Landscape Parameters Research Articles

Landscape composition and configuration affect bees in the olive agroecosystem

AbstractOlive groves constitute a landscape that covers a large area in the Mediterranean basin, with essential economic importance, but which can also have environmental importance if an olive grove landscape is designed that favours populations of beneficial insects. Bees are also essential from an economic and environmental viewpoint and are in increasing decline. This work aimed to determine the landscape parameters in the olive agroecosystem that favour bee populations. Fifteen olive groves were sampled in central Spain throughout 2015 and 2016. Bees belonging to 6 families and 24 genera were captured. The most numerous family was Halictidae, and the most numerous genus Lasioglossum. The parameter that mostly affected the abundance and richness of bee genera was the scrubland area (CAMME), with a positive effect. The olive grove area (CAO) had a negative effect in general, although the responses of the different families vary slightly. The configuration of the landscape (MSI) also positively affected bees, which indicates the importance of maintaining linear elements with wild vegetation, to contribute to the maintenance of these important insects. Environmental conditions can affect the importance of olive grove as a supplier of resources for bees, being greater in dry and warm years.

Linking hydrological security and landscape insecurity in the moribund deltaic wetland of India using tree-based hybrid ensemble method in python

The main goal of the present study is to develop hydrological security model (HSM) and landscape insecurity model (LIM) of the wetlands in moribund deltaic floodplain using a tree-based hybrid ensemble method. The study employs four tree-based novel hybrid approaches such as Random Forest (RF), Extremely randomized forest (ETC), gradient boosting (GBM), and eXtreme gradient boosting (XGB) for modelling hydrological security and landscape insecurity. Six hydrological parameters such as water presence frequency (WPF), water depth, Hydro-duration, variability of water depth using standard deviation, distance from rivers, and regression slope of wetland depth have been employed for hydrological security modelling, and nine landscape parameters such as aggregation index, patch cohesion index, edge density, mean radius of gyration arithmetic, largest patch Index, mean perimeter-area ratio, percentage of landscape, splitting index, total edge have been employed for landscape insecurity modelling. The performance of each model is evaluated by estimating precision, recall, F1-score, Matthew's correlation coefficient (MCC), and the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC). The outcomes revealed that GBM and XGB pose the highest accuracy level (AUC more than 0.95 for HSM and 0.85 for LIM), followed by RF, ETC models. Models' outcome shows that about 50% of wetland area belongs to the low hydrological secure zone. From phase I to phase III this area increased by more than 18%. The area under high hydrological secure zones reduces by about 55%. Landscape insecurity in this region raised by 41% from phase I to phase III. Linking HSM and LIM shows that reduction of hydrological security is responsible for enhancing landscape insecurity in this region.

Evaluating landscape influences on hydrologic behavior with a fully-integrated groundwater – surface water model

Optimizing hydrologic resiliency in agricultural landscapes is critical for the sustainability of food production and ecosystem services, and optimization strategies must include a holistic understanding of the hydrologic cycle, including groundwater-surface water interactions. Here, a large-scale (2056 km2), high resolution (50–150 m), structurally complex, fully-integrated groundwater-surface water model was constructed for an agriculturally-dominated watershed in the Northern Great Plains. The sensitivity of surface water flow and groundwater conditions were examined in the context of wetland/depression water storage capacity, soil hydraulic conductivity (Ks), field surface roughness (Manning’s n), as well as variability in precipitation and potential evapotranspiration (PET). The model evaluation interval extended from 2010 to 2015, which included both flood and drought conditions. Results showed that stream flow rates in the watershed exhibit a larger response to 10 % changes in either precipitation or PET relative to the response associated with a 50 % change in depression storage, a 4x change in Ks, or a 50 % change in n, thus highlighting the region’s susceptibility to weather variability. Of the landscape parameters examined, increasing depression storage provided a greater reduction in peak flood flows than an increase in Ks or n; however, increases in all three landscape parameters contributed to flood peak mitigation as well as groundwater recharge. When model configuration approximated predevelopment (primarily native prairie) landscape conditions, simulated flood peaks were reduced by 22 to 25 %. This study presents a fully-integrated groundwater-surface water modeling framework to determine the hydrologic influences and risk mitigation value of landscape management practices.

