Dependence of the content of microbial biomass in typical black soil on agrogenic factors and year season

The authors of the paper found that the nature and direction of the seasonal dynamics of the content of microbial biomass in typical black soil in grain-fallow crop rotation differ depending on the slope direction, the cultivation system and the soil layer. The characteristics of the dynamics of the content of microbial biomass in typical black soil in the agroecosystem of grain-fallow crop rotation, depending on the slope direction and the type of soil cultivation are revealed. The influence of the slope direction on the dynamics of the microbial biomass in the soil is more pronounced in the layer of 10-20 cm. The need to ensure the supply of a sufficient amount of post-harvest residues and organic fertilizers to the soil is shown. The increase in the uniformity of the upper layer of typical black soil is associated with the constant mechanical man-made impact on it. The obtained results about the nature of the impact of the studied factors on the seasonal and spatial variability of microbial biomass can be used in the development of systems for the management of the biological activity and reproduction of organic matter in black soils in order to improve their ecological state. The results of studies of the ecologically and agronomically important soil component i.e. microbial biomass are necessary for the development of systems for the regulation of soil fertility in order to increase their productivity, as well as for the development of a control system for the content of microbial biomass in black soils. The experimental data can serve as the basis for a database on the microbial pool of various soils and ecosystems, which is advisable to use for model predictive calculations, including in different ecological scenarios. The assessment of the state of organisms living in the soil and their biodiversity are important in the solution of the problems of environmental practice: identification of zones of ecological disadvantage, calculation of damage caused by man-made activities, determination of the stability of the ecosystem and the impact of certain anthropogenic factors.

The growth Shorea leprosula Miq. on various slopes and directions of slopes in Gunung Dahu Research Forest, Bogor

Shorea leprosula Miq is a Dipterocarps forest plantation that has the prospect of being developed because it is a fast-growing species with high economic value. Given its commercial importance, this study was conducted to analyze the effect of slope class and slope direction on growth. Data were collected using the census method on S.leprosula stands with a spacing of 2m x 2m and 4m x 8m. The direction of the slope is determined based on the configuration of the slope according to the cardinal directions, while the slope of the land is determined based on the classification of the slope class of the land. The results showed that the slope class, slope direction, and the interaction between factors had a significant effect on the growth of S.leprosula. The interaction between the slope class and the direction of the slope produces the highest average annual increment of diameter in the flat slope class with the direction of the slope facing north, which is 1.79 m / year while the highest annual increment of the total average height is in the very steep slope class with to the slope facing to the north at 0.82 m / year.

Influence of slope direction on the permafrost degradation: a case study in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Slope direction affects permafrost degradation because of its influence on the surface energy balance. The ground thermal difference between slopes of differing aspect is known, however there are few detailed reports on differences in soil temperature, humidity, and radiation from slopes in permafrost areas that caused permafrost degradation. In this study variations in air and ground thermal regime were compared at two sloping sites with opposing aspect in a permafrost region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). The results indicate that air temperatures (Ta) were similar at both sites in September 2016-19. However, ground temperatures, including the ground surface temperature (Ts), the temperature near the permafrost surface (Tps), and the permafrost temperature at 5.0 m depth (Tg), and soil moisture content within the active layer differed greatly between sites. The mean annual Ts, Tps, and Tg over three years (2016-19) were 1.3-1.4 ℃ higher at the sunny slope than at the shady slope. The near-surface soil moisture content during the thawing season was 10-13% lower at the sunny slope (~22-27%) than the shady slope (~35-38%), and was significantly and negatively correlated with ground temperature. Shortwave downward radiation (DR) at the sunny slope was higher than at the shady slope. However, net radiation (Rn) was lower at the sunny slope due to the greater surface albedo at the site. The results highlight a complex spatial pattern of ground thermal conditions in mountainous permafrost regions, help define the climate-permafrost relation in the region, and for understanding permafrost degradation on a local scale.

Mass Movements Susceptibility analysis and Assessment of Associeted Risks along the Southern Escarpment of the Bamileke Plateaus (West-Cameroon Highlands)

