Types Of Human Impact Research Articles

Гістологічна структура зябер карася сріблястого річки Самара Дніпропетровської області

Purpose. To study the histological structure of the gill apparatus of the Prussian carp (Сarassius gibelio) from the point of view of the presence of pathologies with differentiation according to areas with different levels of anthropogenic pressure of the Samara River in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Methodology. The generalized sutdy results were obtained during 2019–2021. The study was conducted within three sampling sites with different types of human impact. The object of the study were age-6 Prussian carps of both sexes. Histological studies were performed in accordance with generally accepted methods. Gills were obtained by anatomical dissection from freshly caught fish. Photographs of histological specimens were taken using a digital camera “SciencelabT5005.17M” and an microscope “Ulab XY-B2TLED”. Measurements of the samples were performed using the “ScienceLabView7”. Statistical processing of the obtained data was carried out in MS Excel 2010. Findings. The conducted histological studies showed that pathological changes in the structure of the gill apparatus were observed in age-6 Prussian carps in all sampling sites of the Samara River. In particular, such pathologies as curvature of lamellae terminals, accumulation of mucus and hyperplasia of the epithelium of gill filaments, fusion of lamellae were found. Single cases of necrosis and twisting of lamellae threads were recorded. Most often, histopathological changes in the gill apparatus were observed in fish caught near the city Novomoskovsk. Organometric studies showed that there was no significant difference between the length and width of gill arches of Prussian carp from different sampling sites. The length and width of the lamellae of the gill apparatus was the largest in individuals sampled near the city Novomoskovsk, which may indicate a greater need for oxygen for the fish body in the specified area. The length of the respiratory lamellae was the lowest in Prissian carp sampled near the village of Novoselivka. The lowest width of the lamellae were found in fish from the village of Khashcheve. The obtained data give reason to conclude that the conditions of existence for Prussian carp are most favorable near the village of Novoselivka. Originality. For the first time the histological structure and pathology of the gills aparatus of Prussian carp in the conditions of the Samara River in the Dnipropetrovsk region was studied. Practical value. The obtained data on the histological changes of the gill apparatus of fish can be used to identify adaptive reactions, will allow assessing the impact of anthropogenic factors on hydrobionts, and will also provide the opportunity to monitor the morpho-physiological state of a specific population under the impact of pollutants of various origins. Key words: Prussian carp, gill apparatus, morphological and histological indicators.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM OF SMALL RIVERS PROTECTION IN ZHYTOMYR POLISSYA

The article is devoted to the study of the complex problems of the preservation of small rivers. Three main aspects of the environmental impact associated with them are considered: disruption of the water balance, reduction of water quality, and reduction of biotic and landscape diversity in the river valley. The study aims to characterize the main types of human impact on the small rivers of Zhytomyr Polissia. To achieve the goal, the following tasks were set: determine the main types of anthropogenic impact on small rivers of Zhytomyr Polissia; to determine the direct and indirect consequences of certain types of anthropogenic impact on small rivers of Zhytomyr Polissia; develop proposals for algorithms for solving the problems of small rivers of Zhytomyr Polissia.
 The article is based on the materials of the survey of the ecosystem structure of small rivers of Zhytomyr Polissia and its southern outskirts. Examples of the conservation plan for the catchment area of the «Gudyucha krynytsia» natural spring and the section of the Uzh River in the city center of Korosten are given. According to the results of the survey of the state of small rivers, we will summarize their main problems into three groups: low and unstable water flow, eutrophication and siltation, and degradation of river valley landscapes. The low filling of rivers with water and its unstable level is caused by the specifics of climate changes, natural mechanisms of water accumulation, distribution, and flow, and the activity of natural sources. Natural safeguards could weaken the problems of small rivers: swamp-forest complexes and natural springs near the sources of rivers, a high share of forest ecosystems of the upper part of the river basin, preservation of floodplain forests of the first floodplain terrace of the upper reaches and natural riparian forests and floodplain meadows of the lower reaches, as well as the integrity of the natural vegetation cover of most of the river valley. In order to stabilize the supply of water from natural sources to the river, the territories of their catchment should be transformed into objects of the nature reserve fund. When the spring is located within the boundaries of the settlement, it is advisable to grant it the status of a natural monument of local importance. When it is outside its borders, it should be given the status of a hydrological reserve.

