Phytosanitary assessment of plantings of the memorial site “Klyny” of the “Oleksandria” dendropark of NAS of Ukraine

A phytosanitary inspection of the tree plantations of the memorial composition “integral prismatiod”. The affection of tree diseases was established visually in the presence of pathologies. In the examination of Fraxinus excelsior was used the method proposed by T. Kowalski et al, 2010. 43% of trees are healthy, about 30% of trees have minor pathologies, 21% of trees are very weak, 6% of trees are dry or withering. The main diseases were rot, necrosis and cancer, drying of the crown. The most dangerous disease was halar necrosis of Fraxinus excelsior, which led to the drying up of a large number of trees and affected half of the living trees. The prognosis of Fraxinus excelsior plantations is unfavorable. A change of dominant breeds will take place on the site, Acer platanoides will take the dominant position.

Identification of the contributing area to river discharge during low-flow periods

The increasing severity of hydrological droughts in the Mediterranean basin related to climate change raises the need to understand the processes sustaining low flow. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate simple mixing model approaches, first to identify and then to quantify streamflow contribution during low-water periods. An approach based on the coupling of geochemical data with hydrological data allows the quantification of flow contributions. In addition, monitoring during the low-water period was used to investigate the drying-up trajectory of each geological reservoir individually. Data were collected during the summers of 2018 and 2019 on a Mediterranean river (Gardon de Sainte-Croix). The identification of the end-members was performed after the identification of a groundwater geochemical signature clustered according to the geological nature of the reservoir. Two complementary methods validate further the characterisation: rock-leaching experiments and unsupervised classification (k-means). The use of the end-member mixture analysis (EMMA) coupled with a generalised likelihood uncertainty estimate (GLUE) (G-EMMA) mixing model coupled with hydrological monitoring of the main river discharge rate highlights major disparities in the contribution of the geological units, showing a reservoir with a minor contribution in high flow becoming preponderant during the low-flow period. This finding was revealed to be of the utmost importance for the management of water resources during the dry period.

New Evidence of the Brizziite, Sodium Antimonate from the Central Paratethys Sea Strata in Poland

Brizziite, a rare sodium antimonate (NaSb5+O3), and fluorcalcioroméite ((Ca,Na)2Sb5+2O6F), have been identified in two boreholes (Pasternik and Włosienica) which are situated 50 km apart. Both wells are located west of Krakow, Poland, and were drilled in the Miocene strata of the Paratethys Sea (a remnant of the Tethys Ocean). The Sb minerals are scattered in a solidified light blue silica gel within marls and layered clays. They occur most often as anhedral grains up to 20 μm in size. The presence of these phases was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy (RS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The brizziite from this study represents a secondary mineral after the alteration of roméite within a supergene zone, or crystallization from Sb-rich solutions derived by the leaching of the weathered primary roméite. Hence, the calcium and fluorine admixtures in their composition, determined by EPMA, indicate intergrowths of brizziite and roméite on the micro- to crypto-scale. The presence of the antimony in the study area is related to rejuvenated Old-Paleozoic polymetallic ore-mineralization occurring in the basement of the Krakow-Silesia Monocline. The phenomenon of the repeatability of brizziite in Pasternik and Włosienica, distant by several tens of kilometers, can be explained by the following three steps: (i) the penetration of the chloride ions from the drying up seawaters of the Paratethys Sea into the Miocene groundwater system, (ii) the mobilization of Sb5+ in the form of chloride complexes, and, finally, (iii) the transportation of the Sb-bearing solutions within the marly and clay sediments.

Trade Finance and Payment Methods in International Trade

International transactions are riskier than domestic transactions for several reasons, including, but not limited to, geographical distance, longer shipping times, greater informational frictions, contract enforcement, and dispute resolution problems. Such risks stem, fundamentally, from a timing mismatch between payment and delivery in business transactions. Trade finance plays a critical role in bridging the gap, thereby overcoming greater risks inherent in international trade. It is thus even described as the lifeline of international trade, because more than 90% of international transactions involve some form of credit, insurance, or guarantee. Despite its importance in international trade, however, it was not until the great trade collapse in 2008–2009 that trade finance came to the attention of academic researchers. An emerging literature on trade finance has contributed to providing answers to questions such as: Who is responsible for financing transactions, and, hence, who would need liquidity support most to sustain international trade? This is particularly relevant in developing countries, where the lack of trade finance is often identified as the main hindrance to trade, and in times of financial crisis, when the overall drying up of trade finance could lead to a global collapse in trade.

INTRODUCTION OF KARELIAN BIRCH TO THE CULTURE IN VITRO

At present, the biological diversity of tree species is drying up. One of the main reasons for extinction is the destructive anthropogenic impact. According to the latest data, it became known that the Karelian birch was included in the Red Book of the Republic of Karelia as an endangered and diminishing species. The in vitro clonal micropropagation technology can help to quickly restore the population of Karelian birch. And also the technology under consideration will help to massively produce seedlings and seedlings of Karelian birch for both decorative and silvicultural purposes.

