Land degradation is a threat to global ecosystems and livelihoods of billions of people. Nearly 85% of Ethiopia's land is degraded, costing more than USD 4.3billion per year. Area closures for excluding human and livestock disturbances have been widely adopted as a restoration strategy for degraded lands to enable natural regeneration. However, integrated ecological and socio-economic assessments are scarce in the Siltie Zone of Central Ethiopia and evidence-based interventions are limited. A comparative study design was used in the study area of Hulberag District, to assess 14-years-long area closures and adjacent open grazing lands. Data collection comprised vegetation surveys, physicochemical analyses of soils at different soil depths and household questionnaires. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey's HSD tests to compare land-use types and topographic positions. Area closures significantly improved ecosystem metrics. Woody species richness increased by 200%, stem density increased by 154%, and Shannon diversity was significantly higher than in open grazing lands. Soil organic carbon increased by 50%, available phosphorus by 33%, and cation exchange capacity by 25%. Bulk density decreased by 19%, indicating reduced soil compaction and improved soil quality. The greatest improvements occurred on lower slopes. Surveys revealed strong community support, with 79.8% of respondents identifying livestock fodder as the primary benefit and 53.1% associating area closures with increased crop yields through improved erosion control. Area closure represents an effective, low-cost intervention for restoring degraded semi-arid ecosystems in Ethiopia, promoting native woody vegetation recovery and enhancing soil fertility while providing tangible livelihood benefits. For long-term success, adaptive co-management frameworks that integrate clear resource-use guidelines, equitable benefit-sharing, and alignment with broader watershed conservation strategies are recommended.

Quality changes in plum puree based on anti-Browning treatment: Nonvolatile and volatile compounds analysis.

Insights into the underlying mechanisms of foam instability in whipped cheese-enriched reduced-fat cream prepared from ultra-high temperature-treated emulsion.

Underground karst is a sensitive component of the Earth's Critical Zone (ECZ), capable of preserving changes in its dynamics driven by both natural and anthropogenic forces. In this study, we examine the Holocene sedimentary archive preserved in Tana della Mussina Cave (TdMC) in the northern Apennines of Italy. This archive includes clastic and chemical (speleothem) sediments, as well as archaeological deposits linked to human occupation of the site since the Copper Age. Our reconstruction indicates that sedimentation in the cave responded to changes in the hydrology of the karst system, alternating between phases of clastic deposition and periods of sedimentary hiatus, along with a documented phase of speleothem precipitation. Clastic sedimentation occurred particularly after the Greenlandian/Northgrippian boundary and again at the onset of the Meghalayan phase of the Holocene, likely in response to increased water availability, which led to the accumulation of fluvial sediments transported through the TdMC catchment. In contrast, speleothem deposition took place later, between 3800 and 2200 years BP. From around 5500 years BP, clastic sedimentation is marked by a significant accumulation of charcoal and lumps of heated sediment/soil. We interpret this evidence because of human activity, specifically extensive deforestation, which has been archaeologically documented in the region since the Copper Age. The slash-and-burn technique, used to clear land for pasture or agriculture, increased soil erosion rates, leading to a greater influx of sediments into the karst system, including charcoal and remnants of heated soils. This case study provides an example of early human land use change impacting surface processes and influencing the dynamics of the ECZ. • We investigate the clastic and anthropogenic deposits and speleothems in the Tana della Mussina Cave. • Clastic sediments developed following increased soil erosion in the karst catchment. • Soil erosion was intermittently triggered by human impact since the Early Holocene. • The slash and burn practice caused surface instability and increased sediment flux into the karst system. • This study confirms an early human impact on Earth's Critical Zone processes.

Effects of thermal and non-thermal sterilization on the quality and flavor of prune jam: An integrated analysis using E-nose, GC-MS, and GC-IMS.

Abstract. Soils across sub-Saharan Africa are exposed to extensive degradation processes, which can reduce their ability to produce crops and support livestock. While there has been a significant research effort focussing on soil degradation in sub-Saharan croplands, less research effort had been directed towards grasslands. Here, we tested the effectiveness of remote sensing to classify the soil degradation status of smallholder grazing lands. Focussing on grasslands used by smallholders in the districts of Nyando and Kuresoi in Western Kenya, we first used remote sensing (RS) to classify grasslands as productive grazing lands, grazing lands that followed a variable trend in vegetation productivity (transition), and unstable and unproductive (degraded) grazing lands. We then tested how this classification related to measured soil parameters indicative of soil degradation. We then used this classification, which was based on a temporal analysis of Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) between 2013 and 2018, to identify 90 field sites across the two districts, which we then sampled and analysed for a range of physical, chemical and biological soil properties. Only soil microbial biomass carbon (C) showed consistent alignment with the RS classification, although there was some overlap with other soil parameters at one or other of the study areas. To group the sites using the soil variables, which we split by study area and into stable (those that are slow to change) and transient (those that change rapidly in response to a changing pedological environment), K-means clustering was undertaken. Two sets of clusters were produced for each district for the stable and transient variables. For the stable variables, at Kuresoi one of these clusters included sites with higher levels of C, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and pH, that aligned well with the RS classification, with seven out of 10 productive sites being assigned to this cluster. At Nyando one of the stable variable clusters included sites with high soil C and N, but low pH and relatively low soil bulk density, and corresponded to 12 out of the 16 productive sites. For the transient variables, agreement between the clusters and the remote sensing classification was poor indicating a lack of utility for degradation assessment. Overall, our results suggest that while the use of RS methods for classifying degraded grasslands and the soils supporting them does have significant advantages in terms of time and costs over field survey, supplementing these methods with a limited set of soil parameters related to nutrient cycling, such as microbial biomass C, soil P, percent C and N, and soil pH, could enhance our ability to identify degraded soils and target restoration efforts.

ABSTRACT Climate change-induced droughts, shrinking grazing lands, and increasing resource scarcity are fuelling conflicts among pastoralist communities in Somaliland. This study examines how these pressures shape resource-based conflicts, focusing on the Sanaag region. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected over 47 days from 17 purposively selected key informants, including elders, pastoralist leaders, local officials, and government officers, through semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis using MAXQDA software revealed seven key themes, four from interview questions and three emerging from participant narratives. Findings show that climate change exacerbates conflict by deepening water shortages, degrading pasture, and causing displacement. Traditional coping mechanisms, such as seasonal migration, are weakening due to environmental degradation and fragile social systems. Some communities have pursued adaptation strategies, including constructing dams and relocating to higher ground, while others resort to cutting tree branches or forced migration. These stressors are intensifying inter-clan tensions and insecurity. The study concludes that pastoralist adaptation remains fragmented and vulnerable. It calls for integrated responses that reinforce traditional practices alongside modern interventions, including investment in water infrastructure, local conflict resolution support, climate awareness, and strengthened government and NGO collaboration. This research provides insight into the socio-ecological impacts of climate change in arid pastoralist settings.

Timing of grazing and vegetation type modulate the effect of traditional pastoral land use on arthropod communities.

Introduction Gait analysis has been extensively used in humans to study long-term neuromotor changes resulting from pathology. To improve our understanding and treatment of diseases, sheep particularly have become a commonplace animal model for the study and analysis of neuromotor and functional processes. Currently, there is no kinematic analysis method that can measure sheep gait over an extended period outside of the laboratory setting. We therefore present a novel approach for the kinematic assessment of sheep walking using wearable technologies. Methods Comparative data were first collected from one sheep walking at three different speeds on a treadmill. Subsequently, wearable measurement units, ZurichMOVE, were placed on each limb to estimate stance phase percentage, stride time, stride length, and speed. These metrics were compared against motion capture data, and the agreement between the two methods was calculated. In a second testing setup, nine sheep, again equipped with four ZurichMOVE sensors, walked along the corridor, accompanied by another sheep and an experimenter. The same metrics were calculated. Results The wearables could detect gait events on the treadmill with a time error ranging from 0.6% to 2.2% of the average stride time. The stance phase percentage as well as the stride time was in excellent agreement (from 80% to 100%) with motion capture. The stride length and speed showed an offset with the true values but were still in agreement. Discussion Wearable-based methods offer promising perspectives to assess sheep walking kinematics in a clinical context.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is an oncogenic retrovirus and the etiological agent of enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL), which is spread worldwide. This study presents data on the genetic diversity of BLV in the Novosibirsk region of Russia. ELISA-positive samples were selected from six districts of the Novosibirsk region (Dovolnoye, Barabinsk, Tatarsk, Toguchin, Bolotnoye, and Kochenyovo districts). To assess the diversity of circulating BLV genotypes, samples were collected from settlements and districts that were geographically distant from each other and had no shared pasture lands. In total, 1410 bp fragments encoding the env gene region were obtained from 417 BLV-positive samples. Phylogenetic analysis classified 325 BLV strains (77.9%) as genotype 4 (G4) and 92 strains (22.1%) as genotype 7 (G7). A pairwise identity matrix was constructed for 268 amino acid residues. Pairwise identity of BLV amino acid sequences in the gp51 region ranged from 96.6% to 100% for G4 and from 97.4% to 100% for G7. Multiple alignment of the amino acid sequences identified 74 mutations found in the Russian BLV variants. Through the addition of 417 novel env BLV sequences to GenBank, this study significantly expands the foundational data and knowledge of BLV molecular epidemiology in Russia.

To manage savanna ungulate communities in a changing environment, it is crucial to understand how their diversity and biomass change in relation to anthropogenic and environmental variables under different land uses and varying rainfall patterns. To this end, we analyzed fine-scale data collected during the drought year of 1999 and the year with normal rainfall, 2002, in the Maasai Mara National Reserve and on adjacent pastoral lands in Kenya. Ungulate diversity peaked within 2-4 km of bomas, settlements, and 1-3 km of water sources. In the year with normal rainfall, ungulate species richness decreased in the presence of sheep and goats, though it increased with fire. In the drought year, ungulate biomass increased with grass color and shrub cover in the Mara Reserve and with tree cover on pastoral lands. Species richness often peaked at lower levels of grass color, shrub, or tree cover than biomass did. Our results suggest that ungulate diversity peaks in pastoral landscapes when sheep and goat densities are low, and wildlife can access areas more than 3-4 km from settlements. Maintaining diverse vegetation resources in core protected areas and pastoral lands is essential to maintaining high ungulate species richness and minimizing biomass loss during drought years. This can be achieved by providing a variety of food sources and cover. Potential candidate sites for ungulate conservancies in the Mara region include landscapes with low slopes, elevations of up to 1700 m above sea level (masl), and locations within 2-3 km of water sources. Our results highlight how policy and governance can manage these variables to maximize ungulate diversity and minimize biomass loss in contexts where disturbance and resource supply are coupled. This can help alleviate the tension between pastoral use and conservation in protected areas and human-dominated African savannas.

ABSTRACT This study examines how reticulated giraffe ( Giraffa reticulata ) respond to the combined effects of climate variability and human land use in a fragmented savannah system. The research was conducted in Loisaba Conservancy, Kenya, a multi‐use rangeland where wildlife coexists with pastoral livestock under increasingly variable climatic conditions. Using 6 years of camera‐trap data (2016–2021), we assessed how environmental factors, human activity and vegetation dynamics influence giraffe occurrence, relative abundance and short‐term space use. Giraffe presence and relative abundance were modelled using generalised linear mixed models that incorporated habitat features, livestock activity, seasonal and annual variation and satellite‐derived vegetation indices. Giraffe occurrence was most strongly associated with escarpment habitats and with areas of high livestock activity, indicating substantial spatial overlap between giraffe and pastoral land use. However, relative abundance was shaped by a combination of livestock presence, distance from the conservancy boundary, slope, and proximity to water and showed strong interannual fluctuations. Contrary to expectations, short‐term vegetation greenness, measured using MODIS NDVI, did not predict giraffe occurrence or relative abundance. Instead, giraffe photo rates declined when vegetation deviated from its typical annual peak, whether due to drought or unusually wet conditions. This suggests that giraffes are more sensitive to climatic extremes than to short‐term changes in forage availability. Analysis of activity patterns and site recolonisation revealed fine‐scale temporal avoidance of livestock. Although giraffe and livestock were active at similar times of day, giraffe were far less likely to return to a camera‐trap site within 12 h after livestock had been present. This indicates that giraffe and livestock coexist spatially but partition their use of space over time. Overall, this study shows that giraffe space use in human‐dominated savannahs is driven more by habitat structure and interannual climate variability than by immediate vegetation conditions. The results emphasise the importance of structurally complex interior habitats and climate‐buffered refuges for conserving reticulated giraffe in a mixed‐use landscape.

Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of wildfire ignitions in mainland Portugal is crucial for effective fire management and risk reduction. This study examines ignition patterns at the municipal scale, where governance structures play a central role in fire prevention and suppression. Three objectives guided the analysis: (i) mapping ignition hotspots, coldspots, and causes (negligence, intentional, and reactivation); (ii) identifying biophysical and human drivers using Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR); and (iii) assessing how these relationships vary across municipalities. Using national wildfire records from 1996 to 2023, we applied Moran's I to evaluate spatial autocorrelation, Getis-Ord Gi∗ statistics to detect hotspots, and MGWR with Golden Section Search bandwidth optimization to model spatial non stationarity. Results indicate that wildfire ignitions are strongly clustered, with persistent hotspots in the northwest and Lisbon regions and coldspots in southern Portugal. Negligence accounted for 47% of ignitions, followed by intentional causes (27%) and reactivations (more than 25%). MGWR revealed spatially varying relationships between ignition patterns and their drivers. Ignition density (adjusted R2=0.774) was positively associated with population density, precipitation, and shrubland cover. Negligent ignitions (R2=0.654) were primarily linked to agroforestry, pasture, and agricultural land uses, as well as terrain ruggedness. Intentional ignitions (R2=0.543) showed negative associations with rugged terrain and positive associations with illiteracy rates in specific municipalities. Reactivations (R2=0.530) were positively associated with firefighter density, reflecting operational allocation patterns rather than causal effects, and were influenced by shrubland cover. These findings highlight the importance of spatial scale and non-stationary modelling for understanding wildfire ignition processes. Municipal scale spatial analysis provides an operationally relevant framework to support targeted fire prevention strategies and evidence-based policies aimed at reducing human caused ignitions and mitigating wildfire risk under increasingly severe fire weather conditions.

Bromus inermis forage production and quality under long-term rotational grazing and nutrient enrichment in Eastern Nebraska, U.S.

Abstract Fire is a key process in tropical dry woodlands and savannahs, shaping their vegetation and ecological functioning. Yet, fires in these systems are increasingly a major sustainability concern, causing carbon emissions, biodiversity losses and human health impacts. Land-use change can lead to fewer fires (for example, through fire suppression) or more fires (for example, fires used for pasture management or land clearing), and climate change amplifies fire dynamics through hotter and drier conditions. Here we uncover a tight coupling between agriculture and drought as drivers of fire in the Gran Chaco. We reconstruct detailed fire histories from satellites to reveal that most of the Chaco (~65%) has experienced burning since 1985. Patterns of fire, land use and drought show that the majority of fires are attributable to either agricultural expansion into forests or pasture management and that such fires become frequent during drought. Overall, this challenges the notion that intensifying droughts are a principal driver of changing fire regimes in tropical woodlands and savannahs.

The watering of pasture lands is a key condition for the sustainable development of livestock farming in the arid and semi-arid zones of southern Kazakhstan. This issue is particularly acute in the southern regions of the country, where there is a shortage of surface water sources and a significant portion of pastures is used extensively due to underdeveloped water supply infrastructure. One of the promising solutions to this problem is the use of groundwater for pasture irrigation and year-round livestock watering. The aim of this study is to assess the current state of water supply for pasture areas in southern Kazakhstan and to identify the potential for the sustainable use of groundwater. The article examines the natural-climatic and hydrogeological conditions of the region, analyzes spatial differences in water resource availability, and presents the results of field research. The study is based on scientific and technical materials from research conducted by the U.M. Akhmedsafin Institute of Hydrogeology and Geoecology in 2024. During field expeditions, route surveys of pasture lands were carried out, covering zones with varying degrees of water availability. Water samples were collected from wells and boreholes, followed by hydrogeochemical analysis under laboratory conditions. The results made it possible to determine the suitability of groundwater for livestock watering, to identify territorial differences in hydrogeological conditions, and to outline directions for improving the pasture watering system.

