Mountain Research Articles

Botany of Mt. Saramati and its Environs

The paper gives a brief account of botany of Mt. Saramati in Nagaland, India which represents the state's highest mountain peak (3841m), the remotest and the botanically unexplored area. A brief note on topography, geology, climate and vegetation together with a comprehensive analysis of the floristic compositions of the vegetation types and is followed by enumeration of the species of angiosperms and gymnosperms. Analysis of the species collected established the following five families as the richest ones on the basis of the number of the species. Orchidaceae (25), Poaceae (24), Asteraceae (17), Ericaceae (13), Cyperaceae (9). These together represent about 40% of the total number of species collected. All the species recorded in this paper, except Deyeuxia pulchella (Griseb.) Hook. f. (Poaceae) are new additions to the Kanjilal's Herbarium (ASSAM) from the area. There is also no record of any representation of plant species from there by Clarke (1886, 1889), Hooker (1872-97), Kanjilal et al. (1934-40), Bor (1942), Jamir and Rao (1088). The present paper, therefore, represents the first source of information regarding botany of the Mt. Saramati.

Genetic diversity and runs of homozygosity analysis of Hetian sheep populations revealed by Illumina Ovine SNP50K BeadChip

Hetian sheep have a long history and a wide distribution. They are renowned for their carpet-grade wool, which makes them a valuable genetic resource in China. The survey revealed that Hetian sheep primarily inhabit three distinct ecological environments: mountains (MTS), mountain–grasslands (MGTS), and grasslands (GTS). To understand the evolutionary relationships and germplasm characteristics of Hetian sheep in these diverse environments, we randomly selected 84 healthy adult ewes from each of these ecological regions. We obtained the Illumina Ovine SNP50K BeadChip by extracting DNA from Hetian sheep ear tissue using the phenol-chloroform method. Afterward, we conducted a population genetic structure and genetic diversity analysis of Hetian sheep using the Illumina Ovine SNP50K Beadchip. Principal component analysis (PCA) and neighbor-joining (NJ) phylogenetic analysis indicated that Hetian sheep in three different ecological environments exhibit distinct genetic distances. Admixture analysis indicated that MGTS and GTS share a common ancestral origins. Additionally, the linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis indicated that M had the highest decay rate, while MG had the lowest decay rate. Furthermore, we identified the overlapping homozygous genomic regions of Hetian sheep in the three ecological environments through runs of homozygosity (ROH) analysis. We subsequently performed gene annotation and enrichment analysis on these overlapping genomic regions. In the MTS environment, we identified 31 candidate genes associated with high-altitude environmental adaptation. These genes are involved in bone cell generation, differentiation, and the maintenance of bone homeostasis (WNT6, WNT10A, and CHSY1); tooth and tongue development (LEF1, TP63, and PRDM16); and hearing and visual functions (RBP4, ATF6, and JAG1). In the GTS environment, we identified 22 candidate genes related to economic traits, including those associated with reproduction (PLA2G4F, ACVR1, and ADCY2) and growth (CAPN3, YAP1, and FGF9). Research indicates that Hetian sheep can be divided at the genomic level into three subtypes: MTS, MGTS, and GTS. This enhances the genetic diversity of Hetian sheep germplasm resources and provides guidance for the conservation of Hetian sheep breeds. Additionally, we have identified genes related to multiparous traits in MGTS and GTS, offering insights for the selection and breeding of multiparous Hetian sheep.

Linking repeat photography and remote sensing to assess treeline rise with climate warming: Mount of the Holy Cross, Colorado

