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While recounting Noah's story, the Qurʾān refers to a strange narrative motif : an oven (tannūr) from which some water overflows. Insofar as such a motif is hardly explained by the text, it has been and continues to be an issue for the reader. Muslim scholars, who were the first to deal with the Qurʾān, noted the difficulty and tried to solve it by relying on semantics and providing various etiological accounts. Centuries later, orientalists believed they had found the key to this enigma in the rabbinic heritage. But as early as 1867, by publishing his edition of an Arabic catena, Paul de Lagarde drew the attention of the academic world to fragments attributed to Hippolytus of Rome mentioning, in Noah's story, an overflowing oven. For several reasons, it was not until 1995 that a connection was explicitly made between these fragments and the Qurʾan. In the following study, we will pursue this line of research and try to determine the relationship of these fragments to the quranic statement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The cyanobacterial-algal flora of the mountain systems in Siberia is still relatively poorly studied. Furthermore, there is a lack of research on the characteristics of its formation within mountain catena. The purpose of this study is to research the peculiarities of the formation of cyanobacterial-algal flora within mountain catena. Materials and methods. The research was conducted during the period of 2011–2013 in the vicinity of the village of Karam in the Kazachinsko-Lensky district of Irkutsk region, located within the North Baikal and Patom Highlands. In this area, a catena, approximately 600 meters long, has been identified. In the transeluvial part of the catena, there are outcrops of the parent rock as well as stony deposits. In the accumulative section, the micro-relief is almost not expressed, with well-defined two sinuosity – windward and lee. Sample collection was carried out according to the standard algological methodology. The flora analysis was conducted considering species and infraspecific taxa, using the Czekanowski-Sorensen coefficient and inclusion measures. Results. In total of 61 species (69 species and infraspecific taxa) of algae and cyanobacteria belonging to 6 divisions, 12 orders, 21 families, and 33 genera were found in the soils of the studied profile. A high percentage of the number of species within the top ten leading families indicates the boreal nature of the flora. The analysis of the flora indicated the allochthonous nature of the flora in the accumulated section of the catena and the autochthony of the flora in the transeluvial part. Conclusions.The catena, as a geochemical drainage basin, with varying ecological conditions in its individual sections, significantly influences the formation of cyanobacterial-algal flora.

ABSTRACT The term toposequence, proposed to designate a lateral succession of soils on a slope due to the influence of topography, began to be used differently over time, distancing itself from its original concept. Here, we discuss how this concept has been used since its inception. We carried out bibliometric analyses of publications in the database available on the Web of Science since 1900. Three main approaches and related concepts, explicit or not, one at a regional scale and two others at a local scale were identified. From this analysis, we suggest: a) when the approach is regional, the term geomorphic surface or position in the landscape should be used to address the spatial distribution and genetic implications of soils at this scale; b) when dealing with series/sequences of soils on slopes for mapping purposes or discontinuous profiles that emphasize taxonomic classification, the term catena should be used; c) when the determining factor of the soil sequence is climatic, biotic, lithological, chronological, the corresponding term climo-, bio-, litho- or chronosequence should be used; d) when dealing with a lateral succession of horizons in the continuum on slopes, resulting from the influence of topography on soil formation, which may reflect the soil contribution to the model evolution, only in this case should the term toposequence be used, returning to its original concept.

Four of the witnesses selected for the Editio Critica Maior of Mark are witnesses to a unique combination of catena commentaries on the Gospels not found in any other manuscripts. An analysis of their text in the Gospel of Mark, using the tools of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method, shows that they also feature an almost identical form of the biblical text that frequently diverges from both the Majority Text and all other Greek New Testament manuscripts. These four manuscripts, GA 238, GA 377, GA 807 and GA 1160, therefore, constitute a group within the textual tradition of the Gospels. This article provides the evidence that GA 377 is a direct copy of GA 807. No other instances of direct copying can be proven within the group, but their agreement raises the possibility that they are siblings. The format of the catenae may explain the high degree of homogeneity in this group of Gospels manuscripts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil characteristics and processes are governed by soil formation factors. This study aimed to assess the influence of geomorphological units and related criteria of soil parent material and topographic feature on soil properties and formation in Wadi El-Ashara, Egypt. The impact of bedrock catenas and slope position as geomorphic criteria on soil properties was investigated in Wadi El-Ashara, West of Suez Canal. The obtained results were utilized to investigate variations in the existing diagnostic criteria of the World Reference Base (WRB) and USDA Soil Taxonomy schemes. To reach these objectives, ten soil pedons were characterized across two distinct catenas in Wadi El-Ashara. The study's findings revealed that soil salinity increased downslope on piedmont and basin floor landforms. The summit positions of two catenas have weakly developed soils, but the midslope and downslope positions have more developed soils because the stable topography permits the formation of gypsic, calcic, sodic, and salic horizons. By the USDA system, soils of limestone catena were classified as Lithic Torripsamments and Lithic Torriorthents at the upslope positions, Sodic Haplocalcids at the midslope position, and Typic Torriorthents and Typic Haplocalcids at downslope position. The soils at the toeslope of the limestone catena were grouped as Solonchaks by the WRB system, since the salinity fits the requirements of salic horizon in the WRB system, but did not fit according to the USDA system, which should be standardized. This feature strongly influences soil classification and soil types across the studied two catenas. Furthermore, the soils of uppermost areas of gypsum catena (summit and shoulder) were classified as Lithic Torriorthents and Leptic Haplogypsids according to USDA system instead of Leptosols and Gypsisols by the WRB system while soils in the backslope and footslope, with secondary gypsum accumulations, were categorized as Typic Haplogypsids by USDA system and Gypsisols by WRB system. Topography across slope positions induced differences in soil depth, soil texture, water retention, soil salinity, horizonation, and morphology of studied soils from the summit to the toeslope along both catenas. According to the study's conclusions, the current versions of the WRB and USDA systems have shortcomings that necessitate standardization in order to improve these systems and develop a uniform classification method. Parent material and topography across distinct slope positions were identified as the two primary soil-forming factors influencing soil properties in the two examined catenas at Wadi El-Ashara. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the Roman body chain (catena), which comprises two long lengths of woven gold chain worn crisscrossing the torso. Roman illustrations of women wearing catenae demonstrate that the form carried strongly erotic connotations relating to the goddess Venus and female sensuality. A small corpus of preserved body chains from the Vesuvian region testifies to their actual use by women in the first centuries BC and AD. This study examines the status of the women who wore such jewellery, which combined clear economic expense with erotic messaging. In opposition to claims that the sexual nature of body chains signals their association with prostitutes, it is argued here that visual and textual sources contemporaneous with the Vesuvian chains point to women of “respectable” social categories having both the freedom and incentive to express a confident sexual identity. Important archaeological evidence offers further indications for the ownership and use of catenae by Roman women of varying status. The potential meanings and motivations underlying the shared use of this symbolic form of adornment are also addressed. On cover: Late Roman wall, the portion immediately south of the West Gate (Porta Oea) with re-used blocks from first-century mausolea (Drawing by Francesca Bigi) and Tombstone of Regina from South Shields (Arbeia) (Tyne and WearArchives and Museums/ Bridgeman Images). E-ISSN (online version) 2611-3686 ISSN (print version) 0065-0900

Objectives: Reverse transcription and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) based on the SARSCoV-2 viral RNA demonstration is the gold standard in diagnosis. Data files obtained from PCR devices should be analysed by a specialist physician and results should be transferred to Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). CAtenA Smart PCR (Ventura, Ankara, Türkiye) program is a local bioinformatics software that assess PCR data files with artificial intelligence, submits to expert approval and transfers the approved results to LIMS. The aim of this study is to investigate its accuracy and matching success rate with expert analysis. Methods: A total of 9400 RT-qPCR test results studied in Ankara Provincial Health Directorate Public Health Molecular Diagnosis Laboratory were compared with respect to expert evaluation and CAtenA results. Results: It was determined that the preliminary evaluation results of the CAtenA matched 86% of the negative and 90% of the positive results provided by expert analysis. 987 tests which CAtenA determined as inconclusive and suggested repeating PCR were found either negative or positive by expert analysis. A significant difference between positive and negative matching success rates and artificial intelligence (AI) based software overall accuracy was found and associated with the missed tests of the AI. Conclusions: As a result, it was suggested there is a low risk of confirming false positive results without expert analysis and test repetitions would cause losing time along with extra test costs. It was agreed that the PCR analysis used in CAtenA should be improved particularly in terms of test repetitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology / Yingyong Shengtai Xuebao is the property of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Two Greek gospel manuscripts with an exegetical commentary in catena form present a text of Mark which ends in the middle of Mark 16.8. One is GA 304, a twelfth-century codex which is often adduced as a witness to the Short Ending. The other is the eleventh-century GA 239, which has not previously featured in discussions of the conclusion of Mark. In each case, it is shown that considerations of scribal practice, codicology and the broader traditions of text and catena mean that neither witness should be treated as evidence for the Short Ending as found in Codices Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest litter is an important component of taiga ecosystems. Transformations of its parameters, including changes in chemical composition, are of utmost scientific interest due to the high spatial variability of litter even within the same forest type. The purpose of this study is to examine concentrations of macro- and microelements in forest litter and identify patterns in their changes at two levels: (1) the elementary geochemical landscape (EGCL) and (2) the plant microgroup (PMG). The field studies are conducted in the Kivach State Nature Reserve located in the middle taiga subzone of eastern Fennoscandia (Republic of Karelia). A landscape–geochemical catena is established on a smooth slope of an esker ridge in a pine habitat formed on sandy fluvioglacial deposits. The total content of mobile forms of macro- (K, Mg, and Ca) and microelements (Mn, Zn, and Cu) in forest litter subhorizons is analyzed. The results indicate that concentrations of K, Mn, Zn, and Cu vary significantly at all studied structural–functional levels of territorial organization. Concentrations of Mg and Ca vary less significantly. An analysis of variance applied to the data show that the effect of the selected factors (EGCL and PMG) on changes in concentrations of most macro- and microelements is statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05). The dynamics of most of the studied elements can be described with a high degree of reliability (R2) by a second-order polynomial curve. An inverse linear correlation between the concentration and location in the EGCL system is identified only for potassium. On watersheds (eluvial EGCLs) and upper slopes (transeluvial EGCLs), the forest litter is distinguished by the accumulation of potassium, magnesium, zinc, and copper compared to subordinate (transaccumulative and accumulative) EGCLs. A different pattern is identified for calcium and manganese: their maximum concentrations are typical for forest litter underlain by soils formed on slopes under transit conditions, and the high content of these elements is determined primarily by their high concentrations in the predominant plant species: European blueberry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Revisiting my research project from 19 years ago, which deals with notions of integrity in architectural creative processes, this article reflects upon the underlying techniques of forms of spatial writing, as part of my ongoing doctoral thesis work. I approach writing now as a process of ordering references and thoughts for inspection, in relation to the textile-like patterns that I created in the previous project and concluded with a licentiate thesis or halfway doctorate. To understand more about the differences between such textile writing versus the gathering of individual threads into the format of a book, I turn to, and use as my method, the medieval arts of memory, ars memoria, specifically with regard to books, textual systems such as catena and glosses, and illustrations, or bas-de-page. I use these formats as both an instruction for making and as a tool for a speculative evaluation of the result. In the center of this article is the question of how to create a book. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work was carried out to study the content and distribution of available for plants phosphorus in different types of floodplain soils along five catenas located in the upper and the middle Amur. It was found that the available for plants phosphorus forms in the soils of floodplains are influenced by the following factors: the structure of the river system, the type of floodplain, the type of vegetation cover, and soil-forming processes. During the long-term transportation of alluvium along the river bed, its hydrogenic weathering occurs with the release of phosphorus into river waters. In the absence of tributaries serving as additional sources of alluvium, the phosphorus content decreases downstream. More intense floodplain and alluvial processes in small floodplains provide renewal of the soil profile and replenishment of phosphorus reserves. In the soils under the birch forest, there is a significant accumulation of phosphorus, in comparison with the soils under meadow vegetation. The development of gley processes leads to active mobilization of phosphorus, but the long-term exposure leads to the depletion of its total reserves. The illimerization processes, initiated and developing when the floodplain hydrological regime of alluvial soils is changed to another one, promote the migration of iron oxides and phosphorus, adsorbed by the former, beyond the soil profile. To summarize, the average content of available for plants phosphorus, depending on the type of soil, decreases downstream from 300–100 mg/kg in the upper Amur to 170–20 mg/kg in the middle Amur. Available for plants of phosphorus are best provided in primitive alluvial layered soils, while in residual floodplain brunezems the lowest content is recorded.

Earlier scholarship faced a number of limitations in classifying catena manuscripts on the Acts of the Apostles. This study makes a comparison of exegetical scholia in selected text passages (Acts 2:1–16, 8:9–25, 28:19–31) in order to determine the different types of catena and how they relate to each other. This survey reveals the diversity of the tradition: some manuscripts are merely copies, which repeat the same text with only small variations, but others are unique and cannot be directly identified with a particular catena type. It is therefore necessary to expand the classification of catenae on Acts in the Clavis Patrum Graecorum so as to mark subdivisions within the individual types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several Greek catena manuscripts preserve material from Jubilees, offering valuable witness to the largely lost Greek version of the book. Yet how did material from this Second Temple composition become part of a late ancient Christian anthology? This article interrogates the transmission of Jubilees material in catena manuscripts of Genesis. Rather than offering direct witness to Greek manuscripts of Jubilees, this material had already been appropriated and restructured before the compilers of catena manuscripts collected and reorganized it around the textual frame of Greek Genesis. Two conduits account for the availability of this material: the use of Jubilees among late ancient chronographers and a widespread genealogical tradition, derived from Jubilees, that names the wives of biblical patriarchs. In late antiquity, the Book of Jubilees often circulated not as a unified composition but as individual units which were assimilated into other structuring frameworks, whether the schemata of chronographers or the (margins of) the Greek Bible itself. The late ancient reception of Jubilees thus foreshadows the atomism of modern text-critical appropriations. The conclusions of this article invite similar exploration for other Second Temple texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial biomass and functional diversity of soil microbial communities in forest soils of the Belogor'e Nature Reserve and in arable soils formed under similar geomorphologic and lithological conditions were determined. We have analyzed the content of carbon of total microbial biomass (C–TMB), of the biomass of living microorganisms by the content of soil phospholipids (C–PL.), and of biomass of microbial cells capable of glucose assimilation (C–SIR). The respiratory response of the soil microbial community to the introduction of different groups of organic compounds-inductors (amino acids and carboxylic acids) was assessed by the method of multisubstrate testing (MST). It is shown that anthropogenic transformation of natural ecosystems results in a decrease in the total microbial biomass, biomass of living cells, and cells that give a respiratory response to glucose. The functional diversity of microbial communities in soils in natural and transformed ecosystems significantly differs. Soil plowing has resulted in a significant decrease in the ability of the soil microbial community to assimilate low-molecular organic compounds. This is most typical for amino acids: arginine, alanine, and glycine (a 2.7-, 5.4-, and 7.1-time decrease, respectively, as compared to native soils). Among carboxylic acids, the decrease in the respiratory response to the introduction of succinic acid is the most pronounced (8.7 times). It has been revealed that the geomorphologic position in natural ecosystems does not affect the biomass of the microbial community and its functional diversity, while the arable soils are characterized by a clear tendency to an increase in these parameters on the lower part of the slope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil erosion due to land use change is a major concern in agricultural areas. There is an urgent need to develop appropriate agricultural practices that promote higher biodiversity and improve soil properties. Little is known about the processes of natural vegetation recovery after disturbance by human activities in tropical humid climates. This is particularly the case for dispersion by water (hydrochory) that affects seeds. The displacement of native plant seeds on the soil surface by runoff may be influenced by soil properties and by the use of biochar in agriculture. As these effects have not been documented in tropical agroecosystems and on steep slopes, we present here an in‐field experiment on a steeply sloping maize field affected by rainfall and tillage erosion in Northern Thailand. Our objectives were to test the effect of catena position and biochar use on seed displacement, soil loss and nutrient losses. We used 24 plots of 1 m2 located at four positions in the catena. Two treatments were tested: (1) conventional system with tillage and (2) biochar incorporated into the soil. We measured the displacement of plastic beads (to imitate round seeds), runoff volume, soil and nutrient losses and soil surface features during in‐situ rainfall simulations. After two simulated rainfall events and four natural rainfall events, total bead exportation was 7.2%. We found that catena position and biochar had an impact on runoff, soil and nutrient losses. In this study, previously incorporated biochar reappeared at the soil surface after 8 months under natural conditions and acted like a crust at the soil surface. This biochar crust increased runoff, increased potassium concentration and decreased phosphorus concentration in runoff, decreased bead displacement and had no effect on soil loss. This study, under tropical climate and steep slope conditions, highlights differences in soil surface features and runoff along the catena. We should consider catena position for improving soil management and using appropriate agroecological practices. Highlights: The effect of catena position and biochar use on seed displacement, soil loss and nutrient losses were tested.These effects have not been documented in tropical agroecosystems and steep slopes.Catena position and biochar use had an impact on runoff, soil and nutrient losses.Catena position for improving soil management and using agroecological practices should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Western" order of the gospels—Matthew–John–Luke–Mark—is found in a few important ancient codices in both the Greek and the Latin tradition. Previous attempts to identify Greek minuscule manuscripts with this sequence have been inconclusive. This article presents five Greek minuscules which feature the gospels in the Western order. These five manuscripts, along with two Greek majuscules, contain the earliest form of the catena commentary on Matthew, John, and Luke. The analysis of these catenae reveals that the sequence of their composition is reflected in the codicology of these manuscripts, as well as non-standard orders of the gospels in other catena witnesses. It is therefore the presence of the commentary which explains the adoption of the Western order in seven of the eleven known occurrences in Greek. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human events respond to various motivations, which are not always taken into account when analyzing history. In a sacralized society such as that of the Modern Age, beliefs -sometimes unorthodox-are present in all areas of life. We present a brief selection of moments in Cieza's history, perhaps located in a secondary order, but full in terms of meaning, in which we can see how he looked at an ever-present past, while trying to ensure a future, especially that of the state of beatitude that was aspired to reach in the afterlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2022. Identification of domain complexes in the Danube Delta Coastal Belt using the Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS), based on interpretation of satellite imagery. Journal of Coastal Research, 38(1), 1–18. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS) was applied to the Danube Delta on the NW margin of the Black Sea to ascertain whether this method of classification was applicable to extensive low-lying and low-relief wetland coastalscapes. For organizational purposes, the coastal belt study area was broken into four previously recognized delta lobes (Kilia, Sulina, St. George II, and Cosna–Sinoie) and the Chituc Formation (beach ridge plain) because these provided distinctive coastal segments that were manageable for cross-shore classification. The village of Prymors'ke in the Lyman municipality of Ukraine and the onshore Chituc Formation beach ridge strandplain on the southern margin of the delta marked the northern- and southernmost extents of the Danubian classification effort, respectively. Codified cross-shore catenary sequences were based on the occurrence of recurring archetypes (i.e. Barrier, Beach, Beach Ridge, Delta, Developed, Lagoon, and Wetland) that had alongshore extent and could be identified as domains. Sub archetypes were also interpreted and added to the cross-shore sequences to further refine the Danube Delta classification. Because long cross-shore catenary sequences included inland biophysical and anthropogenic units that often differed dramatically from immediate onshore features, the conflated catenas were bifurcated into onshore (seaward) and inland (landward) domains, sections, or branches that were collectively referred to as domain complexes. Extension of cross-shore transects up to 20 km inland to incorporate all salient aspects of the delta provided useful subdivision of delta landscapes. Sixteen cross-shore transects were used to derive 12 domain complexes extending 167.5 km along the Danubian coastal belt that reached from the approximate latitudes of Prymors'ke, Ukraine, in the north to about Corbu in Romania to the south. Classification of the Danube Delta coastal belts showed that it is possible to apply the BCCS to large-area delta regions using extended cross-shore transects with bifurcated catenary sequences that together describe seaward (onshore) and landward (inland) sections of the delta in the form of domain complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Spatial and temporal patterns of past erosional events are a useful and needed information to explain observed soil patterns in different landscapes. Soil thickness reflects the overall expression of pedogenesis and erosion. Forested soils of Northern Germany exhibit varying soil thicknesses with thin soils on crest positions and buried soils at the footslope. The aim of this study is to reconstruct the complex soil mass redistribution and soil patterns of this forested area due to different periods of erosion and stability. Methods: We explored the explanatory power of both 10Be (in situ and meteoric) on a hillslope and we 14C-dated buried horizons at different depths. Results: The 10Be depth profiles did not show an exponential decrease with depth. They had a 'bulge' shape indicating clay translocation and interaction with oxyhydroxydes (meteoric 10Be), bioturbation and soil mass redistribution (in situ 10Be). The combined application of both 10Be and 14C dating revealed progressive and regressive phases of soil evolution. Although Melzower Forest is protected (same vegetation) since the past 250 years, both 10Be clearly indicated major soil mass redistribution along the investigated catena. Conclusion: A strong erosion impulse must have occurred between 4.5 and 6.8 kyr BP indicating an earlier human impact on soil erosion than previously postulated (~ 3 kyr earlier). Our findings correlate in fact with the first settlements reported for this region (~ 6.8 kyr BP) and show their immediate effect on soils. The overall soil redistribution rates in this forest are surprisingly similar to those obtained from a nearby agricultural area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores examines various types of bracketing paradoxes: classical "personal noun" constructions, parasynthetic compounds, agentive deverbal nouns, compound denominal adjectives, plural nouns with lexicalized modifiers, multiple auxiliary constructions, and German particle verb constructions.

