Synanthropization and species diversityof floodplain ecosystems of the Ob-Irtysh basin, Russia

Currently, the phytocenoses of the Irtysh floodplain are experiencing intense anthropogenic pressures due to the intensive development of the oil and gas industry, as well as the urbanization of the territory. This paper focuses on the structure and species composition of the 27 studied areas in the floodplain ecosystems of the Ob-Irtysh basin. As a result of the research, we found 111 species of vascular plants from 33 families in plant communities. The areas belong to meadows and forest vegetation are represented by (1) birch forests (33%), (2) pine forests (10%), (3) fir forests (8%), (4) aspen forests (4%) and (5) associations of meadows (45%). Furthermore, we conducted a comparative analysis of the studied phytocenoses according to the Drude scale. To determine the anthropogenic transformation of the flora and individual plant communities, we determined the synanthropization index (the ratio of synanthropic species to the total number of species). In the synanthropic flora fraction, we distinguished 45 species belonging to 12 families, with the most multispecies being Apiaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Compositeae, Ranunculaceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae, Plantaginaceae. The synanthropization index of the studied phytocenoses ranges from 6.6% to 81.2%. The largest number of synanthropic species occurs in meadow associations, the content of synanthropes is greater than 50%, the structure is becoming more superficial, and the productivity and stability of plant communities are changing. The study of the horizontal structure of grass stands of meadow phytocenoses makes it possible to find the variability of different years, the change of dominant species and the stability of the species composition. Currently, researchers are paying considerable attention to the analysis of the structure of the herbage, since its study is of great theoretical and practical importance in clarifying phytocenotic relations.

Linking Equatorial African precipitation to Kelvin wave processes in the CP4-Africa convection-permitting regional climate simulation

Observational studies have shown the link between Convectively Coupled KelvinWaves (CCKWs) and eastward propagating rainfall anomalies. We explore the mechanisms in which CCKWs modulate the propagation of precipitation from west to east over Equatorial Africa. We examine a multi-year state-of-the-art Africa-wide climate simulation from a convection permitting model (CP4A) along with a parameterised global driving-model simulation (G25) and evaluate both against observations (TRMM) and ERA-Interim (ERA-I), with a focus on precipitation and Kelvin wave activity. We show that the two important related processes through which CCKWs influence the propagation of convection and precipitation from west to east across Equatorial Africa are: 1) low-level westerly wind anomalies that lead to increased low-level convergence, and 2) westerly moisture flux anomalies that amplify the lower-to-mid-tropospheric specific humidity. We identify Kelvin wave activity using zonal wind and geopotential height. Using lagged composite analysis, we show that modelled precipitation over Equatorial Africa can capture the eastward propagating precipitation signal that is associated with CCKWs. Composite analysis on strong (high-amplitude) CCKWs shows that both CP4A and G25 capture the connection between the eastward propagating precipitation anomalies and CCKWs. In comparison to TRMM, however, the precipitation signal is weaker in G25, while CP4A has a more realistic signal. Results show that both CP4A and G25 generally simulate the key horizontal structure of CCKWs, with anomalous low-level westerlies in phase with positive precipitation anomalies. These findings suggest that for operational forecasting, it is important to monitor the day-to-day Kelvin wave activity across Equatorial Africa.

imageseg: an R package for deep learning-based image segmentation

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and deep learning are powerful and robust tools for ecological applications. CNNs can perform very well in various tasks, especially for visual tasks and image data. Image segmentation (the classification of all pixels in images) is one such task and can for example be used to assess forest vertical and horizontal structure. While such methods have been suggested, widespread adoption in ecological research has been slow, likely due to technical difficulties in implementation of CNNs and lack of toolboxes for ecologists. Here, we present R package imageseg which implements a workflow for general-purpose image segmentation using CNNs and the U-Net architecture in R. The workflow covers data (pre)processing, model training, and predictions. We illustrate the utility of the package with two models for forest structural metrics: tree canopy density and understory vegetation density. We trained the models using large and diverse training data sets from a variety of forest types and biomes, consisting of 3288 canopy images (both canopy cover and hemispherical canopy closure photographs) and 1468 understory vegetation images. Overall classification accuracy of the models was high with a Dice score of 0.91 for the canopy model and 0.89 for the understory vegetation model (assessed with 821 and 367 images, respectively), indicating robustness to variation in input images and good generalization strength across forest types and biomes. The package and its workflow allow simple yet powerful assessments of forest structural metrics using pre-trained models. Furthermore, the package facilitates custom image segmentation with multiple classes and based on color or grayscale images, e.g. in cell biology or for medical images. Our package is free, open source, and available from CRAN. It will enable easier and faster implementation of deep learning-based image segmentation within R for ecological applications and beyond.

