Continental Climate Research Articles

Ecological setting of phlebotomine sand flies in the Republic of Kosovo

Sand flies (Diptera, Psychodidae) are the principal vectors of Leishmania spp., the causative agents of leishmaniasis, as well as phleboviruses. In the Balkans, the endemicity and spreading of sand fly-borne diseases are evident, particularly in the Republic of Kosovo, a country with a predominantly humid continental climate. To date, understanding the drivers behind the spatial structure and diversity patterns of sand fly communities in humid continental regions remains limited. Therefore, elucidating the geographical and ecological factors contributing to the presence of potential vector species in the country is crucial. We aimed to enhance our understanding of factors influencing sand fly occurrence in cool and wet wintering humid continental areas, which could serve as a model for other countries with similar climatic conditions. Therefore, we assessed the currently known sand fly fauna through detailed environmental analyses, including Voronoi tessellation patterns, entropy calculations, Principal Coordinate and Component Analyses, Hierarchical Clustering, Random Trees, and climatic suitability patterns.Notable differences in the ecological tolerance of the species were detected, and the most important climatic features limiting sand fly presence were wind speed and temperature seasonality. Sand flies were observed to prefer topographical environments with little roughness, and the modelled climatic suitability values indicated that, dominantly, the western plain regions of Kosovo harbour the most diverse sand fly fauna; and are the most threatened by sand fly-borne diseases. Phlebotomus neglectus and P. perfiliewi, both confirmed vectors for L. infantum and phleboviruses, were identified as two main species with vast distribution in Kosovo. Contrary to this, most other present species are relatively sparse and restricted to temperate rather than humid continental regions.Our findings reveal a diverse potential sand fly fauna in Kosovo, indicating the need for tailored strategies to address varying risks across the country's western and eastern regions in relation to leishmaniasis control amidst changing environmental conditions.

Life-history evolution in the orange-tailed skink populations living in different climates.

The life-history traits of ectothermic animals can be influenced by many abiotic factors, including climate. As an ectothermic species, we questioned whether the life-history characteristics of the orange-tailed skink (Eumeces schneiderii) populations differ between two different environments/climates. Our findings showed that the average body size of lizards living in the Mediterranean climate zone was higher than those in the continental climate zone. However, although Mediterranean population had higher mean values regarding average age, there was no discernible difference between the two climate zone populations. When considering all populations collectively, it has been discovered that the species' maximum lifespan is 18 years. Body size notably increased with age in both populations. Through the utilization of the von Bertalanffy equation, the anticipated growth parameters portrayed a highly accurate connection between age and snout-vent length. In conclusion, lizards living in habitats characterized by milder Mediterranean climates were found to have larger body sizes than continental populations, but both populations were comparable in terms of mean age. This difference can be explained by several factors, including activation time, temperature, precipitation, food abundance, and the presence of predators.

Highly Potent Transparent Passive Cooling Coating via Microphase-Separated Hydrogel Combining Radiative and Evaporative Cooling.

Transparent passive cooling materials can cool targets environmentally without interfering with light transmission or visual information reception. They play a prominent role in solar cells and flexible display cooling. However, achieving potent transparent cooling remains challenging, because light transmission is accompanied by thermal energy. Here we propose to realize effective passive cooling in transparent materials via a microscale phase separation hydrogel film. The poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) hydrogel presents light transmittance of >96% and infrared emissivity as high as 95%. The microphase-separated structure affords a higher enthalpy of evaporation. The film is highly adhesive. In field applications, it reduces temperatures by 9.14 °C compared to those with uncovered photovoltaic panels and 7.68 °C compared to those for bare flexible light-emitting diode screens. Simulations indicate that energy savings of 32.76-51.65 MJ m-2 year-1 can be achieved in typical tropical monsoon climates and temperate continental climates. We expect this work to contribute to energy-efficient materials and a carbon-neutral society.