Abstract Background The study area exhibits a first class catena; variation in soils is a result of differences in drainage and lateral movement of materials. The site was delineated into Soil Mapping Units (SMUs) through augering, into soils differing in macro relief. Slope categories included 0 to 5%, 5 to 8%, 8 to 16%, 16 to 30% and > 30%. Profile pits were opened in the five mapping units using stratified random sampling technique. Identified SMUs include UmIr/F, UmIr/E, UxIr/D, UxIr/C and UxIr/AB in order of decreasing slope gradient. Land suitability classification was based on the top horizons and the FAO 1976 criterion for land evaluation was used. The study aimed at identifying the most suitable areas for envisaging production of common crops grown in the area and limitations to production increase. A table of relevant land qualities and their diagnostic factors was constructed, rated and matched with suitability class-defining criteria to determine current suitability. Potential suitability was determined by considering the possibility of resolving the current limitations. Results Mapping unit UmIr/F and UmIr/E qualified as class S2 for the selected crops majorly due to limitations of workability and susceptibility to erosion based on their slope gradient. Nutrient availability and possibility of use of implements also rated as S2. Unit UxIr/D qualified in S2 category due to the same limitations. Mapping unit UxIr/C and UxIr/AB qualified in the S2 category due to limitations of nutrient availability. After improvements, all the mapping units qualified in class S1. Conclusions These observations indicate that workability and erosion susceptibility due to steep topography coupled with lack of enough nutrients are the greatest production limitations in the study area. Increasing slope gradient also led to decreasing possibility of use of farm implements. Terracing can reduce the deleterious influence of slope on soil quality, shifting suitability to a higher class, should the steep area be used for cultivation. There is a need for sufficient inputs and cover cropping to maintain high soil quality. Land evaluation should be part of good agricultural practices in any production system.

Andean highland ecosystems (known as paramos) have a great potential to store water and organic carbon, which fulfill the inherent functions associated to the regulation of carbon and water cycles, characteristics linked to their parent material (volcanic ash). However, paramos are at high risk of degradation associated with land use dynamics that affect organic carbon quality in the surface soil. Changes in vegetation cover, with transition from natural forest to tillage and then pasture, make the soil vulnerable to degradation by compaction, erosion, and carbon dioxide emissions associated with increased anthropogenic activity. Despite this cover change, information on soil carbon dynamics in paramos is scarce, impeding conservation management strategies in these ecosystems. This study evaluates the impact of different soil uses within a transect in the Guerrero paramo estimated from soil organic carbon (SOC) stock in the upper meter and carbon condition (expressed as stratification ratio, SR) in the surface soil. Carbon storage varied from 165.2 to 721.9 t ha−1 in the upper meter of soil with SR1 (0–10/10–20cm) between 0.92 and 2.01 and SR2 (0–10/20–30cm) between 0.99 and 2.05. Results of this study highlighted that in the fragile ecosystems than Andean paramos, the geomorphological position in relation to soil uses and management practices conditioned soil carbon availability, affecting pedogenetic processes. SR of SOC associated to anthropogenic intervention activities it does not indicate by itself C sequestration. In future researches it is necessary include additional parameters than net primary productivity and historic vegetation.

