Volume 42 (2023): Issue 1 (March 2023)

Lockdown or movement control order (MCO) was implemented all over the world, including Malaysia and Indonesia, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. During the lockdown period, human activities were restricted. The restriction led to the reduction of human-made particulate matter released to the atmosphere. One of the indicators that could be used to estimate the concentration of particulate matter in the atmosphere is aerosol optical depth (AOD). The aim of this study is to investigate the variation in AOD level over the Malaysia and Indonesia region during this restriction period. This study has utilized monthly and daily Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra AOD product that can be accessed through National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Geospatial Interactive Online Visualization and Analysis Infrastructure (GIOVANNI) system. The developed long-term time-averaged map showed a high AOD level over Sumatera and South Kalimantan, with the maximum value being 0.4. The comparison among during, pre- and post-lockdown periods showed a reduction in the AOD level. The maximum AOD level decreased to 0.3 during the lockdown period compared to 0.4 in the pre- (2019) and post-lockdown periods (2021 and 2022). Average monthly time series showed no spike in the AOD level in 2020 and 2021. Hovmöller diagram showed low AOD throughout the latitude and longitude during lockdown compared to the pre- and post-lockdown periods. Analyses of the yearly AOD level showed reduction in the AOD level from +11.31% in 2019 to −18.17% and −18.01% in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The result also showed that the average daily AOD percentage during the lockdown period in 2020 had decreased to −5.34% from −3.18% in 2019 and had increased to +1.26 in 2021.

Recent years have seen the re-emergence of vector-borne diseases, representing more than 17% of infectious diseases globally. Most of these diseases can be prevented by vector control measures. Series of difficulties which are linked to the fight. Plant insecticides can present interesting alternatives to the chemical insecticides currently used in the fight against these pests. In the first part, we have inventoried the vector species in the region of El Kantara, Biskra, by conducting surveys of three sites. The second part focuses on the biological control of the larvae of the most abundant species in the region, that is, Culiseta longiareolata. The faunal inventory of the species of Culicidae in the three sites of El Kantara showed seven species belonging to three genera. The genus Culiseta was the best represented, particularly with the species C. longiareolata (89.91%). The toxicological activity of the ethanoic extracts of the seeds of Peganum harmala and Citrullus colocynthis was studied in synergy against the larvae of Culiseta longiareolata at different concentrations. The mortality rate increased over time to reach more than 70% after 5 days.

The present paper seeks to study the diversity and ant community composition of some Algerian islands. This study is considered as the first exhaustive survey of ant species of Algerian islands since 1957. The survey was carried out in the spring and summer seasons between April and July of two years 2014 and 2015. Vegetation richness, island area, mainland distance, and elevation variables were measured for each island. Relative abundance (RA), frequency of occurrence (FO), as well as species richness (S), Shannon’s diversity index (H), and equitability (E) for each island were used to compare the diversity pattern among islands. Patterns of species composition and community structure were compared among the sampling islands through ordination analysis (nonmetric multidimensional scaling [NMDS]). SIMPER analysis using a Bray–Curtis similarity index matrix was performed to determine the contribution of each ant species to the dissimilarities among islands. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was performed to highlight the impact of environmental variables on the ant community. All analyses were computed by using PAST software. Two sampling methods (pitfall trap and hand collecting) were used, which led to the identification of 1039 individuals belonging to 16 species. Diversity indexes were different among islands. Ant community was significantly different between islands of the two regions Bejaia and Jijel. Three species contributed to 50.74% of the differences between islands of the two regions. Part of the ant community composition was influenced directly or indirectly by three environmental variables: vegetation richness, island area, and mainland distance. It is important to point out the absence of two invasive ants, Linepithema humile and Paratrechina longicornis, in our islands.