The Southern Escarpment of the Bamileke Plateaux (SEBP) is an area frequently affected by mass movements. An analysis of the susceptibility of these hazards is important in order to better understand these mountain processes. Field campaigns as well as the exploitation of satellite images in the laboratory have made it possible to inventory all sites subject to mass movements in the region. The region is affected by landslides, block falls and subsidence. Landslides are the most frequent hazard in the region. These hazards are regulated by about 10 natural and anthropogenic factors which include lithology, geomorphology, anthropogenic action, soil, proximity to roads, proximity to watercourses, density of watercourses, slope, direction of slopes, and curvature of slopes. The steepest slopes are between 27 and 90°, the most important slopes are oriented Nord-West. The curvature of the slopes shows zero, convex and concave slopes. The soils in the area are ferralitic, humus-bearing and hydromorphic. The land use shows bare soil and cultivated soil. The geomorphology shows altitudes ˃ 1319m, the highest stream densities range from 183-293m and constitute the significant proximities causing instabilities. In relation to the different classes of river proximity, the highest river proximities are ˃120m. The highest road proximities are ˃ 50m relative to the other road proximity classes. The geological formations that dominate the area are basalts, mylonites, granites gneisses and charnokites. These factors were mapped and the different maps were overlaid to obtain a mass movement susceptibility map of the study area. This map shows that 16.95% represent low probability areas, 43.39% represent moderate probability areas, 29.77% represent high probability areas and 9.89% represent very high probability areas. The majority of mass movements, especially landslides, are located in the high probability areas.

A Comprehensive overview of AR/VR by Writing in Air

The research is all about how often people could identify alphabets and numbers written in the open air. A leap motion captures motion trajectory information and plots it as a continuous stream of points. Lines would be combined and major slopes identified from the major points. Significant slopes are converted into directions by the use of geometry. Slope orientation is another name for this. Slope Alignment Sequence is a list of slope orientations that are used to individually depict Alphanumeric Letters. In this experiment, Dependency injection OpenCV is used to sketch on the camera with a virtual pen, i.e. any marker may be used to draw using the contour detection technique centered on the mask of the desired cultured reference marker. If you're a beginner who wants to enthuse your fellow members with a visual demonstration, the application user will be identified by the system until the produced slope direction sequence matches the system's comparison slope alignment sequence. In the algorithm's matching process, the sets and subsets process is used. The researchers suggested a new approach for classifying Alphabetic Chars written in the air in this article. The outcome of the experiment shows that the suggested approach is reliable.

Discordance Mapping of Argyre Basin: An Insight into the Fluvial and Subglacial Origin of Valley Networks in the Argyre Basin Region

<p><strong>Introduction:</strong>  Martian valley networks are evidence for surface run-off and past water cycles on ancient Mars. Many of the networks resemble terrestrial precipitation-fed systems; however, recent analysis has found that the geometries and morphological characteristics of some valley networks are more comparable to subglacial valley formation. Subglacial valleys have morphological characteristics that make them distinct from fluvial valley systems (i.e., those formed via precipitation or sapping erosion). Unlike fluvial valley networks, which follow the surface slope of the underlying topography, sub-glacial networks are orientated in the direction of the surface slope of the overlying ice-sheet. Therefore, subglacial valleys may have orientations that are discordant with the underlying topography. Discordance analysis, a technique that compares the valley paleoslope direction and topographic slope direction, has been applied to Mars to determine areas that have undergone topographic modification since valley formation. This technique could also be a tool for identify valleys with potential sub-glacial origins.</p><p>In this study, we mapped and applied discordance analysis to valley networks in and around Argyre basin. Detailed analysis was performed on four valley networks on eastern Argyre, to determine whether their characteristics are indicative of a fluvial or sub-glacial origin.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> 2669 V-Shaped valleys (total length = 36155.5 km) and 45 U-Shaped valleys (total length = 2683.5 km) were identified. Most V-Shaped valleys dissect the eastern and northern rim of Argyre Basin, with fewer in the south and west. The densest northern valley networks have values up to 0.098 km<sup>-1</sup>, compared to the densest in the south with values of only 0.040 km<sup>-1</sup>. U-Shaped valleys are prominent along the south/south-west rim, but are lacking along the northern rim of Argyre.</p><p>Most valleys (47.8 %) are concordant (< 45° discordance) with present slope direction. Two dense groups of discordant valleys are present adjacent to Hale Crater and Nia Vallis. These areas display features associated with the presence of an ice-sheet/glacier – e.g., glacial moraines and eskers. Additionally, the morphology of these valley systems are consistent with a subglacial origin.</p><p>Fento Vallis and the Darwin Crater valley system are concordant with present topographic slope, and are in close proximity to one another; however, their morphologies differ greatly. Fento Vallis consists of 25 valleys (total valley length of ~ 690 km) and drainage density of 0.019 km<sup>-1</sup>. The Darwin Crater valley network consists of 49 valleys (total valley length of ~ 1351 km) and drainage density of 0.048 km<sup>-1</sup>. Fento Vallis displays features (e.g., inner channel eskers) indicative of a subglacial origin. Alternatively, the Darwin Crater System has a planform associated with fluvial activity and originates from cirque like depressions. Although the Darwin Crater system appears to have a fluvial origin, less than 100 km to the east is Pallacopas Vallis, which displays inner eskers indicating that it has a subglacial origin.</p><p>Three of the networks analysed, which are > 1000 km apart from one another, are likely subglacial in origin. Their occurrence indicates that an ice-sheet or multiple ice-sheets were present along the eastern region of Argyre throughout its history.</p>

