Long-term Field Research Research Articles

Method of assessment ecological plasticity of cereal crop varieties

The results of testing new Agrostab computer program “Indicators of stability of agricultural crops varieties” based on long-term (2017–2019) field research data in Novosibirsk region are presented. The program implements modern methods for assessing the ecological plasticity of varieties and allows to evaluate the stability of genotypes by a set of phenotypic characters. The research material was common spring wheat varieties from the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Novosibirskaya 15, Novosibirskaya 31, Sibirskaya 12), and collection forms of spring hexaploid triticale from the VIR world collection Lt-F6544-6 (k-3992), variety Ukro (k-3644) and Sears 57 × Ukro hybrid received as a result of breeding. The samples had a different ecological and geographical origin and belonged to different ripeness groups. Plants were grown organically without the use of fertilizers and pesticides. They were sown at different times after bare fallow in four repetitions. In the course of the experiment, the following genotype stability indicators were determined: environmental variance, coefficient of homeostaticity, weighted homeostacity index, steadiness of stability index, coefficient of multiplicativity, specific adaptive ability, superiority measure, ecovalence, regression to environmental index, non-parametric stability index. The necessity of using the complex value of the integrated selection index to calculate the parameters of plasticity and genotype stability is shown. Testing of the Agrostab program for breeding of spring triticale made it possible to determine the targeted vector for the selection of varieties in the agroclimatic conditions of Western Siberia and adaptive samples to be included in hybridization. The use of new models and methods of statistical data analysis to determine the environmental plasticity of varieties and hybrids will increase the efficiency of the breeding process.

МНОГОЛЕТНЯЯ ДИНАМИКА ЗАПАСОВ ВОДЫ В СНЕЖНОМ ПОКРОВЕ ЛЕСНОГО МАССИВА РЯЗАНСКОЙ МЕЩЕРЫ

The article presents theresults of studying the long-term dynamics of water reserves in the snow cover of the forest near the village of Solotcha. The analysis of the height and density of snow cover is also presented. Based on the results of long-term field research, a comparative assessment of water reserves in the snow cover of the forest is given. It was found that the winter period of 2019-2020 had the smallest water reserves in the snow cover: 31,5 mm, against the average annual values (84,0 mm)

Phosphorus Fertilizers From Sewage Sludge Ash and Animal Blood Have No Effect on Earthworms

Soil invertebrates are crucial for agroecosystem functioning yet sensitive to agricultural practices, including fertilization. Considering the postulates of circular phosphorus economy, the use of fertilizers from secondary raw materials is likely to return and increase and may even become obligatory. The effects of recycled fertilizers on soil fauna communities, however, remain poorly understood. In this paper, the effect of phosphorus fertilizer (RecF) and biofertilizer (RecB) from sewage sludge ash and dried animal (porcine) blood on earthworm’s occurrence in soil is discussed. RecB is RecF activated by phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria, Bacillus megaterium. Waste-based fertilizers were assessed in field experiments against commercial superphosphate and no P fertilization. Three levels of P doses were established (17.6, 26.4, and 35.2 kg P ha−1). Earthworms were collected after the test crop harvest (spring or winter wheat). In the experiments two earthworm species, Aporrectodea caliginosa and Aporrectodea rosea, were identified. A large proportion of juvenile individuals were recorded in 2017. The recycled fertilizers used in the experiments used in recommended doses, similarly to superphosphate, did not alter the density, biomass, species composition, and structure of earthworms. Further long-term field research is recommended.

Trends in Chondrichthyan Research: An Analysis of Three Decades of Conference Abstracts

Given the conservation status and ecological, cultural, and commercial importance of chondrichthyan fishes, it is valuable to evaluate the extent to which research attention is spread across taxa and geographic locations and to assess the degree to which scientific research is appropriately addressing the challenges they face. Here we review trends in research effort over three decades (1985–2016) through content analysis of every abstract (n = 2,701) presented at the annual conference of the American Elasmobranch Society (AES), the oldest and largest professional society focused on the scientific study and management of these fishes. The most common research areas of AES abstracts were reproductive biology, movement/telemetry, age and growth, population genetics, and diet/feeding ecology, with different areas of focus for different study species or families. The most commonly studied species were large and charismatic (e.g., White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias), easily accessible to long-term established field research programs (e.g., Lemon Shark, Negaprion brevirostris, and Sandbar Shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus), or easily kept in aquaria for lab-based research (e.g., Bonnethead Shark, Sphyrna tiburo). Nearly 90% of all described chondrichthyan species have never been mentioned in an AES abstract, including some of the most threatened species in the Americas. The proportion of female* first authors has increased over time, though many current female* Society members are graduate students. Nearly half of all research presented at AES occurred in the waters of the United States rather than in the waters of developing nations where there are more threatened species and few resources for research or management. Presentations based on research areas such as paleontology and aquarium-based research have declined in frequency over time, and identified research priorities such as social science and interdisciplinary research are poorly represented. Possible research gaps and future research priorities for the study of chondrichthyan fishes are also discussed.