Testing Landscape, Climate and Lithology Impact on Carbon, Major and Trace Elements of the Lena River and Its Tributaries during a Spring Flood Period

Transport of carbon, major and trace elements by rivers in permafrost-affected regions is one of the key factors in circumpolar aquatic ecosystem response to climate warming and permafrost thaw. A snap-shot study of major and trace element concentration in the Lena River basin during the peak of spring flood revealed a specific group of solutes according to their spatial pattern across the river main stem and tributaries and allowed the establishment of a link to certain landscape parameters. We demonstrate a systematic decrease of labile major and trace anion, alkali and alkaline-earth metal concentration downstream of the main stem of the Lena River, linked to change in dominant rocks from carbonate to silicate, and a northward decreasing influence of the groundwater. In contrast, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and a number of low-soluble elements exhibited an increase in concentration from the SW to the NE part of the river. We tentatively link this to an increase in soil organic carbon stock and silicate rocks in the Lena River watershed in this direction. Among all the landscape parameters, the proportion of sporadic permafrost on the watershed strongly influenced concentrations of soluble highly mobile elements (Cl, B, DIC, Li, Na, K, Mg, Ca, Sr, Mo, As and U). Another important factor of element concentration control in the Lena River tributaries was the coverage of the watershed by light (for B, Cl, Na, K, U) and deciduous (for Fe, Ni, Zn, Ge, Rb, Zr, La, Th) needle-leaf forest (pine and larch). Our results also suggest a DOC-enhanced transport of low-soluble trace elements in the NW part of the basin. This part of the basin is dominated by silicate rocks and continuous permafrost, as compared to the carbonate rock-dominated and groundwater-affected SW part of the Lena River basin. Overall, the impact of rock lithology and permafrost on major and trace solutes of the Lena River basin during the peak of spring flood was mostly detected at the scale of the main stem. Such an impact for tributaries was much less pronounced, because of the dominance of surface flow and lower hydrological connectivity with deep groundwater in the latter. Future changes in the river water chemistry linked to climate warming and permafrost thaw at the scale of the whole river basin are likely to stem from changes in the spatial pattern of dominant vegetation as well as the permafrost regime. We argue that comparable studies of large, permafrost-affected rivers during contrasting seasons, including winter baseflow, should allow efficient prediction of future changes in riverine ‘inorganic’ hydrochemistry induced by permafrost thaw.

Brazilian forest code: Advances and setbacks

In a scenario of expansion of agricultural frontiers, based on the production of grain and other commodities, Brazil today lives in a privileged position when it comes to the production and productivity of various agricultural crops and livestock. However we can see that developments in the legislative system often do not keep pace with anthropic action, which makes the degradation of the natural environment potentially disturbing. The evolution in jurisprudence has to occur concisely and quickly based on landscape parameters, and from the perspective of the technique, with a holistic behavior focused on the actions of preservation and conservation of natural resources. Forests are indispensable systems in the process of 'water generation', contributing significantly to the dynamics of the hydrological cycle, a complex and fundamental mechanism for the maintenance and regulation of life on earth. In this sense, the objective of this article is to explain some environmental, technical and legislative aspects related to the Forest Codes that were in force in Brazil, analyzing its historical relevance, flaws and finally major changes. Its preparation was based on articles, books and materials available online from the available knowledge bases. A broad revision was carried out including the Magna Carta in addition to the laws that deal with the Brazilian Forest Code, in its three versions of 1934, 1965 and 2012. As articulated considerations it can be verified that despite the evolution in the form of proposition of the current law, some modifications still need to be made, considering that the current Forest Code contains residual political and economic sequelae that neglect the socio-environmental character, and that even after the adoption of its latest version, severe damage is still being caused to the natural environment, which requires greater commitment from regulators to enforce legislation

Long-term active layer monitoring at CALM sites in the Russian European North

ABSTRACT This paper presents results from long-term active layer monitoring at four CALM sites in the Russian European North. Observational records range from 10 to 24 years in length (1996–2019). The impact of climatic and landscape parameters on active layer thickness has been assessed through linear regression. The temporal dynamics of climatic parameters, responsible for the thaw depth changes, were investigated. The long-term data indicate that the active-layer thickness has increased at all the monitoring sites, in response to changes in both summer and winter climatic parameters. The surface organic layer also serves as a major landscape factor influencing spatial patterns of thaw depth and climate-induced rates of permafrost thawing.

