Mountain Slopes Research Articles

Pu Songling: The Union of Beast and Beauty

Pu Songling:The Union of Beast and Beauty Wilt L. Idema (bio) Introduction As a rule, the authors of late-imperial vernacular literature tried to avoid anachronisms in assembling the casts of their tales, but in the middle of the seventeenth century, we encounter several writers who deliberately bring together characters from diverse dynasties. The best-known examples of such works are the sixteen-chapter novel Xiyoubu 西遊補 (Addendum to Journey to the West) by Dong Yue 董說 (1620–1689)1 and the ten-act play Huarenyou 化人游 (Transformative ramblings) by Ding Yaokang 丁耀亢 (1599–1669).2 At a slightly later date Pu Songling 蒲松齡 (1640–1715) followed their example in his Choujunba 醜俊巴 (The union of beast and beauty3) in which the deified Pigsy (Eight Precepts Zhu/Zhu Bajie 朱八戒) falls in love with the ghost of the murdered Golden Lotus Pan (Pan Jinlian 潘金蓮). Zhu Bajie is the personification of greed and lust in the tale of the pilgrimage to the West, a story that in all its many versions is set in the Tang Dynasty (617–906), while Pan Jinlian seduces the rich merchant Ximen Qing 西門慶, in both the Shuihuzhuan 水滸傳 (Water margin) and the Jinpingmei 金瓶梅 (The plum in the golden vase), in the early years of the twelfth century, so during the Song Dynasty (960–1278). Pu Songling is very much aware of the anachronism as he draws attention to it in the opening lyric of Choujunba.4 Choujunba is one of Pu Songling's "rustic songs" (liqu 俚曲). These rustic songs are performance texts that for their versified sections make use of a number of song tunes that were popular in central Shandong during Pu's lifetime. A list of rustic [End Page 182] songs composed by Pu is engraved on the back side of the stele at his grave.5 This list includes Choujunba, so its authenticity is not doubted. The text as we have it is incomplete. That may be because part of the text was lost in transmission, but it also has been suggested that Pu Songling may never have finished the text for whatever reason—perhaps he felt he had exhausted the possibilities of the theme by the time he set out on the second chapter. The text of the first chapter opens with a lyric to the tune of Xijiangyue 西江月 (West river moon) which serves as a preface. The text then continues with a song to the tune of Shanpoyang 山坡羊 (Lamb on a mountain slope).6 The main body of the chapter is basically written in seven-syllable lines. All that remains of the second chapter is a song to the tune of Shanpoyang and three lines of seven-syllable verse. There is no indication how many chapters the work originally contained (or was intended to contain). Chinese critics who have commented on Choujunba often consider it a work of Pu's younger years; as an erotic spielerei, they consider it a work of poor taste. The extended description of a man in the thrall of passion is, however, not without some comic merit and shows Pu Songling from an unexpected side. Choujunba was first printed in Lu Dahuang 路大荒, ed., Pu Songling ji 蒲松齡集 (Complete works of Pu Songling; Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1962), vol. 2, pp. 1142–44.7 This translation is based on the annotated edition of Choujunba in Pu Songling, Liaozhai liqu ji 聊齋俚曲集 (Liaozhai's collected rustic songs), ed. Pu Xianming 蒲先名, annot. Zou Zongliang 鄒宗良 (Beijing: Guoji wenhua chubanshe, 1999), pp. 422–27. The text has also been reprinted in more recent editions of Pu Songling's rustic songs, such as Pu Songling 蒲松龄, Liaozhai liqu ji 聊斋俚曲集 (Jinan: Qi Lu shushe, 2018), pp. 302–05, and Zhang Tai 张泰, annot., Liaozhai liqu ji jiaozhu 聊斋俚曲集校注 (Liaozhai's collected rustic songs, collated and annotated; Beijing: Jiuzhou chubanshe, 2020), vol. 2, pp. 295–98. Pu Songling The Union of Beast and Beauty "Lamb on the Mountain Slope" sections At the Pure Altar Mansion Eight Precepts Suffers from Love-Longing [End Page 183] (To the tune of "West River Moon")One will say that Golden Lotus is most charming,Another will say that Eight Precepts is most creepy,So I will therefore bring about a union on their behalf—Who cares he...