Ants have historically been classified into “functional groups” (FGs) to facilitate their interpretation as bioindicators. A particularly popular classification scheme is the one proposed by Andersen, based on the Australian myrmecofauna. These classification criteria suggest that ant abundance is linked to stress and disturbance, such that their affinity to and tolerance of particular conditions enables them to inhabit specific ecological contexts. Herein, we aimed to validate whether the climatic affinity postulated by the FG approximation can suggest FG composition and abundances in Mexican ant communities, such as has been previously evaluated by studies in other regions worldwide. In a protected natural area with a history of anthropogenic pressure, we evaluated the variation in temperature and humidity of two habitat types during consecutive years: a native oak forest and an induced grassland. The ant communities of the two sites were monitored using three collected methods (baits, pitfalls, and direct observations) and classified into FGs under Andersen’s criteria. We found 34 ant species. The induced grassland site (28 species) was more species rich, more diverse, and had higher ant abundance than the oak site (21 species). There was a similarity in species composition between the sites (44.78%). In the oak forest, FGs related to cold temperatures were the most abundant, while in the induced grassland, heat-tolerant FGs were most abundant. Our findings support that Andersen’s functional group classification is useful in suggesting habitat use in Mexican ant species. Likewise, our data are in accordance with previous findings that both the presence and abundance of FGs must be considered for an adequate application of this classification scheme.

We elucidated the reaction of ruderal vegetation community to environmental changes. It made it possible to assess the level and nature of the synanthropic vegetation dynamics, fluctuation processes, and also to indicate the scenarios of evolution of ruderal communities throughout the environmental changes, in particular, climate changes. In this study, we used the original methods: synphytoindications and estimation of the climate change impact and the species reaction according to their ecological strategy. Dataset included 1200 phytosociological relevés of different synanthropic habitat types (borders of fields, ruderal areas, and railway tracks). As a result of vegetation analysis, we obtained 16 alliances of ruderal vegetation belonging to the six classes and two natural vegetation derivatives of the Sedo-Scleranthetea Br.-Bl. 1955 and Festuco-Brometea Br.-Bl. & Tx. 1943. Evaluation of ecological indicator value changes in relation to 1, 2 and 3 °C increase in average annual temperatures allowed to determine how significant is the threat to the existence of ruderal communities. It is particularly noticeable in the thermal regime, and some changes in edaphic properties of soil, especially acidity (pH). Under the conditions of climate changes and ecological indicator value changes, such communities could be easily restored both in the appropriate conditions of the region and outside it, that is, shifting their range. But thanks to this strategy, the emergence of new species and, as a result of this, the formation of completely new vegetation types is possible.

Forest ecosystems play an essential role in climate stabilization, and the study of their capabilities in this aspect is of paramount importance. How climate changes affect the biomass of trees and stands in transcontinental gradients is unknown today? The objective of this study was (a) to verify the operation of the law of the limiting factor at the transcontinental level when modeling changes in the biomass of trees and stands of the genus Betula spp. of Eurasia in relation to geographically determined indicators of temperatures and precipitation, and (b) to show the possibility of using the constructed climate-conditioned models of tree and stand biomass in predicting temporal changes in tree and stand biomass based on the principle of space-for-time substitution. As a result of the implementation of the principles of the limiting factor and space-for-time substitution, a common pattern has been established on tree and stand levels: in sufficiently moisture-rich climatic zones, an increase in temperature by 1 °C with a constant amount of precipitation causes an increase in aboveground biomass, and in moisture-deficient zones, it decreases; in warm climatic zones, a decrease in precipitation by 100 mm at a constant average January temperature causes a decrease in aboveground biomass, and in cold climatic zones, it increases.

We investigated the properties of the sounds recorded on the territory of the National Park “Homilshanski Lisy” (Kharkiv region, Ukraine). Recordings were made at five points (in mature, middle-aged, and young oak forests, overgrown clear-cut and aspen forests). Data collection was carried out using on-site positioning of AudioMoth autonomous recorders, located on trees at a height of 1.5 m. The recording was made from April 11 to July 10, 2020, for 3 h in the morning and evening with a 5-min duration followed by a 10-min pause (24 recordings per day). Six acoustic indices (AIs) were calculated: Acoustic complexity index (ACI), acoustic diversity index (ADI), acoustic evenness index (AEI), bioacoustic index (BI), normalized difference soundscape index (NDSI), and acoustic entropy index (H). For the analysis, we used the Friedman test as well as a nonparametric analysis of the variance of the distance matrix and Tukey’s test. The results of the analysis showed the statistical significance of the influence of forest type, date and time of recording, as well as the effect of their pairwise interactions on all six acoustic indices, both in the morning and evening. For three indices – ACI, BI, and NDSI – the highest average values were noted in a mature oak forest and the lowest was in overgrown clear-cuts. We performed a PCA to reduce the number of variables and obtain insight into the variable relevance. The cumulative percentage of variance, explained by the first three principal components, is 84.5%. The first principal component is associated with H, BI, AEI, and ADI. The second and third principal components are associated with NDSI and ACI. The obtained results correspond to the results of quantitative bird counts carried out earlier in this area.

