scholarly journals Plant indication of thermocarst forms in palsa mires in the south of Nature Park Numto (West Siberia)

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-57
Author(s):  
E.A. Shishkonankova ◽  
N.A. Avetov ◽  
T.Yu. Tolpysheva ◽  
A.A. Tarlinskaya
Keyword(s):  
West Siberia ◽  
The South ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
Sphagnum Mosses ◽  
Dwarf Shrubs ◽  
Mobile Species ◽  
Nature Park ◽  
Downy Birch

Currently, palsa mires in the southern limit of circumpolar permafrost zone are characterized by an increased intensity of thermokarst processes. In the south of Nature Park Numto the cyclic character of frozen mound formation was replaced by their unidirectional degradation as a result of thaw. We analyze plant indicators of various thermokarst forms occurring in mounds: denudation spots, slumps and funnels. Depending on the stages of thermokarst and type of palsas (flat mound or large mound ones) a number of plant indicators of thawing is revealed: “the drunken forest”, the loss of dwarf shrubs and lichens and their secondary colonization, eutrophication of communities, the emergence of the “ridges” of vegetatively mobile species and others. Brown mosses and secondary colonizing Cladonia lichens with cup-shaped and club-like podetia are indicators of slow thermokarst on patches of denudation in large mounds. Meanwhile, the role of Cladonia lichens with richly branched podetia is markedly reduced. Mesotrophic communities, dominated by mesotrophic sphagnum mosses, are formed in deep funnels on large mounds under the conditions of frozen bed existence. The development of eutrophic communities indicates the release of nutrients during the melting of peat. The stages of thermokarst on the flat palsa mounds correspond to the following succession row: lichens + dwarf shrubs → hygrophyte sphagnum mosses and / or brown mosses + liverworts → hygro-hydrophyte sphagnum mosses + Warnstorfia fluitans. Reliable and the most long-term indicator of thermokarst on large mounds is the downy birch (Betula pubescens).

scholarly journals Interacting effects of vegetation components and water table on methane dynamics in a boreal fen

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terhi Riutta ◽  
Aino Korrensalo ◽  
Anna M. Laine ◽  
Jukka Laine ◽  
Eeva-Stiina Tuittila
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
High Water ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Sphagnum Mosses ◽  
Dwarf Shrubs ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Plant Groups ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Methane Dynamics

Abstract. Vegetation and hydrology are important controlling factors in peatland methane dynamics. This study aimed at investigating the role of vegetation components – sedges, dwarf-shrubs, and Sphagnum mosses – in methane fluxes of a boreal fen under natural and experimental water level drawdown conditions. We measured the fluxes during four growing seasons using static chamber technique in a field experiment where the role of the ecosystem components was assessed via plant removal treatments. The first year was a calibration year after which the water level drawdown and vegetation removal treatments were applied. Under natural water level conditions, plant-mediated fluxes comprised 68–78 % of the mean growing season flux (1.95 ± 0.21 g CH4 m−2 month−1 from June to September), of which Sphagnum mosses and sedges accounted for 1/4 and 3/4, respectively. The presence of dwarf shrubs, on the other hand, had a slightly attenuating effect on the fluxes. In water level drawdown conditions, the mean flux was close to zero (0.03 ± 0.03 g CH4 m−2 month−1) and the presence/absence of the plant groups had a negligible effect. In conclusion, water level acted as a switch; only in high water level conditions vegetation regulated the net fluxes. The results are relevant for assessing the response of peatland fluxes in changing climatic conditions, as water level drawdown and the consequent vegetation succession are the major projected impacts of climate change on northern peatlands.

The problematic role of EU democracy promotion in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 193-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Licínia Simão
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Democracy Promotion ◽  
The South ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Promotion Policies ◽  
The Eu

This article looks at the interdependences between the democratisation processes in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh and the management of the Karabakh conflict, focussing on the EU’s democracy promotion policies. The article argues that the EU’s normative foreign policy in the South Caucasus has been limited by the permanence of the protracted conflicts, in two interrelated ways. First, by not addressing the conflicts the EU focused on long-term goals but failed to provide short-term incentives towards peace. Second, by allowing only a limited involvement in the protracted conflicts, especially inside Karabakh, the EU was perceived as a reluctant partner, undermining its normative credentials.

scholarly journals The development of cooperation between the South Caucasus countries in the field of railway transport. The role of the international regime after the Karabakh war

2021 ◽  
pp. 16-24
Author(s):  
Yongsung Cho
Keyword(s):  
Mutual Influence ◽  
Railway Transport ◽  
International Regime ◽  
The South ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
Transport Networks ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Area Of Interest

The subject of research is the mutual influence of the development of the South Caucasus countries’ transport system, and international political and economic cooperation of actors. The author emphasizes that, despite all contradictions, the “international regime” system allows the Russian Federation to participate in the work of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway transport corridor. Based on the complex mutual influence theory, the author focuses on the problem of this system influencing the development of transport networks after the Nagorno-Karabakh war. The research methodology is based on the case study method which helps the author not only to analyze the activities of the parties to the conflict, but also to forecast the strategy of each of political actors of the “international regime” in the South Caucasus in the field of railway transport cooperation. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the institutional approach to the problem of conflict settlement by means of cooperation between the South Caucasian states involved in the area of interest in the field of transport logistics. Based on the research, the author concludes that for Russia, joining the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars transport corridor gives a new opportunity for mutually beneficial cooperation. Moreover, transport corridors, created by other countries in the South Caucasus, are not “competitors” within the international regime. The transformation of the movement of goods with the optimisation of routes, linking the actors, will directly or indirectly promote the economic capacity development and the interdependence of participants, which will lead to the decrease of security problems. Thus, in the long-term perspective, it can be seen that the unification of transport networks in the region will help the actors to mute conflicts and contradictions.   

scholarly journals Crossing and Conversion among North Korean Refugee-Migrants

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 510
Author(s):  
Jin-Heon Jung
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Northeast China ◽  
Religious Conversion ◽  
The South ◽  
North Korean Refugee ◽  
Protestant Churches ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Role Of Religion

While pivotal in the lives of North Korean refugee-migrants, the role of religion has been largely neglected in most studies. After being exposed to Protestant missionary networks, either while dwelling in Northeast China or en route to the South, about 80 percent of North Korean refugee-migrants arriving in South Korea affiliate themselves with Protestant churches. This implies that they are exposed to Protestant missionary networks either while dwelling in Northeast China or en route to the South. Some who leave South Korea for other countries or seek asylum in non-Korean societies develop their religiosity in various ways and for various reasons, as part of their aspirations, adjustment to new homes, and search for meaning. The present study aims to address this literature gap. Based on long-term ethnographic research with North Korean refugee-migrants living in South Korea, China, and Europe, the two ethnographic vignettes presented in this article represent those who are in Germany and the United Kingdom by discussing the religious encounters and conversions through which North Korean refugee-migrants make their lives and futures. It draws attention to religion as a lens through which the migrants’ negotiation of meanings, new selves and homelands, and hopes for the future can be better illuminated. The findings of this study suggest that when North Korean Christians experience religious conversion during their perilous journeys, it not only helps them to negotiate a new sense of belonging in their host societies, but it also mobilizes them to contest the existing order of things.

scholarly journals Interacting effects of vegetation components and water level on methane dynamics in a boreal fen

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 727-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terhi Riutta ◽  
Aino Korrensalo ◽  
Anna M. Laine ◽  
Jukka Laine ◽  
Eeva-Stiina Tuittila
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Natural Water ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Sphagnum Mosses ◽  
Dwarf Shrubs ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Plant Groups ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Methane Dynamics