Cool, CALM, collected: the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring program and network

ABSTRACT The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program is the primary global-change monitoring program concerned with the seasonally frozen active layer above permafrost. The active layer has been designated by the Global Climate Observing System and the Global Terrestrial Observing Network as an ‘Essential Climate Variable’. CALM was launched in 1991 on a volunteer basis in cooperation with the International Tundra Experiment. CALM observatories in Russia and Alaska have been supported since 1998 by the U.S. National Science Foundation through five consecutive five-year funding cycles. In its current configuration, the CALM network includes observation sites throughout the circum-Arctic region and a substantial number of sites in Antarctica. Open access to data and data harmonization are hallmarks of the program. In addition to its ongoing emphasis on field observations of active-layer thickness, temperature, soil moisture, and thaw subsidence are currently being monitored at many sites. Increased emphasis is being placed on observing the dynamics of other landscape and ecosystem parameters, including vegetation, landscape patterns, and soils. Other developing features of the program include expanded education and outreach activities, close cooperation with other international programs, and provision of quality-controlled, standardized data products that meet the needs of the wider scientific community.

Composition of tropical agricultural landscape alters the structure of host-parasitoid food webs

Land-use change and habitat fragmentation are well-known to affect host-parasitoid interactions. However, the study of the effects of landscape composition, as a result of habitat fragmentation, on host-parasitoid food webs is still limited especially in a tropical agricultural landscape. This research was aimed to study the effect of agricultural landscape composition on the structure of host-parasitoid food webs. Field research was conducted in sixteen long-bean fields located in Bogor Regency, West Java, Indonesia. In each long-bean field, sampling of insect pests and their parasitoids was carried out using direct observation within a plot size of 25 m × 50 m. The collected insects were brought to the laboratory for rearing and observed for emerging parasitoids. Landscape composition of each long-bean field was measured by digitizing the whole patch within a radius of 500 m from the long-bean field as a center of landscape, and landscape parameters were then quantified by focusing on number of patches and class area of both semi-natural habitats and crop fields. In total, we found 51 morphospecies of insect pests and 110 morphospecies of associated parasitoids from all research locations. Lepidopteran pests are the most abundant and species-rich with 35 morphospecies and with 76 morphospecies of parasitoids. Based on the generalized linear models, landscape composition especially class area of natural habitat and crop field showed a positive relationship with host-parasitoid food-web structure especially on connectance and compartment diversity. In conclusion, landscape composition contributes to shaping the host-parasitoid food-webs in a tropical agricultural landscape.

The expansion of cannabis cultivation and its impact on the ecological and socio-economic environment in the province of ouezzane :the case of Briksha and Asjen communities