Why is Lake Urmia Drying up? Prognostic Modeling With Land-Use Data and Artificial Neural Network

Lake Urmia (LU) is considered as the largest salt water lake in Iran and has severe restrictions on water resources and becoming a salt lake increasingly. The LU drought will Couse ecological, health, social and economic problems. Land-use change and the increasing of salt areas evaluated in this work using satellite imagery. We evaluated the present situation and changes of the lake area in the past and further changes until 2025. The results indicated that from 1987 to 2000, the process of change has slowed down and less than 2% of the lake’s water area was reduced, and from 2000 to 2010, these shrinking processes were faster and more than 28% of the lake water area disappeared. The intensity of the shrinking from 2010 to 2014 is very severe. Using the Land Transformation Model, the continuation of the changes was modeled until 2025. The results of the modeling indicate the conversion of the water lake to salt lake in this period, and in the north part, the shallow waters occupy 0.7% of the total lake area. The result shows that climate change was not the significant factors for drying up of the lake but human factors such as building dams to store water for irrigation, increasing groundwater use by established deeper wells for agricultural irrigation were the important factors for drying. With changing of management of the waters leading to the lake and the transfer of new water resources to the lake between 2014 and 2016, the area of the lake increased to a double. It was evident that by proper planning and managing of water resources, the lake’s restoration can be achieved.

A remarkable new genus and species of subterranean freshwater snail from a recently dried-up spring of Viesca, Coahuila, Northern Mexico

This paper describes a new genus and species of subterranean gastropod from a karstic region near Viesca, Coahuila in northern Mexico. Shells of Phreatoviesca spinosagen. nov. et sp. nov. were found in spring-deposited sediments near the outlet of a cave that dried up in the late 20th century. The new genus can be primarily distinguished conchologically from other phreatic genera by three remarkable characteristics: (i) prominent open coiling of the last whorl, (ii) shovel-shaped spine ornamentations on the teleoconch, and (iii) a coarsely honeycomb-like pitted protoconch structure. Since only dry shells were found, the new species could already be extinct. However, in view of the relative recent drying up of the spring, we consider that Phreatoviesca spinosa is possibly extant in the aquifers in or adjacent to the Viesca region.

Earlier Snowmelt Advances Breeding Phenology of the Common Frog (Rana temporaria) but Increases the Risk of Frost Exposure and Wetland Drying

The alarming decline of amphibians around the world calls for complementary studies to better understand their responses to climate change. In mountain environments, water resources linked to snowmelt play a major role in allowing amphibians to complete tadpole metamorphosis. As snow cover duration has significantly decreased since the 1970s, amphibian populations could be strongly impacted by climate warming, and even more in high elevation sites where air temperatures are increasing at a higher rate than at low elevation. In this context, we investigated common frog (Rana temporaria) breeding phenology at two different elevations and explored the threats that this species faces in a climate change context. Our objectives were to understand how environmental variables influence the timing of breeding phenology of the common frog, and explore the threats that amphibians face in the context of climate change in mountain areas. To address these questions, we collected 11 years (2009–2019) of data on egg-spawning date, tadpole development stages, snowmelt date, air temperature, rainfall and drying up of wetland pools at ∼1,300 and ∼1,900 m a.s.l. in the French Alps. We found an advancement of the egg-spawning date and snowmelt date at low elevation but a delay at high elevations for both variables. Our results demonstrated a strong positive relationship between egg-spawning date and snowmelt date at both elevations. We also observed that the risk of frost exposure increased faster at high elevation as egg-spawning date advanced than at low elevation, and that drying up of wetland pools led to tadpole mortality at the high elevation site. Within the context of climate change, egg-spawning date is expected to happen earlier in the future and eggs and tadpoles of common frogs may face higher risk of frost exposure, while wetland drying may lead to higher larval mortality. However, population dynamics studies are needed to test these hypotheses and to assess impacts at the population level. Our results highlight climate-related threats to common frog populations in mountain environments, but additional research should be conducted to forecast how climate change may benefit or harm amphibian populations, and inform conservation and land management plans in the future.

Impact of 8th October 2005 Earthquake Associated with Kashmir Boundary Thrust (KBT), Pakistan

An earthquake on Richter scale of 7.6 intensity, originated from part of a fault zone more than 200 km long between Balakot and Reasi region of Jammu. This fault joins Indus Kohistan Seismic Zone (IKSZ). The epicenter was 11 km North - Northeast of Muzaffarabad while the depth was 15 km. The rupture zone along Kashmir Boundary Thrust was about 70 km in length. The area of impact is predominantly high relief with steep slopes, V-shaped valleys, and gorges. As a consequence of this seismic activity, about 70,000 people died while three-quarters of a million people were displaced. Most Govt. buildings including schools collapsed. Framework structures, wooden buildings and some buildings of NGOs built to withstand strong earthquakes in the area generally survived with minor damage. Communication networks collapsed disrupting rescue operations. Unavailability of helicopters in sufficient numbers, the absence of disaster management organization, lack of experience in rescue operations, and absence of locally available heavy machinery like lifts, cranes, bulldozers made the rescue extremely difficult resulting in very heavy losses. The government of Pakistan allocated 5 billion dollars for rehabilitation. However, the major contributor to the rehabilitation effort was Saudi Arabia. Physical changes (drying up of springs, temporary damming of streams, and increase in erosion) and ecosystem services destruction resulted due to this earthquake. Balakot city site located on rupture zone was very poor but situation was excellent since it was and even now is a hub of trade plus tourism for both Northern areas (GB) as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir.