Landscape Transformation Research Articles

Mapping the global regulatory terrain in digital banking: a longitudinal study across countries

Purpose This study aims to comprehensively understand the regulatory landscape and digital transformation (DT) within the banking sector, anchored in the theory of national innovation systems. Design/methodology/approach Using insights from a comprehensive literature review, an innovative framework is introduced to categorize regulators and digital banking attributes across 88 countries. The study uses k-means clustering to analyze the digital banking and regulatory status of 88 countries, tracing their evolution over two distinct timeframes. Findings The cross-country analysis spanning 2014 and 2022 reveals compelling trends in regulatory rankings and digital banking across diverse nations. These findings shed light on the dynamic interplay between regulatory environments and technological innovation. Originality/value This research contributes to knowledge by establishing a robust framework for understanding regulator dynamics in digital banking across a wide spectrum of countries. It offers valuable insights for academia, practitioners and policymakers by elucidating the complex relationship between the regulatory landscape and DT, shaping discourse and implications in this field, and informing strategic decision-making and policy formulation in the global financial landscape.

Changes in the soil and vegetation cover of the Kochubey biosphere station under global warming in recent years

Objectives: The study and long-term observations of changes in the spatial structure of vegetation cover of pasture landscapes of the Kochubey Biosphere Station (KBS) due to global climate warming. Arid pasture landscapes, due to the peculiarities of their spatial structure (the presence of semi-desert vegetation groupings) are a good indicator of modern climatic changes. To achieve this goal, the spatial structure and the current state of the arid landscapes of the Northwestern Caspian Sea in the territory of the KBS have been studied. The analysis of the biological diversity of species was carried out. Also the characteristics of the common features of seasonal dynamics of landscapes were studied. Moreover, trends of climatic changes in the landscape structure of the territory and trends in anthropogenic transformation of arid landscapes of the region were identified. It has been revealed that the main reasons for the reduction of biodiversity are habitat fragmentation, the introduction of alien species, the settlement of native species outside the range, ecotonization and “islandization” of pasture ecosystems, and the displacement of range boundaries. Since the goal of preserving the components of vegetation biodiversity is to reduce the pressures caused by climate change, adaptation measures should be aimed at reducing the rate of fragmentation and degradation of pasture landscapes. Monitoring observations have shown that over the last 20-century period there have been rhythmically repeating changes in climate and soil and vegetation cover, which indicates high mobility of vegetation. It has been established that the contribution of anthropogenic land degradation to desertification is confirmed by a significant linear trend in interannual fluctuations in indicators of pasture digression in the region. It has been established that the contribution of anthropogenic land degradation to desertification is confirmed by a significant linear trend in interannual fluctuations in indicators of pasture digression in the region. Due to excessive pasture digression, “islands” of anthropogenic desertification are formed here, the lifespan of which is determined by human influence and precipitation fluctuations.

Evolving road networks and urban landscape transformation in the Himalayan foothills, India.

The amalgamation of Himalayan and Indo-Burmese biodiversity has made the state of Manipur, India, a unique ecosystem. In addition, the region is a strategic place for the country to establish an economic corridor to Southeast Asia. In recent times, the region has witnessed tremendous infrastructural/road development. Subsequently, forest fragmentation related to urbanization and road expansion has emerged in the Himalayan foothills. The development of roads brought rapid changes in land use and land cover (LULC) and thus subsequent environmental degradation. The current study attempts to understand how the development of road networks has impacted the natural cover in Manipur, India. A spatio-temporal analysis was performed to assess the relationship between the development of road networks and LULC changes using the Landsat satellite images over a decade (2012-2022). The results showed significant changes in the area coverage of LULC categories such as agricultural land, built-up areas, forest, and water bodies with the increase in road density. To have a holistic view, the study area was segregated into three functional zones based on their urban land use pattern, i.e., urban center, peri-urban, and urban peripheral fringes. Urban sprawl in the urban center has led to the rapid conversion of forested lands into built-up areas and agricultural lands in the peri-urban and urban peripheral fringes, respectively. The decline of forest areas to urbanization in peri-urban and urban peripheral fringes calls for conservation and restoration initiatives. The study also emphasizes how different stakeholders can be involved and empowered to strengthen public-private partnerships for conservation and restoration in such sensitive ecosystems. Urban planners and developers should be critical in making informed decisions through understanding ecological concerns in tandem with infrastructural development.

The current policy focus shift from a sectoral to a territorial governance of wildfire reduction is aligned with forest owners’ preferences

Land management for wildfire reduction has been said to require new governance arrangements that ensure the coordination at the local level among landowners and between them and other relevant private and public actors. To promote a shift in the policy approach to wildfire mitigation from the current focus on fuel management, within the forestry sector, to a more effective cross-sectoral landscape transformation, this governance problem takes on even greater importance. Given the diversity of owners within a territory, our main goal is to identify a governance arrangement that match the heterogeneity of owners’ preferences for alternative governance options.Based on a face-to-face survey of 497 owners in a fire-prone region, four types of owners have been identified using a cluster analysis based on management practices and socioeconomic context. Our results show that the type of owner helps explaining their preferences for alternative governance options. Owners that are more active (e.g. regular forest interventions) and have stronger links to the forestry sector, through regular timber sales and participation in forest owner organizations, favor the keeping of individual management over the delegation of management on others or the renting or selling of the land. Although many of these owners see forest organizations alone as the best entities to promote wildfire mitigation, the majority would prefer solutions that also integrate local authorities. Owners that are less active (e.g. no forest interventions) and have weaker links to the sector (no timber sales and no enrollment in forest organizations) consider renting or selling the land, and view a combination of both local authorities and forest organizations as the best solution to promote wildfire reduction at the local level.We conclude that a multi-actor (public-private) territorially-based governance model fits both the required transition in the policy approach and the diverse preferences of different owner types.

The benefits and burdens of wind power systems in reaching China’s renewable energy goals: Implications from resource and environment assessment

Recognizing the economy’s growing reliance on global energy landscape transformation on wind power deployment, as well as the general reality that renewable facilities require lower operational but higher up-front inputs than fossil-based power systems, this paper focuses on the life-cycle burdens of wind power systems and their substitution benefits compared with coal-fired power systems. The estimation considers the consumption of nonrenewable sources of energy, emissions of greenhouse gases, and other environmental resource factors that have received significantly less research attention, such as industrial land use, water use, PM2.5, SO2, NOX, and Hg emissions. The scope of this study differs from earlier ones in that it includes a comprehensive description of all the equipment, materials, and services used, as opposed to earlier studies that either omit crucial supporting infrastructure or just focus on the plant’s physical structure as its primary materials. Results based on a typical plant in China show that the state-of-the-art onshore wind power systems can provide significant reductions in nonrenewable energy use (9.2 MJ/kWh) and GHG emissions (782.8 GtCO2/kWh). To produce an equivalent amount of electricity, wind power systems require more than three times industrial land use and almost one-third of industrial water use of that for traditional coal-fired power systems. The avoided SO2, Hg, PM2.5, and NOX emissions per unit of electricity generation account for 60.6%-89.3% of the total air pollution emissions induced by supercritical coal-fired power systems. By integrating 3797 operating plant-specific data and fixed-point wind energy information, this study scales up results of the single plant to a country level. The macro picture implies different opportunities born by wind power systems in easing multiple resource and environmental pressures, highlighting the significance of designing hierarchical strategies to improve penetration levels of wind power. By 2050, cumulative climate benefits obtained from onshore wind power technology are predicted to reach 74.2 Gt CO2, achieving around 17.2%-45.5% of the national carbon-neutral goal.

The Formation and Preservation of Urban Heritage Through Urban Landscape Transformation: A Case Study of Pittsburgh

This study examines the potential of urban landscape transformation to generate and develop new heritage and the role of heritage urbanism in an industrial city. It explores whether the changeover of urban heritage districts in Pittsburgh (PA, USA) can give rise to a novel type of urban heritage. Pittsburgh experienced urban development primarily driven by the presence and accessibility of natural resources, rather than favorable geographical conditions: topography characterized by rugged hills, rock formations, rivers, and stream valleys. The integration of the American-style grid within this unique natural environment resulted in intriguing juxtapositions. Consequently, elements such as bridges, viaducts, stairs, tunnels, and historical inclines gained paramount importance in shaping the urban fabric. The city’s remaining preserved or transformed urban heritage is protected through historic districts designated by the Department of City Planning, which enforces specific planning and design guidelines. The study employs a multi-faceted approach combining the concepts of historic stratification (urban palimpsest), integrated urban morphology, space syntax (integration analysis), and heritage urbanism. During the personally conducted long-term fieldwork, the selected case studies described herein (historic districts, university campus, and traditional neighborhood) proved to be the most suitable for demonstrating urban heritage formation through urban landscape transformation.

Bio-mimetic deconstruction of the digital business ecosystem

The advent of the Internet Plus era, digital technologies, and the digital economy has instigated profound transformations in the commercial landscape, particularly evident in the systematic reshaping of the Digital Business Ecosystem (DBE), encompassing innovations in business models, norms of commercial conduct, and the exploration of business value. This paper delves into the panoramic view of digital business operations of typical companies to uncover the fundamental structural framework of digital commerce. Through deductive reasoning and drawing upon the theoretical framework of natural niche, we construct a niche model for the digital business ecosystem, thereby achieving a bionic deconstruction of the digital business ecosystem. The significance of this research lies in offering a novel research perspective for enterprises, economic regulatory bodies, and scholars in the field of business management, proposing a systemic approach rooted in niche theory models to competition. This approach provides a fresh theoretical framework for enterprises to devise their own ecological and sustainable development strategies. The key findings are as follows: (1) Most business firms establish competitive advantages by constructing commercial cloud platforms that facilitate internal digital transformation and enable digital synergy with external economic entities; (2) Within the digital business ecosystem, enterprises extend their digital capabilities externally through four modalities: data development, data application, data services, and data manufacturing. Externally, six primary forces and roles shape the ecosystem: suppliers, governments, social institutions, consumers, as well as external and internal industry players; (3) The digital business niche is a multidimensional and hyper volumetric relationship positioning between enterprises and the digital business environment. The niche factors include six dimensions: market, personnel, resources, social relationships, technology, and institutions; (4) Given limited ecological factors, the non-exclusivity between static resource allocation and dynamic technological investments in digital enablement leads to the generalization of property rights boundaries and industrial values within the digital business ecosystem. Consequently, this fosters extensive business applications and diversified business models, thereby resulting in less competition and more cooperation, symbiosis, and complementarity within the digital business niche.

Conservation Corridors With Many Small Waterbodies Support Dragonfly Functional Diversity Across a Transformed Landscape Mosaic

ABSTRACTAimHuman activities pose many challenges to freshwater biodiversity. Among these, is landscape transformation, such as conversion of natural grassland to plantation forestry, impacting both terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity. Functional diversity measures provide substantial information on current and emerging impacts on biological communities, and aid conservation decisions relative to anthropogenic impacts. We determined (1) environmental similarities among 10 freshwater biotope types; (2) whether freshwater biotopes in conservation corridor networks support equal levels of functional richness and divergence compared with an extensive neighbouring protected area; (3) whether certain biotopes are more important for maintaining functional richness and divergence than others; and (4) whether associations between traits and biotope types could be identified.LocationThe northeastern coastal region of South Africa.MethodsUsing dragonflies as model organisms, and data from 140 freshwater lotic and lentic sites, we investigated the distribution of dragonfly traits across a plantation forestry‐natural grassland landscape mosaic with a range of biotope types.ResultsLake sites were different in their environmental conditions compared with the other biotopes. Environmental conditions were variable among the other biotope types and were difficult to distinguish. Freshwater biotopes in the conservation corridors supported equal levels of functional richness and divergence compared with those in the protected area. Overall, dragonfly functional richness and divergence were low at lake sites and wallows, while all other biotopes supported high levels of functional richness and divergence. Trait associations were complex across the waterscape and driven by habitat selection, flight behaviour and ecological sensitivity.Main ConclusionsMaintaining a mosaic of small lentic and lotic habitats would best support dragonfly conservation in this transformed landscape. A combination of biotopes offers a wide range of environmental conditions essential for conserving the full range of dragonfly traits and species across the region.

A Comparison of the Efficacy of Fuzzy Overlay and Random Forest Classification for Mapping and Shaping Perceptions of the Post-Mining Landscape of Gauteng, South Africa

Post-mining landscapes are multifaceted, comprising multiple characteristics, more so in big metropolitan regions such as Gauteng, South Africa. This paper evaluates the efficacy of Fuzzy overlay and Random Forest classification for integrating and representing post-mining landscapes and how this influences the perception of these landscapes. To this end, this paper uses GISs, MCDA, Fuzzy overlay, and Random Forest classification models to integrate post-mining landscape characteristics derived from the literature. It assesses the results using an accuracy assessment, area statistics, and correlation analysis. The findings from this study indicate that both Fuzzy overlay and Random Forest classification are applicable for integrating multiple landscape characteristics at varying degrees. The resultant maps show some similarity in highlighting mine waste cutting across the province. However, the Fuzzy overlay map has higher accuracy and extends over a larger footprint owing to the model’s use of a range of 0 to 1. This shows both areas of low and high memberships, as well as partial membership as intermediate values. This model also demonstrates strong relationships with regions characterised by landscape transformation and waste and weak relationships with areas of economic decline and inaccessibility. In contrast, the Random Forrest classification model, though also useful for classification purposes, presents a lower accuracy score and smaller footprint. Moreover, it uses discrete values and does not highlight some areas of interaction between landscape characteristics. The Fuzzy overlay model was found to be more favourable for integrating post-mining landscape characteristics in this study as it captures the nuances in the composition of this landscape. These findings highlight the importance of mapping methods such as Fuzzy overlay for an integrated representation and shaping the perception and understanding of the locality and extent of complex landscapes such as post-mining landscapes. Methods such as Fuzzy overlay can support research, planning, and decision-making by providing a nuanced representation of how multiple landscape characteristics are integrated and interact in space and how this influences public perception and policy outcomes.

Artificial Intelligence in the Banking Industry: A Comprehensive Analysis of the current Landscape and Future Transformations

Artificial Intelligence in the Banking Industry: A Comprehensive Analysis of the current Landscape and Future Transformations

Oral history methods can reveal drivers of landscape transformation: Understanding land‐use legacies with local and traditional knowledge in Central Europe

Abstract Ecosystems and landscapes shaped by the intricate relationship between people and their natural environment embody the impact of many different past land‐use practices and historical events. However, in some regions, classical historical records of landscape change do not exist or are insufficiently detailed. Local communities' ecological memory can play an important role in filling this gap by reconstructing the socio‐ecologically relevant indirect drivers and their interactions, as well as identifying vegetation characteristics that are legacies of previous land‐use practices. We studied a rapidly transforming cultural landscape in Transylvania (Romania) by conducting 144 oral history interviews covering the last 70 years (before, during and after collective farming). The interviews revealed complex interactions of indirect drivers. Country‐scale political and economic changes affected the landscape with crop outflow during the collective system (1962–1989), resulting in labour outflow to cities from the 1960s. The latter reduced the time and attention devoted to haymaking and affected population ageing. Together with other drivers, this demographic change led to a major transformation of the traditional landscape by the 2010s. We identified 47 vegetation characteristics as land‐use legacies related to grasslands and classified them into general legacy types. Our results support that there was an opportunity to innovatively revive the traditional cultural landscape after the fall of communism, when local knowledge, and willingness to manage the landscape were still present, but financial assets and government support were lacking. The indirect driver interactions led to the abandonment of traditional hay meadow management, resulting in a homogenising landscape with simplified land use dominated by sheep grazing and increasingly dependent on agricultural subsidies. We found that many vegetation characteristics of the studied species‐rich grasslands are only legacies of former land‐use activities, still known by locals but no longer applied. By creating knowledge partnerships, we can still learn about the past management and the functioning of such biodiversity‐rich cultural landscapes from the people who actively maintained them. We argue that this type of knowledge is essential to revive and adapt practices for protecting and managing species‐rich habitats across European cultural landscapes and for supporting the planning of appropriate conservation management and subsidy schemes. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Hierarchical Analysis of Miombo Woodland Spatial Dynamics in Lualaba Province (Democratic Republic of the Congo), 1990–2024: Integrating Remote Sensing and Landscape Ecology Techniques