Analysis of the Hybrid Power-Heating System in a Single-Family Building, along with Ecological Aspects of the Operation

This study evaluates a hybrid heating system in a single-family building in northeastern Poland, which has a temperate continental climate. The analysis covers two heating seasons in 2021/2022 and 2022/2023. The hybrid heating system includes an air heat pump HPA–08 CS Plus with a heating power of 8.2 kW (AHP), a condensing gas boiler VC146/5–5 with a power of 14 kW (GB–Condens.), and a solid fuel boiler with a power of 11 kW for central heating. Additionally, hot water is heated by a Basic 270 (DHW’s AHP) air–water heat pump with a power of 2 kW, utilizing a tank with a capacity of 270 dm3 equipped with two heating coils. The building’s average electricity consumption is around 5400 kWh/year. A 4.96 kWp photovoltaic installation is installed on the building’s roof at a 40° angle towards the south to supplement the hybrid system. The study aims to assess whether the PV installation can adequately cover the energy needs of the hybrid heat source for heating and hot water. Furthermore, the study calculates the emission of pollutants (CO2, SOx, NOx, CO, and PM10) into the atmosphere. The total annual electricity production from PV installations was 5444.9 kWh in 2021/2022 and 5684.8 kWh in 2022/2023. The excess electricity was stored in the PGE power grid as per the Prosumer settlement rules. The installed PV installation is sufficient to power the following devices annually: AHP, DHW’s AHP, and GB–Condens. However, the daily electricity production from the PV installation is not enough to cover the energy needs of the heat pump for heating during the cold months in Poland (I–III, XI–XII). It can meet the power needs of a PC all year round and can also be stored during the summer months, for example, in energy warehouses or by directly storing it in the PGE power grid. The use of the PV installation resulted in an average reduction in pollutant emissions into the atmosphere: CO2—94.1%, SOx—91.8%, NOx—95.6%, CO—9.7%, and PM10—32.1%.

Soil erosion associated with roads—A global review and statistical analysis

AbstractGlobal soil degradation due to road erosion is an escalating concern. This study employed bibliometric analysis using the Science Citation Index‐Expanded dataset to gain insights into research trends in road erosion. It covered the years 2000–2021, revealing a steady increase in annual research publications, particularly after 2018. The United States and Catena was the leading contributor and the most popular journal, respectively. The primary research areas identified by keywords and statistical analysis are the forests and arid regions in the temperate climate zone (including temperate continental climate and temperate monsoon climate) and the tropical climate zone (including tropical rainforest climate and tropical monsoon climate). Since 2012, a noticeable shift from traditional methods to emerging technologies like isotope tracing (e.g., 137Cs, 210Pb) and machine learning (e.g., random forest) was observed, indicating evolving in methodologies with changes in research scales. The study emphasized the inevitability of road erosion, highlighting the crucial role of effective road management and restoration. It proposed integrating best management practices and ecosystem restoration strategies into watershed management, combined with advanced technological approaches, to foster sustainable watershed development.

Once upon a Time, There Was a Piece of Wood: Present Knowledge and Future Perspectives in Fungal Deterioration of Wooden Cultural Heritage in Terrestrial Ecosystems and Diagnostic Tools.

Wooden Cultural Heritage (WCH) represents a significant portion of the world's historical and artistic heritage, consisting of immovable and movable artefacts. Despite the expertise developed since ancient times to enhance its durability, wooden artefacts are inevitably prone to degradation. Fungi play a pivotal role in the deterioration of WCH in terrestrial ecosystems, accelerating its decay and leading to alterations in color and strength. Reviewing the literature of the last 25 years, we aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of fungal diversity affecting WCH, the biochemical processes involved in wood decay, and the diagnostic tools available for fungal identification and damage evaluation. Climatic conditions influence the occurrence of fungal species in threatened WCH, characterized by a prevalence of wood-rot fungi (e.g., Serpula lacrymans, Coniophora puteana) in architectural heritage in temperate and continental climates and Ascomycota in indoor and harsh environments. More efforts are needed to address the knowledge fragmentation concerning biodiversity, the biology of the fungi involved, and succession in the degradative process, which is frequently centered solely on the main actors. Multidisciplinary collaboration among engineers, restorers, and life sciences scientists is vital for tackling the challenges posed by climate change with increased awareness. Traditional microbiology and culture collections are fundamental in laying solid foundations for a more comprehensive interpretation of big data.