Abstract : The two groups of Abriksha and Asjen, are a mountainous region characterized by geomorphological and ecological diversity. Due to the transitional location of the two groups, between the high mountains of the Rif and the hills of the front Rif, has made it a massive area in which the mountains dominate by 38% in each of the twogroups. The weakness of the local economy also contributed to the two groups degradation, due to their dependence on the agricultural sector, which is characterized by its low profitability, and in the face of demographic growth and limited natural resources, forcing the people of the region to search for new resources that made them accept the cultivation of Hemp weed, which had entered the two groups in the late 1990s.The thing that directly contributed to changing the parameters of the agricultural landscape and affected the social and economic behavior of the two groups' residents. In addition to the deterioration of forest and the soil became more erosive, as for the economic level, it was represented by a rise in the income of families that deal in agriculture and a rise in the price of real estate, with regard to the social level, there has been less teamwork and more conflict over water. In the face of this critical situation, it is necessary to think about the rehabilitation of naturel resources and attention to the economic, social and environmental aspect of the two groups. Keywords: geo-morphological diversity, local economy, hemp plantation,social behavior الملخص : تعد جماعتي ابريكشة وأسجن منطقة جبلية تتميز بالتنوع الجيومرفولوجي واإليكولوجي، فبحكم موقع تراب الجماعتان االنتقالي بين أعالي جبال الريف وتالل مقدمة الريف، جعل منهما نطاقا متضرسا تهيمن فيه الجبال بنسبة 38 .% وساهم كذلك ضعف االقتصاد المحلي بالجماعتين، بفعل اعتمادهما على القطاع الفالحي الذي يتميز بضعف مردوديته، وأمام النمو الديموغرافي ومحدودية الموارد الطبيعية، اضطر سكان المنطقة إلى البحث عن موارد جديدة جعلهم يقبلون على زراعة القنب الهندي الكيف، التي ستدخل إلى الجماعتين في أواخر التسعينات، الشيء الذي ساهم بشكل مباشر في تغيير معالم المشهد الزراعي وأثر على السلوك االجتماعي واالقتصادي لسكان الجماعتين، إضافة إلى تدهور الغابة والتربة التي أصبحت أكثر قابلية للتعرية وازدياد الضغط على الموارد الترابية أما على المستوى االقتصادي فقد تمثل في ارتفاع دخل األسر التي تتعاطى لزراعته وارتفاع ثمن العقار. وفيما يخص المستوى االجتماعي فقد قل العمل الجماعي وكثر الصراع حول الماء، وأمام هذا الوضع المتأزم ومن أجل التخفيف من حدة التعاطي لهذه الزراعة وجب التفكير في تأهيل الموارد الطبيعية واالهتمام بالجانب االقتصادي واالجتماعي والبيئي لسكان الجماعتين. الكلمات المفاتيح : التنوع الجيومرفولوجي- االقتصاد المحلي- زراعة القنب الهندي- السلوك االجتماعي

The relationship between landscape and meteorological parameters on COVID-19 risk in a small-complex region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Abstract As of the beginning of September 2021, the COVID-19 outbreak has lasted for more than 1.5 years in Indonesia, especially on Java and Bali islands. Yogyakarta Special Region, Indonesia, is one of the areas that continued to impose restrictions on community activities at the highest level for that period. This is due to the high rate of COVID-19 spread in this region. In this paper, the influence of landscape and meteorological parameters on the spread of COVID-19 risk in Yogyakarta is investigated. This study utilises primary and secondary data obtained from observation, remote-sensing-image interpretation, literature study and data documented by several agencies. The data were statistically analysed using simple linear regression and Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis utilising the average nearest neighbour. The results show that the variation in landscape and meteorological parameters in the Yogyakarta area does not have a significant impact on the spread of COVID-19. Ease of accessibility in various areas of Yogyakarta is able to overcome landscape barriers. This affects the random distribution pattern of COVID-19, clustering in plain areas that facilitate population mobility rather than in mountainous, volcanic or karst areas. Also, meteorological conditions with small variations do not impact the spread of COVID-19. In summary, this study shows that ease of mobility in a medium-wide area can encourage the spread of COVID-19 in various regions even though there are variations in its terrain and climate.

Linking the diversity and structure of French avian communities with landscape parameters, climate and NPP flows

Linking the diversity and structure of French avian communities with landscape parameters, climate and NPP flows

Measuring and Quantifying Impacts of Environmental Parameters on Airborne Particulate Matter in Under-Viaducts Spaces in Wuhan, China.

Particulate pollution caused by urban traffic emissions has become a significant public hazard. Many urban roads of under-viaduct spaces (UVSs) have become concentrated areas of particulate pollution. This study aims to explore the effects of landscape parameters on particulate matter in UVSs in Wuhan, China. We selected 14 types of UVS sections and nine potential environmental parameters to monitor four types of particulate matter (PM1.0, PM2.5, PM10, and TSP). Finally, linear regression analysis was employed to quantify the relative contributions of environmental parameters to the reduction in the concentration of the four types of particulate matter in the summer and winter. The results showed that particulate matter concentrations exhibit spatial and seasonal differences in UVSs. A single landscape parameter was correlated with particulate matter concentration, while compound environmental parameters had significant effects on the particulate matter concentration in UVSs. Meteorological factors and greening structures had a dominant impact on the particulate matter concentrations in summer and winter, respectively. Therefore, adjusting and optimizing the environmental parameters could reduce particulate pollution in UVSs and could have practical significance for the planning and design of UVSs.

