Burning Of Vegetation Research Articles

Methodological Basis for Mapping the Consequences of Military Soil Degradation at the Level of the Territorial Community

The purpose of this study is to develop a set of digital maps of the pre-war and current state of soil resources at the territorial community level based on the proposed methodological approaches (on the example of the Chkalovska territorial community (hromada) of the Chuguyiv district of the Kharkiv region). We used the following main methods: comparative-geographical, statistical, relief plasticity, cartographic, geostatistical, and graphic. Maps of the qualitative state and distribution of the main quantitative indicators of soils in the Chkalovska community based on pre-war data were created. Based on the remote research results on the impact of military actions on the quality of chernozems in the Chkalovska community have allowed the identification of types (mechanical, biological) and kinds (aviation and artillery craters, military roads, vegetation burning, anti-tank ditches, support points/trenches) of soil cover damage and their scales (areas). A map of military soil degradation was developed with GIS by overlaying the contours of the most intensively damaged soil cover on a geographic base. A map scheme of mined and cleared agricultural lands, areas undergoing demining, and the structure of the cultivated fields’ sown areas has been constructed as the basis for forming a network for soil sampling within the community. An online map was created by uploading data layers to the ArcGIS Online platform. Almost the entire territory of the Chkalovska community has suffered some degree of damage from the armed aggression of the russian federation. The most damaged due to hostilities are the most fertile soils of the Chkalovska community—typical heavy loam and light clay chernozems. The feasibility of using the developed digital mapping algorithm based on map-versions to determine the qualitative state of the soil cover and the spread of areas of soil damage as a result of hostilities at the level of territorial communities has been determined. The developed soil cartographic materials will become the basis for making effective management decisions regarding post-war soil recovery.

Release of Organochlorine Pollutants from Forest Fires: 1. Emission Factors and Revisiting Their Emissions in the Himalayan Regions.

Worldwide forest fires have occurred frequently in recent years, a result of which may be the emission of so-called "legacy" organochlorine pollutants (OCPs) accumulated in forests. However, few studies have measured the emission factors (EFs) of the toxicity of the OCPs from forest fires. In this study, the EFs of vegetation burning were observed in forests along the altitudinal gradient from 1000 to 4200 m, and the EFs of ∑DDTs (dechlorodiphenylthrichloroethanes), HCB (hexachlorobenzene), ∑HCHs (hexachlorocyclohexanes), and ∑PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) were 2050 ± 1175, 379 ± 409, 48 ± 51, and 65 ± 59 ng/kg, respectively. Re-evaporation was the primary mechanism of the emission of OCP from forest fires. The masses of HCB, β-HCH, o,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDD, and PCB-28 in smoke increased 3-7 times compared with those in unburnt vegetation, suggesting the formation of these pollutants by the pyrolysis of biomass or other pollutants. Based on the observed EFs, previously estimated quantities of fire-emitted OCPs in the Himalayan regions were revisited. The DDT emissions from the Himalayan forest fires increased ∼70% compared with the previous estimation (from 19 to 32 kg/year). This highlighted that the EF observations could decrease the uncertainties of estimating OCP emissions from forest fires, which is helpful in revealing the potential roles of forest fires on global POP cycling.

Prescribed burning of heathland vegetation increases seed germinability and seedling emergence of introduced Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) in Northern Europe

Prescribed burning of heathland vegetation increases seed germinability and seedling emergence of introduced Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) in Northern Europe

ANALYSIS OF VEGETATION COVER IN COMMUNITIES OF UZHGOROD DISTRICT BASED ON NBR-INDEX VALUES

An important resource of the Uzhgorod district and its fourteen territorial communities is the plant cover, which is characterized by a significant phytocenotic diversity. The landscapes of the Uzhgorod district have been undergone significant anthropogenic changes, especially in the flat part, where agricultural lands with mainly arable land and pastures. Numerous vegetation indices are used for the monitoring of the vegetation cover condition using remote sensing data, among which NBR is the normalized burn ratio index. Such an index is an informative quantitative indicator of the state of vegetation in general and as a result of the impact of fires in particular. To calculate and compare the NBR index, images with minimum cloud cover for August-September 2023 were used. The selected period is due to the temperature peak and seasonal burning of dry vegetation. Also, at the end of summer and beginning of autumn, the harvesting of cereals and other agricultural crops begins, as a result of which there is a significant decrease in vegetation cover, which affects the reflectivity of the surface and the value of the NBR index. The values of community areas with negative values of the NBR index and their correlation with the total area and population were analyzed.

