<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of metals on wheat and bean species. The method uses seed germination and early seedling growth of these plants in the presence of various levels (10, 50, 100, 250, 500, 750 and 1000 mg/L) of Cadmium (Cd), Iron (Fe) and Zinc (Zn). The inhibition caused by these metals was depending on the concentration used, the metal itself and the plant species. The species had reduced seed germination, root and shoot lengths, tolerance index and percentphyto-toxicity with increasing concentrations of metals. Cadmium was determined to be the most inhibitory metal on these parameters. This metal affected significantly the germination, root and shoot length of the species tested, as well as the tolerance index and percentphytotoxicity starting from 50 mg Cd/l. Under the Iron stress, in general, the inhibition of germination and root length of wheat was reduced from 500 mg Fe/l. The results showed also that the inhibitory effect of increase of Zn levels was seen in root, shoot and tolerance indices. The findings also revealed that the metal toxicity was as follow: Cd &gt; Fe &gt; Zn. Regarding species, the results showed that bean seemed to be more tolerant to the increase of the three metals than wheat.</abstract>

The Effect of Cd, Zn and Fe on Seed Germination and Early Seedling Growth of Wheat and Bean

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Transport has an immense impact on the environment. The largest share of environmental pollution is caused by road transport. The atmosphere is threatened by fuel combustion of engines of road vehicles, thereby leading to the global warming of Earth. In addition to having an adverse impact on the environment, such as greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dioxide emissions, road transport also leads to external effects such as noise pollution, vibration, congestion and traffic accidents. The volume of transport in the world, notably on the roads, is increasing day by day. We should take the necessary steps to move to more environmentally-friendly modes of transportation, such as rail and inland navigation. Rail transportation is currently the largest competitor of road transport. If the waterways infrastructure is improved, there would be a decrease in the traffic flow of motorways and thus, we can move to a more environmentally-friendly transportation.</abstract>

Environmental Aspects of Transport in the Context of Development of Inland Navigation

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Climate change and its severity play an important role in forest fire regime. Analysing the forest fires events becomes a prerequisite for safeguarding the forest from further damage. We have made an assessment of the long-term forest fire events at the district level in India and identified the forest fire hotspot districts. The spatial seasonal (January to June) district wise pattern and forest fire trend were analysed. In the second part of the study area (central part of India), we have evaluated the forest fire events in grid format with respect to the climatic/weather datasets, and the statistical analysis Cramer V coefficient (CVC) was performed to understand its association/relationship with forest fire events.The study revealed that Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills districts of Assam of India have the highest forest fire percent among all districts equivalent to 3.4 and 3.2% respectively. Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh and Garhchiroli district of Maharashtra of India occupied 3rd and 4th rank with value 3.1 and 3.0% respectively. The grid-based evaluation (local scale) revealed that most of the fire equivalent of 80% was found in the month of March and April. Forest fire frequency of the month of April is spread over 88 % of the grids over the study area. The 11 years average seasonal month-wise (February to June) maximum temperature, wind velocity, relative humidity, and solar radiation were found in the range of (25.9 to 40.6), (1.69 to 2.7), (0.301 to 0.736) and (14.21 to 22.98) respectively. The percentage increase (in the month of March) of maximum temperature, wind velocity, and solar radiation were 36, 39 and 62% respectively, when compared with the preceding month; whereas, a 60% decrease to relative humidity that was observed in the same month is usually the major cause of forest fire events in the month of March onwards.The evaluation of Cramer V coefficient (CVC) values of rainfall, relative humidity, potential evapotranspiration, maximum temperature, wind velocity, and solar radiation were in decreasing order and in the range of 0.778 to 0.293. The highest value of rainfall (0.778) showed its strongest association with the forest fire events. In the month of June, these areas receive adequate rainfall, which leads to an increase in the soil moisture and a reduction in forest fuel burning capacity by absorbing the moisture and it is a strong reason for less forest fire events during this month. Geospatial technology provides an opportunity to evaluate large datasets over various spatial and temporal scales and help in decision making/formulating various policies.</abstract>

Forest Fire Trend and Influence of Climate Variability in India: A Geospatial Analysis at National and Local Scale

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> Pant P.P., Tripathi A.K.: Impact of heavy metals on morphological and biochemical parameters of Shorea robusta plant. Ekológia (Bratislava), Vol. 33, No. 2, p. 116-126, 2014. A study was conducted to determine the impact of heavy metals (cadmium [Cd], arsenic [As] and lead [Pb]) on the morphological, and biochemical parameters of Shorea robusta and to investigate the uptake capacity of this plant for individual heavy metal. The study showed that all three heavy metals had significant adverse impact on most of the plant parameters of S. robusta, at all the given concentrations of 1, 5 and 10 mg/l. Maximum reduction in morphological parameters is observed in leaf area (92.67%) followed by shoot length (54%) and, root length (28.78%). Maximum reduction in biochemical parameters is observed in amino acid (75.13%) followed by chlorophyll (68.33%) and, crude protein (35.68%), whereas polyphenol and ascorbic acid showed maximum enhancement of 77.1 and 139.8%, respectively. The accumulation of heavy metals was found to be higher in the root than shoot of S. robusta with maximum accumulation being 0.053 mg/g in root for Cd, 0.17 mg/g of As in leaf and, 0.201mg/g of Pb in soil. Concentration- dependent changes were observed in most of the morphological and biochemical parameters, which may thus serve to determine suitable bio-indicators of heavy metal pollution.</abstract>