Building resistive switching memory having super-steep switching slope with in-plane boron nitride

The two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has been used as resistive switching (RS) material for memory due to its insulation, good thermal conductivity and excellent thermal/chemical stability. A typical h-BN based RS memory employs a Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) vertical structure, in which metal ions pass through the h-BN layers to realize the transition from high resistance state (HRS) to low resistance state (LRS). Alternatively, just like the horizontal structure widely used in the traditional MOS capacitor based memory, the performance of in-plane h-BN memory should also be evaluated to determine its potential applications. As consequence, a horizontal structured resistive memory has been designed in this work by forming freestanding h-BN across Ag nanogap, where the two-dimensional h-BN favored in-plane transport of metal ions to emphasize the RS behavior. As a result, the memory devices showed switching slope down to 0.25 mV/dec, ON/OFF ratio up to 1E8, SET current down to pA and SET voltage down to 180 mV.

Specialists for Crumble Cakes? The German LandFrauen Organizations in Social Innovation, and as Educational, Social, and Political Institutions

This chapter presents empirical results on the German LandFrauen clubs and associations as contemporary elements of German civil society from the conceptual perspective of social innovation, as an approach which is expected to hold high potential particularly for rural areas. The analysis shows that the German LandFrauen clubs and associations are highly engaged in initiating change and development in rural Germany by uniquely addressing women’s needs through social, cultural, and educational offers. Here, the members’ social interactions function as a basis and starting point for further activities providing impulses in local development.As prerequisites that enable the LandFrauen to pursue their activities, two key characteristics were identified: (1) Their practices are integrated into specific local fields and highly adaptive to local needs and interests through the deep integration of the large and diverse base of members in their local villages and rural society, which allows for functions as local initiators, catalysts, and multipliers in regional development. (2) The institutional frame of clubs and associations allows for support, cooperation, and exchange across the vertical and horizontal structure, and provides access to resources and a broad network to external partners.

Does the severity of a forest fire modify the composition, diversity and structure of temperate forests in Jalisco?

Introduction: Forest fires are natural disturbances that influence structure, dynamics, performance, composition and diversity of species. Objective: To compare composition, structure and diversity of temperate forest vegetation affected by different levels of severity of a forest fire in Jalisco. Materials and methods: Composition, horizontal structure, importance value index (IVI), diameter class, diversity indexes of Shannon, Simpson, Margalef richness and Bray-Curtis similarity were evaluated in three regions (Bosque La Primavera and Sierra de Tapalpa and Sierra de Quila) of temperate forest with three levels of severity (no fire, moderate and extreme). Results: Twelve species from six families were recorded. Pinaceae and Fagaceae were the most dominant. Dominance ranged from 0.2 to 50 m2∙ha-1 in moderate and extreme severity sites. Pinus devoniana recorded the highest IVI (71 %) in Sierra de Tapalpa. The highest number of trees was recorded in diameter class ≤30 cm. Diversity and richness indices showed significant differences (P < 0.05) for Sierra de Tapalpa and Sierra de Quila and among fire levels; the highest indices were recorded in sites of moderate severity. Tree composition similarity between regions was low (<33 %). Conclusions: Moderate severity of forest fire favored composition, structure and diversity of vegetation in temperate forests of Jalisco, indicating that the level of severity influences resilience of forest ecosystem communities.

A unified moisture mode theory for the Madden Julian Oscillation and the Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation

The Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) and the Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation (BSISO) are fundamental modes of variability in the tropical atmosphere on the intraseasonal time scale. A linear model, using a moist shallow water equation set on an equatorial beta plane, is developed to provide a unified treatment of the two modes and to understand their growth and propagation over the Indian Ocean. Moisture is assumed to increase linearly with longitude and to decrease quadratically with latitude. Solutions are obtained through linear stability analysis, considering the gravest (n = 1) meridional mode with nonzero meridional velocity. Anomalies in zonal moisture advection and surface fluxes are both proportional to those in zonal wind, but of opposite sign. With observation-based estimates for both effects, the zonal advection dominates, and drives the planetary-scale instability. With a sufficiently small meridional moisture gradient, the horizontal structure exhibits oscillations with latitude and a northwest-southeast horizontal tilt in the northern hemisphere, qualitatively resembling the observed BSISO. As the meridional moisture gradient increases, the horizontal tilt decreases and the spatial pattern transforms toward the “swallowtail” structure associated with the MJO, with cyclonic gyres in both hemispheres straddling the equatorial precipitation maximum. These results suggest that the magnitude of the meridional moisture gradient shapes the horizontal structures, leading to the transformation from the BSISO-like tilted horizontal structure to the MJO-like neutral wave structure as the meridional moisture gradient changes with the seasons. The existence and behavior of these intraseasonal modes can be understood as a consequence of phase speed matching between the equatorial mode with zero meridional velocity (analogous to the dry Kelvin wave) and a local off-equatorial component that is characterized by considering an otherwise similar system on an f-plane.