Recovery Following Recurrent Fires Across Mediterranean Ecosystems.

In fire-prone regions such as the Mediterranean biome, fire seasons are becoming longer, and fires are becoming more frequent and severe. Post-fire recovery dynamics is a key component of ecosystem resilience and stability. Even though Mediterranean ecosystems can tolerate high exposure to extreme temperatures and recover from fire, changes in climate conditions and fire intensity or frequency might contribute to loss of ecosystem resilience and increase the potential for irreversible changes in vegetation communities. In this study, we assess the recovery rates of burned vegetation after recurrent fires across Mediterranean regions globally, based on remotely sensed Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data, a proxy for vegetation status, from 2001 to 2022. Recovery rates are quantified through a statistical model of EVI time-series. This approach allows resolving recovery dynamics in time and space, overcoming the limitations of space-for-time approaches typically used to study recovery dynamics through remote sensing. We focus on pixels burning repeatedly over the study period and evaluate how fire severity, pre-fire vegetation greenness, and post-fire climate conditions modulate vegetation recovery rates of different vegetation types. We detect large contrasts between recovery rates, mostly explained by regional differences in vegetation type. Particularly, needle-leaved forests tend to recover faster following the second event, contrasting with shrublands that tend to recover faster from the first event. Our results also show that fire severity can promote a faster recovery across forested ecosystems. An important modulating role of pre-fire fuel conditions on fire severity is also detected, with pixels with higher EVI before the fire resulting in stronger relative greenness loss. In addition, post-fire climate conditions, particularly air temperature and precipitation, were found to modulate recovery speed across all regions, highlighting how direct impacts of fire can compound with impacts from climate anomalies in time and likely destabilise ecosystems under changing climate conditions.

Identification of Anthropogenic Impact and Indicators of Landscape Transformation in the Fatala River Basin (Republic of Guinea)

The aim of this study is to identify the main factors of anthropogenic impact and indicators of landscape transformation in the Fatala River Basin in the Republic of Guinea. Our fieldwork in the Boke and Kindia regions was the main source of materials and data. The landscape and ecological situation of nine key study plots were characterized. These key plots make up a representative series of transformed and natural landscapes. We complemented our fieldwork with Landsat satellite image analysis. We learned that the main factors of anthropogenic impact in the Fatala River Basin are the systematic burning of vegetation, mechanical disturbances of soil and vegetation cover, the depletion of fertile topsoil, grazing, and the littering of the landscape with household waste. The indicators of landscape transformation are deforestation, changes in the natural vegetation cover, and mechanically disturbed lands. We identified five main stages of agro-landscape development, starting from the clearing of a plot by burning vegetation (stage I) and ending with the completion of the agricultural activity in the plot and its abandonment to restore the topsoil (stage V). The limiting factors of nature management are elevation differences, the rapid restoration of vegetation cover, and rocky/gravelly substrate. It is possible to identify transformed landscapes in large or hard-to-reach regions using satellite images. Thus, natural or quasi-natural landscapes can be identified based on the lower surface temperature relative to the surrounding lands. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference moisture index (NDMI) could be useful for identifying agricultural pasture plots within a tropical forest using long-term satellite data series. We revealed a tendency for landscape deterioration in the middle and upper parts of the Fatala River Basin, while vegetation cover is being restored in the lower part of the basin. Finally, we propose some measures to rehabilitate transformed landscapes and increase the efficiency of agricultural production in the study region.

Multiscale Effects of Slash-and-Burn Agriculture Across the Tropics: Implications for the Sustainability of an Ancestral Agroecosystem

Slash-and-burn agriculture (SBA) is critical to maintaining rural peoples’ livelihoods. Yet, it causes environmental degradations that challenge its sustainability. Such degradations are often underestimated, as they are usually assessed at the local (stand) scale, overlooking larger-scale impacts. Here, we drew upon existing SBA and landscape ecology knowledge to assess the multiscale abiotic and biotic effects of SBA. This agroecosystem involves four stages (slashing of vegetation, burning of vegetation, farming, and forest recovery) but the SBA research is biased towards biotic impacts, especially during forest recovery. Despite its importance for key abiotic (e.g., soil fertility) and biotic (e.g., species richness) attribute recovery, this stage is typically too short (<10 years) to compensate for the environmental degradation caused by the previous stages. Successional and landscape ecology theory suggests that such compensatory dynamics can promote SBA sustainability in landscapes dominated by old-growth forests. Yet, when old-growth forest loss exceeds certain boundaries, abiotic and biotic SBA impacts may compromise the conservation value and sustainability of this ancient agroecosystem. We highlight that SBA sustainability should be comprehensively assessed by including landscape-scale variables (e.g., percent old-growth forest cover) that may be key for maintaining biodiversity patterns and processes in landscapes where SBA is practiced.