ABSTRACT Most ecological studies are by necessity cast on rather short timescales, such that documenting change in phenomena that occur slowly (e.g., over decades to centuries) is quite difficult. Here, we explore variation in and covariation of two sources of information to address rates of treeline change on one mountain face in the central Rocky Mountains: repeat photography and remote sensing. The repeat photography work involved assembling and quantitatively comparing four photographs that span 148 years. The remote sensing analyses covered a shorter period (35 years) but provided quantitative measurements and fuller landscape coverage. The repeat photography results demonstrated pronounced elevational advance of erect forest, at a rate <0.3 m/year during 1873–1979 but accelerating to >1.8 m/year during 2004–2020. The remote sensing analyses reflected similar processes but also reflected considerable infilling of tree cover near treeline; consequent increases in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values in the upper forested areas may thus indicate treeline advance or changes in forest characteristics below treeline. Overall, these results document (1) acceleration in rise of treeline at this site in recent decades and (2) elevational compression of vegetation zones above treeline, with important implications for conservation of nonforested alpine ecosystems. Integrating multiple streams of evidence offers complementary views and insights in analyzing this phenomenon.

The Landslide Hazard Chain in the Tapovan of the Himalayas on 7 February 2021

AbstractOn February 7, 2021, a catastrophic landslide occurred in Chamoli, India on the southern hills of the Himalayas (N, E). About 28 × 106 m3 of landslide mass detached from the mountain face, entrained deposits in the valley and riverbed, and generated a huge debris flood along the Dhauliganga River. In this study, the geomorphological and volumetric characteristics of the disaster chain were interpreted from satellite images. The full process of the disaster chain and the erosion, deposition and flow discharge processes were reproduced using a cell‐based analysis program, Erosion–Deposition Debris Flow Analysis (EDDA). The results indicate a peak flow discharge of the debris flood at Tapovan Hydropower Station of about 25,000–28,000 m3/s. The main erosion and deposition zones are distributed along the valley floor and the Dhauliganga River, respectively. This study serves as basis for understanding the disaster chain dynamics in high mountain areas.

Demands of the Tour de France: A Case Study of a World-Class Sprinter (Part I)

To describe the intensity, load, and performance characteristics of a world-class sprinter competing in the Tour de France (TdF). Power output (PO) data were collected from 4 editions of the TdF (2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017) and analyzed. Load, intensity distribution in 5 PO zones, and the maximal mean PO for multiple durations were quantified. Stages were divided in accordance with the 4 different editions of the TdF, as well as the 4 different stage types, that is, flat (FLAT), semimountainous (SMT), mountain (MT), and (team) time trials. In addition, based on their location within the stage, mountain passes were further classified as BEGINNING, MIDDLE, or END of the stage. No differences in load, intensity, and performance characteristics were found when the 4 editions of the TdF were compared. Time trials were associated with higher intensities but a lower load compared to the other stage types. MT showed higher load and intensity values compared to FLAT and SMT stages. FLAT stages were higher in short maximal mean PO (≤1min), whereas MT stages showed higher longer endurance maximal mean PO values (≥20min). In addition, mountain passes situated at the BEGINNING of the stage were completed with a higher PO, cadence, and speed compared with mountain passes situated at the END. A world-class sprinter sustains a higher load and spends more time in the high-intensity zones when competing in the TdF than previously reported values suggested. To finish the MT stages as efficiently as possible, sprinters adopt a reverse pacing strategy.

Rotte e vie di comunicazione attraverso i monti sicani durante il neolitico: ipotesi di viabilità di lunga durata tra Campofranco e Milena (CL)

The paper deals with the study of routes developed, starting from the Middle Neolithic, through the Sicani mountains, a fundamental passage of lines of communication that connected the Palermo coast to the Agrigento coast. The study of the location of the settlements and the morphology of the territory made it possible, with the help of the GIS, to reconstruct the development of the road network during historical and prehistoric periods.

Early Metal Age Pottery from Fatu Aki Anik Knua, Timor-Leste and the Appearance of Ceramics in the Wallacean Islands.

Fatu Aki Anik Knua is an archaeological site in the mountainous interior of Timor-Leste comprising of a limestone cave and open site locale. Excavations in 2015 yielded an extraordinary quantity of earthenware pottery with over 13,000 potsherds recovered, all dating within the last 1800 years. The Faak pottery is described and examined in the context of Timor-Leste and eastern Indonesian assemblages more widely. The intensification of ceramic technology transfers and initial pottery use, which occurred at many sites in the region during the Paleometallic era, is highlighted. The essential features of this hinterland site assemblage show affinities with Early Metal Age pottery occurring extensively throughout eastern Indonesia after 2500 BP.

