Important Landscape Research Articles

Tšeptsa jõgi põhjaudmurtide rahvakultuuris

The Cheptsa River has played a significant economic and social role in the history and culture of the Northern Udmurts since the ancient times. There were hunting grounds, pastures and hayfields on the river’s floodplain. The river is a source of drinking and technical (industrial) water, as well as protein products. It serves as a means of a cultural, political and commercial communication. The river is an important mythological symbol, and also an element of sacred topography. The purpose of the paper is to define the role and significance of the Cheptsa River in the traditional religious and mythological worldview of the Udmurts. The research materials include the author’s field data from the late 20th – early 21st centuries, archaeological, folklore and ethnographic literature of the late 19th – early 20th centuries, and the late 20th – early 21st centuries. For the first time, the role of the Cheptsa River in the formation of the ethno-territorial community of the Northern Udmurts is analysed. It is revealed that the river valley is understood and perceived as a common ethnic, family and tribal territory. It is shown that the Cheptsa River performs not only economic and cultural, but also metaphysical, irrational functions in the life of the Northern Udmurts. The semantics of the Cheptsa River is characterized as a symbol of the homeland, a road in real and mythological dimensions, a border between worlds, a means of getting rid of diseases, as a sacred value of local Udmurts. General cultural (stadial-typological) and original (specific) features in the veneration of the river are revealed. Peculiarities of the Northern Udmurts’ worldview are the ideas about the creatures of the aqutic world, the presence of a whole system of rituals and special places associated with the cult of the owners of the water element. It is argued that the anthropomorphic image of the water sphere masters occupied a more significant position in the Udmurt beliefs. Archaic female personifications of these river spirits and other images of water creatures have faded into the background. The author concludes that the Cheptsa River was an important economic, landscape, cultural and mythological object for the Northern Udmurts of the late 19th – early 20th centuries.

Desert ants avoid ambush predator pits depending on position, visual landmarks and trapped nestmates.

Central-place foragers face high predation risk when repeatedly using routes near their nest, as predators can learn to ambush them there. We investigated the factors influencing the likelihood of desert ant foragers falling into pitfall traps, simulating common predators such as antlions or spiders. We varied the spatial configuration of the pitfall traps, the presence of trapped nestmates and the availability of visual landmarks to study the workers' susceptibility to falling into pits and their foraging success. Our results showed that a zigzag configuration of pits led to the fewest workers reaching the food reward, compared with straight-line and right-angled-triangle configurations. Over successive runs, workers became more efficient, with fewer falls into pits and faster food discovery, suggesting they either learned the locations of the pits or became more cautious. In any case, the ants learned about important landscape features close to their nest and the best way of navigating around it. Additionally, we examined the impact of trapped nestmates and visual landmarks. We found that pits marked with visual landmarks resulted in fewer falls. However, pits containing trapped nestmates attracted more ants, impaired food discovery and increased falling rates into pits, thereby imposing a twofold cost on ant foragers.

Control and Utilization of Immigrant Guildhalls: Examining the Layout Rules in Chengdu Prefecture During the Qing Dynasty

The immigrant guildhall was an important landscape element in the cities of Sichuan during the Qing Dynasty. This study explores the attribute characteristics, spatial distribution characteristics, and spatial layout rules of immigrant guildhalls by examining the Chengdu prefectural city during the Qing Dynasty as an example, using qualitative logical induction, GIS spatial analysis, and spatial syntax. The results show the following. (1) Immigrant guildhalls were civic buildings with a low level of support for the official regime. They had a grand scale, prominent building height, and unique architectural shape. (2) The layout rules for immigrant guildhalls included keeping immigrant guildhalls a certain distance from the dominant administrative, cultural, and educational facilities. Immigrant guildhalls had limited participation in the construction of the main axis of the city but partially participated in the construction of the secondary axis of the city. Immigrant guildhalls were mainly located in areas with well-developed businesses and convenient road transportation. (3) The official adopts two methods, control and utilization, to enable immigrant guildhalls to participate in the construction of the urban landscape order. These findings reveal the characteristics of the layout of immigrant guildhalls in the city during the Qing Dynasty and provide a basis for understanding the construction order of traditional Chinese cities.

First Report of Leaf Blight of Syringa oblata Caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea in China.