Lualaba Province, located in the southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), consists of five territories with varied dominant land uses: agriculture (Dilolo, Kapanga, and Musumba in the west) and mining (Mutshatsha and Lubudi in the east). The province also includes protected areas with significant governance challenges. The tropical dry forests that cover the unique Miombo woodland of Lualaba are threatened by deforestation, which poses risks to biodiversity and local livelihoods that depend on these forests for agriculture and forestry. To quantify the spatio-temporal dynamics of Lualaba’s landscape, we utilized Landsat images from 1990 to 2024, supported by a Random Forest Classifier. Landscape metrics were calculated at multiple hierarchical levels: province, territory, and protected areas. A key contribution of this work is its identification of pronounced deforestation trends in the unique Miombo woodlands, where the overall woodland cover has declined dramatically from 62.9% to less than 25%. This is coupled with a marked increase in landscape fragmentation, isolation of remaining woodland patches, and a shift toward more heterogeneous land use patterns, as evidenced by the Shannon diversity index. Unlike previous research, our study distinguishes between the dynamics in agricultural territories—which are particularly vulnerable to deforestation—and those in mining areas, where Miombo forest cover remains more intact but is still under threat. This nuanced distinction between land use types offers critical insights into the differential impacts of economic activities on the landscape. Our study also uncovers significant deforestation within protected areas, underscoring the failure of current governance structures to safeguard these critical ecosystems. This comprehensive analysis offers a novel contribution to the literature by linking the spatial patterns of deforestation to both agricultural and mining pressures while simultaneously highlighting the governance challenges that exacerbate landscape transformation. Lualaba’s Miombo woodlands are at a critical juncture, and without urgent, coordinated intervention from local and international stakeholders, the ecological and socio-economic foundations of the region will be irreversibly compromised. Urgent action is needed to implement land conservation policies, promote sustainable agricultural practices, strengthen Miombo woodland regulation enforcement, and actively support protected areas.

Temporal Range Dynamics of the Lataste's Viper (Vipera latastei Boscá, 1878) in Doñana (Spain): Insights into Anthropogenically Driven Factors.

Doñana (southern Spain), a region of notable biodiversity richness, is highly threatened by ongoing landscape transformation and climate change. We investigated the local effect of these anthropogenic factors on the temporal range dynamics of Lataste's viper (Vipera latastei), an Iberian endemic Mediterranean reptile that has apparently become rare over the years in Doñana. Using ecological niche-based models, based on climatic and remote sensing variables, we analyzed historical (1959-1999) and contemporary (2000-2022) records of the species to assess range shifts and identify environmental factors that may influence them. Our results show that V. latastei is mostly restricted to the coastal region of Doñana and that one temperature variable is the most important factor explaining this distribution pattern in both periods. Additional climatic and vegetation variables play a role in its historical distribution, but they become less important in contemporary times, suggesting a niche simplification over time. We found 30.5% of reduction in the species suitable area from historical to contemporary conditions, a reduction that would be even greater (83.37%) in the absence of niche shift. These findings underscore the species' heightened vulnerability to ongoing environmental changes and highlight the urgent need for targeted conservation strategies.