Impact Of Heavy Metals On Morphological And Biochemical Parameters Of Shorea Robusta Plant

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> Breuste J., Schnellinger J., Qureshi S., Faggi A.: Urban ecosystem services on the local level: Urban green spaces as providers. Ekologia (Bratislava), Vol. 32, No. 3, p. 209-304, 2013. Ecosystem services are provided at different spatial and service/functional scales. The local level is the basic unit for ecosystem services, especially when it comes to the human dimension of urban landscapes. These services are provided by green elements (patches) or basic complex ecosystems (green areas) which differ from their neighbourhoods through their structures and functions. This study reviews the generally available knowledge on urban green functions and services at the site level and explains them by using own studies in five different cities in three different continents related to distinct ecosystem services. This allows the development of a methodology to evaluate and compare ecosystem services at the site level. The methodology is based at two levels, patch and green space, and includes the relationship with the surrounding green and built-up space. Different urban green space types are characterized by their internal structures of vegetation, size, shape and location in relation to at least a semi-quantitative scaling of their urban ecosystem services. The evaluated urban green spaces are public urban green spaces. The urban ecosystem services assessed include climate regulation, biodiversity, nature experience, recreation and health. The actual urban challenges, such as land use change, adaptation to climate change, demographic change and urban cultural diversity, demand a systematic and very concrete monitoring of urban ecosystem services at the site level.</abstract>

Research Group for Urban and Landscape Ecology, Department of Geography and Geology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, Salzburg 5020, Austria;

Research Group for Urban and Landscape Ecology, Department of Geography and Geology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, Salzburg 5020, Austria

School of Architecture, Birmingham City University, Gosta Green, Birmingham B4 7DX, UK Institute of Geography, Humboldt University of Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 16, D-12489 Berlin, Germany

Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Dto. Botanica, Ecologia Regional. Conicet, Angel Gallardo 470, 2do piso. Buenos Aires, (1405), Argentina

Urban Ecosystem services on the local level: Urban green spaces as providers

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> Even though the interaction between water movements and aquatic plant is crucial for the aquatic ecosystem management, the importance of water turbulence in this regard is not well documented. To add to our knowledge on the interaction between aquatic plant communities and water turbulence, this study examined turbulence, plant, sediment and water quality at the reed community (Phragmites australis) in the Lake Shinji, Japan. Observations were conducted along transects perpendicular to the shoreline. For each transect, reed communities were observed at land ward side, centre, water ward and the outside of the reed community. An elevated level of turbulence was observed outside compared to inside reed community, where the magnitude of turbulence decreased with distance into the community interior. A significant positive correlation was observed for turbulence and surface-dissolved oxygen where the latter was negatively correlated to reed density. Sediment composition was affected by water turbulence where the content of coarse particles positively correlated to turbulence. Accumulation of organic matter in anoxic sediments together with fine particles was observed under low turbulence. Our findings can offer insight into understanding the interactions between turbulence and aquatic plant communities.</abstract>

Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama 338-8770, Japan

Department of Limnology and Water Technology, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences and Technology, University of Ruhuna, Matara,

Research Institute of Chuo University, Kasuga, Bunkyo, Tokyo 112-8551,

Department of Natural Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo,5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa 277-8563,

Shimane Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Science, 582-1 Nishihamasadacho, Matsue 690-0122, Japan

Research Center for Coastal Lagoon Environments, Shimane University, 1060 Nishikawatsu, Matsue, Shimane 690-8504,

Effects of water turbulence on plant, sediment and water quality in reed (Phragmites australis) community

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The only location for the protection of Arowana golden-red in its natural habitat is in east-central Sumatra. Currently, the area is being invaded by oil palm plantations. This research identified the present conditions in that conservation area, specifically focusing on land-use situation and aquatic organism distribution and diversity. We designated four sampling sites according to the stratification of river flows that pass through the Arowana golden-red conservation area and present land use. The research showed that oil palm plantation was the largest land use in the Arowana golden-red conservation area covering 61.2% (2,310.84 ha). The swamp forest which is the habitat of Arowana golden-red only remained at 6.99% (263.98 ha). In the study area, aquatic organisms were identified as 47 species with a total of 424 individuals: 7 genera of Benthos, 11 species of Planktonic algae, and 29 species of Fish. The diversity index was in the range of 0.46–2.45. The diversity of aquatic organisms was found to be comparable to or higher than other areas in Malaysia and Indonesia such as Aceh province and Kalimantan. However, only 31 individuals of Arowana golden-red were found in the swamp forest in Middle Mahato. This site should be a priority area to save the Arowana golden-red.
</abstract>

