Cultured flora of the Dendrological Park “Askania Nova”: a current state and main factors of influence

The paper describes the composition of introduced species that form the collection fund of the Dendrological Park «Askania Nova», groups of arboreal plants are identified in connection with their ecological resistance. Information about the influence of abiotic and biotic factors on plant life is given, pest-resistant species are proposed for use. The tendencies of transformation of phytocenotic structure of the old park' s stands are noted. The directions of work on preservation of collection plantations and rare plants of different protection levels are described.

Manifestations of social resistance in craft processes

This paper aims to analyze craft objects that could contain inherent meanings of social, cultural, ecological or political resistance. The creative processes of makers from the Iku and Nasa indigenous peoples of Colombia and the Sami people of Sweden have been studied. The paper encompasses a theoretical reflection on the communicative capacity of objects and their implicit meanings as well as of the basic concepts of resistance and craft paired with a brief description of the Iku, Nasa and Sami indigenous peoples. An analysis of the manifestations that could be considered as resistance in the studied artisanal processes is brought forward through 11 interviews with artisans and the paper proposes a final reflection on how craft objects can have the capacity to communicate social, cultural, political and ecological resistance.

Decreased Ecological Resistance of the Gut Microbiota in Response to Clindamycin Challenge in Mice Colonized with the Fungus Candida albicans

ABSTRACT The mammalian gut microbiota is a complex community of microorganisms which typically exhibits remarkable stability. As the gut microbiota has been shown to affect many aspects of host health, the molecular keys to developing and maintaining a “healthy” gut microbiota are highly sought after. Yet, the qualities that define a microbiota as healthy remain elusive. We used the ability to resist change in response to antibiotic disruption, a quality we refer to as ecological resistance, as a metric for the health of the bacterial microbiota. Using a mouse model, we found that colonization with the commensal fungus Candida albicans decreased the ecological resistance of the bacterial microbiota in response to the antibiotic clindamycin such that increased microbiota disruption was observed in C. albicans-colonized mice compared to that in uncolonized mice. C. albicans colonization resulted in decreased alpha diversity and small changes in abundance of bacterial genera prior to clindamycin challenge. Strikingly, co-occurrence network analysis demonstrated that C. albicans colonization resulted in sweeping changes to the co-occurrence network structure, including decreased modularity and centrality and increased density. Thus, C. albicans colonization resulted in changes to the bacterial microbiota community and reduced its ecological resistance. IMPORTANCE Candida albicans is the most common fungal member of the human gut microbiota, yet its ability to interact with and affect the bacterial gut microbiota is largely uncharacterized. Previous reports showed limited changes in microbiota composition as defined by bacterial species abundance as a consequence of C. albicans colonization. We also observed only a few bacterial genera that were significantly altered in abundance in C. albicans-colonized mice; however, C. albicans colonization significantly changed the structure of the bacterial microbiota co-occurrence network. Additionally, C. albicans colonization changed the response of the bacterial microbiota ecosystem to a clinically relevant perturbation, challenge with the antibiotic clindamycin.

After the Wildfires: The Processes of Social Learning of Forest Owners’ Associations in Central Catalonia, Spain

Over the last few decades, according to the Forest Fire Prevention Services of the Catalan Government, a small number of fires (less than 1%) have been responsible for the destruction of more than three quarters of the burnt forest area in Catalonia. However, while these wildfires have transformed many components of the landscape, including its vegetation and soils, they offer landowners the opportunity to learn from past decisions. This article aims to analyze the responses of forest owners in Central Catalonia after the great forest fires of the 1980s and 1990s, including the way in which their objectives and strategies are defined and their actions implemented. By conducting interviews with the members of forest owners’ associations and by means of participant observation at association meetings, we seek to examine the processes of social learning experienced by this collective and to identify the mechanisms used in their efforts to create socio-ecological structures that are less vulnerable to fire. Associationism is unusual in the world of Catalan forest ownership, despite the great number of private forest areas. In our results, however, associationism emerges as a strategy for cooperation, a recognition of the need to link ecological and social structures in the territory, and one which we define as a form of ‘socio-ecological resistance’. Our study highlights that the goals and actions of forest owners’ associations have both an instrumental and emotional component, so that reason, emotion and action have come to form the three vertices of socio-ecological resistance to fire.

Construction of ecological security pattern based on the importance of ecosystem service functions and ecological sensitivity assessment: a case study in Fengxian County of Jiangsu Province, China

