Local Landscape Research Articles

A revered place in the rural landscape: Whose heritage? On the history of the holy spring in Altai

The article examines the problems of the relationship between rural local communities and local landscape shrines. Drawing on fieldwork data, archival materials, local periodicals, and writings of Siberian Old Believers, I attempt to reconstruct the historical past of the Holy Spring, one of the most revered places in the Altai region, which bears the characteristics of both the cult and memorial place. I inquire into the conditions leading to transformations in the historical memory that is embodied in revered places and expound the methodology for studying such loci as functional zones of cultural landscapes, locations of memory, and objects of cultural heritage. I further specifically address the interesting case of overlapping vernacular practices of venerating holy places and collective memory of local events during the Civil War. Finally, I examine the most significant stages in the history of the revered place, as well as the reasons for its “reinvention” at the present time.

The Presentation of Local Landscapes and the Construction of the National Image in the Documentary "Aerial China"

The Presentation of Local Landscapes and the Construction of the National Image in the Documentary "Aerial China"

Volunteer Partisan Movement in Rostov Region During Great Patriotic War

This article examines the volunteer partisan movement in the Rostov region during the Great Patriotic War. It analyzes its content, as well as the general and specific regional characteristics. The sources for this study include both published and newly identified archival materials, some of which are introduced into scholarly discourse for the first time. The author substantiates the conclusion that the local steppe landscape and the lack of natural shelters had a profoundly negative impact on the scale and nature of the partisans’ military operations. It is established that partisan units, under local conditions, were small in number and could only conduct localized military operations. Many operated solely as reconnaissance and sabotage groups. The analysis conducted by the author leads to the conclusion that the primary tactical forms of combat employed by local partisans were swift and brief military raids and strikes, sabotage actions, as well as military incursions. The author identifies that one of the significant features of the partisan movement in the Rostov region was the Cossack factor. It is argued that the majority of Don Cossacks did not embark on a path of collaboration and actively participated in the partisan movement.

Landscape context and wetland attributes influence wintering waterbirds in important bird and biodiversity areas: implications for conservation and management

ContextThe intensification and expansion of human activities have caused profound changes in global wetlands and their associated aquatic bird communities. Understanding the mechanisms that drive the spatial assemblages of wetland birds is important for the development of effective conservation and management strategies.ObjectivesThe overall objective was to evaluate the influence of wetland features such as size and distance to the nearest coastline, and landscape composition, configuration, and function in shaping waterbird richness and abundance in 43 Tunisian Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs).MethodsSystematic waterbird surveys on species abundance and richness at each IBA were carried out between December and January in 2020/2021 and 2021/2022. Satellite remote sensing indices were used to map wetlands and characterize the vegetation condition in the landscape surrounding them. Landscape metrics were used to describe the habitat configuration around the wetlands.ResultsOur results show that landscape composition, configuration and function have significant effects on waterbirds (i.e., shorebirds, waterfowl, wading birds, and open-water birds). We found that wetland surface area and distance to the coast were important factors influencing the richness and abundance of waterbirds. Our results also indicate that landscape diversity is an important predictor of waterbird richness and abundance, and that there is a significant interaction between wetland surface area and distance to the nearest wetland in explaining the richness and abundance of waterbirds.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that the richness and abundance of waterbirds are robustly dependent on the interaction between wetland surface area and distance to the nearest wetland. Furthermore, local wetland characteristics (wetland surface area and distance to the nearest coastline), landscape composition (forest area and urban area), landscape configuration (spatial heterogeneity), and landscape function (maximum and minimum NDVI), significantly affect wintering waterbird communities. This study also highlights the importance of large and connected wetlands in conserving various bird communities in Tunisian IBAs and provides recommendations for their conservation and sustainable management.

Stem-loop and circle-loop TADs generated by directional pairing of boundary elements have distinct physical and regulatory properties.

The chromosomes in multicellular eukaryotes are organized into a series of topologically independent loops called TADs. In flies, TADs are formed by physical interactions between neighboring boundaries. Fly boundaries exhibit distinct partner preferences, and pairing interactions between boundaries are typically orientation-dependent. Pairing can be head-to-tail or head-to-head. The former generates a stem-loop TAD, while the latter gives a circle-loop TAD. The TAD that encompasses the Drosophila even skipped (eve) gene is formed by the head-to-tail pairing of the nhomie and homie boundaries. To explore the relationship between loop topology and the physical and regulatory landscape, we flanked the nhomie boundary region with two attP sites. The attP sites were then used to generate four boundary replacements: λ DNA, nhomie forward (WT orientation), nhomie reverse (opposite of WT orientation), and homie forward (same orientation as WT homie). The nhomie forward replacement restores the WT physical and regulatory landscape: in MicroC experiments, the eve TAD is a 'volcano' triangle topped by a plume, and the eve gene and its regulatory elements are sequestered from interactions with neighbors. The λ DNA replacement lacks boundary function: the endpoint of the 'new' eve TAD on the nhomie side is ill-defined, and eve stripe enhancers activate a nearby gene, eIF3j. While nhomie reverse and homie forward restore the eve TAD, the topology is a circle-loop, and this changes the local physical and regulatory landscape. In MicroC experiments, the eve TAD interacts with its neighbors, and the plume at the top of the eve triangle peak is converted to a pair of 'clouds' of contacts with the next-door TADs. Consistent with the loss of isolation afforded by the stem-loop topology, the eve enhancers weakly activate genes in the neighboring TADs. Conversely, eve function is partially disrupted.

Stem-loop and circle-loop TADs generated by directional pairing of boundary elements have distinct physical and regulatory properties

The chromosomes in multicellular eukaryotes are organized into a series of topologically independent loops called TADs. In flies, TADs are formed by physical interactions between neighboring boundaries. Fly boundaries exhibit distinct partner preferences, and pairing interactions between boundaries are typically orientation-dependent. Pairing can be head-to-tail or head-to-head. The former generates a stem-loop TAD, while the latter gives a circle-loop TAD. The TAD that encompasses the Drosophila even skipped (eve) gene is formed by the head-to-tail pairing of the nhomie and homie boundaries. To explore the relationship between loop topology and the physical and regulatory landscape, we flanked the nhomie boundary region with two attP sites. The attP sites were then used to generate four boundary replacements: λ DNA, nhomie forward (WT orientation), nhomie reverse (opposite of WT orientation), and homie forward (same orientation as WT homie). The nhomie forward replacement restores the WT physical and regulatory landscape: in MicroC experiments, the eve TAD is a ‘volcano’ triangle topped by a plume, and the eve gene and its regulatory elements are sequestered from interactions with neighbors. The λ DNA replacement lacks boundary function: the endpoint of the ‘new’ eve TAD on the nhomie side is ill-defined, and eve stripe enhancers activate a nearby gene, eIF3j. While nhomie reverse and homie forward restore the eve TAD, the topology is a circle-loop, and this changes the local physical and regulatory landscape. In MicroC experiments, the eve TAD interacts with its neighbors, and the plume at the top of the eve triangle peak is converted to a pair of ‘clouds’ of contacts with the next-door TADs. Consistent with the loss of isolation afforded by the stem-loop topology, the eve enhancers weakly activate genes in the neighboring TADs. Conversely, eve function is partially disrupted.

Local factors have a greater influence on the abundance of alfalfa weevil and its larval parasitoids than landscape complexity in heterogeneous landscapes

ContextThe alfalfa weevil Hypera postica Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is one of the most destructive pests of alfalfa worldwide. Both local and landscape-scale factors can significantly influence crop pests, natural enemies, and the effectiveness of biological control services, but the relative influence of these factors is unclear.ObjectivesWe investigated the influence of the local variables and surrounding landscape composition and configuration on the abundance of alfalfa weevil, and on the abundance and parasitism rates of its larval parasitoids, Bathyplectes spp.MethodsWe sampled 65 commercial alfalfa fields along the Ebro Basin, Spain, over a period of 3 years, recording the field characteristics and landscape structure at three buffer radii of 250, 500 and 1000 m from the center of each field.ResultsThe abundance of weevil larvae was positively associated with the field perimeter and with the uncut alfalfa surrounding the pipes of the sprinkler irrigation system, but only one configuration variable was positively correlated: the alfalfa edge density. No local characteristics or landscape structures were associated with the abundance of adult weevils. The abundance of Bathyplectes spp. adults was positively associated to local factors such as the densities of alfalfa weevils and aphids. Few landscape structure variables, such as alfalfa edge density and Simpson’s Diversity Index, had explanatory value only at 250 m buffer radius. The rate of larval parasitism was affected by local variables, such as alfalfa weevil abundance and field age.ConclusionOur results provide, for the first time in the Mediterranean region and Europe, evidence of the relative importance of landscape structure and local factors on the abundance of the alfalfa weevil and its larval parasitoids, Bathyplectes spp. The strongest influences were based on local characteristics.