As an important landscaping plant, Syringa oblata is widely planted in northern China with high ornamental, medicinal, and edible value (Men et al. 2023). In September 2023, a new leaf blight disease on S. oblata was observed in Tianjin (39.0916°N, 117.1019°E), China. The onset of foliar symptoms was marked by the appearance of yellow-brown spots that originated from the tip and margin, subsequently evolving into irregularly shaped brown lesions. Finally, the lesions are distributed throughout the leaf surface, causing the leaf to wilt and seriously affecting photosynthesis. To identify the pathogen responsible for leaf blight of S. oblata, symptomatic leaves were collected and cut into square leaf blocks with a size of 0.3 cm², which were sterilized by immersion in 75% ethanol for 60 s and 5% NaClO for 30 s, and rinsed three times with sterile distilled water. The sterilized leaf pieces were then placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 25 °C for 3-5 days. The peripheral hyphae of the fungal colony which developed from the infected tissues were isolated onto PDA plates. The fungal cultures on PDA plates were used for morphological observation and identification of the fungus. Colonies of B. dothidea on PDA medium were initially off-white, batting-shaped and gradually grayish-black. Aerial hyphae were well developed and could reach the tip of the petri dish. To induce sporulation, the hyphae were picked into medium containing sterilized pine needles. Conidia were found on pine needles after 30 d of incubation at 25°C. Conidia were hyaline, unicellular, oblong to spindle-shaped, and 17.5-23.0 µm in size × 6.1-8.5 µm(n=50). Based on these characteristics, the isolates were preliminarily identified as B. dothidea (Phillips et al. 2005). To provide additional evidence for the classification of the isolate, genomic DNA was extracted from the isolates of B. dothidea and used for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH), and actin (ACT) were amplified with the primer pairs ITS1/ITS4, GDP1/GDP2, and ACT-512F/ACT-783R, respectively (Jiang et al. 2022). A BLAST search of sequences showed the ITS, GPDH, and ACT sequences had >99% identity with homologous sequences from B. dothidea isolates Bb158-4(HQ392696.1), PPO-46523(MG761771.1), and CMW7779 (AY972117.1), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis determined that the isolate was in the same clade position as B. dothidea, which confirmed the above morphological identification. To assess pathogenicity, the fungal cakes (6 mm diameter) were obtained from the edge of a fresh colony (cultured on a PDA plate for 7 days) using a sterile perforator. Ten surface-sterilized leaves of healthy S. oblata with uniform growth condition were collected and inoculated with fungal cakes after wounding. Ten leaves were inoculated with sterile PDA medium blocks as control. The test was repeated three times. All leaves were kept at 25°C and sterile H2O was sprayed daily to keep leaves surface moist. After five days, all vaccination sites showed lesions similar to those of the S. oblata diseased leaves in the field, while the controls were asymptomatic. B. dothidea was reisolated from symptomatic tissues, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. B. dothidea is a member of Botryosphaeriaceae. Currently, B. dothidea infection of Syringa spp. plants has not been reported. However, in China, it has been reported to cause stem rot on Forsythia suspense (He et al. 2022) and leaf dieback on sweet osmanthus (Ling et al. 2010), demonstrating that B. dothidea can infect Oleaceae species. This study found that S. oblata could be infected by B. dothidea. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of B. dothidea causing leaf blight on S. oblata in China. Identifying the pathogen of S. oblata leaf blight is essential for the prevention and management of disease associated with S. oblata.

Colonial management drives ecological change following the exclusion of Indigenous stewardship in a Stoney Iyethka montane grassland, Canadian Rocky Mountains

Abstract For millennia, Indigenous Peoples and their ecological stewardship have kept culturally important landscapes open, diverse and productive. Under colonization which suppresses stewardship activities, landscape vegetation patterns shift and areas previously stewarded by Indigenous Peoples are now undergoing successional change. As a case study, we document ecological change on the homelands of the Stoney Iyethka Nations in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, where landscapes have changed dramatically over the past century of colonial management. On the Stoney Iyethka traditional montane Egnuck Wida grasslands, we analysed vegetation change on both the landscape and plot level. Using oblique photographs taken in 1924 paired with 2021 satellite imagery, we compared past and present landscape vegetation cover and assessed drivers of succession. We also examined differences in vegetation class cover and plant community structure between surveys conducted in 1981, 1995 and 2020. Nearly half (47%) of the landscape surveyed showed seral progression in vegetation class, which was not explained by topography, geology or climate warming. Grassland area decreased four‐fold between 1924 and 2021. Grassland retention was strongly related to management zoning, with greater losses in the crown‐managed ecological reserve than on lands that remain under Stoney Iyethka stewardship. Vegetation plots surveyed reveal changes to plant community composition and shifts in dominant vegetation class. In plots previously composed primarily of forbs and graminoids, shrubs have become the dominant groundcover. Declines in historic vegetation include a loss of culturally important food, medicine and ceremonial plants to the Stoney Iyethka Nations. The most likely explanation for these results is the displacement of Indigenous Peoples and their stewardship from the landscape. We demonstrate that the past century of colonial environmental management has altered ecological processes maintained on this landscape for millennia by Indigenous Peoples. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Bordi periurbani e sincronicità nel paesaggio. Un progetto di ri-significazione per il Vallone San Rocco nel Parco delle Colline di Napoli

