Determining the Optimal Density of Phoebe bournei Plantations Based on Dynamic Programming under Close-to-Nature Management Measures

Close-to-nature management (CTNM) is the most promising option for plantation silviculture and has received widespread attention in recent years. Stand density is a key variable in CTNM, as it directly influences growth and yield. Research for the optimal density that maximizes the total harvest has been ongoing. In this paper, a dynamic programming model was applied to the CTNM of Phoebe bournei plantations for the first time to solve the problem of stand density and target tree density control. This paper took Phoebe bournei plantations in Jindong Forest Farm of Hunan Province as the research object. Based on the data of seven consecutive years from 2015 to 2021, Richard’s growth equation was used to fit the height growth equation and basal area growth equation of Phoebe bournei. Stand growth was divided into five development stages according to the forest growth process and characteristics. Stand density and basal area were selected as two-dimensional state variables, and the maximum total harvest in the entire stand growth process was used as the objective function to establish a dynamic programming model. The optimal stand density and target tree density at each growth stage of the stand under three different site conditions were determined. According to the results obtained, the objective forest shape was designed for the stand under three types of site conditions, which can provide a theoretical basis for the CTNM of Phoebe bournei plantations to make the stand achieve the maximum harvest.

Environmental Aspects of the European Experience in Landscape Planning

Understanding all the possibilities of environmentally oriented landscape planning will contribute to the effective environmental planning of the territory and nature management in general. Accordingly, the purpose of the study was to investigate the experience of the European countries towards the introduction of an effective system of environmentally oriented landscape planning and improvement of territories, as well as their protection. For this purpose, it is necessary to comprehensively study the strengths and weaknesses of existing developments in the field of environmentally oriented landscape planning in Europe. An analysis of the best practices of environmentally oriented landscape planning in such countries as Great Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, etc. has been conducted. The findings allowed to state that the effectiveness of development and implementation of substantial planning for landscape design depends not only on the volume and depth of research, but to a very large extent from their reasonable and productive organisation. The paper summarises that in environmentally oriented landscape planning, it is first necessary to determine the reasons for planning. Before choosing the object and territory of planning, it is necessary to find out: who are the potential customers and investors – their goals and motivation; what are the problem situations and conflicts in nature management in the area; what is the practical use of the results of landscape planning; the purpose of the territory, including cartographic; the availability of source information, and more. And then make decisions regarding the stages of landscape planning, taking into account the environmental component and, accordingly, the implementation of the idea of landscape planning.

Ways of solving the problems of rational nature management in the areas of alluvial deposits development

A characteristic feature of the developed placer deposits is that most of them (up to 90–95%) are hard to develop, and the sands included in them are hard to enrich, due to their location in the geographic and climatic zones with a harsh climate, where perennial and deep seasonal permafrost is widespread almost everywhere. About 40% of alluvial deposits are clayey, highly clayey or cemented. As a consequence, there are significant losses of the valuable component and a large negative impact on the environment, including due to repeated re–mining. The studies presented in this paper help to significantly reduce losses and increase the productivity of the dredge, thereby increasing metal recovery.

Anthropogenic impact on the shores and the bottom of the Jebriyan bay in the Northwestern part of the Black Sea

The Jebriyan Bay is located in the northern part of the Kiliya Danube Delta, at a junction of the delta cone and the indigenous coast. This is a zone of very high anthropogenic impact on the Danube Biosphere Reserve. The two opposite shores of this bay are fundamentally different. Along the northern shore, the Northwest coastal sand sediment flows discharge from the Cape of the Great Fontanne to the Jebriyan Bay. That is why the northern coast of the bay is made up of sandy forms of coastal topography (marine accumulative terrace and spit). The southern coast is deltaic; composed of a mixture of muddy, siltstone and sandy sediments. The area of the bay is limited to isobaths –11 m and is about 80 km2. The bottom of the bay has a gentle relief, made up of smooth outlines, with an average depth of 6.2 m. The shape of the transverse profile of the underwater slope is mostly convex. The natural system of the bay was affected by fishing, recreation, shipping and industrial sand production on coastal accumulative landforms. Coastal fishing uses a system of fixed bottom seines and small motorized floating equipment. Recreational facilities are designed to serve about 350 thousand people during the warm period each year. The impact of shipping was expressed in the construction and operation of the seaport of Ust-Dunaysk, together with suitable canal and the technical canal between the sea and the branch of the delta breakthrough the system of the large Ochakov branch. The ladle port had an area of about 1.5 km2, a maximal depth of 16 m, and an average depth of 13.7 m. The trough was connected to the Ochakov branch of the Danube Delta by a technical canal with a depth of 4 m. Vessels could enter the harbor of Ust-Danube through an access navigation channel with a depth of 11–12 m and a bottom width of 125 m. The port was used for the transshipment of large containers, general forest cargo from ocean vessels (displacement of 60–100 thousand tons) on regular sea lines from the countries of Southeast Asia to the Black Sea, to the Danube and further to the countries of Central Europe and to the ports of the North and the Baltic Seas. But it was unfortunate that the port construction site did not last as expected. Between 1980–2010 the harbor and approach canal of Ust-Dunaysk were filled with Danube river sediments. The example of Jebriyan Bay has shown that when executing any type of sustainable nature management project, it is very important to take into account the natural milieu.