GPCR Signaling: A Study of the Interplay Between Structure, Energy, and Function.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) exemplify sophisticated allosteric communication, transducing extracellular signals through ligand-induced structural rearrangements that resonate through the molecular scaffold. Despite extensive study, the biophysical underpinnings of how conformational changes spread remain unclear. This work employs a novel physics-based framework to characterize the role of energy dissipation in directing intramolecular signaling pathways. By modeling each residue as a network of coupled oscillators, we generate a localization landscape depicting the vibrational energy distribution throughout the protein scaffold. Quantifying directional energy flux between residues reveals distinct pathways for energy and information transfer, illuminating sequences of allosteric communication. Our analysis of CB1 and CCR5 crystal structures unveils an anisotropic pattern of energy dissipation aligning with key functional dynamics, such as activation-related conformational changes. These anisotropic patterns of vibrational energy flow constitute pre-configured channels for allosteric signaling. Elucidating the relationship between structural topology and energy dissipation patterns provides key insights into the thermodynamic drivers of conformational signaling. This methodology significantly advances our mechanistic understanding of allostery in GPCRs and presents a broadly applicable approach for rationally dissecting allosteric communication pathways, with potential implications for structure-based drug design targeting these critical receptors.

Reconstructing Redox Landscape With Coupled Nitrogen‐Sulfur Isotopes: A Case Study From Middle‐Late Triassic Chang 7 Member of the Yanchang Formation in the Ordos Basin (North China)

AbstractEuxinia, a crucial geological condition, usually signifies more severe extinction events attributed to deoxygenation in Earth's history. Despite extensive exploration of various proxies in paleoredox studies, most are primarily utilized to reconstruct atmospheric pO2, the proportion of anoxic water relative to the entire basin, and broader trends in redox states. Few, however, hold the capacity to precisely delineate local euxinia within confined areas. To address this gap and gain insights into the temporal and spatial extent of benthic euxinia, we propose leveraging the synergistic analysis of total nitrogen isotopes (δ15NTN) and pyrite sulfur isotopes (δ34Spy). Our study focuses on the Triassic Chang 7 Member from the Yanchang Formation, Ordos Basin, North China. Through coupling the δ15NTN and δ34Spy systematics on 11 drill cores within the Ordos Basin, we reconstruct the temporal and spatial distribution of the benthic euxinia zone during the Chang‐7 period. Our results suggest strong spatial heterogeneity of benthic redox conditions, with the euxinia boundary shifting from the central lake to the southwestern sections. Moreover, we identify redox‐controlling factors, including organic carbon loading, water depth, and potential water circulation, and evaluate their interplay with benthic euxinia. Furthermore, the discernment of water circulation patterns may provide an innovative approach to restore the paleowind direction. These findings highlight the effectiveness of coupling δ15NTN and δ34Spy in reconstructing the local benthic redox landscape of benthic environments, and enrich our understanding of biogeochemical processes.

Agricultural Landscape Model Based on the Culture of the Indigenous People of Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi

Abstract The interaction between humans and their environment forms cultural landscape. One of the cultural landscape in Indonesia is Tana Toraja. The Tana Toraja indigenous people’s way of life refers to the Aluk Todolo religion which regulates the relationships of between human-human, human-God (Puang Matua), and human-environment. The regulation influences their environment, settlement, and agriculture management. Agriculture in Tana Toraja is managed by the community not only for the economic sector but also to ensure food security and preserve traditional cultural activities. This study aims to identify and analyze the elements that make up the agricultural landscape of the Tana Toraja indigenous people, as well as develop a local culture-based agricultural landscape model. The method using in this research was spatial descriptive method by tracing customary manuscripts (literature review), interviewing traditional leaders, and field observations. This research has identified the elements that make up the Tana Toraja agricultural landscape were hills, rivers and springs, forests, rice fields, dryland fields, gardens, fish ponds (gusean), yards, and cattle pens. Integrated agriculture that is carried out based on local customs is paddy-fish integrative farming, rice-livestock integrative farming, agroforestry, and crop-livestock integrative farming. The form of integrated agriculture can be seen at the macro and micro levels and consists of spatial concepts, vegetation concepts, and circulation concepts. At the macro level, which consists of four landform hierarchies in the settlement landscape, which indicates their philosophy of life, they are successively a sacred place (hill), their ancestral home, the general settlement and agricultural areas, and development area for their subsequent offspring.

Neural network extrapolation to distant regions of the protein fitness landscape

Machine learning (ML) has transformed protein engineering by constructing models of the underlying sequence-function landscape to accelerate the discovery of new biomolecules. ML-guided protein design requires models, trained on local sequence-function information, to accurately predict distant fitness peaks. In this work, we evaluate neural networks’ capacity to extrapolate beyond their training data. We perform model-guided design using a panel of neural network architectures trained on protein G (GB1)-Immunoglobulin G (IgG) binding data and experimentally test thousands of GB1 designs to systematically evaluate the models’ extrapolation. We find each model architecture infers markedly different landscapes from the same data, which give rise to unique design preferences. We find simpler models excel in local extrapolation to design high fitness proteins, while more sophisticated convolutional models can venture deep into sequence space to design proteins that fold but are no longer functional. We also find that implementing a simple ensemble of convolutional neural networks enables robust design of high-performing variants in the local landscape. Our findings highlight how each architecture’s inductive biases prime them to learn different aspects of the protein fitness landscape and how a simple ensembling approach makes protein engineering more robust.

Japanese talking pictures: magic lanterns, silent cinema and kamishibai in the context of etoki storytelling tradition

The paper examines the relations between three different visual media with inherent oral narration which have coexisted in Japan at the beginning of the 20th century – magic lanterns, silent cinema and kamishibai (paper theater). The figures of the oral narrators present in these three media, most notably represented by the benshi, are intertwined with each other and derive from a much older, transmedial storytelling practice, which in Japan became known as etoki. The author explores different roles and modalities of these three media, highlighting their performative aspects and examining the relations of power between all of their agents, including their socio-political background. They are also treated as representatives of a performative visual spectacle. Although the paper focuses on the local context of Japan, the media under discussion come across as significant for the evolution of both the local and international media landscape, fitting the methodology of media archaeology.

‘It depends on where you were born…here in the North East, there’s not really many job opportunities compared to in the South’: young people’s perspectives on a North-South health divide and its drivers in England, UK

BackgroundImproving the public’s understanding of how regional and socioeconomic inequalities create and perpetuate inequalities in health, is argued to be necessary for building support for policies geared towards creating a more equal society. However, research exploring public perceptions of health inequalities, and how they are generated, is limited. This is particularly so for young people. Our study sought to explore young people’s lived experiences and understandings of health inequalities.MethodsWe carried out focus group discussions (n = 18) with 42 young people, aged 13–21, recruited from six youth organisations in England in 2021. The organisations were located in areas of high deprivation in South Yorkshire, the North East and London. Young people from each organisation took part in three interlinked focus group discussions designed to explore their (i) perceptions of factors impacting their health in their local area, (ii) understandings of health inequalities and (iii) priorities for change. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, most discussions took place online (n = 15). However, with one group in the North East, we carried out discussions face-to-face (n = 3). Data were analysed thematically and we used NVivo-12 software to facilitate data management.ResultsYoung people from all groups demonstrated an awareness of a North-South divide in England, UK. They described how disparities in local economies and employment landscapes between the North and the South led to tangible differences in everyday living and working conditions. They clearly articulated how these differences ultimately led to inequalities in people’s health and wellbeing, such as linking poverty and employment precarity to chronic stress. Young people did not believe these inequalities were inevitable. They described the Conservative government as prioritising the South and thus perpetuating inequalities through uneven investment.ConclusionsOur study affords important insights into young people’s perceptions of how wider determinants can help explain the North-South health divide in England. It demonstrates young people’s contextualised understandings of the interplay between spatial, social and health inequalities. Our findings support calls for pro-equity policies to address the structural causes of regional divides in health. Further research, engaging young people in deliberative policy analysis, could build on this work.

