Rainfall and Landslide Susceptibility in Hakha Environ in Northern Chin State, Myanmar

This research emphasizes the cause of landslides that occur in Hakha Town and its environ. The main aim is to investigate the distinct phenomena that result in a landslide and to provide suggestions that can reduce the risk of landslide in its prone area. Regarding the two phenomena, natural and man-made, the data on soil, steep slope, monsoon rainfall, pine forest areas, water sources, motor-car road area, population, and houses were collected by field survey, observation, and questionnaires. The collected data were processed and analyzed by using remote sensing methods, qualitative and quantitative methods, and Geographic Information System. According to the results, major causes of the landslides in the study area are found to be due to location lying between 1,830 meters (6,000 ft) and 2,440 meters (8,000 ft) above sea level and establishing of the settlements on steep slopes, receiving plenty of rainfall under the mountain climate with the extremely cold winter season, the existence of unstable and unconsolidated soil and lithology, extending construction of new roads and expansion of the existing roads, population growth and settling of more people in the urban area, and collapsing of big old pine trees. In conclusion, landslides in the study area are found resulting from combined activities of physical factors and human impacts.

New Species of Tomentella (Thelephorales, Basidiomycota) from Temperate Continental Mountain Climate of China (Xinjiang Region)

Species in the genus Tomentella are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical regions worldwide, but few studies associated with the taxonomy and phylogeny of this genus had been reported from Northwest China. In this paper, molecular phylogenetic analyses of the nuclear ribosomal ITS (internal transcribed spacer: ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) and LSU (large subunit: 28S) sequences combined with morphological characteristics identified three new species from Xinjiang Autonomous Region in Northwest China, which were named T. aurantispora, T. kanasensis, and T. schrenkiana. Similar macromorphological and anatomical characteristics are shared by these new species: arachnoid basidiocarps; byssoid sterile margins; utriform basidia with a clamp connection at the base; the absence of rhizomorphs and cystidia; and slightly thick-walled, subglobose to globose basidiospores. Among these new species, the color of the hymenophoral surface, the size of the basidiospores, and some other features can be used for species delimitation. The new species and closely related species in the phylogenetic tree were discussed, and a key to the identified species of Tomentella from China was provided.

Towards a definition of Essential Mountain Climate Variables

<p>Numerous applications, including generating future predictions via numerical modelling, establishing appropriate policy instruments, and effectively tracking progress against them, require the multitude of complex processes and interactions operating in rapidly changing mountainous environmental systems to be well monitored and understood. At present, however, not only are environmental available data pertaining to mountains often severely limited, but interdisciplinary consensus regarding which variables should be considered absolute observation priorities remains lacking. In this context,  the concept of so-called Essential Mountain Climate Variables (EMCVs) is introduced as a potential means to identify critical observation priorities and thereby ameliorate the situation. Following a brief overview of the most critical aspects of ongoing and expected future climate-driven change in various key mountain system components (i.e. the atmosphere, cryosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere), a preliminary list of corresponding potential EMCVs – ranked according to perceived importance – is proposed. Interestingly, several of these variables do not currently feature amongst the globally relevant Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) curated by GCOS, suggesting this mountain-specific approach is indeed well justified. Thereafter, both established and emerging possibilities to measure, generate, and apply EMCVs are summarised. Finally, future activities that must be undertaken if the concept is eventually to be formalized and widely applied are recommended.</p>

Optimization of the Exhibition Building Form Based on the Solar Energy Absorption

In this paper, the effect of the form and the shape of the exhibition on the performance of the absorption of solar energy in both cold & mountainous and hot & dry climates has been investigated. The form as the most prominent design feature in buildings has a significant impact on energy efficiency and can be expressed in different ways in a building. In order to evaluate the energy performance of various geometries as an exhibition, the absorption of solar energy in several geometries with different shapes, such as: hexagonal / pyramid / prism / incomplete prism / rectangular cube / cube / hemisphere / cylinder / cylinder combination and the rectangle cube combination, have been numerically simulated. For all geometries, the total area and other simulation conditions are assumed to be the same. The results show that in both types of climate, the most absorbed solar energy is obtained for pyramidal geometry and the least absorption is obtained by hemispherical geometry. The hemisphere form in the hot and dry climate has the best form-to-type ratio in order to provide thermal comfort and reduce energy consumption during the exhibition. In the cold and mountainous climate, pyramidal geometry has the highest energy absorption and is the best option among all investigated geometries. The absorption of solar energy in hemispherical geometry for hot & dry and cold & mountain climate is 66% and 54% compared to pyramidal, respectively.