Heavy metal contamination and potential health risks in upland rice-producing soils of rotational shifting cultivation in northern Thailand

Rotational shifting cultivation (RSC) is commonly practiced in northern Thailand for upland rice cultivation, primarily for household consumption. However, the potential health risks from heavy metal contamination in these soils have not been thoroughly explored. This study aimed to evaluate the contamination of six heavy metals (Arsenic (As), Mercury (Hg), Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), Copper (Cu), and Chromium (Cr)) in upland rice across RSC fields with varying fallow periods and assess the associated health risks from rice consumption. Four RSC fields with 5, 6, 10, and 12-year fallow periods were examined. The RSC-6Y and RSC-12Y fields were used for upland rice cultivation in 2022, while the RSC-5Y and RSC-10Y fields were cultivated in 2023. The geo-accumulation index (Igeo) was calculated, and translocation factors (TF) were assessed for the transfer of heavy metals from soil to straw (TFStraw/Soil), straw to grain (TFGrain/Straw), and soil to grain (TFGrain/Soil). The results indicated that after burning vegetation in the RSC fields, the highest concentrations of Pb, Cr, and Hg were found in the ash. In RSC soils, Cu, Cr, As, Pb, and Hg levels were below reference standards, with Cd undetected. In rice grains, the order of concentration was Pb > Cu > Cr > As, with Hg and Cd undetected. Pb levels in rice grains exceeded the safety threshold. Igeo values indicated no contamination to moderate contamination across sites, with negative Igeo values for Cr and Cu, and zero values for Cd. The TF results showed limited transfer of As, Hg, and Cd from soil to rice plants (TFStraw/Soil < 0.1), but notable transfer for Pb, Cr, and Cu. Pb was readily transferred from soil to grain (TFGrain/Soil), posing a potential health risk. The study highlights potential non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks from heavy metal exposure, particularly Pb, and underscores the need for further research to determine contamination sources and mitigation strategies.

Rapid Post-Wildfire Burned Vegetation Assessment with Google Earth Engine (Case Study: 2023 Canada Wildfires)

Abstract. Wildfires are significant environmental threats, requiring precise and prompt assessment to mitigate damage and guide recovery efforts. Remote sensing, mainly through satellite imagery multispectral data, provides practical tools for monitoring and evaluating wildfire impacts. Canada experiences significant wildfires each year, causing substantial damage to the country’s environment, particularly its vegetation. This study proposed a fast and efficient method using Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud-based computing to rapidly assess burned vegetation following a wildfire in Canada in 2023, utilizing Sentinel-2 imagery data. This method computed NDVI, GNDVI, and EVI spectral indices for classifying pre-fire vegetation cover and NBR, dNBR, and MIRBI for classifying post-fire burn severity. These spectral indices served as input data for machine learning models, including K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting Decision Trees (GBDT), and Support Vector Machine (SVM). Ultimately, the results of vegetation cover and burn severity classifications, performed separately by these models, were combined using a decision-level fusion with a weighting approach based on an accuracy approach to produce integrated and final classifications. Subsequently, by overlapping the results of these fused classifications, the burned vegetation was assessed, and its area was estimated. According to the study's results, significant damage was observed in the vegetation after the wildfire. 4489 km2 of the study area, which was a Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) tile with an area of 12,000 km2, was burned due to the wildfire. 34.06% of this area was specifically burned vegetation, equating to approximately 4,088 km2.

