrence of Zannichellia palustris indicates habitats of variable water level and high salt content. In the terminocratic phase of Ferdynandovian 1, the communities showed the reoccurrence of Betula nana, B. humilis and Larix sp., the disappearance of thermophilous trees, and the intensification of succession processes linked to climate cooling. In the cool Ferdynandovian 1/2, Betula nana and Cenococcum geophilum increased their frequencies, most likely due to enhanced supply of mineral matter to the basin. During Ferdynandovian 2, the next climate warming of interglacial rank, communities of aquatic vegetation with the highest share of thermophilous taxa included the extinct Aldrowanda borysthenica, Brasenia borysthenica, and Scirpus atroviroides, as well as Cyperus glomeratus, a species not presently found in the flora of Poland. Another cooling in the Sanian 2 (Elsterian 2) glaciation is indicated by the development of peat communities, with numerous Carex sp., Menyanthes trifoliata, Eriophorum vaginatum, and Andromeda polifolia, accompanied by the extinct Carex paucifloroides, Caulinia macrosperma, and Potamogeton praemaackianus. The provided description of the Ferdynandovian succession includes taxa which are extinct, not found in the Polish flora nowadays, or characteristic of a climatic context. The identified species included Brasenia borysthenica, Aldrovanda borysthenica, Caulinia macrosperma, Potamogeton praemaackianus, Scirpus atroviroides, Cyperus glomeratus, Eleocharis praemaximoviczii, Nymphaea cinerea, and Ranunculus gailensis. It has not yet been resolved whether the flora of Łuków includes Euryale sp., a particularly important taxon.


Traditio ◽  
1955 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 65-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Hennig

In many medieval calendars the calendar proper for each month is preceded or followed by a verse (or several verses) treating of one (or one each) of the following subjects: (a)the zodiacal sign(b)the number of solar days(c)the number of lunar days(d)the position of the nones(e)the Greek, Hebrew, and Egyptian names(f)the Roman traditions of the name and significance of the month(g)the climatic conditions (aeris qualitates)(h)the evil days (dies Aegyptiaci).The study of medieval calendars has been so much preoccupied with their chronological and heortological aspects that, to my knowledge, these verses have never been the subject of a comprehensive investigation. In many editions they have been omitted as extraneous matter.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document