The construction of ecological security pattern is one of the important ways to alleviate the contradiction between economic development and ecological protection, as well as the important contents of ecological civilization construction. How to scientifically construct the ecological security pattern of small-scale counties, and achieve sustainable economic development based on ecological environment protection, it has become an important proposition in regulating the ecological process effectively. Taking Fengxian County of China as an example, this paper selected the importance of ecosystem service functions and ecological sensitivity to evaluate the ecological importance and identify ecological sources. Furthermore, we constructed the ecological resistance surface by various landscape assignments and nighttime lighting modifications. Through a minimum cumulative resistance model, we obtained ecological corridors and finally constructed the ecological security pattern comprehensively combining with ecological resistance surface construction. Accordingly, we further clarified the specific control measures for ecological security barriers and regional functional zoning. This case study shows that the ecological security pattern is composed of ecological sources and corridors, where the former plays an important security role, and the latter ensures the continuity of ecological functions. In terms of the spatial layout, the ecological security barriers built based on ecological security pattern and regional zoning functions are away from the urban core development area. As for the spatial distribution, ecological sources of Fengxian County are mainly located in the central and southwestern areas, which is highly coincident with the main rivers and underground drinking water source area. Moreover, key corridors and main corridors with length of approximately 115.71 km and 26.22 km, respectively, formed ecological corridors of Fengxian County. They are concentrated in the western and southwestern regions of the county which is far away from the built-up areas with strong human disturbance. The results will provide scientific evidence for important ecological land protection and ecological space control at a small scale in underdeveloped and plain counties. In addition, it will enrich the theoretical framework and methodological system of ecological security pattern construction. To some extent, it also makes a reference for improving the regional ecological environment carrying capacities and optimizing the ecological spatial structure in such kinds of underdeveloped small-scale counties.

MORPHOBIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESISTING ORNAMENTAL CROPS

The article discusses alternative ways of protecting ornamental plants from stress factors of a biotic nature by increasing passive immunity when using environmentally friendly unconventional fertilizers as the main source of macro- and microelements and biologically active substances that differ in adaptogenic and immunomodulatory properties. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of a complex of biologically active substances and nontraditional fertilizers on the development of resisting of ornamental plants. The objects of the study were ornamental plants of the genus Rose, Tulipa and Gladíolus, which were used in landscaping urban ecosystems when creating landscape compositions. Sewage sludge (SS) of the municipal unitary industrial enterprise of the water supply and sewerage economy "Orelvodokanal", buckwheat family of LLC "Elita", vermicompost obtained on the basis of SS, buckwheat family and ash using earthworms from the Lumbricidae family were used as unconventional fertilizers. The study of the changes in the anatomical and morphological features of plants Rosa L., Tulipa L. and Gladiolus L. as a result of the influence of biologically active substances and non-traditional fertilizers was carried out using a biological microscope "Biolam S-13". The paper shows the change in the anatomical, morphological, physiological characteristics of ornamental plants in anthropogenic and cultural landscapes, which determines their ecological resistance to stress factors and harmful objects. The integration of environmentally friendly components in the cultivation of ornamental plants contributed to an increase in the thickness of the epidermis of Rosa L. leaves by 1.5 times; Tulipa L. – 1.4; Gladiolus L. – 1.6 times; leaf mesophyll thickness 1.9; 1.4; 1.6 times, respectively; leaf thickness of Rosa L. and Gladiolus L. plants by 1.2 times; Tulipa L. – 1.7 times. There is a significant increase in the osmotic pressure of Tulipa L. and Gladiolus L. plant cells by 26.8 and 28.3 kPa. Weak stomatal opening was noted in experimental variants Tulipa L. and Gladiolus L., as well as highly resistant cultivars Rosa L.

Environmental testing of spring triticale under the conditions of the Middle Amur region

Updating of the assortment of early spring cereal crops with high resistance to adverse factors is important specifically for the area of high-risk farming, which includes the Middle Amur region. The purpose of this research is to conduct an ecological study of spring triticale cultivars under the conditions of the Middle Amur region. The testing was carried out according to the ecological principles - research of the phonotypical variability of the structural elements of the productivity of spring triticale cultivars and their interrelation in the soil and climatic conditions of the Middle Amur region. Cultivating different regional cultivars of spring triticale in this ecological zone allows you to successfully get 20-30 centers per hectare of grain, but when exposed to stressful environmental factors, the yield varies from the average value up to two times, both in the positive and negative sides. It has been established that the majority of spring triticale specimens are characterized by low ecological resistance to adverse environmental conditions. The revealed correlation relationships of the phenotypic variability of spring triticale indicate the complex and multifactorial nature of the formation of the main structural elements of the productivity of spring triticale under the influence of climate-forming fluctuations of the Middle Amur region. Phenotypic variability of productivity signs is of interest for further selective enhancement of triticale culture to increase the production process under the influence of natural and climatic ecosystems.

Ecological Suitability Evaluation for Conservation and Development in Bac Kan Province, Vietnam

Ecological suitability assessment is an effective approach to identify and locate the most suitable territories for future development in order to reduce the negative impacts of human activities on the ecosystem for ensuring sustainable development. The study aimed to propose a future direction for sustainable use of natural resources at the district level in Bac Kan province based on the ecological suitability evaluation approach and the trade-off technique. This study firstly applied the Delphi method to identify significant ecological resistance indicators for assessing ecological elements, importance, and resilience, which characterize the resistance of ecological structures, ecological functions, and ecological dynamics to construction and development, respectively. Then, an integrated ecological resistance model was applied to classify ecological suitability for construction and development. Moreover, spatial analysis and trade-off technique were applied to assign a development zone and propose future directions at provincial and district levels in Bac Kan province. The results revealed that the most dominant ecological suitability class for construction and development is the moderately suitable class, and it accounts for about 1948 km2 or 40.30% of the total area. In addition, five development zones were assigned at the provincial level, whereas three future directions for sustainable use of natural resources were proposed at the district level. In a nutshell, the research methodology framework in this study can be used as a guideline to land managers and planners for ecological suitability assessment in Vietnam.