Harvest models of small populations of a large carnivore using Bayesian forecasting.

Harvesting large carnivores can be a management tool for meeting politically set goals for their desired abundance. However, harvesting carnivores creates its own set of conflicts in both society and among conservation professionals, where one consequence is a need to demonstrate that management is sustainable, evidence‐based, and guided by science. Furthermore, because large carnivores often also have high degrees of legal protection, harvest quotas have to be carefully justified and constantly adjusted to avoid damaging their conservation status. We developed a Bayesian state‐space model to support adaptive management of Eurasian lynx harvesting in Scandinavia. The model uses data from the annual monitoring of lynx abundance and results from long‐term field research on lynx biology, which has provided detailed estimates of key demographic parameters. We used the model to predict the probability that the forecasted population size will be below or above the management objectives when subjected to different harvest quotas. The model presented here informs decision makers about the policy risks of alternative harvest levels. Earlier versions of the model have been available for wildlife managers in both Sweden and Norway to guide lynx harvest quotas and the model predictions showed good agreement with observations. We combined monitoring data with data on vital rates and were able to estimate unobserved additional mortality rates, which are most probably due to poaching. In both countries, the past quota setting strategy suggests that there has been a de facto threshold strategy with increasing proportion, which means that there is no harvest below a certain population size, but above this threshold there is an increasing proportion of the population harvested as the population size increases. The annual assessment of the monitoring results, the use of forecasting models, and a threshold harvest approach to quota setting will all reduce the risk of lynx population sizes moving outside the desired goals. The approach we illustrate could be adapted to other populations of mammals worldwide.

The presentation of social status on a social network: The role of Facebook among the Vlax Romani community of Eastern-Slovak origin in Leicester, UK

The article is based on long-term field research and consequent online research of a group of Vlax Roms of Eastern-Slovak origin who have recently created a new large immigrant community in Leicest...

The Impact of Targeted Data Management Training for Field Research Projects – A Case Study

We present a joint effort at Virginia Tech between a research group in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation and Data Services in the University Libraries to improve data management for long-term ecological field research projects in the Florida Panhandle. Consultative research data management support from Data Services in the University Libraries played an integral role in the development of the training curriculum. Emphasizing the importance of data quality to the field workers at the beginning of this training curriculum was a vital part of its success. Also critical for success was the research group’s investment of time and effort to work with field workers and improve data management systems. We compare this case study to three others in the literature to compare and contrast data management processes and procedures. This case study serves as one example of how targeted training and efforts in data and project management for a research project can lead to substantial improvements in research data quality.

The Spatial Analysis and Sustainability of Rural Cultural Landscapes: Linpan Settlements in China’s Chengdu Plain

Amid rapid urbanization and globalization, rural zones in many countries have undergone dramatic shifts. Although the future development of cultural landscapes is clear, their planning and management are uncertain. The Chengdu Plain is one of the most prosperous in China, which is home to well-developed irrigation and drainage systems, with the earliest history of planting found in Sichuan Province. The Chengdu Plain’s unique farming landscape is an important human resource that represents the natural integration of the material and spiritual forms in the farming era. This study takes the unique farming settlements in Dujiangyan Irrigation District as the research object and analyzes the culture, human environment, and spatial order of the Linpan settlement based on the system theory. From the hierarchical structure of each individual Linpan settlement to the spatial layout of the Linpan community, the changes in the relationship between humans and land in the farming area are explored to explain the sustainability of the rural cultural landscape. With long-term field research, the rural geographic information database is built as a basis for the identification and classification of Linpan Cultural landscape types. The results show that between 2005−2018, the Linpan of Juyuan Town illustrated a decreasing trend, and about six Linpan settlements disappeared per square kilometer. The change in the type of Linpan landscape is spatially unbalanced, which is mainly due to the difference between regional development and residents’ needs. This study introduces the concept of “demand” and “restriction” in sustainable development to explore a future strategy of maintaining the cultural landscape, which is expected to provide a basis for future policy formulation to protect the traditional rural landscape.