Scorzonera alborzensis، گونه جدیدی از زیرجنس Scorzonera و بخشه Nervosae (Asteraceae) از ایران

گونه جدیدی از جنس Scorzonera (متعلق به زیرجنس Scorzonera و بخشه Nervosae) به همراه تعدادی تصویر معرفی می‌شود.Scorzonera alborzensis از کوه سیاه‌سنگ در البرز مرکزی جمع‌آوری شده است. این گونه از نظر ریخت‌شناسی نزدیک به Scorzonera cinerea است و با توجه به اندازه و شکل ساقه، اندازه و نحوه پراکندگی برگ‌ها بر روی ساقه، اندازه برگه‌های گریبانی و همچنین اندازه فندقه‌ها از آن متمایز می‌گردد. یک نقاشی و تصویر اسکن شده از نمونه تیپ گونه جدید نیز ارائه شده است.

ARTS EXPRESSION OF LIMA GUNUNG COMMUNITIES AND SOCIAL RITUAL IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF ETHNOCHOREOLOGY

This article is a research result of ethnochoreological perspective applied to Tthe Lima Gunung expression on the ritual social through the arts activities among five mountains communities arround Central Java. This article is also will strives an specific approach called ethnochoroeological perspectives. Data would be observed like qualitative method by using analysis and verification in ethnography project, and it presented from audio visual documents in the field combined by visual photography sources, and descriptive analysis. For this reason this article depicting a whole portraits of mode of expression in the first year research of ethnochoreological perspective of art performance and its contextual field of social integration and harmony belong to five mountains communities.

Form the sea to the mountains - plant use in Ajara, Samegrelo and Kvemo Svaneti, Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus.

Form the sea to the mountains - plant use in Ajara, Samegrelo and Kvemo Svaneti, Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus.

Bot Fly Parasitism of Allegheny Woodrats (Neotoma magister) in Virginia

The Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister) is a species of high conservation concern and relatively well-studied with respect to habitat use/associations, food habits, conservation genetics, and population trends. However, with the exception of raccoon roundworm (Baylisascaris procyonis) occurrence and etiology in woodrats, most disease and parasite ecology aspects for the woodrat are unknown. Herein, we examined the prevalence of bot flies (Cuterebra) over nearly three decades of woodrat surveys (1990–2018) in the central Appalachian Mountains of western Virginia. We use genetic analyses to identify recent bot fly specimen collections from a woodrat captured in 2017. Though highly variable from year to year, the overall prevalence of parasitism was low (typically < 4% of captures). As such, bot flies do not appear to be a widespread parasitic burden to Allegheny woodrats in Virginia. Genetic analysis of four collected bot fly larvae was inconclusive, as the genetic signature of these woodrat bots did not match any of the six bot species known to parasitize rodents and lagomorphs in the eastern United States. Further collections and genetic analyses will be needed to determine if the genetic database is incomplete or incorrect, or if our find is a new species of bot fly not yet taxonomically recognized.

Preservation of erniettomorph fossils in clay-rich siliciclastic deposits from the Ediacaran Wood Canyon Formation, Nevada: Ediacaran preservation in sandstone beds

Author(s): Hall, JG; Smith, EF; Tamura, N; Fakra, SC; Bosak, T | Abstract: Three-dimensionally preserved Ediacaran fossils occur globally within sandstone beds. Sandy siliciclastic deposits of the Ediacaran Wood Canyon Formation (WCF) in the Montgomery Mountains, Nevada, contain two fossil morphologies with similar shapes and sizes: one exhibits mm-scale ridges and a distinct lower boundary and the other is devoid of these diagnostic features. We interpret these as taphomorphs of erniettomorphs, soft-bodied organisms with uncertain taxonomic affinities. We explore the cast-and-mould preservation of both taphomorphs by petrography, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence microprobe and X-ray diffraction. All fossils and the surrounding sedimentary matrix contain quartz grains, iron-rich chlorite and muscovite. The ridged fossils contain about 70% larger quartz grains compared to the ridgeless taphomorph, indicating a lower abundance of clay minerals in the ridged fossil. Chlorite and muscovite likely originated from smectite and kaolinite precursors that underwent lower greenschist facies metamorphism. Kaolinite and smectite are inferred to have been abundant in sediments around the ridged fossil, which enabled the preservation of a continuous, distinct, clay- and kerogen-rich bottom boundary. The prevalence of quartz in the ridged fossils of the WCF and in erniettomorphs from other localities also suggests a role for this mineral in three-dimensional preservation of erniettomorphs in sandstone and siltstone deposits.