Enhancing cold energy harvest with daytime passive radiative cooling and phase change materials integration: A numerical exploration

Daytime passive radiative cooling (DPRC) is an emerging technology to dissipate heat to the ultimate cold sink, the universe, with zero energy input. However, the achieved cold surface temperature of an object by DPRC can readily increase close to the ambient temperature. Sensible heat readily induces changes in the temperature of objects, but it generates a heat leakage path to surroundings with the largely varying temperature gradients. To address the challenge, we designed a DPRC coating integrated with phase change materials (PCM) so as to harvest and store the cold energy, respectively from the universe. To evaluate the feasibility of this concept, a numerical model, which integrates a self-programmed MATLAB code to calculate the net cooling power and a FLUENT-assisted enthalpy-porosity method to simulate the phase change process, was developed and validated. Also, the cold energy harvesting performance of the proposed device was explored under different climate types and conditions. We found that the surface temperature of the PCM with a DPRC coating can be reduced to −15.9 °C and −4.5 °C in a day in the temperate continental climate and the subtropical desert climate, respectively, when the non-radiative heat transfer is completely avoided. The temperature difference in the PCM is less than 1.0 °C when aluminum fins are added to enhance the heat transfer performance of the PCM. This study provides new insights into the continuous steady cooling of DPRC using PCMs, and the harvested cold energy can be used to cool water for the condenser of an air conditioner to save energy consumption.

Short-Term Climatic Oscillations in the Central Region of the East-European Plain at the Beginning of the Holocene Based on Palynological Studies of Lacustrine Deposits

The Preboreal (11.75–10.70 ka BP) is still the least paleogeographically studied time interval in the central part of the East European Plain. High-resolution multi-proxy studies of lacustrine sediments at the Seltso site located in the Desna River floodplain (Dnieper River basin) were conducted. Radiocarbon dating, loss-on-ignition determination, sedimentological and palynological studies and identification of Non-Pollen Palynomorphs in lacustrine sediments allow us to reconstruct changes in vegetation caused by rapid warming at the Younger Dryas–Holocene boundary, short-term climatic fluctuations within the Preboreal and subsequent resumption of warming. Initial Preboreal warming reached its maximum at about 11.5 ka BP when a relatively dry continental climate existed. Between 11.4 and 11.2 ka BP, a short-term cooling corresponding to the Preboreal Oscillation in Greenland occurred, as indicated by a significant reduction of woody vegetation and expansion of open plant communities. In the Late Preboreal, approximately 11.2–10.7 ka BP, warming resumed, which was accompanied by a decrease in the climate continentality. Comparison with high-resolution lithological and palynological data from eight reliably dated sections of the central East European Plain indicates that in northwestern and central Europe, the impact of the Preboreal Oscillation cooling on the vegetation and the lake ecosystems’ development was probably somewhat stronger.

Spatial-temporal variation of water vapor scale height and its impact factors in different climate zones of China

Water vapor scale height reflects the vertical distribution of water vapor in the atmosphere, which is a vital parameter in tropospheric zenith wet delay (ZWD) modeling and GNSS meteorology. This study accurately calculated the long-term water vapor scale height using 89 radiosonde stations in China, analyzed the characteristics in temporal and spatial variations and explored the impact factors of the water vapor scale height from the perspective of the climate zones. The numerical results indicate that the water vapor scale height in China exhibits annual and semiannual variations with a rising-then-decreasing trend across the four seasons. A relatively larger value for the water vapor scale height were observed in the subtropical monsoon climate and the temperate continental climate zone, in which the values are greater than 2.35 km, while the values in temperate monsoon climate and the alpine plateau climate zone are relatively small. In addition, the water vapor scale height in different climate zones shows different trends, with a downward trend appeared in the subtropical monsoon climate and the alpine plateau climate zone, while an upward trend was observed in the temperate monsoon climate and the temperate continental climate zone. Furthermore, a positive correlation between water vapor scale height and temperature, pressure, and atmospheric precipitable water was found in China, with a varied degree of correlation in different climate zones.

The interplay between climate and bedrock type determines litter decomposition in temperate forest ecosystems