About the possibility of natural emergency risk management in mountain areas by thermal impact on the surface troposphere layer

A pressing issue in managing the risks of wildfires in mountain regions of the world is improving the management of rainfall intensity over their territories. The relative humidity of the air in which precipitation should be initiated is an important factor in the effectiveness of such techniques. In mountains, forced convection on windward slopes has led to a significant increase in rainfall. At the same time, the humidity of the air entering the downwind slopes is reduced, thus increasing the fire risk on them. It has been hypothesized that it is possible to increase the humidity of the air entering the leeward slopes of the mountains by initiating thermal convection on their windward slopes. Its fairness is confirmed by the model of mountain mossiv with parameters corresponding to the southern slope of the Ai-Petra Yayla (Main Ridge of the Crimean Mountains). The weather conditions characteristic of this area during the summer months were considered. The method of the study consisted in numerically solving complete nonlinear thermometer equations using Fire Dinamic Simulator (FDS) programs. It has been established that excitation of thermal convection on a local part of the windward slope of the mountains can cause a significant increase in the height of the dew point above the whole of this slope, which the advanced hypothesis confirms. The results show that it is possible to apply the methodology considered for the suppression of forest and other natural fires on leeward slopes of mountains.

Preservation of Organic Matter in Aqueous Deposits and Soils Across the Mars‐Analog Qaidam Basin, NW China: Implications for Biosignature Detection on Mars

AbstractA variety of aqueous deposits and soils from gullies, fluvial channels, mountain slopes, alluvial fans, playas, polygons, and yardangs have been found on Mars. However, the occurrence of sedimentary organic matter (SOM) in these landscapes under hyperarid and strongly radiative conditions has yet to be fully assessed. With various desiccated landforms analogous to those on Mars, the Qaidam Basin in northwestern China is considered a promising hyperarid Martian analog. Here, aqueous deposits and soils from nine landforms across the extremely dry northwestern Qaidam and from four landforms across the dry southeastern Qaidam were sampled and investigated. Our results reveal that landform and moisture are important controls on organic carbon distribution across the Qaidam Basin, while sedimentary origin has a dominant effect in the extremely dry northwestern Qaidam. Combined with previous studies, low organic carbon contents of soils in the extremely dry northwestern Qaidam suggest possibly low rates of microbial carbon input and of organic carbon degradation in Mars‐like environments. High organic carbon contents of aqueous deposits together with increasing trends along rivers indicate preservation of relic SOM and possibly slow degradation rates of organic matter as compared to their exposure timescale. Moreover, soils from the distal alluvial fan are found to favor the concentration of pedogenic organic carbon as compared to those from other landforms in the dry southeastern Qaidam and from all landforms in the extremely dry northwest. This suggests that subsoils in the distal fans are promising candidate targets for biosignature detection on Mars.

Spatial variability of surface water runoff and sedimentary output of the Sartka Valley Basin using the KINEROS simulation model

Abstract: The amount of water seeping into ground is varied across the study area، so the central region have a rich groundwater reservoirs due to higher water seeping ratio into the ground. - Runoff is concentrated in the most northeastern parts of the basin، and this runoff is useful in the application of water harvesting methods of various types. It is useful in the design of small dams and ponds، then constructing a dam with medium capacity at the estuary of the basin in order to collect excess water of the study area. The study recommended establishment of weather station and hydrological cross sections to measure discharge of the catchment، it also recommend using the flood water to feed and recharge the underground stock and rising groundwater table. Forecasting the water yield and the sedimentary output that results from a rainstorm on the river basins has not taken a large place in the hydrological studies yet، so one of the unmeasured catchment of temporary flow (Sartaka basin) was chosen for this study، it locates the extreme southwest of Shaqlawa district. The basin originates from the southern slopes of Safin mountain، which is a tributary of the Gomaspan basin. Earlier but especially in the recent years the geography has witnessed using the application of modern methods، including quantitative programs and techniques، to reach more accurate results far from description and generalization. Therefore، the study seeks to find solutions for water harvesting and reducing the manifestations of water scarcity in the study area، by modeling and simulating the relationship between climatic variables on the one hand، and surface water runoff and sedimentary product on the other hand، through experimental and programmatic methods using the (KINEROS) tool. The importance of the study is solving the water scarcity in the region and reshaping and organizing the environment of the area for the sake of developing social life in general. This study has come to end with some conclusions as stated below: - The feeding source of the basin is rainwater، which falls and takes place in the valleys during the rainy season.

Water Chemical Characteristics and Safety Assessment of Irrigation Water in the Northern Part of Hulunbeier City, Grassland Area in Eastern China

Hulun Buir Grassland is a world-famous natural pasture. The Chenbalhu Banner coalfield, the hinterland of the grassland, is located on the west slope of the Great Khingan Mountains and on the north bank of the Hailar River in China. The proven geological reserves of coal are 17 billion tons. Hulun Buir Grassland plays a role in the ecological barrier, regional coal industry, power transmission from west to east and power transmission from north to south. The proportion of local groundwater in irrigation, domestic and industrial production water sources is about 86%. The large-scale exploitation of coal resources and the continuous emergence of large unit and coal-fired power plants have consumed a large amount of local water resources, resulting in the decrease of the local groundwater level and changing the natural flow field of groundwater. This paper studies the background hydrochemical values and evaluates the irrigatibility of the whole Chenbaerhu Banner coalfield, and studies the impact of coal industry chains such as mining areas and coal chemical plants on the hydrochemistry characteristics of groundwater. The above two studies provide important guiding values for guiding local economic structure planning, groundwater resources exploitation and ecological governance. The study found that Na+ and HCO3− in the groundwater in the study area occupy a dominant position. Referring to the comparison of the lowest values of three types of water standards in the Quality Standards for Groundwater (GB/T14848-2017), the amount of NH4+, Na+ and NO2− exceeding the standard is close to more than 30%. The main chemical types of river water in the study area are HCO3− Na and HCO3− Ca·Na, the main chemical types of surface water are HCO3− Na and HCO3− Na·Ca, and the main chemical type of confined water is HCO3−Na. The formation of hydrochemical types is mainly affected by the dissolution, filtration and evaporation of rocks, specifically the dissolution and filtration of sodium and calcium salts. The chemical correlation analysis of groundwater shows that there are abnormal values at many points in the study area. Further combining with the horizontal comparison of surface human activities in the study area, it shows that the influence scope of coal mine production and coal chemical plants on groundwater is extremely limited. The local groundwater is mainly polluted by a large quantity of local cattle and sheep manure, industrial and domestic sewage pollution and farmland fertilizer.

Study on Improvement of Pipe-Soil Spring Model in Mountain Slope Area

For the interaction between the pipeline and the soil under the condition of large surface displacement, the displacement load is often transmitted to the pipeline through soil springs. The selection of soil spring parameters is based on laboratory research results, which may not be effective for pipe-soil interface simulation. In addition, the load and soil spring coefficient of the pipeline in the slope should vary with space and time, and these factors are ignored by the resistance formula of the current general spring model. The adaptability and temporal load distribution of the pipe-soil spring model in regions of large surface deformation are largely unknown. In this paper, we deduced the soil spring resistance formula when the surface is inclined, established an improved soil spring model for the slope, and obtained the variation law of soil spring resistance in different directions at different slope angles. At the same time, a comparison of the improved soil spring model with the standard soil spring model recommended by international associations and codes was carried out. The rationality of the improved soil spring model proposed in this paper in the calculation of the pipe-soil interaction in the slope section is further verified by small-scale physical model tests. It has a certain guiding significance for the calculation of pipe-soil interaction in slope sections.

Acantholimon assadii (Plumbaginaceae), a new species from flora of Iran

A new species, Acantholimon assadii from mountainous slopes of N of Kerman, Zarend, Kerman Province, south-east of Iran is here described and illustrated. The new species is morphologically distinguished from the other species of Acantholimon sect. Acantholimon by short spike-like inflorescence, length and width of bract and bracteoles, shape of bract and bracteoles, color of calyx and corolla.

Reconstruction of dynamics processes of Tagharma rock avalanche in Pamir Plateau: Geomorphology and sedimentology implications

Rock avalanches are characterized by granular flows of dry and disintegrating rock masses detached from a mountain slope. They deposit large volumes of megablocks, which have distinct surface features and are known to cause catastrophic damage. The mechanisms and dynamic processes of such disasters are still under debate, owing to insufficient real-time data. Here, field surveys and high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) were used to investigate the dynamic processes of the Tagharma rock avalanche (Kongur Mountain, Eastern Pamir, China), providing a unique case study for determining the long runout mechanisms and dynamic processes of the avalanche based on its morphology and sedimentology. The processes and dynamics of the event were reconstructed through fragmented rock debris combined with surface morphology and substrate implications. We analyzed how fragmentation occurs at impact and studied the generated fragment size distributions. Finally, the emplacement dynamics of the Tagharma rock avalanche were reconstructed. Our results indicate that the dynamic process of the Tagharma rock avalanche consisted of two main stages: (i) foliated megablocks having a strong interaction between the rock avalanche mass and the ground (dynamic rock mass disintegration), and (ii) distal “passive spreading” when the avalanche mass encountered deformable substrates (sediment bulldozing).

Vegetation analysis on the mountain slopes of Yanaimalai in southern Tamil Nadu

Yanaimalai hill in Southern Tamil Nadu is a rocky granite hill having vegetations in the cracks and crevices. The hill absorbs and irradiates heat waves more in summer making vegetation limited. Despite high temperature and erratic weather conditions, certain vegetations survive. A study on identifying the vegetation can pave way for future breeding programmes. Therefore, this study was undertaken during May 22 to June 5, 2022 to identify the vegetation and classify into weeds, shrubs and trees. Fifty sites identified on the mountain slopes and various phytosociological parameters, viz. weed density, relative density, frequency, relative frequency, abundance, importance value index and summer dominance ratio were estimated. From the study, it was confirmed that vegetation species such as Cleome viscosa, Tephrosia purpurea, Cymbopogon citratus, Canthium spp., Morinda tinctoria and Wrightia tinctoria were predominant. Based on the findings, the identified species can be used for further genetic study on high temperature and drought tolerance for various breeding programmes.

Mitigating risks of hybrid rice use in terrace agriculture

The Honghe Hani Rice Terraces of Yunnan Province have become a national emblem for China and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but some are beginning to crumble. This research attempts to address why this is happening and what can be done about it. Previous work has failed to adequately address the possible shortcomings of recently introduced seed and water management technologies, their particular effect on rice terraces and the people who depend upon them. In an effort to better understand the issue, field observation was triangulated with in-depth interviews with local people, and the examination of scientific literature. To do this, the authors spent time in China with a translator in a key village known to be first in the area to truly succeed in carving the rice terraces and in making the mountain slope irrigation system required actually working. Results validated by experts in each field indicate that while the new seed and technologies do save water and improve lives, paired with migration, they may also be threatening the long-term viability of rice terracing in the region. The authors conclude that an integrated approach is needed and put forward a strategic blueprint to reinforce ecological, social and economic longevity. They also call for more research into the applicability of these resilience measures in other hybrid rice terracing regions, such as in the Philippines and Vietnam.

Contamination Status and Health Risk Assessment of Soil Heavy Metals in the Northern Slope of Eastern Tianshan Mountains Industrial Belt in Xinjiang, Northwest China

In recent years, soil heavy metal pollution has become an important issue of general concern because it is an important factor that threatens the soil environment. To assess the risk of the human health of the people living in the economic belt on the northern slope of the eastern Tianshan Mountains, and provide guidance for pollution control and risk prevention, the northern slope of the eastern Tianshan Mountains was selected as the study area, and six heavy metals (i.e., Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb, and Hg) were measured. The results revealed that the Cu, Pb, Hg, and As contents of the soil exceeded the soil background value of Xinjiang by 1.02, 4.10, 1.76, and 7.98 times, respectively. The Zn and Cr contents were lower than the limits of regional soil standards. Based on the pollution assessment using the pollution index (PI), values indicate that the levels of Zn and Cr pollution were low, those of Cu and Hg pollution were moderate, and those of Pb and As pollution were high. The health risk assessment results revealed that there are non-carcinogenic risks to children. The carcinogenic health risks posed by the heavy metals in this region are higher than the threshold (10−4), indicating that they pose a hazard to human health. The results of this research provide a theoretical basis and reference for soil heavy metal pollution control and human health risk management in this area.