As part of design research that investigates new balances between man and ecosystems, the theme of the margins between metropolis and rural spaces represents an important field of experimentation. These borders appear as pulverized and discontinuous urban fabrics, made of abandoned places, agricultural areas, fragments of a landscape whose components are difficult to identify and whose unveiling, in habitable forms and new typology ecosystem logics, is precluded by a dense system of barriers and fences. The article explores these themes starting from some consolidated bibliographic and design approaches, going through a proposal for the re-signification of the edges of the Vallone San Rocco, a naturalistic area in the northern part of the city of Naples included in the Metropolitan Park of the Hills, through the recovery of interrupted ecosystems and the rediscovery of a cultural landscape of great importance for both the city and the region.

Beyond traditional methods: Innovative integration of LISS IV and Sentinel 2A imagery for unparalleled insight into Himalayan ibex habitat suitability.

The utilization of satellite images in conservation research is becoming more prevalent due to advancements in remote sensing technologies. To achieve accurate classification of wildlife habitats, it is important to consider the different capabilities of spectral and spatial resolution. Our study aimed to develop a method for accurately classifying habitat types of the Himalayan ibex (Capra sibirica) using satellite data. We used LISS IV and Sentinel 2A data to address both spectral and spatial issues. Furthermore, we integrated the LISS IV data with the Sentinel 2A data, considering their individual geometric information. The Random Forest approach outperformed other algorithms in supervised classification techniques. The integrated image had the highest level of accuracy, with an overall accuracy of 86.17% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.84. Furthermore, to delineate the suitable habitat for the Himalayan ibex, we employed ensemble modelling techniques that incorporated Land Cover Land Use data from LISS IV, Sentinel 2A, and Integrated image, separately. Additionally, we incorporated other predictors including topographical features, soil and water radiometric indices. The integrated image demonstrated superior accuracy in predicting the suitable habitat for the species. The identification of suitable habitats was found to be contingent upon the consideration of two key factors: the Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index and elevation. The study findings are important for advancing conservation measures. Using accurate classification methods helps identify important landscape components. This study offers a novel and important approach to conservation planning by accurately categorising Land Cover Land Use and identifying critical habitats for the species.

FV-DLV3+: a light-weight flooded vegetation extraction method with attention-based DeepLabv3+

ABSTRACT Climate change and human activities have led to a decline in wetland vegetation and sharp reduction of wetland area, which has caused considerable damage to the hydrological cycle and ecological functions of many wetlands. Flooded vegetation (FV) is an important wetland landscape, and strengthening the research on methods of the extracting FV using remote sensing or aerial photos plays an important role in monitoring changes to wetlands. This paper used optical satellite and synthetic aperture radar satellite images as data sources, construct a set of feature variable sets suitable for FV extraction; in addition, a deep learning method based on the semantic segmentation model DeepLabv3+, FV-DLV3+, is proposed for FV extraction. The method adopts the lightweight MobileNetV2 model as the backbone feature extraction network, introduces the SegFormer network to make up for the feature information loss caused by MobileNetV2, and further captures more effective features and suppresses the interference of the background through an attention mechanism to enhance the ability to extract feature boundaries, thereby improving the accuracy of FV extraction. Taking the wetland of Poyang Lake as the experimental area, Landsat 8 and Sentinel-1A satellite data were selected as the data sources to produce a deep learning dataset, and U-Net, DeepLabv3+, Swin-Unet, Swin Transformer, and CVTNet were selected for comparison when conducting model training and validating experiments. The results show that FV-DLV3+ has an excellent effect on FV extraction of the Poyang Lake wetland, which effectively reduces the computational complexity of the process while improving extraction accuracy; the mean intersection over union of this paper’s method was higher than the five above-mentioned methods, which was 12.93% and 5.85% higher than that of DeepLabv3+ and CVTNet, respectively.