At regional scale, it is dominantly considered in the European literature that litter decomposition is higher in soils from calcareous than siliceous bedrocks because of higher pH in the former forest ecosystems. We tested the alternative hypothesis that this should rather be due to differences in physical characteristics of the bedrock, with likely higher decomposition on calcareous than siliceous bedrocks in wet climates because of more favourable texture in the former and nutrient leaching in the latter, and the opposite in dry climates because of higher drought stress in calcareous soils. We assessed, four consecutive years with contrasting climates, the litter decomposition of a unified litter of Abies alba needles with the litterbag method in 70 forest sites located on both bedrocks and in wet oceanic and dry continental climates of the European Alps and the Pyrenees. Average and annual climate data were analysed with principal component analyses and the effects of bedrock type, average and annual climate drought stresses on litter decomposition were analysed, separately in the Alps and the Pyrenees, with analyses of variance. We found, in both mountain ranges, a highly significant bedrock type by average climate drought stress interaction on litter decomposition, due to a strong decrease in litter decomposition from wet oceanic to dry continental sites on calcareous bedrocks only. Although litter decomposition did not change over all years in siliceous sites with increasing climate drought stress, it increased during wet years in the dry continental sites only, in particular in the Pyrenees where interannual climate variability was higher. Together our results strongly support the physical hypothesis and not the chemical hypothesis. We argue that the chemical hypothesis was proposed based on studies only conducted in low elevation wet temperate sites comparing mull humus types from deciduous forests on calcareous soils to mor and moder humus types from evergreen forests on highly sandy siliceous bedrocks. Our study conducted on a wider range of climate and bedrock conditions bring strong evidence that litter decomposition is rather dependent on the physical characteristics of the bedrocks.

Aquatic vegetation mapping with UAS-cameras considering phenotypes

Aquatic vegetation species at the genus level in an oxbow lake were identified in Hungary based on a multispectral Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) survey within an elongated oxbow lake area of the Tisza River under continental climate. Seven and 13 classes were discriminated using three different classification methods (Support Vector Machine [SVM], Random Forest [RF], and Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines [MARS]) using different input data in ten combinations: original spectral bands, spectral indices, Digital Surface Model (DSM), and Haralick texture indices. We achieved a high (97.1%) overall accuracies (OAs) by applying the SVM classifier, but the RF performed only <1% worse, as it was represented in the first places of the classification rank before the MARS. The highest classification accuracies (>84% OA) were obtained using the most important variables derived by the Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE) method. The best classification required DSM as an input variable. The poorest classification performance belonged to the model that used only texture indices or spectral indices. On the class level, Stratiotes aloides exhibit the lowest degree of separability compared to the other classes. Accordingly, we recommend using supplementary input data for the classifications besides the original spectral bands, for example, DSM, spectral, and texture indices, as these variables significantly improve the classification accuracies in the proper combinations of the input variables.

Autochthonous grape varieties in the Lower Don Region

This article describes modifi cation changes in the phenotypic traits of grape varieties, including the number of normally developed shoots and infl orescences, the average bunch weight, and grape yield under the infl uence of unstable weather conditions. The research was carried out in the moderate continental climate of the Lower Don region in the period from 2013 to 2022. The average annual air temperature ranged from +10.2 to +11.6 °C, with the climatic norm being +10.4 °C. In the period of active vegetation (May–September), the temperature ranged from +21.2 to +22.7 °C, with the norm being 18.1 °C. The maximum temperature ranged from +37.2 to +40.0 °C, with the norm being +40.0 °C. In winter, during the plant dormancy period (December–February), the average air temperature varied from 0.6 to minus 2.6 °С, with the norm being about minus 2.4 °С. The annual precipitation varied from 292 to 693 mm, with the norm being 548 mm. During the vegetation period of grapes, atmospheric precipitation by the years of observation varied from 99 to 359 mm, with the norm being 177 mm. The aim was to establish the limits of modifi cation variability of phenotypic traits under the infl uence of the unstable moderate continental climate of the Lower Don Region. The research objects were autochthonous grape varieties, including ‘Varyushkin’, ‘Krasnostop’ ‘Zolotovsky’, ‘Kumshatsky Belyi’, ‘Plechistik’, ‘Sibirkovy’, and ‘Tsimlyansky Chernyi’. The reaction norm and modifi cation changes of the phenotypic traits of grape plants under the infl uence of natural conditions in their habitats were studied. The autochthonous grape varieties in contrasting weather conditions exhibited individual and varietal specifi city in terms of reaction norm and adaptability. According to the variability of phenotypic traits and adaptive potential, the varieties were ranked in the following descending order: ‘Plechistik’, ‘Krasnostop Zolotovsky’, ‘Varyushkin’, ‘Kumshatsky Belyi’, ‘Sibirkovy’, and ‘Tsimlyansky Chernyi’. The genotypes ‘Plechistik’, ‘Krasnostop Zolotovsky’, ‘Varyushkin’, and ‘Kumshatsky Belyi’ with their high adaptive potential for formation of stable vine plantations are recommended for developing stable grape plantations in the conditions of the Lower Don region.

IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF FLAVONOIDS IN MEDICINAL PLANTS GROWING IN THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

Introduction. In recent years, the popularity of herbal medicine has been increasing. One of the most numerous classes of biologically active substances of plant origin are flavonoids, which have a wide range of biological activities: anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, neuroprotective, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective effects, and also capable of stimulating the damaged body tissues regeneration processes. The relevant area of the research is the search for medicinal plants with a high content of flavonoids for the development of herbal remedies with wound-healing activity. This problem can be solved through the use of plant raw materials from the Republic of Uzbekistan, which have a high content and a wide range of biologically active substances, thanks to the sharply continental climate of the country with consistently hot summers and increased levels of ultraviolet radiation. The purpose of the research is to select medicinal plant raw materials as a source of flavonoids for the development of wound healing agents. Material and methods. The object of the study was medicinal plant raw materials harvested on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan: oregano herb, sage leaves, St. John's wort herb, sandy everlasting flowers, bur beggar-ticks herb. Identification and quantification of flavonoids in the studied samples of medicinal plants was carried out using thin-layer chromatography, absorption spectrophotometry in the visible region using reaction with aluminum chloride and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results. It has been established that the content of flavonoids in the herb of oregano, leaves of medicinal sage, St. John's wort herb, flowers of sandy everlasting, harvested in the Republic of Uzbekistan, is significantly higher than in medicinal plant materials harvested in the territory of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. Using the method of thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, kaempferol-3-β-D-glucopyranoside was identified in the extract of sandy everlasting flowers, and isoquercitrin was identified in the extract of St. John's wort herb. Conclusions. As a result of the research, sandy everlasting and St. John's wort, growing on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan, were selected as the sources of flavonoids (glycoside kaempferol and isoquercitrin) with regenerating properties for the development of wound healing agents.

New ways to improve the efficiency of railway transportation of viscous petroleum products

The paper proposes a new approach to solving the problem of increasing the economic efficiency of railway transportation of viscous petroleum fuels (fuel oils) at low air temperatures. The physical properties of fuel oils allow them to be obtained when poured into the tank of a tank wagon in a stratified state, when their density in the upper part of the tank is significantly less than in its lower part. This blocks the natural convection of hot fuel oil on the cold walls of the tank, and it cools only due to the molecular thermal conductivity which is very small. Upon cooling down, a relatively thin highly viscous layer forms on the inner walls of the tank of a tank wagon, which acts as a heat-insulating shell, and the bulk of it (more than 90%) retains high temperature and fluidity throughout the period of transportation. The thermal and hydrodynamic calculations were performed using modern computer technologies (the ANSYS 5.6 software package). The results obtained show that the need to heat up the fuel oil during unloading remains, but already requires significantly less time and heat energy. The proposed energy-saving technologies for the delivery of viscous petroleum products are especially relevant in Russia with its cold continental climate, long-haul transportation, and the current structure of the country’s wagon fleet. The value of the results obtained lies in the fact that the proposal can be implemented on tank wagons in circulation with minimal change to their design. The technology of operation of the drain equipment at unloading points will not change either.

Establishment potential across South Korea for two gecko species, Gekko japonicus and G. swinhonis, adapted to different climates

The introduction of exotic species and the associated impacts are increasing worldwide due to the development and increase in transportation and international trade. As new populations of the non-native Gekko japonicus and G. swinhonis have recently been discovered in South Korea, this study was conducted to investigate the distribution of these species, evaluate the establishment potential of non-native populations and infer their routes of introduction. The study comprised targeted field surveys around the major international ports, generation of ecological niche models (ENMs), based on the known distributions and comparison of the ecological niches of the two species. The results suggest that G. japonicus and G. swinhonis are primarily distributed in the humid subtropical climate (Cfa) and the monsoon-influenced hot-summer humid continental climate (Dwa), respectively. According to the ENMs predicted across South Korea, suitable habitats for G. japonicus were located along the western and southern coasts of the country, whereas those for G. swinhonis were predicted along the western coastal regions and several major cities inland. These distributional patterns may be attributed to adaptations of the two gecko congeners to distinct climatic conditions leading to divergent ecological niches. Considering the known distributions of the two species in South Korea, the most likely routes of introduction are accidental translocations through international trade and the inland populations most likely originated from human-mediated dispersals along the major rivers. This study highlights the need to implement quarantine procedures for international cargo arriving in South Korea. Additional field surveys are further recommended to focus on urban areas adjacent to international ports and major rivers to curtail further introductions of non-native geckos.