ПРИВАТНО-ДЕРЖАВНІ ПАРТНЕРСТВА У СФЕРІ ПРИРОДОКОРИСТУВАННЯ: ПЕРЕДУМОВИ, ТЕНДЕНЦІЇ ТА ПРОТИРІЧЧЯ

The article provides insights into the process of developing and implementing public-private partnerships (PPP) as a key pattern of interaction between government and business which is characterized by a range of advantages, in particular investment attraction, risk sharing, handling socioeconomic and infrastructural issues, creating new jobs, etc. It is argued that building PPPs in the area of nature management embeds features associated with the existence of certain contradictions, in particular, the issue of reducing the environmental burden is the government’s responsibility whereas nature management is held at the enterprise level where environmental costs are financed by a leftover principle. This article seeks to explore the critical importance of building public-private partnerships in nature management. To attain the above goal, it is recommended to pursue the following basic objectives: to explore global trends in the process of PPP creation including those in the field of nature management; to provide argument for the critical role of PPPs for nature management in Ukraine; to identify the key issues in the implementation of the principles of environmental responsibility at the corporate level. To meet the research objectives, general scientific research methods have been employed, in particular, logical generalization, graphic analysis of the dynamics of the key indicators of nature management and in PPP functioning. A study of international good practices in the implementation of PPPs in other countries has identified the main trends which translates in transaction and investment drop and active participation of international investors from the United States, China, and France. The article exposes the reasons for the excessive human-caused environmental load in Ukraine against the corresponding indicators in developed economies. Thus, implementation of PPPs should become an important tool to tackle environmental challenges. According to the research findings, the key barriers to successful PPP performance in Ukraine are the following: their low attractiveness due to lack of awareness, fragmentary character of the registration system, low level of project implementation and completeness. Based on the study results, a conclusion could be drawn that industries alone are not capable to reduce environmental risks and harmful effects. The amount of wastes and pollutant emissions does not demonstrate a positive trend towards reduction in recent years. The article substantiates the need to implement PPPs in nature management. However, it is argued that the search for such projects is a complicated process that requires a well-balanced approach.

The Conservation Management of Engenho Uchôa Wildlife Refuge as a Natural Heritage

From the perspective of United Statian preservationism, where the presence of human beings in areas understood as natural was opposed, the first protected areas in Brazil appear at the threshold of the discussion on the protection of the country's ecosystems, where the dichotomy between man and nature is admitted, and through which instruments for the management of Brazilian biomes and ecosystems are developed. This article discusses the nature management model in Brazil, contrasting traditional management (through the provisions of the National System of Conservation Units / SNUC and which reverberates to State and Municipal Systems) and the conservation management, understood as the modality of management that acts on the patrimonial dimension of nature. This discussion permeates the definitions of Natural Significance, Conservation and Natural Heritage in the Australian Natural Heritage Charter (IUCN, 2002), and through the example of the Mata do Engenho Uchôa Wildlife Refuge (RVSMEU), a state conservation unit by the State System of Conservation Units of Pernambuco / SEUC, it is discussed how the current ecosystem management plan approaches and distances itself from the conservation management of its heritage values.