Abstract. Vegetation and hydrology are important controlling factors in peatland methane dynamics. This study aimed at investigating the role of vegetation components, sedges, dwarf shrubs, and Sphagnum mosses, in methane fluxes of a boreal fen under natural and experimental water level drawdown conditions. We measured the fluxes during growing seasons 2001–2004 using the static chamber technique in a field experiment where the role of the ecosystem components was assessed via plant removal treatments. The first year was a calibration year after which the water level drawdown and vegetation removal treatments were applied. Under natural water level conditions, plant-mediated fluxes comprised 68 %–78 % of the mean growing season flux (1.73±0.17 g CH4 m−2 month−1 from June to September), of which Sphagnum mosses and sedges accounted for one-fourth and three-fourths, respectively. The presence of dwarf shrubs, on the other hand, had a slightly attenuating effect on the fluxes. In water level drawdown conditions, the mean flux was close to zero (0.03±0.03 g CH4 m−2 month−1) and the presence and absence of the plant groups had a negligible effect. In conclusion, water level acted as a switch; only in natural water level conditions did vegetation regulate the net fluxes. The results are relevant for assessing the response of fen peatland fluxes to changing climatic conditions, as water level drawdown and the consequent vegetation succession are the major projected impacts of climate change on northern peatlands.

Beyond the “Epopee of Ben Guerdane”: Exploring the Plurality of Resistance at the South-Eastern Tunisian Border

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-109
Author(s):  
Guendalina Simoncini
Keyword(s):  
Historical Context ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
The South ◽  
Border Area ◽  
Plural Form ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Everyday Resistance

Abstract This article aims to shed light on the plural form of resistance performed around the South-Eastern Tunisian border area through the case study of the ordinary people of Ben Guerdane’s resistance to the jihadi attack of 7th March 2016. Placing the so-called “epopee of Ben Guerdane” in a broader historical context, it seeks to explore the fluctuations between resistance and repression along the border area both in the past and in the present, showing how multifaceted the repertoire of resistance – which includes anti-colonial struggle, guerrilla action, regime opposition, subversions, forms of everyday resistance and jihadi insurrection – has been. Following the insight of Critical Border Studies, the border will be considered as an epistemological viewpoint rather than simply a geopolitical device, considering the central role of material and symbolic borders and boundaries that shape the living experiences of Ben Guerdane’s inhabitants. The article relies on qualitative data collected during long-term fieldwork in addition to shifting the focus of the study of the Tunisian-Libyan border from national security to an approach that prioritizes the experiences of ordinary people.

scholarly journals Economic relations between the United States and South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
Margarita Obraztsova
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
The United States ◽  
The South ◽  
Resource Potential ◽  
Economic Relations

The article analyses the role of the South African mining sector in the development of long-term relations between the United States and South Africa. Largely with the help of American investments the South African mining industry was formed. Thereby America provided its firms with access to South Africa’s rich resource potential. The increasing dependence of the United States on those types of minerals that are of strategic importance for its defense industry makes relations with South Africa a priority. Therefore, US policy is primarily aimed at ensuring the access of American companies to the South African market.

Long-term Cyclic Variations of Prominences, Green and Red Coronae over Solar Cycles

2000 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 201-204
Author(s):  
Vojtech Rušin ◽  
Milan Minarovjech ◽  
Milan Rybanský
Keyword(s):  
Emission Lines ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
Green Line ◽  
Solar Cycles ◽  
The South ◽  
Coronal Emission ◽  
Local Maxima ◽  
The North ◽  
Cyclic Variations

AbstractLong-term cyclic variations in the distribution of prominences and intensities of green (530.3 nm) and red (637.4 nm) coronal emission lines over solar cycles 18–23 are presented. Polar prominence branches will reach the poles at different epochs in cycle 23: the north branch at the beginning in 2002 and the south branch a year later (2003), respectively. The local maxima of intensities in the green line show both poleward- and equatorward-migrating branches. The poleward branches will reach the poles around cycle maxima like prominences, while the equatorward branches show a duration of 18 years and will end in cycle minima (2007). The red corona shows mostly equatorward branches. The possibility that these branches begin to develop at high latitudes in the preceding cycles cannot be excluded.

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