The Landscape Catenary Reflects The Role Of The Leading Geological-Geomorphological Factor. This Is Consistent With The Synergetic Principle Of Subordination (Haken's Principle). The Object Of The Study Was The Landscape Catenary Of The Ecotone Space Between The South Of The Volga Upland And The Northern Yergeny. The Test Sites "Lysaya Gora", "Gzlp Volgograd-Cherkessk", And "Chapurnikovskaya Balka" Were Identified. During The Study, The Methodology Of Landscape-Catenary Sections Was Used, Including The Study Of: Mesorelief; Plastic Relief (The Ratio Of Positive And Negative Elements Of Mesorelief); Microrelief And The Structure Of The Soil Cover. The Novelty Of The Research Lies In The Fact That For The First Time In Domestic Practice, A Method Of Analysis And Modeling Of Landscape Catenae Is Proposed, Based On The Synthesis Of The Principles Of The Catenary-Logistics Approach, Methods Of Terrain Plasticity, Morphodynamic Analysis And Remote Monitoring. The Methodology Of Landscape-Catenary Sections Allows Us To Conduct A Modern Analysis Of The Plasticity Of Mesorelief And Soil-Landscape Cover. This Makes It Possible To Adapt The Technologies Of Creating A Forest Management System To The Intra-National Variation Of Forest Suitability, I.E., The Adaptation Of Forest Reclamation Systems To The Spatial Heterogeneity Of Specific Litho-National And Soil Conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2021. Alongshore classification and morphometric analysis of coastal belts: The state of Oregon, USA. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(2), 238–271. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Classification of the state of Oregon coastal belt (western United States) was based on the interpretation of satellite imagery using the Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS). This seven-county, 480-km stretch was subdivided based on coastal archetypes that formed distinct bio-geomorphological and ecological sequences on both alongshore and cross-shore axes. Shore-parallel and shore-perpendicular units were concomitantly determined by cognitive inspection of satellite images, in which cross-shore archetypical sequences were observed in the first instance to have alongshore spread that could be secondarily codified in terms of alongshore catenas. Because shore-normal transects encompass marine, coastal, and terrestrial environments that have a shore-parallel width, it was possible to extrapolate cross-shore classificatory units into alongshore stretches called domains. Characterization of alongshore domains was based on conjoining archetypes into catenary sequences that typify coastal belts both alongshore and cross-shore from adjacent offshore areas to several kilometers inland. Compilation of coastal belt catenas showed that promontories and headlands, which are composed of resistant igneous and metamorphic rocks, function as anchor points along the shore and are interspersed by sedimentary (littoral) coastal belts that contain mainland and barrier beaches backed by dune, wetland, flat (estuaries), or upland archetypes. A consizement of several alongshore domain catenary sequences within a particular coastal segment thus formed an overarching super domain. Typical alongshore super domains consisted of the following sequences: Barrier-Beach-Dune (Ba-Be-Du), Barrier-Beach-Dune-Wetland (Ba-Be-Du-W), Beach-Dune-Upland (Be-Du-U), Beach-Dune-Wetland (Be-Du-W), Beach-Cliff-Upland (Be-Cl-U), Beach-Wetland-Flat (Be-W-F), and Rock-Cliff-Upland (R-Cl-U). Morphometric analysis of each county allowed the determination of specific characteristics for each super domain (e.g., alongshore length, percentage of the county coastal belt, and percentage of the Oregon coastal belt). Furthermore, archetype morphometrics were calculated to show which cross-shore archetypical features were most prevalent along the state's coastal belt. This examination of the Oregon coast showed that the alongshore classification of coastal belts on a regional scale, which is based on cross-shore biophysical interpretations, offers the opportunity to characterize offshore, inshore, and onshore eco-geomorphological features through the use of super domains and morphometric analysis. This approach to coastal classification thus serves as a blueprint for the comprehensive characterization of coastal belts worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stratified, well preserved sites preserving unambiguous geological and archeological data from which human-environmental interactions can be reconstructed, are rare. More commonly we must test our hypotheses based on extrapolation of the few available sites, particularly in regions with high sedimentation rates. Here we test the idea of aggregating “off-sites”—human traces which provide isolated evidence of activity in an area—to maximize the information which can meaningfully be extracted from Paleolithic open-air contexts. We present two case studies from the sediment-rich loess steppe of southeast Romania, Lipniţa and Dealul Peşterica. Both off-sites preserve low density, undiagnostic lithic assemblages which may otherwise be overlooked in favor of more impressive sites. We constrain the timing of occupation at these two localities to c. 61 and 34–41 ka at Lipniţa and Dealul Peşterica, and show that people were present near a river bank and on loess slopes respectively. Aggregation of data from the region suggests repeated visitation of riverine landscapes; additionally people likely ranged across landforms, particularly where raw material for making stone tools was plentiful. Our case studies demonstrate that empirical, incremental findings may still be generated from sites traditionally thought to be of little value. We argue that this approach is highly applicable to investigating the human implications for landscape context from archeological traces in sediment-rich, open-air situations.

A preliminary study investigated the associations between vegetation communities along catenary soil gradients in 2015. The severe drought of 2016 in South Africa presented the opportunity to study post-drought savanna vegetation changes. This hillslope transect was surveyed for five successive seasons. The Braun-Blanquet method was used, and the data were analysed by means of the TWINSPAN algorithm, which resulted in the classification of different communities on the crest, sodic site and riparian area. Change in herbaceous and grassy vegetation composition and diversity in the transect is compared between rainfall years, wet and dry seasons, and three different zones (crest, sodic site and riparian areas). Spatial and temporal autocorrelation of the woody component shifted the focus to variance within the graminoid and herbaceous layers. Clear vegetation changes were observed on the crest and the sodic sites, whereas changes in the riparian area were less obvious. In all three habitats, species richness decreased after the drought and did not reach pre-drought levels even after two years. However, plant species diversity was maintained as climax species were replaced by pioneer and sub-climax species. These changes in community structure, which had reverted to systems dominated by climax species by the end of the sampling period, might be an indication of the savanna ecosystem’s resilience to drought conditions. Conservation implications: Although clear vegetation changes were observed in the five successive seasons after the drought, this study showed that the savanna ecosystem is relatively resistant to drought and that human intervention is not needed.

Fungi colonise various substrates such as organic matter (dead or alive) from plants or animals. These fungi can be specialists (i.e. belonging to a substrate) or generalists (i.e. surviving on different types of organisms). Fungi fulfil various functions in specialised niches, for example, acting as plant pathogens, helping in plant growth from the root systems or decomposing organic matter and fertilising soil. Species are specialised to occur in only one niche, or others can utilise or occur in various niches. For example, certain species occur only within certain plant tissues (endophytes), on the exterior surface of the plants growing above the ground (epiphytes) or below the ground in the sphere surrounding the roots (rhizosphere). Different soil types or conditions can favour certain species. This study used environmental sequencing to characterise the fungal communities associated with the root exterior and interior of Sida cordifolia, a plant growing across the varying soil conditions of the catena system. Fungal rhizosphere communities between three commonly occurring plant species – S. cordifolia, Melhania acuminata (both Malvaceae) and Kyphocarpa angustifolia (Amaranthaceae) – in one of the soil types were also studied to compare and contrast the fungal rhizosphere communities of these herbs. Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units co-occurred between niches, soil conditions and the rhizospheres of three plants at the same location, whilst others were restricted to only one niche or plant species. Results showed that soil conditions in a catena can influence the associations of fungal species between different catena zones, on the outside and inside of the roots, and that these communities also differ between plant species. Conservation implications: This study showed that complex and sensitive fungal communities are associated with plant roots in different zones of the catena. This is most likely also true between different habitats and soil types on a larger scale. This study emphasises the need to also manage a catena system on the micro-ecological scale whilst framing conservation and management plans of the Kruger National Park.