Climate and Land Use Change Pressures on Food Production in Social-Ecological Systems: Perceptions from Farmers in Village Tank Cascade Systems of Sri Lanka

Climate and land use change pressures are critical to food production in Social-Ecological Systems (SESs). This study assessed farmers’ perceptions of the pressures of climate and land use changes alongside their impacts on food production in Mhahakanumulla Village Tank Cascade System (MVTCS), a SES maintained by traditional agricultural land use systems in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. This study used both rating and ranking scale questions to quantify farmers’ perceptions. The tobit regression model was employed to evaluate how farmer perception was influenced by socio-economic factors. The results showed that most of the farmers had experienced that the climate of the MVTCS area had changed over time, and they perceived variability of rainfall patterns as the most prominent and influential climate change. The increased cost of production, wildlife damage, and land degradation were ranked by the farmers as the most impactful factors of food production due to climate change. The farmers rated deforestation and land clearing as the most influential and impactful changes in land use, while wildlife damage and land degradation ranked as the highest impacts on food production due to land use changes. Among the socio-economic determinants, training and income/profit positively influenced farmer perceptions of the severity of both climate and land use change. The level of farmer’s adaptation to climate change had a negative association with their perception of the severity of climate change. Household size negatively influenced the perceptions of the severity of climate change while positively influencing perceptions of land use change impacts. Among the spatial determinants, farm size and downstream locations of MVTCS positively influenced perceptions of the severity of both climate and land use change. Thus, the effectiveness of adaptation strategies towards climate and land use change pressures depends on how well they are understood by the farmers. The study findings provide helpful insights for formulating localized land use policies and climate change adaptation strategies in these globally important landscapes with a combination of both top-down and bottom-up approaches.

Demonstrating a decision support process for landscape conservation design

AbstractDespite the recent increase in landscape conservation and the design processes agencies are undertaking, there remains an implementation gap due to an inability to evaluate general strategies and account for uncertainties faced by managers. We demonstrated how a decision support process (DSP), recently developed to inform landscape conservation design, can address uncertainties and complexities inherent in landscape conservation to facilitate long‐term, large‐scale conservation planning. We applied the DSP to landscape conservation efforts within conservation opportunity areas (COA) of states in the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks region. We engaged state planners within the region to identify important landscape conservation uncertainties they face in planning. We developed, simulated, and modeled the impacts of conservation addressing 3 uncertainties identified by state wildlife managers and evaluated the impacts by examining the responses of state and local populations of 2 bird species of conservation concern, prairie warbler (Setophaga discolor) and wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina). The responses of prairie warbler populations to conservation strategies indicated that both approaches of protecting quality habitat from land‐use change and restoring and enhancing lower quality and nonhabitat improved their viability at regional, statewide, and COA scales. However, we noted that the relative effectiveness of strategies varied among states in ways that suggest a state's process for delineating COAs and what threats they face could influence which conservation approach to consider. Our findings highlight the need for regional coordination and the use of decision‐support processes to guide effective conservation at landscape scales.

Development of anex vivo patient-derived tumor model (PDTM) to assess the tumor microenvironment in renal cell carcinoma (RCC)

Abstract Background With the rise of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) as the primary treatment option for metastatic RCC, investigating the role of T cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME) is a critical component of understanding both treatment response and resistance. Prior efforts, including single-cell transcriptomic approaches, have provided an important landscape of T cell transcriptional phenotypes. However, these immuno-profiling efforts require validation through functional interrogation of the TME to facilitate the development of novel immunomodulatory therapies. Thus, we established a patient derived tumor model (PDTM) system to directly assess the effect of inhibitory immune interactions on T cell function and anti-tumor activity in the RCC TME. In this initial proof-of-concept study, we evaluated T cell activation in the RCC TME using the PDTM system. Methods Fresh tumor samples were obtained from surgical resections of RCC at Yale-New Haven Hospital. The tumor was minced to ~1-3 mm³ pieces and suspended in an air-liquid interface system, consisting of tumor fragments embedded in a collagen matrix on an insert with a semi-permeable membrane, exposed to culture media. The tumor fragment and matrix suspension were carefully pipetted onto the Millicell insert, which served as the top layer. The PDTM setup includes an inner dish containing the bottom gel layer and the tissue-containing top layer. To complete the assembly, 1.5 ml of DMEM media with or without an anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody (aCD3mAb) and 500 nM of anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody (aPD1mAb) was added to the outer dish surrounding the insert. Results We successfully optimized PDTM experimental workflows for culture, dissociation, and analysis using immunohistochemistry (IHC), flow cytometry (FCM), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining and IHC showed that the TME cellular architecture and immune cell composition was broadly preserved during the three day experimental period. Using FCM to analyze the dissociated tumor samples, we identified well-preserved CA9+ tumor cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cell populations, CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells, CD56+ natural killer cells, CD20+ B cells, and CD14+CD11b+ myeloid subsets including monocytes and CD163-/+macrophages. Among the T cells, we detected PD1+, LAG3+, TIM3+, and TIGIT+ cells. For dose-response analysis of aCD3mAb, we observed that stimulation with 0.025 ng/mL aCD3mAb for T cells from healthy donor peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) yielded significant but non-saturating levels of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) production as quantified by ELISA. We tested the effect of the anti-PD-1 antibody on PDTM under the low-dose of aCD3mAb, and importantly, found that treatment of the PDTM with aPD1mAb resulted in more activated CD8 T cells and higher IFN-γ production than the control samples. Conclusions Through optimization of assays evaluating T cell cytokine production, we were able to assess multiple axes of T-cell function in the RCC TME. This study revealed that our PDTM system preserves the RCC TME for functional interrogation. Furthermore, our system for assessing T cell phenotype and cytokine production successfully demonstrated the activity of PD-1 blockade ex vivo. Taken together, this novel ex vivo PDTM system has extensive applications in the study of RCC, including assessing the impact of ICIs on T cell function. DOD CDMRP Funding: yes