Assessing Changes in Boreal Vegetation of Kola Peninsula via Large-Scale Land Cover Classification between 1985 and 2021

The effective monitoring of boreal and tundra vegetation at different scales and environmental management at latitudes above 50 degrees North relies heavily on remote sensing. The vastness, remoteness and, in the case of Russia, the difficulty of access to boreal–tundra vegetation make it an ideal technique for vegetation monitoring in the Kola peninsula, located predominantly beyond the Arctic circle in the European part of Russia. Since the 1930s, this area has been highly urbanised and exposed to strong influence by a number of different types of human impact, such as toxic pollutions, fires, mineral excavation, grazing, logging, etc. Extensive open archives of remote sensing imagery as well as recent advances in machine learning further enable the efficient use of remote sensing methods for assessing land cover changes. Here, we present the results of mapping northern vegetation land cover and changes in it over a large territory, in time and under human impact based on remote imagery from Landsat TM, ETM+ and OLI. We study the area of about 37,000 km2 located in the central part of the Kola peninsula in the boreal, pre-tundra and tundra between 1985 and 2021 with a time interval of approximately 5 years and confirm the correlations between the human pressure and the level of vegetation changes. We put those into the perspective of year-on-year changes in the temperature and precipitation regimes and describe the recovery of the damaged original boreal vegetation (dominated by spruce) through pine and deciduous vegetation. As a by-product of this study, we develop and test an approach for the semi-automated processing and classification of Landsat images using the novel TensorFlow machine learning technique (widely spread across other disciplines) that enables high-throughput classification, even on conventional hardware.

Regional Drought Conditions Control Quercus brantii Lindl. Growth within Contrasting Forest Stands in the Central Zagros Mountains, Iran

The magnitude and duration of ongoing global warming affects tree growth, especially in semi-arid forest landscapes, which are typically dominated by a few adapted tree species. We investigated the effect of climatic control on the tree growth of Persian oak (Quercus brantii Lindl.), which is a dominant species in the Central Zagros Mountains of western Iran. A total of 48 stem discs was analyzed from trees at three sites, differing in local site and stand conditions (1326 to 1704 m a.s.l.), as well as the level and type of human impact (high human intervention for the silvopastoral site, moderate for the agroforestry site, and low for the forest site). We used principal component analysis (PCA) to investigate the common climatic signals of precipitation, air temperature, and drought (represented by SPEI 1 to 48 months) across the site chronologies. PC1 explains 83% of the total variance, indicating a dominant common growth response to regional climatic conditions that is independent of the local environmental conditions (i.e., forest stand density and land-use type). Growth–climate response analyses revealed that the radial growth of Q. brantii is positively affected by water availability during the growing season (r = 0.39, p < 0.01). Precipitation during April and May has played an ever-important role in oak growth in recent decades. Our study provides evidence that hydroclimatic conditions control tree-ring formation in this region, dominating the effects of topography and human impact. This finding highlights the great potential for combining historical oak samples and living trees from different forest stands in order to generate multi-centennial tree-ring-based hydroclimate reconstructions.

Оцінка ефективності вилучення розчинених у воді нафтопродуктів переробленими відходами полімерної упаковки в середовищі рослинних ПАР

Оцінка ефективності вилучення розчинених у воді нафтопродуктів переробленими відходами полімерної упаковки в середовищі рослинних ПАР

Greenhouse gas emission from the cold soils of Eurasia in natural settings and under human impact: Controls on spatial variability

The annual balance of biogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs; carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O)) in the atmosphere is well studied. However, the contributions of specific natural land sources and sinks remain unclear, and the effect of different human land use activities is understudied. A simple way to do this is to evaluate GHG soil emissions. For CO2, it usually comprises 60–75% of gross respiration in natural terrestrial ecosystems, while local human impact can increase this share to almost 100%. Permafrost-affected soils occupying 15% of the land surface mostly in the Eurasia and North America contain approximately 25% of the total terrestrial carbon. The biogenic GHG soil emissions from permafrost are 5% of the global total, which makes these soils extremely important in the warming world. Measurements of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide, from eighteen locations in the Arctic and Siberian permafrost, across tundra, steppe, and north taiga domains of Russia and Svalbard, were conducted from August to September during 2014–2017 in 37 biotopes representing natural conditions and different types of human impact. We demonstrate that land use caused significant alteration in soil emission and net fluxes of GHGs compared to natural rates, regardless of the type and duration of human impact and the ecosystem type. The cumulative effect of land use factors very likely supported an additional net-source of CO2 into the atmosphere because of residual microbial respiration in soil after the destruction of vegetation and primary production under anthropogenic influence. Local drainage effects were more significant for methane emission. In general, land use factors enforced soil emission and net-sources of CO2 and N2O and weakened methane sources. Despite the extended heat supply, high aridity caused significantly lower emissions of methane and nitrous oxide in ultra-continental Siberian permafrost soils. However, these climatic features support higher soil CO2 emission rates, in spite of dryness, owing to the larger phytomass storage, presence of tree canopies, thicker active layer, and greater expressed soil fissuring. Furthermore, the “Birch effect” was much less expressed in ultra-continental permafrost soils than in permafrost-free European soils. Models and field observations demonstrated that the areal human footprint on soil CO2 fluxes could be comparable to the effect of climate change within a similar timeframe. Settlements and industrial areas in the tundra function as year-round net CO2 sources, mostly owing to the lack of vegetation cover. As a result, they could compensate for the natural C-balance on significantly larger areas of surrounding tundra.

Human impact in the Tatra Mountains

Human activity is one of the three main drivers of environmental changes in the mountains. Its influence on mountain natural environment is characterized by great spatiotemporal diversity. In the Tatras human impact started in the 12th-13th centuries and was related to mining and animal grazing, followed by metallurgy in the 18th century. These activities developed in the 15th-16th and with the climax in the 18th-19th, except for the animal grazing which continued till the 1960s-1970s. Since the second half of the 19th century tourism developed intensively. More than 3 million people per year visit the Polish part of the Tatras nowadays.Human activities, prior to tourism, were accompanied by a strong forest and dwarf pine shrubs extraction. They affected mainly relief and vegetation cover. Erosion in the slopes was triggered or intensified after deterioration of vegetation cover by grazing. Anthropogenic landforms like pits, mine roads, mine channels are still recognizable in landscape. Lowering of the upper forest and dwarf pine limits and changing of a natural structure of the forest into a monoculture are among the main influences on vegetation. Indirect effects of the changed forest structure are problems with bark beetles and windthrows. The later have been strongly affecting slope morphodynamics. Tourism-related impact manifest in gradual anthropogenic erosion along hiking trails. It is the major type of human impact n the Tatras now. The historical human impact until the 1960s-1970s was indeed spatial in nature. Currently, it is of a linear character or point-focused, and is relatively constant regarding particular locations.

Early vegetation succession on gravel bars of Czech Carpathian streams

Rivers with a natural flooding regime and gravel accumulations are an important natural habitat endangered by regulations and other types of human impact. Succession after disturbances by floods creates a mosaic of different vegetation types, some of them containing rare specialist species. We studied vegetation succession and changes in plant diversity on river gravel bars of four streams in the Western Carpathians and their foothills in the eastern Czech Republic. This area experienced extreme 50-year flood event in May 2010. Gravel bar vegetation was destroyed, some of the former bars were covered by sediments, and some new bars arose. We sampled gravel bar vegetation two months after the floods and repeated the sampling on each site during the next three years. Initial vegetation has developed through a sparse and species-rich stage into denser stands with more shade-tolerant species. In the fourth year, tall herbs, such as Urtica dioica, Phalaris arundinacea and the alien Impatiens glandulifera, dominated the communities, but shrub vegetation started to develop only in a few places. Species capable of vegetative dispersal prevailed over species dispersed by seeds only. Altitude and size of gravel/stone particles were identified as important factors affecting vegetation succession. The succession ran faster on gravelly substrates at lower altitudes than on stony substrates at higher altitudes. Although the studied streams are partly influenced by human interventions and host only few gravel bar specialists, they are of considerable conservation importance.

Human impact and geomorphic change through time in the Sudetes, Central Europe

The paper provides an overview of various types of human impact on the geomorphic system in the Sudetes. The article sets the landform change in the temporal and spatial context and addresses the issue of persistence of landforms and other changes brought about by humans. This is discussed on the example of four representative case studies, reflecting both heterogeneity of the Sudetes and different levels of recognition of human – environment interactions during historical times. We discuss the direct and indirect geomorphic effects of human activities such as agriculture, ore and coal mining, quarrying, forestry and tourism, and the themes explored are soil and gully erosion, slope terracing, impact of quarrying, mining and road building, alteration of fluvial systems, and sedimentary record. In the Sudetes human impact started to play an increasing role in modifying geomorphic system since the 13–14th century but the trend was not linear, with periods of decreasing human impact, especially from the mid-20th century when many areas were abandoned. The persistence of human imprint in the Sudetes varies and is related to the type of activity and the size of anthropic landforms rather than to time elapsed since the activity ceased or the landform was created. The most altered geomorphic environments include areas subject to intense mining, bare, unprotected agricultural slopes, terraced slopes, and valley floors, which are “hot spots” of human impact. While mining left the most obvious legacy, the impact of agriculture was most widespread.

Evaluation of heavy metal pollution in bogs of Tomsk region on change in biogeochemical activity of ericaceous shrubs

The article discusses the change in biogeochemical activity of plant species in bogs under the influence of various types of human impact (roads, cities, drainage of mires, fire). It has been established that ericaceous shrubs, depending on the species, react with varying degrees of intensity to anthropogenic influences. The biogeochemical activity of species increased by 2.5 to 4.8 times in polluted sites.

Human footprints on greenhouse gas fluxes in cryogenic ecosystems

Various human footprints on the flux of biogenic greenhouse gases from permafrost-affected soils in Arctic and boreal domains in Russia are considered. Tendencies of significant growth or suppression of soil CO2 fluxes change across types of human impact. Overall, the human impacts increase the mean value and variance of local soil CO2 flux. Human footprint on methane exchange between soil and atmosphere is mediated by drainage. However, all the types of human impact suppress the sources and increase sinks of methane to the land ecosystems. N2O flux grew under the considered types of human impact. Based on the results, we suggest that human footprint on soil greenhouse gases fluxes is comparable to the effect of climate change at an annual to decadal timescales.

Tree bark as a bioindicator of the presence of scandium, yttrium and lanthanum in urban environments

Although rare earth elements (REEs) are important in modern industry, few processes use them, so the possibility of these elements being dispersed in the environment is small. For this reason, there are few studies on their presence in urban environments. REEs exhibit similar chemical properties, and Group 3 elements may be used as indicators of the presence of other REEs in the environment. Tree bark is a suitable collector of airborne trace elements and has been successfully used as a bioindicator. In this study, samples of holm oak bark were collected from three sampling sites subjected to different anthropic pressures (one area is far from human influence, while the other two sites are urban areas characterized by different types of human impact). The reference area is significantly different from urban areas where the concentrations measured are up to 5 times higher (Y) than the reference area. The differences between the two urban areas are also significant. The presence of industrial activities causes a 50% higher exposition of the population with respect to an urban area where only residential activities are present. In the case of La, there is no significant difference between the reference and the residential areas, while the industries are responsible for higher La concentrations (0.9 μg g−1vs. 0.4–0.6 μg g−1). The availability of samples, due to the wide distribution of trees in urban environments, makes possible the production of maps indicating the sources of these elements and highlighting areas which are critical for certain atmospheric pollutants.

HUMAN-INDUCED EXODYNAMIC PROCESSES IN REGIONAL GEOMORPHOLOGICAL SYSTEMS OF THE EASTERN GERMANY (PAPER 2. REGIONAL EXODYNAMIC ANALYSIS)

Natural factors in exogenous processes within the territory under consideration are analyzed. The assessment scale of land surface degradation under different types of human impact is developed. The scale is used as a basis of legend for the map of ecologic-geomorphologic regionalization. Landscape-basin analysis shows the diversity of me-sobasins with regard to species composition of the landscape. The lithologic-morphologic structure of the territory is the main factor in this diversity.

People and pines 1555–1910: integrating ecology, history and archaeology to assess long-term resource use in northern Fennoscandia

Past human land use has received increasing attention as an important driver of ecosystem change also in seemingly natural landscapes. Quantification of historical land use is therefore critical for assessing the degree of human impact and requires integration of ecology, history and archaeology. This study aims to assess and compare levels of resource use by different actors during 355 years across a large landscape of northern Sweden. Data on resource use derived from case studies were extrapolated using demographic data to estimate harvested resources at the landscape scale. Here, we examined the use of the key-specie Scots pine by native Sami peoples and farmers and through commercial logging, and reconstructed historical forest conditions in order to interpret harvest levels and sustainability. We show that (1) the pre-industrial use of Scots pine resources in Pite Lappmark was sustainable from a landscape perspective, and (2) that the early commercial logging, in contrast, was not sustainable. Large and old Scots pine trees were logged at a very high rate, reaching up to 300 % of the annual ingrowth. We suggest that historical landscape studies should incorporate analysis at different spatial scales, as such an approach can mirror the overall use of resources. Only then can land use data be applied across larger spatial scales, function as reference values and be compared to those of other regions, time-periods and types of human impact.

From pollen percentage to regional vegetation cover — A new insight into cultural landscape development in western Norway

The REVEALS (Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites) model was applied to a pollen dataset from a large lake in western Norway to reconstruct the vegetation cover throughout the last c. 11,400years. The reconstructions, based on 18 common taxa, show development of a forested landscape until c. 5600calyr BP, followed by several phases of opening and reforestation, probably connected to variation in the intensity and type of human impact. From c. 5600calyr BP (Early Neolithic) to c. 3200calyr BP (Early Bronze Age), a general increase in openness takes place, with increased deforestation c. 4300 and 4000calyr BP. More extensive forest clearances are seen at 2750calyr BP (Late Bronze Age) and 1800calyr BP (Roman Iron Age). Reforestation is recognised at c. 5400, 4100, 3600, 2900, 1900, 1200, 700 and 300calyr BP. Calluna is present in the vegetation both in the Mesolithic and the Neolithic, and heathland expansion is inferred to take place in the Late Bronze Age, with further expansion c. 1800 and 950calyr BP, probably reflecting increased use of outfield resources at the expense of grasslands. Forest disturbance and grazing are inferred to have taken place from 5600calyr BP, and communities comparable to historical time periods have existed from 2750calyr BP. An expansion in the area used for cereal cultivation probably took place in the Roman Iron Age. In the last century, from c. 1920, an expansion of conifers takes place, and Picea shows a strong increase during the last twenty years. Changes in both forest composition and land-cover are more clearly reflected with the REVEALS model than from the pollen percentage diagram, and the probability of presence of taxa within the region is demonstrated. REVEALS modelling combined with archaeological data is recommended as an approach to gain increased knowledge about land-cover changes through time.

The influence of mining production wastewater on zooplankton community in Belaya Bay of Lake Imandra

Structural features of zooplankton community in Belaya Bay of Lake Imandra, exposed to a long-term influence of wastewater from apatite-nepheline production, are revealed, and the assessment of current environmental state is given for this part of the water body. The obtained results complete the knowledge of hydrobionts response to mining production wastewater, and open up an opportunity for using zooplankton as a reliable indicator of the given type of human impact.