Alcohol and its functions in the culture of the Khanty of the Surgut Ob region

The aim of the research is to show the functions of alcohol in the traditional culture of the Eastern Khanty. The basis of the work is formed by the author's field data collected in 2002–2018 in Khanty Surgut Ob region, including the right bank of the Ob River (Lyamin, Pim, Tromyegan, and Agan) and its left bank (Bolshoi Yugan, Malyy Yugan), as well as the right tributary of the Irtysh River (Demyanka). The study of the role of alcohol in the traditional rituals of the Eastern Khanty was based on the methodology of gift exchange proposed by M. Mauss [2011]. The structural-functional approach was used to analyze the functions of alcohol, its place in the traditional culture, and social relations of the Eastern Khanty [Malinovskiy, 2006]. Despite the problems associated with alcoholism, as well as the negative impact on the health of the Eastern Khanty, alcohol performs a number of functions in the traditional culture. The recognition of the legitimacy of alcohol in the traditional worldview is based on the cosmogonic myths. In the ritual sphere, alcohol is a gift to the deities, from whom the indigenous people, in return, expect assistance to a person in hunting and fishing, prosperity, health, and safety. Alcohol performs the function of erasing social boundaries in the community of participants in a traditional ritual. During traditional ritu-als, alcohol is a tool for a person's transition to an altered state of consciousness. In everyday life, alcohol per-forms the functions of relaxation and stress relief. Alcohol serves as a social catalyst when a stranger is included in a traditional collective. Until recently, alcohol occupied not the last place as an equivalent of money in the in-kind exchange of goods and services. At the beginning of the 21st century, structural changes caused by the industrialization of the Surgut Ob region, as well as economic and social reforms of the Post-Perestroika period, led to reduction in the consumption of alcohol by the Eastern Khanty. Today, these changes are represented by two oppositely directed trends. The first tendency is represented by the processes of the revival of traditional culture, nature management, and religion. The second trend includes reappraisal of traditional religion and transition of a part of the Eastern Khanty to Protestantism.

The effectiveness of agro-technological methods of medicinal crops growing on irrigation

The article presents the results of experimental studies on optimizing the planting density of medicinal plants of the Lamiaceae Juss family. (Gubotsviti) as a factor in the formation of their productivity in conditions of drip irrigation. Research work has been carried out with the most common medicinal crops of this family: oregano (Origanum vulgare L.), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.), peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) in the conditions of the Left-Bank Forest-Steppe of Ukraine during 2016-2020 on the lands of the Experimental Station of Medicinal Plants of the Institute of Agroecology and Nature Management of NAAS (Lubny district of Poltava region) with the participation of the Institute of Water Problems and Land Reclamation of NAAS. In a one-factor field experiment, 8 elementary variants of planting density were studied: from 33 thousand / ha to 222,0 thousand /ha. Studies have shown that, despite genetic relatedness, members of the family Lamiaceae Juss. have a demonstrably different response to the density of planting under drip irrigation. Thus, the highest yield of dried oregano grass for both the first and second year of cultivation was obtained in the variant with a planting density of 166,7 thousand plants / ha. The most productive crops of lemon balm in the first and second years of cultivation were at a density of 83,3 thousand plants / ha. The highest yield of thyme for the first year was obtained in the variant of 222,0 thousand plants / ha, and for the second year - in the variant with a density of 111,0 thousand plants / ha. Peppermint formed the highest productivity at densities of 55,6 thousand plants /ha in both the first and second year of the growing season. A new scientific result is the obtained dependences of the yield of medicinal plants of the family Lamiaceae Juss. from the number of plants per unit area, which are described by the corresponding mathematical equations.

STATE OF BOTTOM SEDIMENTS OF THE VORONEZH RESERVOIR IN THE PLACES OF WATER DISCHARGE FROM THE TREATMENT FACILITIES OF THE CITY OF VORONEZH