A Study on Ground Deformations Monitoring in Tianshan Mountain of Xinjiang on Active Microwave Spectral Imagines

A Study on Ground Deformations Monitoring in Tianshan Mountain of Xinjiang on Active Microwave Spectral Imagines

Oregon Spotted Frog (Rana pretiosa) Migration from an Aquatic Overwintering Site: Timing, Duration, and Potential Environmental Cues

Relatively few North American anurans overwinter in water and information is sparse on their movement from overwintering habitat to breeding sites. Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) breed explosively in early spring and often overwinter submerged at sites that are distanced from breeding habitats. In montane parts of their range, wintering and breeding habitats can remain frozen for months. We investigated timing, duration, and potential cues for R. pretiosa migrations from a wintering lake near the Cascade Mountains in central Oregon, U.S.A. First and median migrant males moved slightly earlier than females. Onset of migration was as early as February 12 (males) and as late as April 4 (females) in years of mild and extended winters, respectively. Frogs were active at water temperatures below those associated with early breeding activities in one lowland R. pretiosa population. Higher proportions of frogs migrated before ice-out in years of prolonged winter conditions. Migrations were temporally compressed in years of later movement. This migration ‘rush’, along with the ability to move at cold temperatures and to vary timing of migrations likely helps montane R. pretiosa deal with colder and more variable spring conditions than lowland populations.

A Study on Korean Religions from the Viewpoint of Globalogy －Focused on Hong DaeYong(洪大容)’s Dialogue in the Eusan Mountain(醫山問答) and Gaebyeok Religions－

A Study on Korean Religions from the Viewpoint of Globalogy －Focused on Hong DaeYong(洪大容)’s Dialogue in the Eusan Mountain(醫山問答) and Gaebyeok Religions－

The Mountain is Out

The Mountain is Out

Conversion relationship of rainfall-soil moisture-groundwater in Quaternary thick cohesive soil in Jianghan Plain, Hubei Province, China

ABSTRACT The scientific field test site of rainfall-soil moisture-groundwater conversion in Dabie Mountain Area–Jianghan Plain is located in the northern region of the Jianghan Plain, the transition zone between the Dabie Mountain Area and Jianghan Plain. It’s a great field test site to study the material and energy exchange among rainfall, soil moisture, and groundwater of the Earth ’s critical zone in subtropical monsoon climate plain areas. This paper analyzed the connection between rainfall and volume water content (VWC) of soil at different depths of several soil profiles, and the dynamic feature of groundwater was discussed, which reveals the rainfall infiltration recharge of Quaternary Upper Pleistocene strata. The results show that the Quaternary Upper Pleistocene aquifer groundwater accepts a little direct rainfall recharge, while the lateral recharge is the main supplement source. There were 75 effective rainfall events among 120 rainfall events during the monitoring period, with an accumulated amount of 672.9 mm, and the percentages of effective rainfall amount and duration time were 62.50% and 91.56%, respectively. The max evaporation depth at the upper part in Quaternary cohesive soil was no less than 1.4 m. The soil profile was divided into four zones: (1) The sensitive zone of rainfall infiltration within 1.4 m, where the material and energy exchange frequently near the interface between atmosphere and soil; (2) the buffer zone of rainfall infiltration between 1.4 m and 3.5 m; (3) the migration zone of rainfall infiltration between 3.5 m and 5.0 m; and (4) the rainfall infiltration and groundwater level co-influenced zone below 5.0 m. The results revealed the reaction of soil moisture and groundwater to rainfall in the area covered by cohesive soil under humid climate in Earth ’s critical zone, which is of great theoretical and practical significance for groundwater resources evaluation and development, groundwater environmental protection, ecological environmental improvement, drought disaster prevention, and flood disaster prevention in subtropical monsoon climate plain areas.