The article presents the results of an assessment of the agro-climatic resources of the Zhetysu region, which was conducted on the basis of field research and GIS data. Maps of climatic meteorological parameters on a scale of 1:1,000,000 have been developed. To prepare thematic climate maps, an information and analytical database was compiled for a multi-year period of time for meteorological stations located in various agro-climatic regions of the region, which presents the results of climatological processing of the results at meteorological stations over a multi-year observation period (from 1891 to 2000, as well as new data from 2001-2024.). The assessment of moisture availability was based on the Selyaninov hydrothermal index (GTK), and heat availability was based on the sum of temperatures above 10°C. The results of the assessment of changes in the average annual air temperature by weather stations showed that over the past 25 years, there has been a slight increase in air temperature in the region, especially in summer. An increase in air temperature in summer can have a serious impact on pasture biodiversity, plant life cycle and productivity. Based on the average annual air temperature data, we assessed the heat supply of the growing season, which affects the productivity of pasture lands, and assessed the aridity of the region, which contributes to the processes of land degradation and desertification of the territory. Four zones have been identified in terms of moisture conditions: very dry (GTK=0.2-0.3); dry (GTK=0.3-0.5); very arid foothills (GTK=0.6-0.9); mountainous zone (GTK=>1.9).

Land use practices are a key driver of soil nitrogen (N) dynamics, yet their influence on N accumulation within distinct soil organic matter (SOM) fractions remains insufficiently understood. This study aimed to elucidate the responses of N accrual in different SOM fractions to contrasting land uses. To achieve this purpose, soil samples were collected from seven representative land uses: forest, pasture, corn plantation, sugarcane plantation, cassava plantation, orchard, and abandoned land. Subsequently, soil samples were fractionated into free particulate SOM (fSOM), occluded light SOM (oSOM), weakly bound form SOM (wSOM), and strongly bound form SOM (sSOM) fractions, and N contents were quantified for each fraction. The results showed pronounced land use effects on both the magnitude and distribution of N among SOM fractions. The forest land use consistently promoted greater N accumulation in fSOM (0.15 g N kg−1 soil), oSOM (0.14 g N kg−1 soil), and wSOM fractions (0.29 g N kg−1 soil), reflecting high organic inputs and low disturbance intensity. The pasture land use exhibited the highest N accumulation in the sSOM fraction (1.01 g N kg−1 soil), indicating enhanced stabilization of N through strong organo-mineral associations. Intensively managed croplands and abandoned land generally displayed lower N storage across SOM fractions. Overall, these findings highlight the critical role of land use in regulating N partitioning and stabilization within SOM fractions and underscore the importance of low-disturbance, perennial vegetation systems for improving long-term soil N retention.