Emotions as method: Obtrusiveness and participant observation in public bureaucracies

Based on a case-study of the governance of health facilities in Niger, the paper examines how emotions can be used as a method to explore meaning-making activities in bureaucratic settings where public servants’ behaviours follow practical norms that deviate from both official norms and social norms. As a supplement to other techniques associated with long-term field research, the use of obtrusive participant-observation is arguably a relevant and fruitful methodological tactic. The author argues that giving space to the ethnographer’s empathy while doing participant-observation enables a deeper understanding of bureaucratic behaviours by bringing emotions back into the analysis of empirical findings and deepening reflexivity. Whereas the paper examines some ethical issues associated with this method in contexts where the ethnographer is confronted with abuse of power in health bureaucracies, the author suggests that emotions as method can be a fruitful approach to bureaucratic ethnography at large.

‘Are we punks? – Yes, we drink!’: The politics of drinking in a youth subculture

Abstract This article investigates the role of excessive drinking in a subcultural scene of Russian punk. Based on an extensive long-term field research, our work demonstrates that the loss of identity and withdrawal from the projects of social identification, usually associated with excessive consumption of alcohol, might not explain The article suggests that in certain situations drinking, disgrace, alcoholic exploits and ‘heroic incompetency’ surrounding the consumption of alcohol cause the opposite effect, through which individuals do not dissolve their identity, but rather construct alternative agency recognized and enacted within a subcultural collective. On the basis of the observations of drinking practices in three geographically defined Russian punk scenes and reflections on these practices produced by the members of the scenes, we conclude that excessive drinking can be seen as a specific response through which members of the subcultural groups construct alternative agencies and reclaim their political subjectivity.

Aleksandar Deroko i začetak nastave iz Narodne arhitekture na Arhitektonskom fakultetu u Beogradu

The paper examines the work of Aleksandar Deroko at the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Architecture and the inclusion of his rich personal knowledge about the vernacular architecture in the study programme, which he gained from long-term field research. As an assistant professor, he introduced the interpretation of vernacular architecture in the course on Byzantine and Old Serbian Architecture in 1929. After the study programme reform in 1935, a new course - named Old Serbian Architecture - was established, with one semester dedicated to the medieval monumental architecture and the second to rural and urban houses. In 1945/46 academic year, the course was renamed Vernacular Architecture and it incorporated medieval and vernacular architecture of the former Yugoslavia. Practical assignments dealt more with vernacular architecture and, through them the student's discovered the fundamental principles and methods of the vernacular construction. The goal of the studies was for students to comprehend and adopt basic traditional canons of construction and apply them to their own projects of cooperative centers, countryside schools, monasteries, etc. Through illustrations the paper will present, till now unpublished, student projects from the archives of Belgrade's the Faculty of Architecture's office for the architectural heritage of Serbia.

Research Interests and Fields

Abstract Depending on the problem, various methods can be justified for obtaining data in ethnographic research. Narrower interests can be served using simpler, formal methods, while lesser-known, broader connections can be investigated using a more open and diversified approach. Most ethnographic data are obtained in the field. However, it is proper fieldwork – which involves being immersed in a network of human relations and the communal life of the people being studied over a longer period of time – as opposed to short-term methods of gathering information that provides the opportunity to explore and explain the relationships and contexts of sociocultural phenomena that have yet to be identified. All types of fieldwork require the leavening effect of theoretical considerations, and even intensive fieldwork can and should be combined with data from other sources (e.g., historical or statistical), if possible, in order to enhance the validity of the interpretations. The author demonstrates these opportunities from his own practice: gathering data for the Atlas of Hungarian Folk Culture in a variety of localities; participating in a team undertaking a community study of Varsány, a village in Northern Hungary, which became long-term field research; and carrying out fieldwork in Rititi, a Kikuyu village in Kenya, to investigate coffee production. The analysis takes into account the interests and length of the research, the techniques applied, the position of the researcher in the studied communities, and his relationship with their members, including social distance, both during the fieldwork and through subsequent contact with them.