Highly Resolved Runoff Path Simulation Based on Urban Surface Landscape Layout for Sub-Catchment Scale

The present study explored the regularities of the path and network structure of surface runoff formed under the influence of urban surface landscapes. We used unmanned aerial vehicle sensors to examine terrain and land use/cover change. The sub-catchments of a typical city, Luohe, China, were evaluated for the effect of landscape on surface runoff. Landscape and topographic parameters from 166 urban sub-catchments in Luohe were obtained by measuring digital surface models and orthophoto maps. The minimum cumulative resistance model was used to simulate potential runoff and 491,820 potential runoff paths, connected upstream and downstream, were obtained in 166 sub-catchments. The chi-square test was used to compare simulation runoff paths and actual runoff depth, with the results showing that they led to the same distribution trend. When the gravity coefficient was greater than 18.93, path disconnection occurred among 166 sub-catchments, with a decrease in channels. The potential runoff distribution appeared in aggregation; as the gravity coefficient increased from low to high, aggregation showed a trend of increasing initially but subsequently decreasing. The initial runoff formed sub-catchments with high gravity coefficients, then accumulated and spread to the others. It is important that proper measures are taken to establish a unified planning of the city’s surface landscape in order to produce suitable surface runoff distribution.

A New Method for Correcting Urbanization-Induced Bias in Surface Air Temperature Observations: Insights From Comparative Site-Relocation Data

The effect of urbanization on surface air temperature (SAT) is one of the most important systematic biases in SAT series of urban stations. Correcting this so-called urbanization bias has the potential to provide accurate basic data for long-term climate change monitoring and research. In the western region of the Yangtze River Delta, 42 meteorological stations with site-relocation history from 2009 to 2018 were selected to analyze the statistical characteristics of the differences in comparative site-relocation daily average SAT. The annual average differences in comparative site-relocation SAT series between the old and the new stations (SATDON) were used to characterize the impact of urbanization bias on the air temperature observation series. Using remote sensing technology, spatial datasets of land-use, landscape, and geometric parameters of the underlying surface in the 5-km buffer zone around the station were established as the observed environmental factors of the site, and the differences in these observed environmental factors (DOEFs) between the old and the new stations were calculated to indicate the change induced by urbanization. Next, multiple linear regression models of SATDON and DOEFs were constructed, showing that the error range of the model for simulated SATDON was 3.66–18.21%, and the average error was 10.09%. Finally, this new correction method (NCM) and conventional correction method (CCM) were applied to the correction of the urbanization bias of SAT series at Hefei station. After comparison, it is found that the NCM could reveal clear contributions of the rapid and slow stages of the urbanization process and resultant environmental changes around the stations to the observed SAT. In summary, the NCM based on remote sensing technology can more reasonably and effectively correct the urbanization bias caused by local human activities, as well as reduce the error caused by the selection of reference stations via the conventional correction method.

Modeling Mongoose Rabies in the Caribbean: A Model-Guided Fieldwork Approach to Identify Research Priorities.

We applied the model-guided fieldwork framework to the Caribbean mongoose rabies system by parametrizing a spatially-explicit, individual-based model, and by performing an uncertainty analysis designed to identify parameters for which additional empirical data are most needed. Our analysis revealed important variation in output variables characterizing rabies dynamics, namely rabies persistence, exposure level, spatiotemporal distribution, and prevalence. Among epidemiological parameters, rabies transmission rate was the most influential, followed by rabies mortality and location, and size of the initial infection. The most influential landscape parameters included habitat-specific carrying capacities, landscape heterogeneity, and the level of resistance to dispersal associated with topography. Movement variables, including juvenile dispersal, adult fine-scale movement distances, and home range size, as well as life history traits such as age of independence, birth seasonality, and age- and sex-specific mortality were other important drivers of rabies dynamics. We discuss results in the context of mongoose ecology and its influence on disease transmission dynamics. Finally, we suggest empirical approaches and study design specificities that would provide optimal contributing data addressing the knowledge gaps identified by our approach, and would increase our potential to use epidemiological models to guide mongoose rabies control and management in the Caribbean.