Diving into the wicked discourse of lead ammunition for big game hunting

AbstractAs evidence regarding the toxicity of lead (Pb) amassed, the heavy metal became banned from several products, such as automotive gasoline and paint. However, Pb bullets are still used for hunting big game animals in most of the world. Although regulatory bans of Pb bullets may appear optimal solutions, stakeholders have reasons to oppose them, favor them, or lie somewhere in between. As the problem has transformed from biophysical to socioecological, we employed a wicked problem lens to dissect the discourse and help inspire targeted solutions. Herein, we identified and critically analyzed 4 relevant traits of a wicked problem: multiple stakeholders are involved, disagreement on a definition, unique nature, and being a symptom of a larger problem. To minimize the impact of these traits, our analysis suggests that voluntary Pb free ammunition programs are more likely to soothe conflict among stakeholders, enable collaborative action upon agreeing on common values, and promote programs tailored to the local landscape of sociopolitical power and values.

Mayors Unchecked: Vertical and Horizontal Dimensions of Local Autonomy in Latin American Municipalities

In this paper, we argue that, relative to chief executives at higher levels of government, mayors in Latin America often operate with fewer outside checks on their scope of action, with problematic consequences for democracy. To make this argument, we examine a number of factors that can render mayors especially powerful and autonomous as political actors, and distinguish between the vertical (inter-governmental) and horizontal (inter-branch) dimensions of their autonomy. Vertically, we show that mayors have more institutional leeway than governors given the absence of the mechanism of interventions from the national government that could check their power. Horizontally, we identify a number of institutional and noninstitutional advantages that can enable mayors to exercise predominance vis-à-vis municipal legislative bodies and other actors in the local political landscape. To support our argument, we provide evidence gathered from fieldwork in six municipalities in three different countries (Chile, Paraguay, and Peru).

Identifying important species in meta‐communities

Abstract With the ongoing biodiversity crisis, identifying which species are of particular importance to prevent the extinction of other species has become a pressing issue. However, most approaches to detect these important species are made at a local (i.e, community) level, without considering the potential effect of species dispersion in a landscape. As habitat fragmentation has important effects on biodiversity, we need methods to better assess how local and spatial processes interact to determine important species and therefore better inform conservation efforts. We present a modified PageRank algorithm to determine the importance of species in meta‐communities. Species importance is defined as the ability of species in the meta‐community to spread nutrients within two sets of networks: food webs that depict local trophic interactions and landscape networks representing the movement of species across different habitat patches. We show that dispersal and trophic links jointly determine the importance of the different species, both at the local scale (within habitat patches) and at larger scales (landscape). More precisely, we observed that (i) what is considered an important species changes between isolated communities and meta‐communities and (ii) the importance of a species in a meta‐community depends on the position of its habitat patch in the landscape network. The importance of a species is influenced by both intrinsic factors (dispersal capacity, trophic position) and extrinsic factors (position of the patch in the landscape network). Our results stress the need for a larger‐scale consideration of space in the identification of important species.

Sepsis Impairs IFN-γ Production in CD8 T Cells through Changes in Local Chromatin Landscape.

Sepsis is a complex condition of inflammatory and immune dysregulation, triggered by severe infection. In survivors, chronic inflammation and immune dysregulation linger, facilitating the emergence of infections. CD8 dysfunction contributes to immunosuppression in sepsis survivors. We devised an animal model that enabled us to identify and analyze CD8-intrinsic defects induced by sepsis. We adoptively transferred CD45.1 CD8 OT-I T cells into CD45.2 congenic mice and subjected them to cecal ligature and puncture, to induce abdominal sepsis. One month later, we isolated the transferred CD8 cells. Surface marker expression confirmed they had not been activated through the TCR. CD8 OT-I T cells isolated from septic (or sham-operated) mice were transferred to second recipients, which were challenged with OVA-expressing Listeria monocytogenes. We compared effector capacities between OT-I cells exposed to sepsis and control cells. Naive mice that received OT-I cells exposed to sepsis had higher bacterial burden and a shorter survival when challenged with OVA-expressing L. monocytogenes. OT-I cells isolated from septic mice produced less IFN-γ but had conserved activation, expansion potential, and cytotoxic function. We observed lower transcript levels of IFN-γ and of the long noncoding RNA Ifng-as1, a local regulator of the epigenetic landscape, in cells exposed to sepsis. Accordingly, local abundance of a histone modification characteristic of active promoter regions was reduced in sepsis-exposed CD8 T cells. Our results identify a mechanism through which inflammation in the context of sepsis affects CD8 T cell function intrinsically.