Morphometric analysis of the relief of the Rakhiv Mountains as a basis for the formation of an ecological network

The Rakhiv Mountains are part of the Maramoros massif of the Carpathians in the Transcarpathian region. The mountain massif plays an important cross-border role, as it is limited to the south by the Ukrainian-Romanian border. The main areas of development of the region are forestry and tourism. The specified types of activities contribute to the intensification of the development of dangerous exogenous processes within the slope geosystems of the region. The risk of their manifestation depends on the morphometric features of the relief of mountain geosystems. A morphometric analysis of the relief forms of the Rakhiv Mountains was carried out and slope parameters were calculated by groups of their steepness and exposure. Groups of slopes were distinguished according to the level of potential risk of dangerous exogenous processes, and the areas and shares of the indicated groups and subgroups of slopes were calculated. The degree of protection of the region by the existing objects of the nature reserve fund was determined. A GIS model was created to assess the risk of the manifestation of dangerous exogenous processes on the slopes of the Rakhiv mountains and the state of their protection. On the basis of the Copernicus Global Land Service geodata, the shares of vegetation cover types within the zones of different levels of risk of the development of dangerous exogenous processes were calculated. Steep and very steep slopes predominate within the mountain range (76.0%). As for the exposure of the slopes, the slopes of the northern (18.9%) and southern (15.4%) exposures dominate here. The highest and highest degree of risk of manifestation of slope processes is characteristic for the slopes located in the catchments of the tributaries of the Tysa River (Bily, Velikiy Potik, Kvasny) and in the interfluve of the Tysa and Kosivska rivers, which occupy 40.0%. About 42.6% of the slopes are characterized by a very high and high level of risk of dangerous exogenous processes and remain unprotected. At the same time, 78.4% of them are covered with solid forest vegetation, which can be affected by the use of solid forest felling. A similar situation is typical for slopes that are classified as higher than average and average levels of potential development of dangerous exogenous processes (43.6% of the total area of the study area). Almost 53.6% of these slopes are not covered by nature conservation areas. At the same time, the share of forest cover within their borders is only 59.8%. 22 objects of the nature reserve fund have been created within the Rakhiv mountains. Among them, the largest is the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve, namely its Kuzii and Maramoros massifs. In addition to the nature reserve, there are two nature reserves and 19 natural monuments. Environmental protection measures and the possibilities of their integration into the spatial planning system by determining the structural elements of the ecological network are proposed. Important measures to ensure the stability of the slope geosystems of the Rakhiv Mountains are the expansion of the Kuzii and Maramoro massifs of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve due to the inclusion of forests that perform soil protection and anti-erosion functions. This will significantly contribute to the establishment of nature conservation management in the study area, and in the future these territories may become part of the Ukrainian-Romanian transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Maramoros Mountains. It is necessary to provide conditions for the restoration of natural geosystems, especially forests on very steep and steep slopes of the region. Forest geosystems outside the territories and objects of the nature reserve fund require the implementation of approaches to forest management close to the environment. Among the approaches, it is worth noting the limitation of solid-forest felling and wood trawling. The development of the tourist infrastructure of the region should take into account the need to preserve the integrity of the local ecological network of the Rakhiv Mountains. Keywords: Maramorosh, Rakhiv Mountains, ecological network, steepness of slopes, exposure of slopes, dangerous exogenous processes.

Elevational changes in the bacterial community composition and potential functions in a Tibetan grassland.

In the Tibetan grasslands, the distribution patterns of the microbial community structure and function along elevation gradients have attracted considerable attention due to the wide distribution of mountain slopes, but the controlling factors of these patterns are still unclear. Here we investigated the taxonomy and potential functions of soil bacteria along an elevation gradient in a Tibetan mountainous grassland in 2 years, aiming to explore the elevation patterns of the bacterial structure and function and the underlying drivers. High-throughput sequencing and environment attribute measurements were conducted to survey the bacterial and environment characters. Furthermore, PICRUSt2 for prediction of bacterial functions, iCAMP for unraveling the drivers controlling community assembly, and HMSC for variance partitioning of bacterial community composition were used. Elevation did not significantly affect the bacterial diversity but changed their composition, driven by both deterministic and stochastic processes. In addition, elevation did not significantly affect the relative importance of deterministic and stochastic processes. Soil carbon, nitrogen, and temperature were important deterministic factors in driving bacterial community structure. The genus Solirubrobacter in Actinobacteriota was identified as most elevation discriminatory. Based on these observations, the bacterial community in the Tibetan mountainous grasslands was more controlled by edaphic factors than temperature, indicating their relative stability under climate change scenarios.