How Climate Change and Land Use/Land Cover Change Affect Domestic Water Vulnerability in Yangambi Watersheds (D. R. Congo)

In the tropics, the domestic water supply depends principally on ecosystem services, including the regulation and purification of water by humid, dense tropical forests. The Yangambi Biosphere Reserve (YBR) landscape is situated within such forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Surprisingly, given its proximity to the Congo River, the YBR is confronted with water issues. As part of its ecosystem function, the landscape is expected to reduce deterioration of water quality. However, environmental consequences are increasing due to conversion of its dense forest into other types of land use/land cover (LULC) in response to human activities. It is therefore important to check how the physicochemical quality parameters of water resources are influenced by landscape parameters—and to know if the population can adapt to this water vulnerability. To do this, we analyzed the watershed typology (including morphometric and LULC characteristics) and the physical and chemical parameters of water within the principal watershed’s rivers. We also analyzed data from surveys and the Yangambi meteorological station. We found that some landscape indices related to LULC significantly influence water quality deterioration in Yangambi. On average, each person in the Yangambi landscape uses 29–43 liters of water per day. Unfortunately, this falls short of World Health Organization standards regarding some parameters. The best fitted simple linear regression model explains the variation in pH as a function of edge density of perturbed forest, edge density of crop land and patch density of dense forest up to 94%, 92% and 90%, respectively. While many researchers have identified the consequences of climate change and human activities on these water resources, the population is not well-equipped to deal with them. These results suggest that water management policies should consider the specificities of the Yangambi landscape in order to develop better mitigation strategies for a rational management of water resources in the YBR in the context of climate change.

Detecting Degraded Arable Land on the Basis of Remote Sensing Big Data Analysis

The recent development of precision farming technologies has necessitated the creation of the maps of sustainable intrafield heterogeneity of soil fertility on the basis of the analysis of remote sensing big data. To create such maps, thousands of remote sensing images for 35 years have been analyzed for each element of the earth surface to identify the areas of reduced fertility. The conducted analysis allows us to detect the areas of decreased fertility. In turn, such areas are indicative of the negative soil properties. Some of the negative properties are of the initial natural origin, and others appeared as a result of the development of degradation processes. It is possible to separate the zones of reduced fertility emerged due to the natural factors from those specified by the anthropogenic impacts on the basis of the analysis of morphometric parameters of surface topography coupled with technology of the spectral neighborhood of soil line. A combination of various methods of the analysis of big remote sensing data and landscape parameters has made it possible to create the maps of degraded lands with an accuracy sufficient for precision farming technologies. This study presents the results of identification of three natural and four anthropogenic factors of fertility decrease on arable land. The areas under the impact of particular degradation factors are identified with the help of remote sensing data. They have been verified by the ground soil survey. The results obtained are the direct consequence of the remote sensing big data analysis development. A soil cartographer, as well as a farmer, has now received a new method for detecting distribution patterns of degradation factors.

Population and Inequality Dynamics in Simple Economies

While the use of spatial agent-based and individual-based models has flourished across many scientific disciplines, the complexities these models generate are often difficult to manage and quantify. This research reduces population-driven, spatial modeling of individuals to the simplest configurations and parameters: an equal resource opportunity landscape with equally capable individuals; and asks the question, Will valid complex population and inequality dynamics emerge from this simple economic model? Two foraging economies are modeled: subsistence and surplus. The resulting, emergent population dynamics are characterized by their sensitivities to agent and landscape parameters. The various steady and oscillating regimes of single-species population dynamics are generated by appropriate selection of model growth parameters. These emergent dynamics are shown to be consistent with the equation-based, continuum modeling of single-species populations in biology and ecology. The intrinsic growth rates, carry capacities, and delay parameters of these models are implied for these simple economies. Aggregate measures of individual distributions are used to understand the sensitivities to model parameters. New local measures are defined to describe complex behaviors driven by spatial effects, especially extinctions. This simple economic model is shown to generate significantly complex population and inequality dynamics. Model parameters generating the intrinsic growth rate have strong effects on these dynamics, including large variations in inequality. Significant inequality effects are shown to be caused by birth costs above and beyond their contribution to the intrinsic growth rate. The highest levels of inequality are found during the initial non-equilibrium period and are driven by factors different than those driving steady state inequality.