A new evolutionary forest model via incremental tree selection for short-term global solar irradiance forecasting under six various climatic zones

The increasing integration of solar sources into the energy mix presents significant challenges, particularly in short-term energy management. Accurate solar irradiance forecasts can greatly assist solar power plant operators and energy network managers in making informed decisions about energy production and consumption. This paper aims to develop a new accurate forecasting model for short-term global solar irradiance based on an innovative evolutionary forest approach. Our model, baptized EFITS, performs incremental tree selection through appropriate evolutionary operators maintaining a good tradeoff between accuracy and diversity, generating progressively near-optimal decision trees to construct the final evolutionary forest forecaster. This new evolution process also automatically selects near-optimal input parameters, enhancing the overall model accuracy and generalization ability. Six climatically diverse locations in Morocco and three types of inputs (endogenous, exogenous, and hybrid) are used to assess the performance of the proposed. The results demonstrate that our proposed model exhibits excellent performance across all studied sites and horizons. Among all input types, hybrid inputs delivered the best forecasting accuracy across all studied sites and horizons. Notably, the continental climate site (Bni Mellal) achieved the highest accuracy, with nRMSE ranging from 4.94% to 7.54% and nMBE from 0.71% to −0.46% for 1 to 6 h forecasts. Conversely, Ifrane city, characterized by a humid temperate climate, showed the lowest accuracy, with nRMSE ranging from 10.34% to 18.94% and nMBE from 1.21% to −1.54%. Finally, a detailed comparison with benchmarking models (random forest, bagging, gradient boosting, single decision tree, bidirectional long short-term memory network, and scaled persistence models), revealed that our model consistently outperforms them across all tested scenarios, locations, and forecasting horizons.

Impacts of N-P-K-Mg Fertilizer Combinations on Tree Parameters and Fungal Disease Incidences in Apple Cultivars with Varying Disease Susceptibility.

Adequate mineral fertilization helps to ensure optimal tree growth, fruit development, and predictable yield of apple trees. This 7-year study (2016-2022) aims to investigate the effect of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg) fertilizer combinations (NP, NPK, NPKMg, and control) on eight parameters (trunk cross-sectional area-TCSA; fruit yield-FY; number of fruit per tree-FNT; crop load-CL; fruit diameter-FD; fruit weight-FW; fruit scab incidence-FSI; and powdery mildew incidence on shoot-PMIS) on the cultivars (cvs) 'Golden Reinders' (disease susceptible) and 'Pinova' (scab and mildew tolerant). In the 7-year period, TCSA values continuously increased for both cultivars over the years. Fertilizer treatments showed significant differences on TCSA but the effect varied greatly annually among fertilizer treatments. Fertilizer treatments had increasing effects on FY and FNT in 2018 and 2022, on CL in 2018, on FD in 2018 and 2019, and on FW in 2016 and 2018 in both cultivars compared to the control treatment. FSI values were the lowest in the NPKMg treatment for cv. 'Golden Reinders' in 2016, 2017, and 2022; for cv. 'Pinova' in 2016; PMIS values for cv. 'Golden Reinders' in 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022; and for cv. 'Pinova' in 2018. Correlation and regression analyses revealed strong and significant (p = 0.05) relationships between FNT versus (vs.) TCSA, FNT vs. FY, FW vs. TCSA, CL vs. FY, FW vs. FD, and FSI vs. FW. In conclusion, our study showed that multiyear application of fertilizer combinations can successfully increase TCSA and yield parameters as well as reduce fungal disease incidences, especially on the disease-susceptible cultivar in sandy soil with moderate fertility, under Central-European continental climate conditions.

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF AN ALTERNATIVE PHYSICAL MODEL OF MODERN CLIMATE

CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF AN ALTERNATIVE PHYSICAL MODEL OF MODERN CLIMATE

Aspergillus Sinusitis: Risk Factors and Phenotyping.