Woody Species Stand Structure and Regeneration Status in Long Jack (Eurycoma longifolia Jack) Habitat in Batang Lubu Sutam Forest, Padang Lawas, North Sumatra

Long jack (Eurycoma longifolia) is a medicinal plant that has become a common target for exploitation, leading to a population decline in natural forests. This study aimed to determine the stand structure and regeneration status of E. longifolia tree habitat in Batang Lubu Sutam Forest, Padang Lawas, North Sumatra. The research was performed through vegetation analysis using a purposive sampling technique with a randomized sample plot based on the presence of E. longifolia. A total of 181 plots were established in this study. The results showed that the horizontal structure of tree species in the research area had an inverted J-shape pattern, indicating that the number of trees decreased as the diameter increased. The vertical structure showed that all strata were found in the research location, dominated by stratum C. This condition indicated that the forest was in good condition. The regeneration status of 48 species in the location showed different categories. Thirty species (62.50%) were classified as good regeneration, ten species (18.75%) as new regeneration, and four species (8.30%) as poor and no regeneration. The high proportion of trees with good regeneration showed that the forest community could survive despite environmental or anthropogenic stress. Keywords: long jack (Eurycoma longifolia), regeneration, species composition, vegetation structure

Transformation of the national legislation of Ukraine in the context of globalization

The article studies the directions of transformation of the national legislation of Ukraine in the context of globalization based on the dialectical method. Specifically, the notions “legislation” and “globalization” are analyzed; the meaning of the concepts of “national legislation of Ukraine” and “legal globalization” is specified; the factors which define features of transformation of the national legislation of Ukraine in modern conditions of globalization are established. As a result of the study it is proved that the main directions of transformation of the national legislation of Ukraine in the conditions of globalization are the following: borrowing the European (Western) legal tradition and its adaptation to the national legal system of Ukraine; reception of innovative legal institutions while preserving the national legal tradition; the influence of international law, first of all, the Acquis communautaire (adaptation of the national legislation of Ukraine to the law of the European Union); hierarchical (vertical) and sectoral (horizontal) structure of legislation, which is characteristic of the legal systems of the Romano-Germanic legal family; development of such types of normative activity of public authorities as systematization, codification, ordering, unification, etc.

Spatiotemporal Structure Features of a Pine Stand on the South Slope of the Eastern Sayan Mountain

Due to relatively long development and long life of forest-forming species most of the conclusions on stand dynamics are based on the data collected by indirect methods of comparative research and analysis of cenosis forming theoretically temporal and spatial succession sequences and need to be verified and clarified. The most reliable results on the stand dynamics can be received on stationary objects such as permanent sample areas. The article presents the analysis results of long-term monitoring (1968–2012) of a pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand in low-mountain Eastern Sayan on the south slope with a steepness of 7–8º. The intermittent test of morphometric indicators of trees mapped on the permanent sample area was used. It is shown that the sum of tree trunk cross-section areas at breast height (1.3 m) varied by no more than 10 % with timber reserves on the lower, central and upper equal sites of the sample area during the entire observation period. At the same time heterogeneity of ecological conditions, taking place even on a small section of a smooth slope, influences the plantation self-thinning intensity. In the 42-year-old stand density ratio at lower, central and upper sites was 1:1.5:2.1. Stand density difference along the slope had been decreasing gradually over time, although it remained around 30 % at the time of the last observation. Over the years of observation, 53, 47, and 32 % of pines on the lower, central, and upper sites, respectively, have survived. The calculated average age of the died trees showed that in all groups of natural diameter classes, there was an earlier die-off of pines at the bottom of the slope with an increase in dying age up to the slope. Trees with larger trunk diameter (first telling) died later. All this led to a rearrangement of the horizontal structure of the plantation, a decrease in the average diameter and average volume of trees up to the slope. Typical for mountain forests clinal tree distribution, which affects their morphological indicators, is important to consider when studying and modeling forest ecosystems, as well as when implementing forest management measures. For citation: Ovchinnikova N.F. Spatiotemporal Structure Features of a Pine Stand on the South Slope of the Eastern Sayan Mountains. Lesnoy Zhurnal [Russian Forestry Journal], 2021, no. 5, pp. 34–47. DOI: 10.37482/0536-1036-2021-5-34-47