Scale effect of landscape characteristics on undergrowth vegetation variance with different ecological traits

Herbaceous understory vegetation plays a significant role in temperate forested ecosystems, with its diversity strongly dependent on both local and landscape conditions. However, the contribution of these factors across different spatial scales (e.g., scale effect) remains inadequately understood. The objective of this study was to determine the most important landscape and local characteristics influencing the species richness of the herb layer. We surveyed and sampled 53 sites in a mountainous forest within the Baihuashan National Nature Reserve of Beijing. Using generalized linear models, we investigated the simultaneous effect of local (e.g. tree density, average tree height, and cover of tree, shrub, and ground vegetation) and landscape (e.g. Area-weighted Mean Patch Size, Area-weighted Mean Euclidean Nearest Neighbor Distance, Area-weighted Mean Fractal Dimension Index, forest area, and shrubbery area) variables on the richness of species in the understory herb layer. Variation partitioning was used to examine the individual contribution of local and landscape variables. Our results identified 366 plant species from 95 families across 53 sampling sites. Significant differences in species richness were found among life forms, seed dispersal types, and habitat preferences (P < 0.001). Parsimonious models indicated that combining local and landscape factors at a 2 km scale explained the most variation in phanerophytes (R2 = 0.658). Locally, average tree height significantly influenced the species richness of biotic dispersal, phanerophytes, and geophytes. At the landscape level, variables such as the Area-weighted Mean Fractal Dimension Index and farmland area significantly impacted plant community traits across different scales. Understanding these effects is crucial for developing effective sustainable forest ecosystem management strategies and for establishing robust ecological conservation policies.

Analysis of genomic copy number variations through whole-genome scan in Yunling cattle.

Yunling cattle is a new breed of beef cattle bred in Yunnan Province, China, which has the advantages of fast growth, excellent meat quality, improved tolerance ability, and important landscape value. Copy number variation (CNV) is a significant source of gene structural variation and plays a crucial role in evolution and phenotypic diversity. Based on the latest reference genome ARS-UCD2.0, this study analyzed the genome-wide distribution of CNVs in Yunling cattle using short-read whole-genome sequencing data (n = 129) and single-molecule long-read sequencing data (n = 1), and a total of 16,507 CNVs were detected. After merging CNVs with overlapping genomic positions, 3,728 CNV regions (CNVRs) were obtained, accounting for 0.61% of the reference genome. The functional analysis indicated significant enrichment of CNVRs in 96 GO terms and 57 KEGG pathways, primarily related to cell adhesion, signal transduction, neuromodulation, and nutritional metabolism. Additionally, 111 CNVRs overlapped with 76 quantitative trait loci (QTLs), including Subcutaneous fat thickness QTL, Longissimus muscle area QTL, and Marbling score QTL. Several CNVR-overlapping genes, including BZW1, AOX1, and LOC100138449, overlap with regions associated with meat color and quality QTLs. Furthermore, Vst analysis showed that PSMB4, ERICH1, SMC2, and PPP4R3A were highly divergent between Yunling and Brahman cattle. In summary, we have constructed the genomic CNV map of Yunling cattle for the first time using whole-genome resequencing. This provides valuable genetic variation resources for the study of the Yunling cattle genome and contributes to the study of economic traits in Yunling cattle.