Processes of runoff in seasonally-frozen ground about a forested catchment of semiarid mountains

Processes of runoff in seasonally-frozen ground about a forested catchment of semiarid mountains

Compartimentação Geoambiental do município de Serrinha dos Pintos - RN

O presente trabalho objetivou realizar uma Compartimentação Geoambiental do município de Serrinha dos Pintos-RN, a partir de uma análise sistêmica. Embasando-se em autores como Bertrand (1972), Sotchava (1977), Souza (2000), Cestaro et al. (2007) e Medeiros (2016). Para a elaboração dos produtos cartográficos, utilizou-se o Software QGIS Las Palmas, versão 2.18.18, com shapefile da CPRM (2007), do IBGE (2010) e do Projeto TOPODATA. Para a compartimentação, foi utilizado o relevo como elemento norteador. Os resultados evidenciaram 07 (sete) Unidades Geoambientais: Chapadas e Platôs, com uma pequena área de Planaltos; Escarpas Serranas; Superfícies Aplainadas, Retocadas ou Degradadas; Vertentes Recobertas por Depósitos de Encostas; Inselbergs e Outros Relevos Residuais e Planícies Fluviais ou Flúvio-Lacustres.

1859 YILINDAKİ ŞAMAHI VE ERZURUM DEPREMLERİ HAKKINDA RUSYA BİLİMLER AKADEMİSİ ÜYESİ HERMANN VON ABICH’İN RAPORU

Karadeniz’den Hazar Denizi’ne kadar uzanan dağların adeta ortadan ikiye böldüğü Kafkasya, 18. Yüzyıldan itibaren Rusya’nın genişleme alanlarından birisi olmuştur. Takip eden yüzyılda Za-Kafkasya olarak adlandırılan Güney Kafkasya bölgesi de dahil olmak üzere bütün bir Kafkasya’yı sadece siyasi ve askerî değil, aynı zamanda bilimsel çalışmalarla da domine etmeyi başaran Rusya, kurduğu Bilimler Akademisi bünyesindeki çalışmalarla tarih, coğrafya ve sosyoloji başta olmak üzere bir çok disiplini ilgilendiren envanter oluşturmayı başarmıştır. Üstelik bu bilimsel çalışmalar Osmanlı Devleti gibi diğer devletlerin egemenliğindeki topraklarda da yapılmıştır. 1859 yılında Şamahı’da ve Osmanlı hâkimiyetindeki Erzurum’da eş zamanlı depremlerin olması üzerine Bilimler Akademisi, uzun zamandır Kafkaslarda araştırmalar yapan Alman jeolog Abich’i bu bölgelerde sismik araştırmalar yapması için görevlendirmiştir. Abich, saha araştırmalarını akademiye Fransızca olarak sunduktan kısa bir süre sonra Rusça yayımlanan bu rapor, çalışmamızın en önemli kısmını oluşturmaktadır. Raporun, ilgili depremler hakkındaki saha araştırmalarının sonucuna geçmeden önceki giriş kısmında, jeoloji bilimine ait değerlendirmeler yapan Abich, Kafkasya bölgesinin bu bilim dalı için taşıdığı önemin üzerinde bilhassa durmuştur. Şamahı ve Erzurum depremleri hakkındaki incelemelerini ise barometre ve teknik cihazlar yardımıyla gerçekleştiren Abich, şehirlerin topografisi ve uğradığı yıkıma dair de önemli bilgiler vermiştir. Bu çalışmanın raporun tercümesinin dışındaki kısımlarında, tarafımızca her iki depreme ve sebep olduğu tahribata dair birinci el kaynaklar ışığında bir değerlendirme de yer almaktadır.