Subtle human impacts on neutral genetic diversity and spatial patterns of genetic variation in European beech (Fagus sylvatica)

We aim to understand the role of past and ongoing anthropogenic impacts on genetic variation patterns at different spatial scales for the dominant tree species European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in Germany, a densely populated country with a long history of multiple human impacts on forests. Different types of human impact have likely influenced genetic variation patterns in beech: e.g. forest degradation and loss of forest cover over long time periods, intensive management and climate change. Former studies found generally high genetic diversity in European beech and indicated, based on limited sample sizes and few markers, no negative effects of management on genetic diversity. We investigated 30 beech stands with different management history located in three widely separated regions in Germany at six genomic and three gene-based microsatellite markers. High genetic diversity was found, but diversity levels were significantly different among regions. Genetic differentiation among stands and regions was generally low, but significant for most comparisons. The region in southern Germany was strongly differentiated from the other regions presumably due to different postglacial recolonization histories. Recent management activities had no significant impact on genetic diversity parameters but reduced small-scale spatial genetic structures (SGS) within stands. Long generation times, large effective population sizes, efficient gene flow and predominance of natural regeneration contributed to the maintenance of high genetic diversity throughout the Central European distribution of beech. Genetic diversity patterns of beech are remarkably unaffected by human impact although forested landscapes were strongly shaped by man for centuries.

Дискретно-непрерывная модель в задаче анализа критического уровня эксплуатации биоресурсов

The article deals with the model developed in the framework of the research on the problem of replenishment of fish populations. A new approach takes into account the peculiarities of describing the changes in the number of generations by the system of ordinary differential equations. The method of models implementation in computing environment enables the simulation of various types of human impact, including the case of introduction of the new species to the environment. The author analyzes the behavior of scenarios of a population model with different levels of fishing impact and concludes the most dangerous case for the systematic management of bioresources. Examples and compared data on the dynamics of some commercial fish populations of the Volga basin are discussed. It is noted that a dangerous scenario for managing the bioresources is realized with continued slight excess of quotas.

Landscape and vegetation study as a backgroud for complex nature protection proposal in the upper Płonia R. valley (Western Pomerania)

The differentiation of vegetation and flora of the upper Płonia R. valley in Western Pomerania was discussed in relation to distribution of components of natural environment. Causes of landscape transformation and direct types of human impact on vegetation were analysed. The obtained results have shown trends in the transformation of the valley's landscape, which can be summarised as a continuous change from anthropogenic agricultural landscape to a more natural one. It was concluded, that uncontrolled continuation of the recorded processes will lead, among others, to the decrease in biodiversity. For that reason a proposal for integrated landscape and nature management has been elaborated. It combines classical methods of protection (establishment of protected areas) with administrative and managerial measures, such as active management of biotopes outside the reserves and co-operation with non-profit organisations, in achieving protection goals at the scale of the whole landscape.

Analysis of human impact on boreal vegetation around Monchegorsk, Kola peninsula, using automated remote sensing technique

ABSTRACTThe boreal vegetation of the sub-Arctic comprises more than 30% of the Earth's forest area and plays a major role in controlling the global environment. In the 20th century the boreal vegetation of Fennoscandia was significantly changed by heavy industrialisation leaving many forest areas damaged or dying. Due to severe climate conditions of the sub-Arctic such vegetation changes are traceable over long periods of time. This provides an opportunity to study all types of human impact on vegetation in time and to develop methods to monitor geographical and structural changes in the vegetation cover. Here we present the first part of a larger study in which we use the remote sensing technique to investigate the dynamics of the boreal vegetation in Fennoscandia in context of human impact. We have developed a novel method for an automated analysis and mapping of vegetation and of all types of human impact based on a single support-vector-machines classifier (for the whole area). Implemented with free and open source software the method uses Landsat TM and ETM+ band data (for which it automatically performs atmospheric correction) and a number of indices like NDVI, NBR, etc. The accuracy of the 16-class classification has been assessed using field data and literature sources and determined to be 74.1%. The method has been successfully applied to a study area around Monchegorsk, Kola peninsula, Russia, the most industrialised part of northern Europe. We have characterised all major types of human impact on the boreal forest and tundra vegetation performing the change detection analysis in an area of 1750 km2 between 1986 and 2005. The analysis has confirmed industrial atmospheric pollutions as the primary type of human impact here. We have discussed the role of forest fires and uncovered temporal trends in the vegetation cover. We have found that during the 19 years covered by the study more than one third of all coniferous forest in the area was transformed primarily to wetland, deciduous forest and typical tundra vegetation. The success of the method in this area allows us to extend the study to the rest of Fennoscandia and look at large scale changes in the boreal vegetation cover.