Assessing the visual landscape of Istanbul Bosphorus: Exploring the role of vegetation and built environment characteristics

Istanbul Bosphorus is one of the most important protected landscapes of Türkiye with its dramatic topography, natural landscape, and historical and cultural heritage embedded within this natural setting. However, studies focusing on the visual landscape assessment (VLA) of Bosphorus are limited. The main goal was to evaluate the VLA of Bosphorus and to understand the users' perception of this multi-layered landscape via utilizing VLA based on the evaluation of 45 photographs taken from the sea. For this goal, the study investigates the environmental texture proportion (ETP: vegetation, built environment, sea, and sky) and RGB values of the photographs using parameters such as naturalness, beautiful scenery, disturbance, excitement, safety, and livability in 5-Likert’s scale. Findings demonstrated that photographs with more vegetation than built environment, with those containing 10 % or more vegetation receiving higher overall scores. Vegetation showed a high positive correlation with naturalness, beautiful scenery, excitement, safety, and livability. Moreover, disturbance was positively correlated with the built environment, and negatively correlated with vegetation. Namely, the most problematic ETP type for VLA was the built environment in Bosphorus. The study further identified built environment characteristics as a critical environmental component, with historical and mansion-type buildings scoring higher than other building types. Another important finding was that certain user features, such as gender, influenced perceptions of beautiful scenery (9 p-value), excitement (10), safety (11), and livability (21), while usage frequency affected perceptions of excitement (14) and safety (13). In other words, men gave higher scores to photographs compared to women, and users who regularly utilized the study area rated the photographs more favorably than those who used it less frequently. In conclusion, the study found that user characteristics of gender and usage frequency were influential factors, and vegetation (10 % and above) was the most paramount element for preferences when considering the visual landscape of the Bosphorus in Istanbul.

Mapping landscape values and exploring sense of place in a threatened mangrove biodiversity hotspot: the Sundarbans delta, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT The Sundarbans mangrove forest in Bangladesh underpins local livelihoods in multiple ways, but its ecological integrity is under threat. In this paper, we seek to explore how local people value the Sundarbans landscapes spatially and how the Sundarbans contributes to their sense of place. To elicit spatially distributed landscape values, we applied a Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) method with 344 local people of the Sundarbans in the Bagerhat district, Bangladesh, and we collected 2007 geo-locations. Our study reveals that the Sundarbans mangrove forest is most frequently valued for enabling social activities (37.3% of all identified points). Other important landscape values were fishing, aesthetics, recreation, and honey collection, which were relatively widely distributed throughout the Sundarbans protected area. The local people also identified dependency on the Sundarbans for their livelihoods and for protection against biophysical threats such as cyclones and storms. The Sundarbans forest shapes people’s sense of place in the form of place identity, place attachment, and place dependence. This study demonstrates the value of spatial data and investigating sense of place in policy and planning for mangrove biodiversity hotspots.

Integrating ecosystem services, stakeholders’ perspective, and land-use scenarios to safeguard sustainability of the Mulberry-Dyke and Fish-Pond System

ContextOptimizing landscape patterns by considering ecosystem services and human well-being is crucial for landscape sustainability research. Such optimization process shall also consider multiple stakeholders’ perspectives, interests and benefits, which remain less well investigated.ObjectivesThe study aims to integrate ecosystem services and land-use scenario analysis to design sustainable landscapes. The overall goal of spatial optimization is to explore pathways towards sustainable development.MethodsThis study uses the Mulberry-Dyke and Fish-Pond System as a representative agricultural landscape. It analyzes the spatiotemporal pattern of the landscape from 1975 to 2019. The market value method, InVEST model, and MaxEnt model are used to quantify the ecosystem services of the landscape. The analytic hierarchy process is used to set the weight of ecosystem services from the perspective of three stakeholder groups. We compare the outcomes of different scenarios and assessed through emergy yield ratio, environmental loading ratio, and environmental sustainability index.ResultsOur results indicated that: (1) The scale of the Mulberry-Dyke and Fish-Pond system decreased significantly from 1975 to 2019. (2) Among the six major ecosystem services, the average value of water purification service was the highest, while average value of mulberry supply service was the lowest. (3) Spatial optimization of the three design objectives, ‘sustainably intensify’, ‘increase landscape multifunctionality’, and ‘restore ecological integrity’, were primarily distributed in the study area’s eastern, central, and western regions, respectively. (4) All three stakeholder-oriented scenarios showed improvements in ecological quality or agricultural output.ConclusionsOur study incorporates viewpoints of critical, diverse stakeholders in the assessment of ecosystem services and scenario analysis to establish sustainable and culturally important agricultural landscape. The framework and methods can help minimize environmental stress on the system, balance agricultural productivity and profitability, and enhance the sustainability of agricultural landscapes.