Annual, Seasonal, and Monthly Rainfall Trend Analysis through Non-Parametric Tests in the Sebou River Basin (SRB), Northern Morocco

This paper explores the temporal and spatial patterns of annual, seasonal, and monthly rainfall series during the period of 1961–2018 at 15 stations in the agriculturally important Sebou river basin, northern Morocco. Trends were investigated using the classical non-parametric Mann–Kendall test and the Theil–Sen approach at 90%, 95% and 99% confidence levels. A general decreasing trend was found at the annual scale, significant at the 95% confidence level at 8 stations out of 15 (53%). A particularly large decreasing trend between −30 mm and −50 mm per decade was found in the north and eastern parts of the basin. Autumn rainfall tended to increase, but this was not statistically significant. During the winter months, rainfall tended to decrease sharply (−27 mm and −40 mm per decade) in the northern slopes of the Rif mountains, while in spring, the mountainous area of the basin recorded decreases ranging between −12 mm and −16 mm per decade. During winter and spring, negative trends were significant at ten stations (66%). Summer rainfall tends toward a decrease, but the absolute change is small. These results help to understand the rainfall variability in the Sebou river basin and allow for improved mitigation strategies and water resource plans based on a prospective view of the impact of climate change on the river basin.

Numerical Investigation of the Strain Characteristics of a Natural Gas Transportation Pipeline Crossing Tunnel

To ensure the safe operation of a natural gas transportation pipeline (NGTP) crossing tunnel, a model is established to analyze the strain characteristics. Some factors affecting the strain are considered in this paper. The results show that the strain failure of a NGTP crossing tunnel may occur in the two elbows of the NGTP located at the tunnel entrance and the position in contact with the fixed pipe clamp near the tunnel entrance. At the same time, the strain of the NGTP crossing tunnel is obviously affected by the temperature change of natural gas. So, the temperature change should be controlled within 8 K in the actual operation process. The wall thickness, the length of the NGTP, and the slope angle of the crossing tunnel are also main factors to affect the strain of the NGTP crossing tunnel, while the operation pressure and mountain slope angle have little effect when the operation pressure is 6–11 MPa. The maximum value of Mises equivalent strain is also obviously affected by the pipe diameter when it is more than 273 mm. Meanwhile, a prediction model for the maximum value of Mises equivalent strain is also established by the nonlinear fitting method and the deviation is within ±15% between the calculations and simulation results. The above conclusions will provide a theoretical basis and data support for the safe operation and design of NGTP crossing tunnels.

Evaluation of Landslide Susceptibility Based on CF-SVM in Nujiang Prefecture.

At present, landslide susceptibility assessment (LSA) based on landslide characteristics in different areas is an effective measure for landslide management. Nujiang Prefecture in China has steep mountain slopes, a large amount of water and loose soil, and frequent landslide disasters, which have caused a large number of casualties and economic losses. This paper aims to understand the characteristics and formation mechanism of regional landslides through the evaluation of landslide susceptibility so as to provide relevant references and suggestions for spatial planning and disaster prevention and mitigation in Nujiang Prefecture. Based on the grid cell, this study selected 10 parameters, namely elevation, slope, aspect, lithology, proximity to faults, proximity to road, proximity to rivers, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), land-use type, and precipitation. Support vector machine (SVM), certainty factor method (CF), and deterministic coefficient method-support vector machine (CF-SVM) were used to evaluate the landslide susceptibility in Nujiang Prefecture. According to these three models, the study area was divided into five landslide susceptibility grades, including extremely high susceptibility, high susceptibility, moderate susceptibility, low susceptibility, and very low susceptibility. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was applied to verify the accuracy of the model. The results showed that CF model (ROC = 0.865), SVM model (ROC = 0.892), CF-SVM model (ROC = 0.925), and CF-SVM model showed better performance. Therefore, CF-SVM model results were selected for analysis. The study found that the characteristics of high and extremely high landslide-prone areas in Nujiang Prefecture have the following characteristics: intense human activities, large density of buildings and arable land, rich water resources, good economic development, perfect transportation facilities, and complex topography and landform. In addition, there is a finding inconsistent with our common sense that the distribution of landslide disasters in the study area does not decrease with the increase of NDVI value. This is because the Nujiang River basin is a high mountain canyon area with low rock strength, barren soil, and underdeveloped vegetation and root system. In an area with large slope, the probability of landslide disaster will increase with the increase of NDVI. The CF-SVM coupling model adopted in this study is a good first attempt in the study of landslide hazard susceptibility in Nujiang Prefecture.