The growing interest of researchers in the topic of biocultural diversity has resulted in the research field expanding from its initial focus on places inhabited by indigenous communities to rural and then to urban landscapes. The aims of this study are to summarize and review the current state of knowledge on biocultural landscape (BCL), present a spectrum of human activities leading to their formation, and based on that, focus on typology of these landscapes. Moreover, the connections between cultural ecosystem services (CES) and BCLs were examined, and the research on these unique landscapes in individual countries and the proportion of studied landscape types were graphically displayed. BCLs are threatened all over the world; therefore, there is a need to identify and recognize them, and provide them with effective legislative protection.

Many abandoned villages in Central Europe are now covered with forest. These abandoned villages can be indicated by their different species composition compared to the surroundings. We were interested in whether these differences could be indicated by geobiocoenological plots (400 m²). Phytocoenological samples were taken from geobiocoenological plots located on the former buildings, in the village square and in gardens. Based on significant fidelity (Fisher’s exact test at P = 0.05 significance level) and differential species coverage (ONE WAY ANOVA at P = 0.05 significance level), indicator species for the former buildings and former village square could be determined. The former buildings were indicated by species requiring higher soil nutrient content and higher pH, such as Anemone ranunculoides and Stachys sylvatica. The former village square site was indicated by species adapted to acid soils with less competitive abilities that could not compete on the more fertile soils of the former buildings, e.g. Maianthemum bifolium and Dryopteris carthusiana. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the influence of forest plant communities by medieval settlement activities can be phytoindicated using geobiocoenological plots of 400 m². This method can be applied especially in areas with acid soils, e.g. where there is a large difference in the amount of plant-available nutrients in the soil

The study was conducted at Babile Elephant Sanctuary (BES) to identify and document the use and importance of provisioning ecosystem services (ESs). ESs were identified using questionnaire surveys from 110 households in three villages located inside and adjacent to BES by random sampling method. The importance attributed to each ES was evaluated using a descriptive rank analysis. Ordered logistic regressions were used to test whether and how socioeconomic factors influenced the importance attributed to ESs. The most used services were determined based on the percentage of respondents who used a particular service. Fodder, fuelwood, and construction were ranked the most important and used ESs. Age and gender significantly played important roles in people’s perceptions of the importance of ESs. This result suggests that the consequence of human-induced disturbance on woody species diversity and natural forest ESs appeared to be negative depending on the type and intensities of the disturbances.

Green spaces in an industrially polluted city are extremely important for the physical activity and mental health of its inhabitants. The study aim was to analyze the urban green space dynamics and the greening degree of different functional zones typical for a big Ukrainian industrial city (Dnipro, Ukraine). This article used the remote sensing methods and geographic information systems (GIS) to assess the percentage of green spaces in the city of Dnipro, its eight districts, parks, ravines, and sanitary protection zones. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used for mapping the urban green spaces within the ravines, parks, and sanitary protection zones. According to our results, 67% of Dnipro city is greened (NDVI >0.3). On average, there are 219 m² of green spaces per person, which is 24 and 4 times more than the minimum and optimal values recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), respectively. It was found that the NDVI values were significantly lower in the territories of sanitary protection zones, compared to the other functional zones. The results of NDVI analysis indicate a significant variation of the studied parameter during the vegetative season, with two typical peaks of the green space vegetative activity. The peak of plant vegetative activity occurs in the first decade of June, followed by slight decline for 2–3 weeks, then there is another increase in the activity, reaching the maximum in mid-July. Even in autumn, the photosynthetic activity remains relatively high for most of the urban areas, declining only from mid-October. In addition, a method and algorithm for estimating and standardizing the level of the urban area greening based on the remote sensing methods and zonal statistics tools are proposed.