Рассмотрена проблема загрязнения Воронежского водохранилища в пределах Воронежской городской агломерации, в местах сброса вод с очистных сооружений предприятий левого берега. В работе использованы результаты количественного химического анализа донных отложений, выполненных на базе эколого-аналитической лаборатории факультета географии, геоэкологии и туризма Воронежского госуниверситета, а также данные мониторинга, предоставленных Федеральной службой по надзору в сфере природопользования и Департаментом природных ресурсов и экологии Воронежской области. База данных включает результаты наблюдений с 2000 по 2021 год. По составу осадков прослежена история аккумуляции загрязнителей, выделены проблемные зоны водоема в каждом исследуемом периоде. Выполнен пространственно-временной анализ содержаний загрязняющих веществ, рассчитаны «кларки концентрации» тяжелых металлов, по которым для каждой точки наблюдения в порядке возрастания значения признака построен ранжированный ряд. На основании лабораторных исследований и результатов их статистической обработки с применением корреляционного анализа сделаны выводы о перспективах существования и развития Воронежского водохранилища. Проверены корреляционные связи между «кларками концентрации» и суммой выпавших осадков за календарный и за гидрологический год. По содержаниям сероводорода в различные годы, сделаны выводы о диапазоне колебания концентраций и формировании цикличного процесса. Выделена зона устойчивой деградации водоема. Ее формирование происходит выше и ниже сброса с городских очистных сооружений левого берега города. Результаты многолетних наблюдений за качеством донных отложений указывают на значительную техногенную нагрузку со стороны Воронежской городской агломерации. Недостаточная очистка воды, медленная скорость течения и турбулентность природной воды ускоряет процесс естественного эвтрофирования водоема. The author considers the problem of pollution of the Voronezh water reservoir within the Voronezh urban agglomeration, in places of discharge of water from the treatment facilities of enterprises of the left bank. The paper uses the results of quantitative chemical analysis of bottom sediments performed on the basis of the ecological and analytical laboratory of the Faculty of Geography, Geoecology and Tourism of Voronezh State University, as well as monitoring data provided by the Federal Service for Supervision of Nature Management and the Department of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Voronezh Region. The database includes the results of monitoring from 2000 till 2021. On the basis of the composition of precipitation the author detected the history of accumulation of pollutants; as well she identified problem areas of the water reservoir in every study period. The author performed a spatio-temporal analysis of the contents of pollutants, calculated the "concentration clarkes" of heavy metals, according to which she created an ordered series for each observation point in ascending order of the attribute value. Based on laboratory studies and results of their statistical processing using correlation analysis the author draws some conclusions concerning the prospects for the Voronezh water reservoir existence and development. The correlations between the "concentration clarkes" and the amount of precipitation for the calendar and hydrological year have been verified. Based on the hydrogen sulfide content in different years, the author concludes about the range of concentration fluctuations and the formation of a cyclic process. She identified the zone of stable degradation of the water reservoir. Its formation occurs above and below the discharge from the municipal sewage treatment plants of the left bank of the city. The results of long-term observations of the quality of bottom sediments indicate a significant anthropogenic load on the part of the Voronezh urban agglomeration. Insufficient water purification, slow flow velocity and turbulence of natural water accelerate the process of natural eutrophication of the water reservoir.

Organization of ecologically oriented production management

The article is devoted to the research of theoretical bases of organization of management of ecologically oriented production. The analysis of the financing of environmental protection measures in Ukraine shows a positive trajectory of expenditures on environmentally oriented activities during 2010–2019: total expenditures increased from UAH 13 to 44 billion, or more than 3.3 times. The structure of expenditures is dominated by own funds of enterprises (79 %), funds of state and local budgets – only 2 %. Global improvement of the environment can be achieved only through comprehensive cooperation between the state and enterprises with the support of society. Nature management can be optimized by creating a more advanced management system and introducing new efficient resource-saving technologies. Ecologically oriented activity ensures the observance by enterprises of socio-economic interests under the condition of rational use of natural resources and minimization of anthropogenic impact on the environment. At the same time, sustainable economic growth and stable improvement of financial and economic performance are achieved. The system of environmental production management must be organically integrated into the long-term strategy of enterprise management. The defining priority of ecological production is the target orientation on integration and harmonization of human relations with the environment. We have defined a set of measures for the effective organization of management of environmentally oriented production of enterprises. Among them are the development of environmental policy, compliance with environmental legislation, organizational structure, analysis of indicators and development of environmental programs, formalization of hazardous processes, staff training, document management, monitoring of deviations in environmental management, data accounting, environmental audit and environmental management. Their comprehensive implementation will allow to organize and ensure effective activities that will achieve the optimal ratio of environmental and economic indicators.