Background: Aspergillus can cause fungal rhinosinusitis (FRS). We aimed to identify risk factors for sinonasal Aspergillus disease. Methods: Patients with a positive sinonasal mycological culture for Aspergillus species diagnosed in our hospital located in a continental climate were included in the 9-year retrospective study. Results: Of the 86 patients, 3 had invasive FRS (IFRS), 51 had fungal ball (FB) disease, and 32 had chronic rhinosinusitis with fungus (CFRS). In the IFRS group, all patients had a malignancy and were immunocompromised. Allergies, allergic rhinitis, asthma, nasal polyps, and the use of inhaled and nasal steroids were more common in the CFRS group, and IgE levels were greater than those in the FB and IRFS groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: FB disease is a relatively symptom-free single-sinus disease among elderly individuals, and IFRS is dominant among immunocompromised patients. We discovered a third patient group, predominantly with nasal polyps, atopy, asthma, and elevated blood IgE and eosinophils, that did not fulfill the allergic FRS (AFRS) criteria. It is possible that a less fulminant category of underdiagnosed AFRS exists in cold climates. Treatment with local debridement is usually sufficient for FRS, apart from IFRS, and relapses are not common in cold climates.

First Report of Alternaria alternata Causing Leaf blight on Epimedium sagittatum (Sieb. et Zucc.) Maxim. in China.

Epimedium sagittatum (Sieb.et Zucc.) Maxim. is an important material of traditional Chinese medicine because of the rich content of flavonoids that are used to treat osteoporosis, liver cancer, and sexual dysfunction (Liu et al. 2013). A leaf blight was observed on E. sagittatum in Zhumadian City, China (32°58'12" N, 114°37'48" E, continental monsoon climate) in June 2021. Survey indicated that about 18% of the plants were infected in a 266-ha commercial planting area. The initial symptoms were white patches with tan borders, irregular in outline, with small black particles visible on the center of the lesions. In a week or so, patches extended throughout the leaf, and then leaves withered. Thirty leaves with symptoms collected from five different sites were cut into 5×5 mm pieces, and then surface-sterilized with 75% ethanol for 15 s followed by rinsing with double distilled water (ddH2O) three times. The pieces were then disinfested with 0.1% HgCl2 solution for 30 s, and rinsed with ddH2O, then placed onto potato-dextrose agar medium (PDA) and incubated in the dark for 3 d at 28°C. Eight fungal isolates were purified; of these, only the isolate HY2-1 infected the host plant and was selected for further morphological characterization. The colonies of HY2-1 were olive green with loose aerial hyphae on PDA. Conidiophores were single or branched, producing brown conidia in short chains. Conidia were obclavate, obpyriform, or ellipsoidal, 15.9-47.3 µm × 7.6-16.6 µm (n=50) and pale brown or dark brown with a short cylindrical beak at the tip that contained 1-5 transverse septa and 0-4 longitudinal septa. Morphological characteristics of the isolate were identical with those of Alternaria species (Huang et al. 2022). For molecular identification, the internal transcribed spacers (ITS), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) (Weir et al. 2012), major allergen Alt a 1(Alt a 1) and translation elongation factor 1-α gene (TEF) (Lawrence et al. 2013) were amplified and sequenced using the primers ITS4/5, GDF/GDR, Alt-F/R, and EF1-728F/986R, respectively. The results of the sequencing were uploaded to GenBank as ITS (OR418487), GAPDH (OR419792), Alt a 1 (OR419794), and TEF (OR419796), respectively. Phylogenetic analyses were performed by concatenating all the sequenced loci using the Bayesian method in Phylosuite (Zhang et al.2020). The phylogenetic tree indicated that the isolate belongs to the A. alternata clade with a bootstrap value of 75%. The pathogen was identified as A. alternata based on the morphological and molecular results. To satisfy Koch's postulates, a conidial suspension (106 conidia/mL) of the HY2-1 was prepared with ddH2O to infect the healthy plants. Ninety healthy leaves on 30 plants in pots were punctured using a sterilized needle, and then inoculated by spraying the conidial suspension on the wounded leaves in a greenhouse at 25°C and 80% relative humidity. The control plants were sprayed with ddH2O. The plants showed similar symptoms to the original infected plant 15 d after inoculation. The controls showed no symptoms. A pure culture of A. alternata was isolated and identified again as previously described. Leaf blight caused by A. alternata has been reported on Taro (Liu et al. 2020), Toona ciliata (Wang et al. 2023), etc. To our knowledge, this is the first report of E. sagittatum leaf blight caused by A. alternata in China. The results will help to develop effective control strategies for leaf blight on E. sagittatum.