No abstract available.

Pouco se sabe sobre a estrutura e funcionamento de ecossistemas ripários no estado de Goiás, tão ameaçados pela ação antrópica atualmente. Por isso, o estudo teve o objetivo de avaliar relações do gradiente edáfco com a forística, a estrutura e a distribuição de espécies arbóreas em um remanescente forestal, com ocorrência de foresta ciliar ao longo do rio Corrente, no sul do estado de Goiás. Todos os indivíduos lenhosos com DAP ≥ 5 cm foram registrados em 25 parcelas permanentes de 20 × 20 m (400 m2 ), agrupadas em um bloco de 1 ha. Foram realizadas análises das propriedades químicas e texturais dos solos (0-20 cm de profundidade) para 13 parcelas. Considerando o gradiente edáfco e de umidade desde a margem do rio em direção ao interior da foresta o bloco amostral foi subdivido em cinco transectos para análise diferencial da vegetação. Foram registrados 1.070 indivíduos, 94 espécies e alta diversidade de Shannon (H’=3,76 nat.ind-1), sendo Fabaceae a família mais abundante. Myrcia tomentosa e Garcinia gardneriana foram as espécies mais importantes no levantamento. Várias espécies responderam ao gradiente edáfco, com padrões de distribuição diferencial ao longo do bloco, como mostrado pelo teste de qui-quadrado, assim como foi constatada dissimilaridade forística ao longo dos transectos. Da mesma forma, a área basal e a densidade de indivíduos também foi diferente entre os transectos. Atributos do solo também mostraram variação entre os transectos, sugerindo que propriedades físico-químicas dos solos infuenciam a distribuição de algumas espécies.

Aim. The approbation of quantitative assessment of contrast of the acid-base barriers and capacity of humus geochemical barriers and the assessment of capacity of subsoil barrier with use of geochemical Mn-containing incrustations. Methods. The сlay loamy and sandy soils of representative geochemical catenas of Kursk with different degree of anthropogenic transforming were under analysis. Results. It is revealed that the anthropogenic transformed soils of industrial and residential zones (urban grey soils, urbanozem) can be characterized by the alkaline barrier. In clay loamy and sandy soils of sanitary protection areas of the city acid and alkaline barriers are presented. The contrast of acid (-0.017 m-1) and alkaline (0.008 m-1) barriers in clay loamy soils is much higher than in sandy soils. Values of geo chemical the Mn-containing soil incrustations for the illuvial horizons in Kursk are received. Alluvial gley soils are characterized by the maximum absorbing ability of heavy metals on the Mn-containing soil incrustations. Conclusions. The new indicator of quantitative assessment of capacity of humus horizon – placement rate of organophile heavy metals on the barrier (Khum) is offered. The placement rate represents the ratio of the product of depth of horizon and degree of humus content to the content level of an element in the horizon. The capacity of a humus barrier increases if the value of placement rate is higher.

Investigated polygon laid in the northeastern part of the “Dnieper-Orilskyy” natural reserve. Five test plots were laid within polygon. The most common moisture conditions within the explored catena meet meadow steppe regime. For most studied soil moistening the soil plays an essential role in the water regime. Groundwater was at a depth that exceeds the depth of the cut in chornozem-like pine-forest soil and in a sod-forest chornozem-like soil. In other soils, the water level was 155 cm in sod-forest chornozem-like soil, 98 cm in alluvial meadow soil and 83 cm or 135 cm in alluvial meadow marsh soils. The conditions of the salt regime can be attributed to the soils of the studied catena categorized as poor soils. The chornozem-like pine-forest soil has a wide range of variability salt regime, while the alluvial meadow marsh soil has a wide range of variability humidity conditions. The most favorable conditions for plants of the mesotrophic group formed in the meadow alluvial soil and in sod-forest chornozem-like soils and for semioligotrophic – in sod-forest chornozem-like gleic soil. Forest ecosystems within catena are characterized by similarity of water regime conditions. Sandy steppe ecotopes in the catena are characterized by the highest volatility of the moisture conditions. The most common acid regime within catena can be considered as characteristic for weak-acid soil / neutral soils. The acarbonatophiles are the most typical for catena studied. Plants of this ecological group are living in neutral ecotopes and kept the minor content of carbonates in the soil. The alluvial meadow marsh soil is characterized by smallest carbonates level, and the alluvial meadow solohchak soil is characterized by the largest carbonates level. In the chornozem-like pine-forest soil the effervescence from HCl treatment war not revealed. The depth of effervescence of processing 10% solution of HCl is 64 cm in sod-forest chornozem-like soil, 31 cm in alluvial meadow soil, 18 cm in alluvial meadow marsh soil or from the surface. The sod- forest chornozem-like soil boils on the surface. Sod-forest soil chornozem-like boils from the depth of 127 cm. The content of digestible forms of nitrogen is an important aspect of the edaphotope trophicity. Within catena the most typical is an ecotope where conditions are favorable for nitrophiles. The lowest level of nitrogen nutrition set was found in sandy steppe (chornozem-like pine-forest soil), and the highest ‒ in the forest ecosystems (sod-forest chornozem-like soils). The subaerophiles are the most typical for catena studied. The marsh biogeocoenosis are characterized by significantly aggravated conditions of aeration. It generated conditions conducive to subaerophobes-aerophobes.