Effects of Fire on Physical and Chemical Properties of Soil in Fwangnin Bokkos District, Nigeria

Background: Vegetation burning, a common agricultural practice, has both positive and negative effects on soil fertility. Soil quality, which is critical for ecosystems, shapes biodiversity and productivity, while increased temperatures from vegetation burning can alter conditions for seed germination by reducing nutrient availability. Objectives: The study aims to assess the impacts of vegetation burning on soil fertility in Fwangnin, Bokkos, Nigeria, through experimental investigation of the effects of burning on both the chemical and physical properties of soil. The results are expected to contribute to the development of adaptive fire management strategies in land use, and the results will also help monitor soil changes in order to maintain long-term soil fertility. Methods: Using purposive sampling, four 500-gram soil samples were taken from 0 – 15 cm depth in burned and unburned areas. The samples were analysed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), organic matter (OM), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Traditional well-proven methods were used for the analysis. Results: It was found that the pH of the burnt soil samples ranged from 6.10 to 5.90, while that of the unburnt samples ranged from 5.73 to 5.81; a significant increase in pH occurs at higher combustion temperatures, which increases the alkalinity of the soil due to the alkaline properties of ash. The electrical conductivity value for the samples in the burnt areas was significantly higher (0.08 mS/cm and 0.10 mS/cm) compared to the healthy soil (0.07 mS/cm and 0.09 mS/cm), which can be explained by the release of mineral ions due to the combustion of organic matter. The study found a decrease in organic carbon content in the burnt soil, a significant deficiency of nitrogen and a decrease in the cation exchange capacity, which contributes to the depletion of the fertile layer and a decrease in the ability of the soil to retain essential nutrients. Increased levels of organic phosphorus were also found in burnt soils, which contributes to improved crop growth and increased yields in the short term. Conclusion: The current study has filled the gap in deep understanding of the impact of vegetation burning on the fertile properties of agricultural soils. Namely, it has been experimentally established and confirmed by the results of similar studies and statistical analysis that while vegetation burning remains a common agricultural practice in Fwangnin, the long-term implications for soil fertility, structure, and ecosystem health are significant. The soil degradation observed in this study suggests that continued reliance on burning as a land-clearing method may undermine agricultural productivity and environmental integrity over time.

Analysis of forest fire dangers of the Bryansk region in the zones of radioactive contamination and beyond

The purpose of the study is to analyze the forest fire dangers of the Bryansk region forests, taking into account their radioactive contamination and potential risks for forestry workers involved in forest fires extinguishing. Significant areas of radioactive contamination of forests with a predominance of sites belonging to the classes of high and very high natural fire danger, restrictions on economic activity and a long fire-hazardous period contribute to the occurrence of radioactive forest fires. The analysis of the combined data on forest fires and radioactive contamination of forest areas showed that most forest fires occur outside the zones of radioactive contamination and are not radioactive. The largest number of fires occurs at the beginning of the fire season. Radioactive forest fires in most cases arise from the burning of dry grassy vegetation, as a result of the transition from lands of other categories and through the fault of the population. The average effective dose of additional radiation per a workday can be estimated at 1.96 μSv, and the maximum at ~ 15.4 μSv. Most fires are extinguished in the early stages and do not have time to cover large areas. It indicates the effective work of the forest fire service

High Resolution (30 m) Burned Area Product Improves the Ability for Carbon Emission Estimation in Africa

AbstractFire significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The current global burned area (BA) products mainly have coarse native spatial resolution, which leads to underestimation of global BA and carbon emissions from biomass burning. Performances of BA products in Africa from GABAM (30 m), MCD64A1 (500 m), GFED4s (0.25°), FireCCI51 (250 m), and GFED5 (0.25°) were compared. From 2014 to 2020, GFED5 detected the most BA, 1.58 times more than GABAM during the same period. GABAM detected 0.09 Mkm2 more burned area than FireCCI51 on average. From 2014 to 2016, GABAM detected an average of 2.99 Mkm2 of BA in Africa, which was 1.03 times more than GFED4s. From 2014 to 2021, the average African BA derived from GABAM was 2.89 Mkm2, 1.22 times more than MCD64A1. The increase in BA will inevitably lead to an increase in the estimation of carbon emissions from biomass burning. Based on GABAM products and GFED framework, we estimated the average vegetation burning carbon emissions in Africa from 2014 to 2021 to be 1113.25 Tg, which is higher than GFED4s' carbon emissions in the same time period. This shows that the use of high‐resolution (30 m) burned area products to estimate carbon emissions can effectively avoid the underestimation of overall fire carbon emissions.