Assessment of multitemporal INSAR data for establishing regional landslides inventories

<p>Over 2700 gravitational movements are recorded as polygons in the inventory of the Aosta region (3261 km2, Northern Italy). The surface affected by gravitational processes is about 20% of the overall surface area of the Aosta region and corresponds mostly to deep seated slope deformations, landslides and rock slope collapses. In addition, a complete set of multitemporal INSAR data has been recently made available for the same area (SqueeSAR processing by TRE, for both ascending and descending orbits, from October 2014 to February 2020).</p><p>In a first step, the distribution of INSAR data was analyzed with respect to landcover and radar geometric deformations. Main outcomes are:</p><ul><li>About 732’000 points were found by INSAR corresponding to a total average density of ~220 pts/km2.</li> <li>0% of points have velocities below 1 mm/y, 20.4% between 1 and 10 mm/y, and only 0.6% more than 1 cm/y.</li> <li>The landcover is forested over 30% of the surface, covered by low vegetation on steep slopes for 46% and unvegetated for 24%, Points density are respectively 146, 200 and 369 pts /km2.</li> <li>Less than 5% of the Aosta region is affected by radar layover or shadowing. But, considering the slope direction as possible vector of displacement, 60% of INSAR velocities are underestimated of 50% or more when projected on the line of sight of the satellite (of course most of the time these are not the same slopes for ascending and descending orbits).</li> </ul><p>In a second step, we assessed the information provided by INSAR for the landslides recorded in the IFFI inventory:</p><ul><li>29% of the polygons of the IFFI inventory do not include INSAR pts. However, those are mostly small zones, corresponding to only 9% of the total surface mapped as affected by gravitational movements. Most of large instabilities have INSAR points. 52% of the polygons have INSAR points from both ascending and descending orbits, and 19% from only one orbit.</li> <li>68% of IFFI polygons have all their INSAR velocities slower than 5mm/y (for both orbits). It doesn’t mean automatically that these instabilities are dormant or slow moving, because for about half of them INSAR velocities strongly underestimate expected real velocities because of unfavorable projection on the line of sight of the satellites.</li> <li>55 instabilities show INSAR velocities between 50 and 10 mm/y, and 31 faster than 10 mm/y.</li> </ul><p>Finally, an independent inventory was made using only the INSAR data and then compared to the IFFI inventory. In order to handle the data, a minimum velocity 2.5 mm/y was selected.</p><ul><li>1437 instabilities were mapped in this inventory, covering 308 km2, for 2702 instabilities over 604 km2 in the IFFI inventory.</li> <li>About 60% of the moving area detected looking only at the INSAR data are visible on only one orbit (ascending or descending).</li> <li>62 clusters of INSAR points with velocities higher than 1 cm/y and not in the IFFI polygons were detected. Among them, 4 sites with significant extensions will require further geological investigations.</li> </ul>

Landscape assessment for space orientation for ecological tourism development in Van Ho district, Son La province

The paper presents the results of landscape assessment serving the spatial orientation of ecotourism development in Van Ho district, Son La province. The input data includes: Terrain (elevation, slope, slope direction, ground roughness); Natural (temperature, rainfall, geology and soil); Environment (vegetation cover density, land use activity, protected\ protected area, distance from water source); Socio-economic (distance from residential points, distance from major roads, distance from cultural sites, distance from negative points). The weights of the criteria are determined through AHP method. The component values of the indicators and the overall landscape value were determined by overlaying the maps. The results show that: About 75% of the district area is not suitable for ecotourism development, about 25% of the area is suitable for ecotourism development, distributed in the east and southeast of the district.

Faster and More Efficient FIB Sample Preparation: Exploring Single-Raster Staircase Patterning at Glancing Angle of Incidence

Focused Ion Beam sample preparation for electron microscopy often requires large volumes of material to be removed. Prior efforts to increase the rate of bulk material removal were mainly focused on increasing the primary ion beam current. Enhanced sputtering yield at glancing ion beam incidence is known, but has not found widespread use in practical applications. In this study, etching at glancing ion beam incidence was explored for its advantages in increasing the rate of bulk material removal. Anomalous enhancement of material removal was observed with single raster etching in along-the-slope direction with toward-FIB raster propagation at glancing ion beam incidence. Material removal was inhibited with raster propagation away from FIB. The effects of glancing angle and ion dose on depth of cut and volume of removed material were also recorded. We demonstrated that the combination of single-raster etching in along-the-slope direction by raster propagating toward-FIB at glancing incidence and a “staircase” type of etching strategy holds promise for reducing the process time for bulk material removal in FIB sample preparation applications.