Economic Activities and Traditional Activities of the Peoples of Central Asia are Highlighted in the Works of B.Kh. Karmisheva

: It is known that the unique natural and geographical features of the region have a significant impact on ethnic processes. The moderate climate of Central Asia, the early arrival of spring, long summer and warmer winters have long been specialized in two economic and cultural environments - irrigated agriculture along the marshy spring, river and its tributaries, as well as enabled the development of cattle breeding in the semi-steppe and mountain slopes.

Possible range expansion of the Karoo Prinia Prinia maculosa into the range of the Drakensberg Prinia Prinia hypoxantha in the eastern Free State

Possible range expansion of Karoo Prinia Prinia maculosa observed within the range of Drakensberg Prinia P. hypoxantha north east of Harrismith in the eastern Free State. An Karoo Prinia individual was captured and ringed at Mnt Everest Nature Reserve, Harrismith on 3 November 2021 in Leucosidea sericea bush on mountain slope of Mooihoekkop. On 4 November 2021 the net site were moved to the Mnt Everest hilly slope and a Drakensberg Prinia was captured and ringed. Both species were also photographed and submitted to the Biodiversity Development Institure Virtual Museum (VM 19170 & 19171). The ocurrence and new distribution records of Karoo Prinias within the range of Drakensberg Prinias north of Harrismith is discussed.

Water Projects in Ethiopia and their Implications for the Future of the Nile Water

Ethiopia is well known as the “East Africa water tower.” Water flows from it in all directions, north and west to the Nile River (Sudan and Egypt), And south to Lake Turkana (Kenya), Shabelle and Juba (Somalia). To the east, Lake Assal (Djibouti), Mountainous nature, and complex terrain dominate Ethiopia. Rainwater and its run-off mountain slopes and hills are the source of surface water for most Ethiopian lands. This paper discusses Ethiopia’s water situation, as the primary source country, which contributes about 85% of the Nile’s water, and discusses Ethiopia’s possibility to establish great dams. And the most important geological reasons behind the failure of many water projects in Ethiopia, whether on a large or small scale. Including the temporal and spatial diversity of rainfall, the high evaporation rate (87%), the different terrain, the severity of the slopes, the spread of weak basaltic volcanic rocks and fractured limestone, and a large number of faults and faults as a result of the seismic activity associated with the African trench, as well as the increase of the Ethiopian plateau. Alluvial sedimentation that negatively affects the storage capacity of dams.It also aims to assess the impact of existing or under-construction water projects on the water share of Egypt and Sudan and to identify future water projects in Ethiopia by analyzing previous data, reports, and scientific research, and finally finding ways to get out of the current crisis between countries The source on one side and the downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan) on the other side.

Drought Indices to Map Forest Fire Risks in Topographically Complex Mountain Landscapes

Drought has the potential to lead to forest fires. Forest fires generally occur during the dry season when the mountain slope forest experiences a water deficit. Drought identification based on remote sensing is useful for mapping potential fires in Arjuno- Welirang Forest and TNBTS Forest (in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park). This research used Landsat-8 images in 118/065 and 118/066 in August and November 2015-2018. Validation data were obtained using high resolution planet scope images and rainfall data. Three drought indices were tested to identify fires, namely TVDI, VHI and NDDI. The indices were tested visually using high resolution images and tested meteorologically using SPI. From the results of the accuracy test and correlation, TVDI had the highest accuracy in the Arjuno-Welirang forest (96% accurate), while the best index for TNBTS was the VHI index (96% accurate).
 Keywords: drought indices, TVDI, VHI, NDDI, forest fires, Indonesia