Effect of abrupt post‐fire ash inputs on water quality and the phytoplankton community in lentic freshwaters

Abstract One of the major threats to biodiversity is changing fire regimes, particularly increasingly frequent fires, especially during the dry season. However, studies on the direct and indirect effects of fire on biotic responses in aquatic ecosystems are still scarce. In this study, we investigated how water quality and phytoplankton community structure were affected by different ash concentrations from burning vegetation of a tropical savanna. We used a microcosm experiment to simulate the aquatic ecosystem with different ash concentration scenarios and evaluated the water quality and the composition, richness and density of phytoplankton over time. We found increased total phosphorus and ammoniacal nitrogen concentrations after ash addition, in addition to changes in electrical conductivity. We identified 242 phytoplankton taxa throughout the experiment and identified changes in species composition among treatments. We identified changes in the taxonomic richness of total phytoplankton, green algae and desmids over time. The density of total phytoplankton, diatoms, green algae, desmids and cyanobacteria also changed over time. Our results suggest that ash from terrestrial fires affects water quality and phytoplankton communities depending on the proportion of ash input. Our results serve as a basis for further investigations of the effects of fire on abiotic conditions in aquatic ecosystems and their communities over long periods of time. Finally, longer‐term experiments are needed to evaluate delayed responses by the phytoplankton community.

Post-wildfire boreal forest vegetation cover change mapping via information fusion for secondary disaster risk assessments

Post-wildfire boreal forest vegetation cover change mapping via information fusion for secondary disaster risk assessments

Early polar-orbiting satellite-based fire remote sensing during the 1960s

ABSTRACT Satellite-based sensors such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) now routinely provide a detailed picture of global fire activity on a daily basis. These systems explicitly included biomass burning as a phenomenon of interest, and their design was heavily influenced by experience gained with the comparatively primitive Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) first deployed on the TIROS-N satellite in the late 1970s. The AVHRR is generally recognized as the earliest spaceborne sensor to provide a middle infrared (MWIR) channel sensitive to actively burning vegetation fires and other high-temperature, sub-pixel thermal anomalies, forming the basis of countless fire studies before higher quality MODIS data became available. Here, we consider in the context of active fire monitoring a sensor much older than the AVHRR, namely the High Resolution Infrared Radiometer (HRIR) on board NASA’s Nimbus-I, -II, and -III satellites, launched in 1964, 1966, and 1969, respectively. This early imaging sensor had a single MWIR channel primarily intended for night-time meteorological observations (a complementary daytime near-infrared channel was added for Nimbus-III) that could potentially serve as a source of pre-AVHRR active fire data. To this end, we inspected night-time HRIR imagery acquired over the western United States and found unambiguous evidence of multiple confirmed wildfires in 1966. In addition, we found strong evidence of actively burning fires in Africa, specifically the Democratic Republic of the Congo, western Zambia, and northern Namibia, and in northern Australia, commensurate with their fire seasons. Our findings indicate that it was actually the HRIR that acquired the earliest MWIR imagery that could be used for identifying biomass burning from space, well over a decade before the first AVHRR was deployed. We found in addition that the retrieval of fire radiative power (FRP) from higher dynamic-range HRIR observations was potentially possible pending refined calibration.

Wildfire effects on mercury fate in soils of North-Western Siberia

Arctic soils store 49 Gg mercury (Hg) - an extremely toxic heavy metal, whereas soil Hg can be released to the atmosphere by wildfires. For the first time we investigated the effects of wildfires on the fate of soil Hg in North-Western (NW) Siberia based on GIS maps of areas burned during the last 38years and a field paired comparison of unburned and burned areas in tundra (mosses, lichens, some grasses, and shrubs) and forest-tundra (multi-layered canopy of larch trees, shrubs, mosses, and lichens). These field surveys were deepened by soil controlled burning to assess the Hg losses from organic horizon and mineral soil. The soil Hg stocks in the organic horizon and in the top 10cm of the mineral soil were 3.3±0.6 and 16±3mg Hg m-2 for unburned tundra and forest-tundra, respectively. After the burning by wildfires, the soil Hg stocks decreased to 2.4±0.1 and 6.6±0.2mg Hg m-2 for tundra and forest-tundra, respectively. By the averages annual burned areas in NW Siberia 527km2, wildfires in tundra and forest-tundra released 0.19 and 2.9Mg soil Hg per year, respectively, corresponding to 28% and 59% of the initial soil Hg stocks. These direct effects of wildfires on Hg volatilization are raised by indirect post-pyrogenic consequences on Hg fate triggered by the vegetation succession and adsorption of atmospheric Hg on the surface of charred biomass. Charred lichens and trees accumulated 4-16 times more Hg compared to the living biomass. Blackened burned vegetation and soil reduced surface albedo and slowly increased soil temperatures in Arctic after wildfires. This created favorable conditions for seeding grasses and shrubs after wildfire and transformed burned high-latitude ecosystems into greener areas, increasing their capacity to trap atmospheric Hg by vegetation, which partly compensate the burning losses of soil Hg.