Southern Siberia and western Mongolia are characterized by very cold, dry winters, and short, warm summers with modest or little precipitation. In the driest region that we investigated (119 mm annual precipitation), the upper part of two catenas had a larger fraction of microbial biomass in soil organic matter (6–12%) than the four other catenas (<4%) in less dry regions (260 and 442 mm). All six catenas had values ≤4% at the lowest position near the shore of saline lakes. Respiration per unit microbial biomass was similar within and among the catenas, except for the lowest position in three catenas, where enhanced values indicated microbial stress, probably due to high salinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2021. Alongshore classification and super domain delineation of coastal belts based on interpretation of biophysical catenary sequences observed from satellite images. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(1), 1–25. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The cross-shore classification of coastal belts, facilitated by the interpretation of biophysical features from satellite imagery, is an adjunctory approach to traditional alongshore classification procedures. Methods such as the Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS) (Finkl and Makowski, 2020a) and the Coastal Belt Linked Classification (CBLC) (Finkl and Makowski, 2020d) not only provide insight into cross-shore natural ecological variability and zonation, but also emphasize eco-geomorphological linkages so that shore-normal transitions and successions can be delineated and understood. The discernment of numerous cross-shore biophysical transect codifications in a satellite image seascape scene (referred to as either BCCS or CBLC code sequences) results in coastal belt segmenting that identifies offshore, nearshore, inshore, and onshore similarities and differences. This, in turn, can be correlated alongshore by establishing the swath widths of each cross-shore transect as an individual domain. Data integration and interpretation processes are similarly applied as procedural management of geological borehole (well) logs to determine drilling and petrophysical parameters. This study demonstrates that once all individual alongshore domains are interpreted for a specific coastal area, they can be collectively amalgamated and concised to create a universal alongshore super domain for the entire coastal belt. The advantage of constructing a Concised Alongshore Super Domain is that the procedure provides a sagacious and rational basis for swath alongshore classification of coastal belts. This study shows the effective use of this methodology across coastal belts of varying latitudes, as the interpolation of shore-normal ecological sequences validates the cross-shore correlation between transects and can result in a universal alongshore classification process in the form of super domains for coastal belts worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of COMU Journal of Agriculture Faculty / ÇOMÜ Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper presents data on the vertical distribution of 137Cs of Chernobyl origin in arable and meadow soils to a depth of 40 cm in typical catenary junctions of predpolessie, predopolje, and opolje landscapes with a different density of 137Cs contamination 30 years after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Newly obtained data on the removal of 137Cs beyond the arable horizon presented in the paper indicate that this parameter varies depending on the landscape conditions: it varies in the range of 2.7–17.7% in predpolessie landscapes and in the range of 0.5 to 9% in opolje landscapes. In opolje landscapes, the coefficient of 137Cs removal from the arable horizon was proved to systematically decrease depending on the landscape catenary position: it amounts to 8.5% in the transit zone and is 1.4% in the accumulation zone. The vertical distribution of 137Cs and 210Pbex (excess) in the sod and floodplain soils in the basin of the Kostitsa River was studied to determine the sedimentation rate. Based on the analysis of the distribution of 137Cs in the soil, the sedimentation rate over the past 30 years in various parts of the floodplain was estimated at 0.42 ± 0.08 to 0.58 ± 0.11 cm/year. The average estimated sedimentation rate in the floodplain during approximately 50 past years was, according to the 210Pbex dating was equal to 0.7 ± 0.18 cm/year. The sedimentation rate in the bottom of a ravine was evaluated for sod soils based on the distribution of 210Pbex according to the CRS model for 1961–2016 y. It was revealed that the minimum sedimentation rate of 0.24 cm/year occurred in 1961–1988, and the maximal (0.7 cm/year) in 2000 to 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competition and facilitation vary inversely along environmental stress gradients. Here we ask how environmental stress along a slope gradient influences plant-plant interaction in a semi-arid savanna. We attempted to link spatial patterns and ecological interactions, so we analysed the spatial distribution of three Vachellia (Acacia) tree species and assessed the consequences of their interaction on plant structural variables (height, basal area, biomass and canopy cover) at Matopos Research Station, Zimbabwe. Spatial patterns among and between the tree species were assessed using both univariate and bivariate analysis. To understand the extent of tree species isolation, we applied the species mingling index. Canopy cover varied significantly between species at both ends of the stress gradient, while basal area did not differ among the three species at any slope position. The woodland showed differential recruitment levels for the three species across the catena, which may indicate future changes in composition. The mingling index showed that there was species isolation in the bottom and middle catena. Pair-wise interactions of plants reflected two common spatial patterns, clustering, interpreted as suggesting facilitation, and random, interpreted as neutral. In some cases these patterns changed with spatial scale, indicating that the stress gradient hypothesis (SGH) may be influenced by the spatial scale at which species are interacting. Our univariate analyses corroborate the evidence that plants in semi-arid environments have a clustered distribution and that catenas can produce differential recruitment levels of the different species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Atatürk University Journal of Agricultural Faculty is the property of Ataturk University Coordinatorship of Scientific Journals and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Spider communities (Arachnida: Aranei) have been studied in central Kazakhstan along 70° E longitude in the subzones of typical, dry, and desert steppes on catenas, including eluvial, transitive, and accumulative positions. In total, 79 spider species belonging to 33 genera and 11 families have been identified. The bulk of the spider population consists of gnaphosid ground spiders, which are typical for arid zones and arid habitats. Wolf spiders (Lycosidae) are also abundant in the study area; they are most numerous in the lower, more humid catena positions. An increase in the proportion of jumping spiders (Salticidae), as well as their taxonomic diversity in the spider population, has been observed in the direction from north to south, from typical to desert steppes. In contrast to the species richness of ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae), which decreases in the series of these habitats from north to south, the number of spider species increases, and this is similar to the species richness of darkling beetles. Within the latitudinal gradient from north to south, at the upper positions of the catena, the dynamic density of spiders decreases, while the ecological diversity of spider taxocenes increases. Catena positions that are similar in faunal composition are, as a rule, also similar in the structure of the spider population. The transition from typical to desert steppes is accompanied by a decrease in the number of widespread species of subboreal distribution, and the number of species typical for steppe and semidesert habitats and for solonchaks increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungi colonise various substrates such as organic matter (dead or alive) from plants or animals. These fungi can be specialists (i.e. belonging to a substrate) or generalists (i.e. surviving on different types of organisms). Fungi fulfil various functions in specialised niches, for example, acting as plant pathogens, helping in plant growth from the root systems or decomposing organic matter and fertilising soil. Species are specialised to occur in only one niche, or others can utilise or occur in various niches. For example, certain species occur only within certain plant tissues (endophytes), on the exterior surface of the plants growing above the ground (epiphytes) or below the ground in the sphere surrounding the roots (rhizosphere). Different soil types or conditions can favour certain species. This study used environmental sequencing to characterise the fungal communities associated with the root exterior and interior of Sida cordifolia , a plant growing across the varying soil conditions of the catena system. Fungal rhizosphere communities between three commonly occurring plant species – S. cordifolia, Melhania acuminata (both Malvaceae) and Kyphocarpa angustifolia (Amaranthaceae) – in one of the soil types were also studied to compare and contrast the fungal rhizosphere communities of these herbs. Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units co-occurred between niches, soil conditions and the rhizospheres of three plants at the same location, whilst others were restricted to only one niche or plant species. Results showed that soil conditions in a catena can influence the associations of fungal species between different catena zones, on the outside and inside of the roots, and that these communities also differ between plant species. Conservation implications: This study showed that complex and sensitive fungal communities are associated with plant roots in different zones of the catena. This is most likely also true between different habitats and soil types on a larger scale. This study emphasises the need to also manage a catena system on the micro-ecological scale whilst framing conservation and management plans of the Kruger National Park. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jacobs-Venter et al. ([8]) separated I F. polyphialidicum i strains into three species, namely I F. concolor, F. babinda i and I F. austroafricanum i , and confirmed that I F. polyphialidicum i is synonymous with I F. concolor. Together with other species previously described from the KNP ( I F. fredkrugeri, F. convalutum, F. transvaalense i and I F. concolor i as I F. polyphialidicum i ), there are thus at least nine I Fusarium i species present in the KNP. I Fusarium nygamai, F. proliferatum, F. oxysporum sensu lato, F. chlamydosporum, N. vasinfectum i and I F. concolor i are species that have a world-wide occurrence, including South Africa (Jacobs et al. [8]; Leslie & Summerell [13]). Previously, I F. nygamai, F. polyphialidicum, F. fredkrugeri, F. convalutum i and I F. transvaalense i were described from the KNP, while possible new species have also been characterised in this study. [Extracted from the article]