The application of remote sensing and geographic information system techniques for the analysis of land use and land cover changes in Wayanad district of Kerala

Mapping Land Use and Land cover Changes (LULC) and detecting changes using remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques is a cost-effective way of gaining a good understanding of the land cover alteration processes caused by land use change and their effects. This study assessed the transformation of the Wayanad district landscape over a period of 23 years. LANDSAT satellite images (of 30 m resolution) encompassing the area at three epochs were classified into nine classes (coffee dominated mixed crop, built-up, evergreen forest, deciduous forest, grassland, mixed crop with built-up, paddy, tea plantation, and waterbody) using the maximum likelihood algorithm, resulting in classes for each land use. The results showed that over the past 23 years, coffee-dominated mixed crops have increased by 0.84% in 2014 and 11.84% in 2022 compared to 1999; deciduous forest area decreased 3.6% and increased 0.6% in 2014 and 2022, respectively. Tea plantations increased by 0.9% in 2014 and by 0.49% in 2022, which decreased by 0.41% compared to 2014. Built-up has increased by 6.42% and 6.02% in 2014 and 2022 respectively, and slightly decreased by 0.4% compared to 2014. Evergreen forest areas increased in 2014 by 6.68% and 2.28% in 2022 and decreased by 4.44% compared to the previous time period. Grass land areas have decreased by 6.25% and 5.33%, respectively, and mixed crops with built-up areas has decreased by 0.74% and remained the same in the last two epochs, while paddy and waterbodies have decreased by 3.4%, 15.79%, and 0.07 and 0.19%, respectively, in 2014 and 2022 of the total geographical area Keywords: Remote sensing, GIS techniques, LULC, forest cover

The analysis of the transformation of forest landscapes in the Eastern Zangezur region of Azerbaijan based on satellite imagery

In the article, the forest areas in the Eastern Zangezur region have been thoroughly investigated, and the transformation of forests over the years has been assessed based on the analysis of satellite imagery. For study, we have used images get from LANDSAT and AzerSky satellites. The level of degradation of the forest area in the region was calculated with the help of GIS and Mathematical methods. As a result of this assessment, maps and diagrams have been prepared. This information will play a major role in the evaluation of the forest area of the Eastern Zangezur region, the proper conduct of forest restoration and construction works, as well as the placement of agriculture. It will also show the environmental damages caused by wars.

From Science to Therapy: The Shaping of German Psychology Through Student Preferences

In 2020, a new record was set: For the first time in history, more than 100.000 students of psychology were officially enrolled in Germany. This remarkable number is the outcome of a long-term transformation of the whole academic landscape in Europe as well as dynamics that are specific to the German context. As these recent changes have not yet been properly discussed outside the German-speaking world, this paper provides a contextual analysis of the factors that have contributed to the current state of discipline, including legal regulations and economic conditions, academic curricula, and students’ preferences. It is argued that the growth of the discipline was primarily an effect of psychology becoming the primary route to psychotherapeutic practice in Germany after World War II. Even though representatives of the discipline repeatedly voiced concern about the one-sided interest of their students, German academic psychology has benefited from the steady increase in demand for clinical training, especially among female students, on many levels. In late 2020, a new law came into force which redefined the requirements for the qualification of psychotherapists. Although this legal reform was introduced only very recently, it is already becoming apparent that this change will have a profound impact on the discipline. As the tensions between basic research and applied branches increase, cracks are appearing in the foundations of the whole discipline, forcing it to make tough choices about its future development.

Land‐Use and Land‐Cover (LULC) Change Detection in Bilari, Moradabad, U.P., India

AbstractThe post‐globalization of the Indian economy marks the beginning of a new era for various industries, including manufacturing and the service sector. As a result, people begin to migrate from sub‐urban/rural area to nearby major cities in search of employment and access to modern conveniences. Land Use Land Cover (LULC) pattern change is caused by human and natural factors which include geology, elevation, and slope. LULC change assessment is best ways to manage and understand landscape transformation. Bilari block in Moradabad is India's brass city and one of Uttar Pradesh's major cities, its population growth has pushed the rapid urbanization of city in last two decades. In the present study Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Manager (OLI) data for years 2000 and 2023 have been employed to assess. ArcGIS Pro 2.9.0 software is used to perform layer stacking and on the raw Landsat data for pre‐processing. To find LULC changes in the study area between 2000 and 2023, supervised classification is done by adopting Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC). From the results, it is observed that the area from pervious to impervious changes very quickly in Bilari. This research will aid in regional and urban planning, as well as agricultural management, in the years ahead.

THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF VEGETATION ON THE URBAN FABRIC. CASE OF GUELMA CITY

In cities, land use changes caused by various human activities can affect how natural ecosystems function. In this context, it is increasingly important for cities to consider the role of vegetation in preserving a sustainable environment. A diachronic analysis of landscape changes was applied to assess the presence and distribution of vegetation to determine whether it was evolving or regressing. This phenomenon was studied within the current administrative boundaries of the city of Guelma (Algeria). For this purpose, as an approach based on landscape metrics, several Landsat TM and ETM+ remote sensing satellite images were used throughout the period 1987-2019. A set of landscape indices, including NP, AREA_MN, LPI, PLAND, AI and LSI, were calculated to map land cover, the mechanism of land cover and vegetation change, and their impact on the urban ecosystem. The geo-statistical procedure was carried out using a geographic information system Qgis combined by statistical software using Fragstats to calculate various landscape metrics at class level for the analysis of fragmentation . The results of the landscape metric analysis show that the decrease in average area and the increase in the number of green patches are important indicators of land degradation, meaning that the mechanism of landscape degradation and transformation is progressive. This underlines the need to give particular attention to land use and land cover in the region to ensure the sustainable allocation of natural resources.

ОЦЕНКА СОВРЕМЕННОЙ ЛАНДШАФТНОЙ СТРУКТУРЫ ЗАПАДНО-КАЗАХСТАНСКОГО РЕГИОНА

The article presents an assessment of the modern landscape structure of the Western Kazakhstan region, based on the developed map of modern landscapes, made at a scale of 1:1 500,000. Based on the assessment, it was established that in the landscape structure of the entire region, the largest areas are occupied by landscape types of elevated stratal plains (17.8 % of the region’s area) and structural plateaus (14.6 %). Qualitative and quantitative analysis of landscape structure and assessment of dynamic trends in landscape transformation made it possible to establish that within the steppe and dry-steppe zones of the studied region, anthropogenically transformed natural-territorial complexes (NTC) take place in almost all identified types of landscapes and occupy 51.2 and 42.6 % of the NTC area in ​​these zones. Within the natural complexes of semi-arid and arid natural zones, 29.9 and 23.2 % of their area are anthropogenically transformed. On the basis of the regional assessment of the modern landscape structure, environmental standards for anthropogenic loads and approaches to organizing a system of rational environmental management, aimed at the sustainable functioning of natural and economic systems, are developed.

Helechos y licofitas del sudeste del Sistema de Tandilia (Buenos Aires, Argentina): composición, afinidad biogeográfica y patrones de diversidad ecológica

Background and aims: The Tandilia system is a fundamental refuge for a highly diverse biota throughout the wide climatic variability of the mid-late Cenozoic that affected the Pampean steppe, especially for fern and lycophyte flora. The geology and proximity to the sea in the southeast of the Tandilia system raise questions about the composition and biogeographical affinities of the fern and lycophyte flora. Furthermore, given the anthropogenic landscape transformation, it is necessary to inventory the status of the frequency and microenvironments in which these species develop. Thus, we present an inventory and frequency of ferns and lycophytes of the southeast of Tandilia associated with different microenvironments and biogeographical affinity and develop a dichotomous key for the area. M&M: We collected fern and lycophyte between 2006 and 2024 in Balcarce and General Pueyrredon hill ranges and they were compared with those fern and lycophyte flora from Ventania and Tandilia. Results: This study shows that 51% of the ferns and licophytes reported at Tandilia rangeland System develope in the southeastern of Tandilia. An increase of AustroBrazilian elements and decrease of Austral-Antarctic elements were observed, linked to latitudinal and biogeographical aspects. Adaptive traits related to a water availability gradient and different microenvironments were established. Eight species were cataloged as rare due to their low frequency. Conclusions: The results highlight the need to plan conservation areas for the fern and lycophyte flora of the Tandilia mountain system.