Ethics of Primate Fieldwork: Toward an Ethically Engaged Primatology

Field primatologists have ethical responsibilities that extend beyond study subjects to the local human communities living near primate populations and their surrounding ecosystems. In this review, we explore the history of ethical discussions within anthropological primatology and examine the best practices for an ethically engaged primatology that should be followed and role-modeled by primatologists. An increasing number of primates are showing reduced population sizes and are in imminent danger of extinction; thus, we need to carefully consider the ethics of intervening to ensure the survival of remaining populations, the impact of anthropogenic factors (e.g., climate change), and whether long-term field research results in conservation outcomes that consider local human communities. Because best practices change over time as theoretical frameworks and methodological tools advance and scientific goals change, field primatologists must continually reflect on what constitutes ethical practice and consider how research influences the overlapping dimensions of fieldwork: primates, people, and ecosystems.

Marketization and development on a European periphery: From peasant oikos to socialism and neoliberal capitalism on the Danube-Tisza interfluve

The modern term economy is associated above all with market exchange. But it derives from the Greek oikos, which for Aristotle referred to the well-managed estate, able to withstand the forces of supply and demand by virtue of a high degree of self-sufficiency. The paper explores the long-term discontinuous expansion of the principle of price-forming markets (in the sense of Karl Polanyi) at the expense of self-sufficiency in a zone of the Great Hungarian Plain where the author has carried out long-term field research. The historically “backward” region of the Danube-Tisza interfluve has been integrated into wider historical processes through different forms of market exchange, first under peripheral variants of capitalism, then in the later decades of socialism, and recently under neoliberal capitalism in a political climate of “illiberal democracy” or populism. The paper analyses continuity and change across these epochs at the societal level, with ethnographic illustrations. In addition to Polanyi’s notions of “market society” and “double movement”, it draws theoretically on Ferenc Erdei’s agenda to overcome rural backwardness through embourgeoisement; it is found that the interests of the rural population were more effectively promoted in the decades of market socialism than in any other period before or since.

Social mobilizations and the question of social justice in contemporary Russia

ABSTRACTNotwithstanding stereotypes of Russian apathy, long-term field research reveals that there have always been grassroots and labour protests in post-Soviet Russia, even as the shock of ultraliberal reforms led to mass precariousness and social disorientation. However, the social mobilizations that do occur are scattered, weakly publicized and mostly small-scale. This paper conceptualizes them as ‘everyday activism’, that is, an activism embedded in everyday life experience and pragmatic sense. Only recently, and in a paradoxical relation to the populist and patriotic Kremlin discourse, some new trends have emerged towards other popular variants of the new discourse that includes social equality claims and what the paper calls ‘social critical’ populism. However, this populism from below does not automatically lead to mass mobilization, although it provides the necessary background for it.

Význam a funkce vybraných rituálů v životě súfijského řádu naqšbandíja haqqáníja

The focus of this paper is to find out what are the main meanings and functions of selected rituals in the life of Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi order. The theoretical part is directed at the main terms and concepts of meanings and functions of ritual, rites of passage and role of ritual in religion. In the practical part of the thesis, the particular religious group is being discussed in the broader context of Sufism and Naqshbandi order. The present-day situation of the order is being described especially in relation to the Sufi centre in Germany Osmanische Herberge where the long-term field research was conducted. Selected rituals that the research aimed at are the initiation ceremony bajca, rites of recollection dhikr and hadra and the wedding ceremony. With every ritual, the fundamental meanings and functions that these rituals mean for the group are being analysed.

Development of Soil-Borne Infections in Spring Wheat and Barley as Influenced by Hydrothermal Stress in the Forest-Steppe Conditions of Western Siberia and the Urals

This is a first-time assessment of the direct and indirect effects of hydrothermal conditions on pathogenesis of root infections in cultivated varieties of spring wheat and barley. Long-term field research (2000–2015) was carried out in the area of risk farming combined with laboratory experiments. The effects of the phytosanitary condition of soil, seeds, and underground plant organs were taken into account. It was found that soil pathogenic population and the development of soil-borne infections largely depend on hydrothermal factors. The development of root rot of spring wheat was stimulated by arid conditions during tillering and heading: the disease rate was increased by 33.5% compared to the optimal moisture supply against a background of a high plant pathogen population of the soil. In drought conditions, the number of saprotrophic microorganisms decreased 3.3 times and suppressive soil activity fell 3.0 times provoking root infections. Microorganisms consuming inorganic forms of nitrogen and cellulolytic agents were found to be highly sensitive to hydrothermal factors. Arid conditions increased the plants’ susceptibility to the inoculum of soil origin, since the increase in the number of conidia in the inoculum from 5–15 to 150–180 per 1 g of soil increased the frequency of infections by root rots by 7.8 times, especially on the epicotyl and the base of the stem. Damage of root rot was increased by pest flies Oscinella frit L., O. pusilla Mg., Phorbia genitalis Schnb., and Mayetiola destructor Say. Their activity increased in warm, arid conditions. Drought-resistant gramineous weeds Panicum miliaceum ssp. ruderales L. (Kitag.) Tzvei., Setaria glauca (L.) Beauv., Avena fatua L., Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv. competed with the crop and consequently increased the development of root rot by 20% or more in dry years. Seeds of gramineous weeds, multiplied after dry years, contributed to reproduction and survival of many soil-borne phytopathogens. Grain ripening in moistened conditions led to transmission of the root rot agents Bipolaris sorokiniana Sacc. Shoem. (syn. Helminthosporium sativum Pam., King et Bakke) and Fusarium fungi via seeds. This led to proliferation of root rot in the germination phase and significantly (53%) affected the cereals’ germ.