A preliminary study investigated the associations between vegetation communities along catenary soil gradients in 2015. The severe drought of 2016 in South Africa presented the opportunity to study post-drought savanna vegetation changes. This hillslope transect was surveyed for five successive seasons. The Braun-Blanquet method was used, and the data were analysed by means of the TWINSPAN algorithm, which resulted in the classification of different communities on the crest, sodic site and riparian area. Change in herbaceous and grassy vegetation composition and diversity in the transect is compared between rainfall years, wet and dry seasons, and three different zones (crest, sodic site and riparian areas). Spatial and temporal autocorrelation of the woody component shifted the focus to variance within the graminoid and herbaceous layers. Clear vegetation changes were observed on the crest and the sodic sites, whereas changes in the riparian area were less obvious. In all three habitats, species richness decreased after the drought and did not reach pre-drought levels even after two years. However, plant species diversity was maintained as climax species were replaced by pioneer and sub-climax species. These changes in community structure, which had reverted to systems dominated by climax species by the end of the sampling period, might be an indication of the savanna ecosystem's resilience to drought conditions. Conservation implications: Although clear vegetation changes were observed in the five successive seasons after the drought, this study showed that the savanna ecosystem is relatively resistant to drought and that human intervention is not needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Idebenone is a synthetic quinone that on reduction in cells can bypass mitochondrial Complex I defects by donating electrons to Complex III. The drug is used clinically to treat the Complex I disease Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), but has been less successful in clinical trials for other neurodegenerative diseases. NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQOl) appears to be the main intracellular enzyme catalyzing idebenone reduction. However, NQOl is not universally expressed by cells of the brain. Using primary rat cortical cells pooled from both sexes, we tested the hypotheses that the level of endogenous NQOl activity limits the ability of neurons, but not astrocytes, to use idebenone as an electron donor to support mitochondrial respiration. We then tested the prediction that NQOl induction by pharmacological activation of the transcription factor nuclear erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) enables idebenone to bypass Complex I in cells with poor NQOl expression. We found that idebenone stimulated respiration by astrocytes but reduced the respiratory capacity of neurons. Importantly, idebenone supported mitochondrial oxygen consumption in the presence of a Complex I inhibitor in astrocytes but not neurons, and this ability was reversed by inhibiting NQOl. Conversely, recombinant NQOl delivery to neurons prevented respiratory impairment and conferred Complex I bypass activity. Nrf2 activators failed to increase NQOl in neurons, but carnosic acid induced NQOl in COS-7 cells that expressed little endogenous enzyme. Carnosic acid-idebenone combination treatment promoted NQOl-dependent Complex I bypass activity in these cells. Thus, combination drug strategies targeting NQOl may promote the repurposing of idebenone for additional disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finkl, C.W. and Makowski, C., 2020. Lateral extrapolation of coastal catenary sequences using the Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS) to create shore-parallel situational zonation mapping units. Journal of Coastal Research, 36(3), 457–471. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The Biophysical Cross-shore Classification System (BCCS), which uses transects to assess shore-normal ecological and geomorphological successions from offshore to onshore within a coastal belt (Finkl and Makowski, 2020a), also provides a basis for extrapolating cross-shore catenas into shore-parallel units. This paper shows that three-dimensional transects can be parameterized in terms of alongshore breadth as well as cross-shore width and depth below or elevation above sea level. The codification of cross-shore environments and habitats in the framework of the BCCS provides an interpretative basis for determining the lateral extent of transect units (archetypes and sub archetypes) by lateral extrapolation to polygonal mapping units. The method discussed here is akin to geological cores or cross-sections that are used to laterally extrapolate units within vertical sequences. Repetitive successions of archetypes, based on cross-shore ecological interpretation of satellite imagery, results in a common master sequence referred to as a Dominant Catenary Sequence (DCS). The DCS is composed of generic archetypes, such as Barrier, Beach, Beach Ridge, Cliff, Coral Reef, Delta, Dune, Flat, Ice, Lagoon, Mountain, Rock, Till (Glacial Material), Upland, and Wetland. The more detailed Coastal Ecological Sequence (CES) of a coastal belt, which is defined by a discrete codification sequence built up from the DCS, is formulated by cognitive geovisual analytics to link the dominant catena with a numbered shore-parallel shape distinction and subscripted sub archetypes to refine the sequential composite archetypes in a DCS. Once the DCS- or CES-labeled transect has been plotted on a satellite image, the identified shore-normal units can be extrapolated into shore-parallel polygons by traditional (i.e. visual, cognitive) image interpretive and mapping techniques to show the spatial extent of classified archetypes and sub archetypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miscanthus-dominated semi-natural grasslands in Japan appear to store considerable amounts of soil C. To estimate the long-term effect of Miscanthus vegetation on the accumulation of soil carbon by soil biota degradation in its native range, we measured total soil C from the surface to a 1.2 m depth along a catena toposequence in three annually burned grasslands in Japan: Kawatabi, Soni, and Aso. Soil C stock was estimated using a radiocarbon age and depth model, resulting in a net soil C accumulation rate in the soil. C4-plant contribution to soil C accumulation was further estimated by δ13C of soil C. The range of total soil C varied among the sites (i.e., Kawatabi: 379–638 Mg, Soni: 249–484, and Aso: 372–408 Mg C ha−1). Catena position was a significant factor at Kawatabi and Soni, where the toe slope soil C accumulation exceeded that of the summit. The soil C accumulation rate of the whole horizon in the grasslands, derived C mainly from C4 plant species, was 0.05 ± 0.02 (Average ± SE), 0.04 ± 0.00, and 0.24 ± 0.04 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 in Kawatabi, Soni, and Aso, respectively. Potential exists for long-term sequestration of C under M. sinensis, but the difference in the C accumulation rate can be influenced by the catena position and the amount of vegetation.