Lakes on the Inner Mongolia–Xinjiang Plateau (IMXP) are increasingly vulnerable to eutrophication under climate change and human pressure, yet long-term monitoring remains limited by sparse field sampling. Here, we reconstruct multi-decadal trophic dynamics across the IMXP using Landsat time series and temporally transferable machine-learning models and further quantify the underlying natural and anthropogenic drivers. We compiled monthly in situ water-quality observations (chlorophyll-a, Chl-a; total phosphorus, TP; total nitrogen, TN; Secchi depth, SD; and permanganate index, CODMn;) and calculated the trophic level index (TLI). After rigorous quality control and monthly aggregation, we compiled a dataset of 1345 matched lake–month samples spanning 2000–2024, and divided it into a training set (n = 1076; ≤2019) and an independent test set (n = 269; 2020–2024) to evaluate temporal transferability. We utilized Google Earth Engine to generate monthly surface reflectance composites from Landsat 7 ETM+, Landsat 8 OLI, and Landsat 9 OLI-2. Four supervised regression algorithms—ridge regression (RR), support vector regression (SVR), random forest (RF), and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost)—were trained to estimate TLI. On the independent test period, XGBoost performed best (R2 = 0.780, RMSE = 3.290, MAE = 1.779), followed by RF (R2 = 0.770, RMSE = 3.364), SVR (R2 = 0.700, RMSE = 3.842), and RR (R2 = 0.630, RMSE = 4.267); we then used XGBoost to reconstruct monthly and yearly TLI for 610 perennial grassland lakes from 2000 to 2024. From 2000 to 2024, the annual mean TLI (48–49) across the IMXP exhibited a statistically significant upward trend (slope = 0.0158 TLI yr−1; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.0050–0.0267; p = 0.006). Meanwhile, spatial heterogeneity was distinct (TLI: 41.51–59.70). High values concentrated in endorheic and desert–oasis basins (e.g., Eastern Inner Mongolia Plateau, >51), whereas lower values characterized high-altitude regions (e.g., Yarkant River, <45). Overall, trends ranged from −0.49 to 0.51 yr−1, increasing in 54% of lakes (15.6% significantly) and decreasing in 46% (15.4% significantly). Attribution analyses identified NDVI (33.92%) and temperature (21.67%) as dominant drivers (55.59% combined), followed by precipitation (13.99%) and human proxies (30.42% combined: population 10.66%, grazing 10.31%, built-up 9.45%). Across 53 sub-basins, NDVI was the primary driver in 28, followed by temperature (11), population (7), precipitation (3), grazing (3), and built-up land (1); notably, the top two drivers explained 56.6–87.1% of variations. TWFE estimates revealed bidirectional NDVI effects (significant in 31/53): positive associations in 22 basins were linked to nutrient retention, contrasting with negative effects in nine basins associated with agricultural return flows. Temperature effects were significant in 15 basins and predominantly negative (14/15), except for the Qiangtang Plateau. Overall, eutrophication risk across the IMXP lake region reflects the combined influences of climatic conditions, vegetation conditions, and human activities, with their relative contributions varying among basins.

Increased production of crops utilising high yielding varieties requires larger input of macronutrients which has accelerated micronutrient deficiencies in soils. The soil micronutrient status indicates extent of depletion and future projections for prediction of their requirements, refinement of critical levels and delineation of micronutrient deficient and toxic areas. This study was carried out with the objective of generating soil fertility maps of Rajouri District of Jammu & Kashmir using geographical information system (GIS) approach. Mapping of diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)-extractable cationic micronutrients and hot water-soluble boron (B) was carried out. Soil samples were collected from various land uses viz: agriculture, horticulture, forest, pasture and waste lands. The spatial visualisation of maps was done using inverse distance weight (IDW). The soil was found to be moderately acidic to moderately alkaline in reaction (pH 4.9 to 9.0) and free from the problem of salinity. The soil organic carbon (OC) content in the district ranged between 1.20 and 25.80 g kg-1. The DTPA-iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) content in soils varied from 1.26 to 58.03 mg kg-1, traces to 58.15 mg kg-1, 0.20 to 4.82 mg kg-1 and traces to 10.69 mg kg-1 respectively under various land use systems whereas hot water soluble B content varied from 0.10 to 5.95 mg kg-1. The content of Fe, Mn and Zn were higher in agricultural soils, whereas Cu and B content were found higher under horticultural soils. Soil micronutrient maps clearly showed areas where lack of micronutrients limited crop growth. Zinc was deficient in >50 % of sites; Fe and Mn were sufficient in >95 % of sites, 5 % sites were having low B content and approximately 35 % sites were having low copper content. The values of micronutrient content, organic carbon and clay content had a positive relationship. The study emphasises the need for targeted nutrient management strategies; especially zinc fertilisation in deficient areas, to support crop productivity. Additionally, managing organic matter and carefully using micronutrient fertilisers can help maintain long-term soil health and avoid future deficiencies.