Fitness Landscapes and Evolution of Catalytic RNA.

The relationship between genotype and phenotype, or the fitness landscape, is the foundation of genetic engineering and evolution. However, mapping fitness landscapes poses a major technical challenge due to the amount of quantifiable data that is required. Catalytic RNA is a special topic in the study of fitness landscapes due to its relatively small sequence space combined with its importance in synthetic biology. The combination of in vitro selection and high-throughput sequencing has recently provided empirical maps of both complete and local RNA fitness landscapes, but the astronomical size of sequence space limits purely experimental investigations. Next steps are likely to involve data-driven interpolation and extrapolation over sequence space using various machine learning techniques. We discuss recent progress in understanding RNA fitness landscapes, particularly with respect to protocells and machine representations of RNA. The confluence of technical advances may significantly impact synthetic biology in the near future.

Improvement of methods of rational use in conditions of land degradation in the Almaty region, Karasai district

The study was aimed at identifying the potential of modern methods of rational land use in the Karasai district of the Almaty region of Kazakhstan, taking into account their intensive degradation. The research methodology was represented by the methods of statistical observation, comparison, analytical-structural grouping and forecasting. The priority goals of modernisation of agriculture of the Republic in the technological aspect have been analysed. It was established that innovative approaches to land use have the potential to increase the level of efficiency of the agrarian sector, improve the state of local and regional landscape. The concept of improving the state of degraded lands, including a system of management measures and practical activities, has been developed. It was proved that it should be based on the synergy of economic efficiency and environmental safety, with the mandatory introduction of modern innovative technological approaches. The effectiveness of methods of rational use of degraded lands as an effective tool for the transformation of the agrarian sector has been determined. It was proposed to intensify the development of organic agricultural production, which is positioned as the gentlest for degraded landscapes. It was proved that the implementation of sustainable management of landscape complexes in the innovative context implies the use of information monitoring technology, which anticipates the diagnosis, genesis and forecasting of the state of the studied ecosystems. Such measures will make it possible to develop programmes for the restoration of ecological functions of natural landscapes, which is an integral part of sustainable development programmes. Actualised the situation in the context of ecologisation of land use in Kazakhstan, predicted further destruction of ecosystems of agrarian landscapes in case of use of aggressive methods of soil cultivation. The necessity of introduction of improved methods of rational land use is substantiated, and the specificity of the introduction of organic and biological technologies of agricultural production is outlined, with an indication of tangential risks and challenges in the economic realities of Kazakhstan. The study substantiated that the application of integrated management and ecosystem approach have a synergistic potential to ensure the rational use of land in the Almaty region, the Karasai district in the conditions of their degradation

REVIEW – A VALUABLE EDITORIAL APPEARANCE IN THE FIELD OF THE LOCAL LANDSCAPE: LANDSCAPE AESTHETICS IN FINE ARTS IN MOLDOVA

The monograph Landscape Aesthetics in Fine Arts in Moldova, Chișinău: CEP Publishing House, USM, 2024, second edition (first edition, 2021), is a work carried out within the Postdoctoral Program (2021-2022), Strategic Priority – Societal Challenges, with the theme: Morphological stylistics in interior design, architecture, fine arts in Moldova, with the project code 21.00208.0807.00/PD, authored by Angela Munteanu. The paper discusses the issue of the evolution and constitution of the landscape genre in the fine arts in Moldova. The monograph Landscape Aesthetics in Fine Arts in Moldova reflects the periods of evolution and development of the landscape genre through stylistic trends, representatives of different schools of painting, graphics, and decorative arts, and artistic currents, resulting in a truthful panorama of the artistic process in Moldova.