The use of paleoclimatic simulations to refine the environmental and chronological context of archaeological/paleontological sites

To reconstruct the paleoenvironmental and chronological context of archaeological/paleontological sites is a key step to understand the evolutionary history of past organisms. Commonly used method to infer paleoenvironments rely on varied proxies such as faunal assemblages and isotopes. However, those proxies often show some inconsistencies. Regarding estimated ages of stratigraphic layers, they can vary depending on the dating method used. In this paper, we tested the potential of paleoclimate simulations to address this issue and contribute to the description of the environmental and chronological context of archaeological/paleontological sites. We produced a set of paleoclimate simulations corresponding to the stratigraphy of a Late-Pleistocene Holocene site, El Harhoura 2 (Morocco), and compared the climatic sequence described by these simulations to environmental inferences made from isotopes and faunal assemblages. Our results showed that in the studied site combined US-ESR ages were much more congruent with paleoenvironmental inferences than OSL ages. In addition, climatic variations were found to be more consistent with isotopic studies than faunal assemblages, allowing us to discuss unresolved discrepancies to date. This study illustrates the strong potential of our approach to refine the paleoenvironmental and chronological context of archaeological and paleontological sites.

Mineralization of residue from the drying of black pepper when applied to the soil

The use of residues from the black pepper bean drying process as fertilizer for agricultural crops implies the need to know the dynamics of their decomposition and release of the nutrients to guide it’s management, especially regarding the best time of its application in the soil. This study aimed to evaluate the dynamics of organic carbon and nitrogen during the mineralization process of this residue. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with ten treatments related to different post-disposal periods to the soil (0, 7, 13, 20, 27, 34, 48, 69, 98, 147 days). Samples were collected to quantify easily oxidized organic carbon (OCeo), organic nitrogen (ON) and the determinations of their respective mineralized fractions. The evaluation of OCeo mineralization, being more stable and less susceptible to climatic variations, was the most appropriate for estimating the mineralized fraction of the residue. The application of the residue in dystrophic Yellow Red Latosol soil during the month of August provides, after 140 days, OCeo and ON mineralized fractions around 99 and 60%, respectively, in the climatic conditions of Espirito Santo state, Brazil.

Dynamic rain model for linear stochastic environments

To develop modem agriculture, a vision of an integral management is required, where the complexity of interactions between climatic, biological, economical, social and political factors involved in the food production must systematically be analyzed in a context of regional conditions. At the same time, it is necessary to develop the ability to forecast both the climatic variations and their possible impact on society. The minimization of this impact on agriculture through consistent practices adequate to local climates, is not only commendable, but basically necessary, besides, the usefulness of these studies in acquiring a better knowledge of those areas with an inversion risk for agricultural and cattle rising development is high. In this paper a statistical model is used to accomplish the objectives above mentioned. The rainfall variability in several areas of the Tlaxcala State (Mexico) is analyzed with due regard to both inter- and intra-annual relations, considering that the cumulative rainfall, in the former case, follows a logistic curve and in the latter it follows a linear, first order, stochastic process.

Combating Desertification through Enhancement of Woody Floral Diversity in the Drylands of Kenya: Analysis, Milestones, and Strategies

Desertification remains one of the most challenging phenomena in the drylands of Kenya, where it affects about 80% of the country. This is because of persistent degradation of these areas by climatic variations, human activities, and overgrazing by livestock and wildlife. In these areas, inhabitants suffer from widespread acute poverty and other adverse effects of drought. In order to effectively and efficiently combat desertification and reduce the impacts of further degradation, the Government of Kenya and partners are committed to developing and implementing methods, approaches, strategies, and mechanisms that would slow down or reverse this phenomenon. This chapter covers an in-depth review of advances made so far in the area of woody resources restoration and sustainable management in the drylands of Kenya through biodiversity assessments, conservation, rehabilitation, afforestation, and reafforestation initiatives and research. Achievements, challenges, and opportunities encountered are highlighted for sustainable development and wise utilization of dryland woody and allied resources.