Altered tumor microenvironment heterogeneity of penile cancer during progression from non-lymphatic to lymphatic metastasis.

Lymphatic metastasis is the major challenge in the treatment of penile cancer. The prognosis of individuals with lymphatic metastasis is extremely poor. Therefore, early identification of disease progression and lymphatic metastasis is an urgent task for researchers in penile cancer worldwide. In this study, using single-cell RNA sequencing, an immune landscape was established for the cancer ecosystem based on 46,861 cells from six patients with penile cancer (four with lymphatic metastasis [stage IV] and two without lymphatic metastasis [stage I]). Using bulk RNA sequencing, the discrepancy between the cancers and their respective metastatic lymph nodes was depicted based on seven patients with penile cancer. The interaction between epithelial cells, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells, and the functional cooperation among invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and angiogenesis were found to be important landscapes in the penile cancer ecosystem, playing important roles in progression of cancer and lymph node metastasis. This study is the first to investigate the altered tumor microenvironment heterogeneity of penile cancer as it evolves from non-lymphatic to lymphatic metastasis and provides insights into the mechanisms underlying malignant progression, the premetastatic niche, and lymphatic metastasis in penile cancer.

Human footprint and rainfall shape Masai giraffe's habitat suitability and connectivity in a multiple‐use landscape

AbstractGiraffe populations have declined by around 40% in the last three decades. Climate change, poaching, habitat loss, and increasing human pressures are confining giraffes to smaller and more isolated patches of habitats. Masai giraffes (Giraffa tippelskirchi) have been subjected to habitat loss and fragmentation, diseases, poaching, and unpredictable calamities such as wildfires and climate change. In this study, we aimed to identify (1) suitable Masai giraffe habitats within the transboundary landscape of Tsavo‐Mkomazi in Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania; and (2) key connecting corridors in a multiple‐use landscape for conservation prioritization. We combined Masai giraffe presence data collected through a total aerial survey with moderate resolution satellite data to model habitat suitability at 250 m resolution using species distribution models (SDMs) implemented in Google Earth Engine (GEE). Model accuracy was assessed using area under precision recall curve (AUC‐PR). We then used the habitat suitability index as a resistance surface to model functional connectivity using Circuitscape theory and cost‐weighted distance pairwise methods. Human habitat modification, rainfall, and elevation were the main model predictors of Masai giraffe habitat and corridors. On average, our 10‐fold model fitting attained a good predictive performance with an average AUC‐PR = 0.80 (SD = 0.01, range = 0.79–0.83). The model predicted an area of 15,002 km2 as potential suitable Masai giraffe habitat with over 17% outside protected areas within the landscape. Although Tsavo West National Park formed a key habitat and a key connecting corridor, nonprotected community ranches connecting Tsavo West and Tsavo East National Parks are equally important in maintaining landscape connectivity joining more than two Masai giraffe core areas with low resistance and high permeability. To maintain critical Masai giraffe's habitats and landscape functional connectivity, especially in multiple‐use landscapes, conservation‐compatible land use practices, capacity building, and land use planning should be considered at the outset of any new infrastructure development and land use changes. This modeling shows the potential of utilizing remotely sensed information and ground surveys to guide the management of habitats and their connecting corridors across important African landscapes, complementing existing efforts to identify, conserve, and protect wildlife habitats and their linkage zones.

The lion's share: implications of carnivore diet for threatened herbivores in Tsavo, Kenya

AbstractPredation can have cascading, regulatory effects across ecological communities. Knowledge of the diet of predators can therefore provide important information regarding their ecology and conservation, as well as their impacts on prey populations. Using scats collected during 2019–2023 and estimates of prey abundance from aerial surveys, we characterized prey consumption and preferences of the Vulnerable African lion Panthera leo population in Tsavo, Kenya. Biomass models applied to prey frequencies in scats revealed that &gt; 85% of lion diet comprised large ungulates weighing &gt; 150 kg. The Critically Endangered hirola Beatragus hunteri and Endangered Grevy's zebra Equus grevyi (species that were introduced in Tsavo as part of ex situ conservation programmes in the 1960s) were amongst the seven prey species, of 16 detected, that were preferred by lions. Our results potentially indicate a disproportionate impact of lion predation on the small hirola and Grevy's zebra populations. Preferential predation, coupled with high availability of alternative prey, may trap the small populations of hirola and Grevy's zebra within a predator pit. Our findings provide a better understanding of lion diet, optimal foraging and the potential effects predators can have on threatened and rare prey species in an important conservation landscape. Based on our findings, we recommend an observational study of the predation ecology of lions and other predators in this system, to provide information on age- and sex-specific predation rates on hirola and Grevy's zebra for a population viability analysis, to support the management of these two threatened and rare herbivores in Tsavo.