Baikal Ice Cover as a Representative Block Medium for Research in Lithospheric Geodynamics

The paper summarizes the results of long-term field research in the dynamics of the Baikal ice cover as a multiscale block medium similar to the lithosphere in structure, rheology, and seismotectonic features. The analysis covers data on deformation, seismicity, and contact interaction modes as well as on meteorological factors responsible for dynamic fracture of ice plates and strong ice shocks with earthquake-like vibrations. Similarity between seismic features in ice interface zones and zones of tectonic subduction, collision, and shear is discussed. Reasoning from dynamic analogies and similarities of destruction processes in the ice and lithosphere, the research data can help solving fundamental and applied problems, particularly those of earthquake prediction and assessment of contact interactions between lithospheric plates in fault zones.

Stable social relationships between unrelated females increase individual fitness in a cooperative bird.

Social animals often form long-lasting relationships with fellow group members, usually with close kin. In primates, strong social bonds have been associated with increased longevity, offspring survival and reproductive success. However, little is known about the fitness effects of social bonds between non-kin, especially outside of mammals. In this study, we use long-term field research on a cooperatively breeding bird, the greater ani (Crotophaga major), to ask whether adult females benefit by remaining in long-term associations with unrelated, co-breeding females. We find that females that have previously nested together synchronize their reproduction more rapidly than those nesting with unfamiliar partners, which leads to lower competition and higher fledging success. Importantly, although previous experience with a co-breeding female influenced reproductive synchrony, the degree of reproductive synchrony did not influence whether co-breeding females remained together in subsequent years, ruling out the alternate hypothesis that highly synchronized females are simply more likely to remain together. These results indicate that switching groups is costly to females, and that social familiarity improves reproductive coordination. Stable social relationships therefore have significant fitness consequences for cooperatively nesting female birds, suggesting that direct benefits alone may favour the evolution of associations between non-relatives and contribute to long-term group stability.

FORMATION OF WATER REGIME AND SALT BALANCE OF A RICE CARD-CHECK UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE IRRIGATION-DRAIN

The effectiveness of card-checking of the wide front of flooding and discharging of water (KCD) in comparison with Krasnodar type maps (CCT) has been investigated. On the basis of long-term field research, the role of irrigation-discharger in the formation of water and salt regime on irrigation rice maps has been defined. The research was conducted on two experimental plots each consisting of two card-checks and maps of the Krasnodar type. In both areas during all years of research, a shortened regime of rice flooding under the condition of application of anti-herbicide herbicides was maintained. We have revealed that on the cards of checks of the wide front of flooding and discharging with different parameters a more favourable water-salt regime during irrigation was created in comparison with Krasnodar type maps. At KCD in the best possible terms there is an initial flood, which cannot be said about control CCT. Thanks to the drainage action of the irrigation system, the card was washed more intensively after the discharge of water. The presence on the KCD of the irrigation canal allows operatively, evenly throughout the length of the card to submit and dispose of water, as well as to play the role of shallow drains, due to which more intense drying and distilled soils on the KCD. The advantage of card-checks of the wide front of flooding and discharging at the technological discharges of water from rice cards is explained by the fact that the discharge of water into the irrigation channel is carried out along its entire length (about 900 m) there, while on the control CCT with the help of four check water discharges with low bandwidth. As a result of the balance-sheet research, it was found that at a mitigation distance of 200 m on card-checks, the salinity of the upper 1.2 m layer of soil on average during the research was 4 % higher than on control CCT, and at a short distance of 250 m, a decrease in salt reserves at KCD was 8 % higher than on control CCT. It has been established that on map-checks of the broad front flooding and discharging of rice yield on average by 4-5 centner/ha was higher than on the CCT of the corresponding parameters.