Análisis bibliométrico sobre heladas en cultivos y su relación con las soluciones generadas de diferentes investigaciones

Se analizaron un total de 40 artículos de investigación sobre el fenómeno de las heladas, afectaciones que tienen las heladas, sistemas de riego y soluciones y/o estrategias que se pueden encontrar hoy en día para minimizar el daño causado por este fenómeno durante el periodo comprendido entre 2001 a 2021, las bases de datos utilizadas fueron Science Direct y Scopus, de igual forma se encontraron artículos en repositorios de universidades a nivel nacional y asimismo en Google Scholar. En el análisis se incluyen las palabras clave, el año de publicación, enfoque, países, número de citas y número de autores. El número de publicaciones presentó un incremento durante los últimos años. Los resultados indicaron que “frost”, “frost problem”, “irrigation systems”, “frost solutions” fueron los términos en los cuales se hizo más frecuente en los títulos de las publicaciones, mediante el uso de los índices bibliométricos de productividad se encontró que el índice de colaboración más alto fue en los años de 2015 y 2019, durante los años de 2001, 2005, 2007 se presentó el índice Price más alto. La universidad Santo Tomás fue la institución más productiva en cuanto a desarrollo de investigación referentes a los temas, de igual forma a nivel nacional, otras universidades tuvieron un porcentaje de publicaciones con los temas relacionados, lo que indica que a nivel nacional este tema ha venido tomando mucha fuerza con relación a las variaciones climáticas que se presentan hoy en día. Los países con más números de publicaciones encontrados fueron Colombia, Brasil, Estados Unidos. Con relación a los idiomas encontrados por las publicaciones, se encontró un total de 42,5% en español, un 40% en inglés y un 17,5% en portugués. A total of 40 research articles were analyzed on the phenomenon of frost, effects of frost, irrigation systems and solutions and/or strategies that can be found today to minimize the damage caused by this phenomenon during the period from 2001 to 2021, the databases used were Science Direct and Scopus, Articles were also found in national university repositories and in Google Scholar. The analysis includes keywords, year of publication, focus, countries, number of citations and number of authors. The number of publications has increased in recent years. The results indicated that "frost", "frost problem", "irrigation systems", "frost solutions" were the terms in which it became more frequent in the titles of the publications, using bibliometric productivity indices found that the highest collaboration index was in 2015 and 2019, during the years 2001, 2005, 2007 the highest Price index was presented. The Santo Tomás University was the most productive institution in terms of research development related to the topics, similarly at the national level, other universities had a percentage of publications with related topics, this indicates that at the national level this theme has been gaining a lot of strength in relation to the climatic variations that are presented today. The countries with the greatest number of publications found were Colombia, Brazil, United States. Regarding the languages found in the publications, a total of 42.5% were found in Spanish, 40% in English and 17.5% in Portuguese.

The Stable Isotope Characteristics of Precipitation in the Middle East Highlighting the Link between the Köppen Climate Classifications and the δ18O and δ2H Values of Precipitation

The Middle East is faced with a water shortage crisis due to its semiarid and arid climate. In this paper, precipitation as an important part of the water cycle was evaluated in 43 stations across the Middle East using the stable isotope technique to study the parameters which influence the stable isotope content of precipitation. First, the stepwise regression model was applied to determine the main geographical and climatological factors affecting the stable isotopes in precipitation. Secondly, the stepwise model was also used to simulate the stable isotope values in precipitation. Furthermore, due to the notable climatic variations across the Middle East, the precipitation sampling stations were classified into six groups based on the Köppen climate zones. Significant variations in the stable isotope values of precipitation were observed in the stations of each climate zone. Finally, the Middle East meteoric water line was developed for the dry and wet periods based on the average stable isotopes in the studied stations. The developed lines showed a lower slope compared to the GMWL due to the higher air temperature and relative humidity in the Middle East compared to the average global conditions. To conclude, the stable isotope contents in precipitation showed significant temporal and spatial variations due to the notable climatic variations across the Middle East.