Семенное возобновление самшита колхидского (Buxus colchica Pojark.) в условиях эпифитотии самшитников

In response to expansion of Cydalima perspectalis Walker, 1859, mass scale drying of Buxus colchica Pojark. resulted in succession of forest communities of the Western Caucasus in 2014–2017. Changes in illumination of the forest low storeys were conducive to intensive growth of such herbaceous plants as Symphytum grandiflorum DC., Asarum intermedium (C. A. Mey. ex Ledeb.) Grossh., Festuca drymeja Mert. & W.D.J. Koch, Allium ursinum L., etc. and Ruscus colchicus Yeo, Geranium robertianum L., Rubus anatolicus Focke, Hedera colchica (K. Koch) K. Koch in the undergrowth. The ground vegetation with total projective cover up to 100 % was formed. Under current conditions the total number of B. colchica seedlings 2–15 cm high is only 10–320 pcs/ha on the southern macroslope and 5–87 pcs/ha on the northern macroslope. It is hundreds and thousands of times less as it was before boxwood forests extinction. The research purpose was to determine the factors effecting seed regeneration of B. colchica in the Western Caucasus under the conditions of succession caused by C. perspectalis expansion and further epiphytotics of boxwood forests. We carried out the studies on the southern and northern macroslopes of the Western Caucasus in the basins of the Khosta, Kurdzhips, and Tsitsa rivers in 2018–2019. The number of B. colchica seedlings was determined by their complete enumeration within 66 sampling plots; the area of each plot comprised 400 m2. When revealing the factors which effect seed regeneration of B. colchica, we analyzed 17 landscape and phytocenotic parameters: altitude above sea level; exposure and slope inclination; crown density of upper storey; parameters of undergrowth, main species stands, and dead boxwood; total projective cover of undergrowth and herbage. The principal factor preventing development of B. colchica seedlings is growthinhibition due to the herb-shrub storey. The total projective cover of undergrowth and herbage are the most important predictors for the number of B. colchica seedlings on the sampling plots. For the mentioned parameters we revealed the maximum regression coefficients b* at the significance level p < 0.05: –0.589 and –0.478 for the southern macroslope, and – 0.667 and –0.954 for the northern macroslope. The maximum projective cover of undergrowth in forest areas with boxwood regeneration is 50 % for both macroslopes. The maximum acceptable herbage cover is 15 % in the basin of the Khosta river, and 40 % in the basins of the Tsitsa and Kurdzhips rivers. Shading from the side of the forest upper storey suppresses growth of ground vegetation, and also prevents the development of B. colchica seedlings. Therefore the crown density, within the complex of factors, has no direct effect on the parameters of seed regeneration of B. colchica. In case of further intensive growth of the herb-shrub storey in forest phytocenoses, natural boxwood forests regeneration is highly improbable in the Western Caucasus. Artificial removal of undergrowth and herbage in forest areas will facilitate seed regeneration of the species. The research results are the basis for further monitoring of the regeneration processes of boxwood forests or their possible aboriginal change in the region.

A GIS-Based Multicriteria Index to Evaluate the Mechanisability Potential of Italian Vineyard Area

Planting criteria of new vineyards should comply with rational and sustainable criteria, taking into account the potential mechanisability of existing viticultural areas. However, an established methodology for this assessment is still lacking. This study aimed at analysing the parameters which influence the vineyard mechanisability, with the objective to propose a new mechanisability index. The mechanisability index proposed was based on GIS-analysis of landscape and management parameters such as mean slope, shape of the vineyard block, length-width ratio, headland size, training system and row spacing. We identified a sample of 3686 vineyards in Italy. Based on the above-mentioned parameters, vineyards were categorised by their level of mechanisability (l.m.) into four classes. Moreover, we analysed the correlation between l.m. and economic indicators (area planted with vineyard and wine production). Results showed that the main factors limiting the mechanisability potential of some Italian regions are the elevated slopes, horizontal training systems and narrow vine spacings. The l.m. showed a moderate positive correlation with the size of vineyards and the volume and value of production. The methodology presented in this study may be easily applied to other viticultural areas around the world, serving as a management decision-making tool.