Predictive Understanding of Links Between Vegetation and Soil Burn Severities Using Physics‐Informed Machine Learning

AbstractBurn severity is fundamental to post‐fire impact assessment and emergency response. Vegetation Burn Severity (VBS) can be derived from satellite observations. However, Soil Burn Severity (SBS) assessment—critical for mitigating hydrologic and geologic hazards—requires costly and laborious field recalibration of VBS maps. Here, we develop a physics‐informed Machine Learning model capable of accurately estimating SBS while revealing the intricate relationships between soil and vegetation burn severities. Our SBS classification model uses VBS, as well as climatological, meteorological, ecological, geological, and topographical wildfire covariates. This model demonstrated an overall accuracy of 89% for out‐of‐sample test data. The model exhibited scalability with additional data, and was able to extract universal functional relationships between vegetation and soil burn severities across the western US. VBS had the largest control on SBS, followed by weather (e.g., wind, fire danger, temperature), climate (e.g., annual precipitation), topography (e.g., elevation), and soil characteristics (e.g., soil organic carbon content). The relative control of processes on SBS changes across regions. Our model revealed nuanced relationships between VBS and SBS; for example, a similar VBS with lower wind speeds—that is, higher fire residence time—translates to a higher SBS. This transferrable model develops reliable and timely SBS maps using satellite and publicly accessible data, providing science‐based insights for managers and diverse stakeholders.

Habitat characteristics and threats of little-known endemic dragonfly, Neurothemis feralis (Burmeister, 1839) (Odonata: Libellulidae) in East Java, Indonesia

Abstract. Susanto MAD, Gama ZP, Leksono AS. 2024. Habitat characteristics and threats of little-known endemic dragonfly, Neurothemis feralis (Burmeister, 1839) (Odonata: Libellulidae) in East Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 25: 2907-2920. Neurothemis feralis is a dragonfly with limited distribution and is found only in the lowlands of Java, Sumatra, Krakatau, and Bangka. Its habitats that traverse anthropogenic area face various threats from human activities. Despite the imminent of its depopulation, many essential information regarding the biology of N. feralis remain scarce, deem it with data deficient conservation status according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. This study aims to study habitat characteristics of N. feralis for future conservation purposes. This study was conducted in Surabaya, Sidoarjo, and Gresik, East Java Province, with a five-month study period of July-November 2023. The results showed that N. feralis prefers locations with 36-64% air humidity, 29.2-35.8°C air temperature, and 16970-36400 lux light intensity. Air humidity positively correlated with the abundance of N. feralis, while high temperatures and light intensity tend to have negative impact. The coverage of vegetation with 20-100 cm height was found as another habitat component that positively affects its abundance, while the loss of this coverage understandably negate the dragonfly abundance. Vegetation provides habitat for N. feralis, as well as its prey, competitors and even predators. Despite N. feralis population can still be observed from urban areas with up to 82.40% residential allotment (within 500 m radius of the study site), the disappearance of its population is likely if believably impending if anthropogenic activities (e.g., land conversion and vegetation burning) continue to occur.

Limited spatial co-occurrence of wildfire and prescribed burning on moorlands in Scotland

Limited spatial co-occurrence of wildfire and prescribed burning on moorlands in Scotland

О некоторых вопросах состава нарушения требований пожарной безопасности

Taking into account the high-profile events in our country related to large fires in shopping and entertainment centers, as well as in connection with fires due to burning vegetation, the composition of Article 219 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is of increased interest from the point of view of science and practice. Thus, it is proposed in the scientific community to expand its application, indicating in it as consequences the damage caused by fire to natural objects. After analyzing various points of view, the author came to the conclusion that such changes to the article under study cannot be made for a number of objective reasons (fire is not specified in Article 219 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation as a prerequisite; it is illogical to compare the damage caused to human life and health with damage caused to nature), here the question of introducing the corresponding article in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Regarding the subjective side, the composition in question differs in the person’s delusion about his duties, taking them lightly, performing them in bad faith, believing that responsibility can be “shifted” to the head of the organization. At the same time, not any employee can be appointed authorized for compliance with fire safety requirements, but only one who is part of the management staff. In this regard, there is a proposal in scientific circles to expand the scope of Article 219 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, removing the reference to a special subject in it.