First Report of Leaf Brown Spot Caused by Diaporthe phoenicicola on Pachira glabra in China.

Pachira glabra is an increasingly important ornamental landscape tree in southern China. In August 2022, brown spots were observed on P. glabra leaves in Xiangtan City, Hunan Province, China (27.932°N, 113.020°E), affecting up to 40% of the 792 trees surveyed. On each diseased tree, nearly 30% leaves had symptoms, with an average severity of 21.2 ± 5.8% (n=100). The disease initially started as small yellow lesions along leaf margins, which later progressed to pale brown to brown with dark brown borders, eventually coalescing into large necrotic areas. Thirty symptomatic leaf samples (2 × 2 mm) were surfaced-sterilized in 75% ethanol for 10 s, 2% NaOCl for 30 s, rinsed in sterile water three times, placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA), and incubated at 25°C for 5 to 7 days in dark. Eight morphologically similar isolates were obtained from diseased leaf samples through single-spore isolation. On PDA, colonies initially appeared white, turning gray, while the reverse developed a pale yellowish hue. Aerial mycelia were white, cottony, and developed visible black pycnidia with oil droplets at maturity. The α-conidia were unicellular, hyaline, aseptate, oval or fusiform, usually with 1 or 2 guttule(s) and rounded at each end. These conidia were 5.3-8.6 × 1.7-2.5 μm (avg. 6.7 × 2.2 μm, n = 100) and present more frequently than β-conidia.The β-conidia were unicellular, hyaline, aseptate, filiform, straight or hamate, eguttulate, 14.6-23.3 × 0.4-1.3 μm (avg. 18.4 × 0.9 μm, n = 30). Morphologically, the fungi were identified as Diaporthe sp. (Udayanga et al. 2014). For molecular identification, the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), translation elongation factor 1α (EF1-α), calmodulin (CAL), tubulin 2 (TUB2), and histone H3 (HIS3) sequences of all isolates were amplified from genomic DNA, using primers ITS4/ITS5 (White et al. 1990), TEF-2/728F and CALD-38F/CALD-752R (Carbone and Kohn 1999), Bt2a/Bt2b and H3-1a/H3-1b (Glass and Donaldson 1995; Crous et al. 2004), respectively. The GenBank accession numbers for a representative isolate gpg2023-1 were OR533573 (ITS), OR570887 (EF1-α), OR570888 (TUB2), OR570890 (CAL), and OR570889 (HIS3). BLAST results showed that the ITS, EF1-α, TUB2, HIS, and CAL sequences were 99%, 99%, 99%, 99%, and 98% identity, respectively, with those of Diaporthe phoenicicola (GenBank: KC343032.1, KC343758.1, KC344000.1, KC343516.1, and KC343274.1). To confirm the pathogen's identity, phylogenetic analysis using MEGA7.0 based on Maximum Likelihood was constructed. Isolate gpg2023-1 clustered with D. phoenicicola. Based on morphological and molecular data, the fungus was identified as D. phoenicicola. Next, pathogenicity tests were performed three times on one-year-old potted P. glabra plants. For each isolate, twelve healthy leaves on each of three plants were either wounded by a sterile needle or left unwounded, and then sprayed with a conidial suspension (1×106 conidia/ml) for each isolate. Control plants received with sterile water only. Plants were kept in a greenhouse at 25°C, 80% relative humidity, with a 12-h photoperiod. All wounded, inoculated leaves developed brown spot symptoms similar to those observed in the field with six days, while unwounded leaves and control plants remained symptom-free. The fungus was reisolated from all diseased leaves, fulfilling Koch's postulates and proving D. phoenicicola as the causative agent of this brown spot disease on P. glabra. While D. pachirae has been reported to cause leaf spot on P. glabra in Brazil (Milagres et al. 2018), this study marks the first report of D. phoenicicola causing leaf brown spot on P. glabra in China. This finding can help develop control strategies for this disease.