Present Condition of the Protected Area of Endangered Asian Arowana (<italic>Scleropages formosus</italic>) Golden-Red in East-Central Sumatra, Indonesia

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
This work is part of the <italic>exsitu</italic> conservation of <italic>Ruta montana</italic> (L.) L., a spontaneous Rutaceae, known for its many therapeutic properties. The aim is to study, under controlled conditions, the effects of daylight and darkness, temperature, salt, and water stress on the germination of its seeds. Salt stress was induced by different molar concentrations of NaCl (0–200 mM), and water stress was simulated using different concentrations of polyethylene glycol (PEG6000) corresponding to different water potentials (0-1.2 MPa).
The results obtained showed that <italic>R. montana</italic> seeds were viable and could germinate both in daylight and in continuous darkness. Germination was possible at temperatures between 10 and 30 °C, with the maximum final germination percentage (FGP = 81.66%) recorded at 20 °C. At this optimum temperature, FGP decreased significantly when the seeds were placed under salt and water stress (<italic>p</italic>&lt; 0.01).This decrease became more and more significant when the osmotic pressure induced by NaCl increased and when the water potential induced by PEG6000 in the medium decreased. The depressive effect of salt and water stress on FGP was verified by a linear regression analysis, which showed high values of the coefficient of determination (<italic>R</italic>2):0.934 for water stress and 0.890 for salt stress. This effect on the velocity coefficient and latency time was more moderate or lower. The thresholds of tolerance to salinity and water deficit found were 150 mM and −1 MPa, respectively, for which the lowest FGP values were recorded with 16.25% for water stress and 11.10% for salt stress.
</abstract>

Germination Responses of <italic>Ruta montana</italic> (L.) L. Seeds From Tessala Mount (Northwest of Algeria) to Different Controlled Environmental Conditions

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
In this work, 13 pollution indices in 10 stations of the Struma river in the Bulgarian section are investigated: temperature (T°C), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), oxygen saturation (SO2), electrical conductivity (EC), biological oxygen demand (BOD), permanganate oxidation (KMn3O4), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), nitrite nitrogen (NO2-N), nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), orthophosphates (PO4), dissolved substances (DS), and unsolved substances (US). The analysis and assessment of the studied indices of pollution of the Struma river in the Bulgarian section is carried out by means of a recently proposed multi-criteria decision-making method called intercriteria decision analysis (ICDA). Application of ICDA showed that we have a degree of agreement for T°C for all stations with very few exceptions. This also applies to DO, KMn3O4, SO2 and EC. We had a degree of disagreement for all other indices. From the conducted research, it can be concluded that for all indicators, it is necessary to develop mathematical models in the studied stations according to the studied indicators of the Struma river in Bulgaria. The application of ICDA allows us to examine the correlations between individual indicators and eliminate those that are highly dependent on each other.
</abstract>

An Approach for Analysis and Assessment of the Pollution Indices of the Struma River in the Bulgarian Section

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The current study presents data on the structure of populations of an endemic species <italic>Phlomis nubilans</italic> Zakirov under a drought climate. The rare species <italic>P. nubilans</italic> belongs to the respective endemic genus of Uzbekistan. We studied the ontogenetic structure of populations, and the current state of <italic>P. nubilans</italic> populations was estimated based on a set of climate factors.
The study focused on the ontogenetic structure of two populations of <italic>P. nubilans</italic>, revealing that the examined populations grew under drought conditions. The ontogenetic structure was incomplete, that is, it did not include all age groups. Their ontogenetic spectrum was centered and coincided with the characteristic spectrum. The research determined that the ontogenetic type was mature. The studied populations do have not any young plants (juvenile, immature, virginal) due to extreme drought conditions and various factors of elimination, including irregular seed propagation.
</abstract>

Ontogenetic Structure of Populations of <italic>Phlomis nubilans</italic> (Lamiaceae) in Uzbekistan Under Drought Climate

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The North African steppe areas represent a heritage of great economic and ecological importance. These areas, which were once prosperous, are currently experiencing significant degradation and a decrease in productivity due to several factors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of the steppe vegetation, identify the responsible factors, and present perspectives for their management and restoration. The methodological approach adopted for the characterization of climatic and socioeconomic conditions and the analysis of vegetation dynamics combined classical geomatics methods with a data mining method by mobilizing several sources and on important temporal horizons. This study was optimized by using the Google Earth Engine platform. Results showed that steppe areas are characterized by their plant richness and great potential for resilience despite their low vegetation cover. The analysis of the dynamics of change has highlighted a regressive trend in steppe vegetation during the study period (1995–2020). This study has been able to highlight the extent of the dynamics of the steppes in the study area during the last 26 years and to identify the human activity as the main trigger for the transformation that steppe areas are currently undergoing. Such results improve our knowledge of these areas and open perspectives for their management.
</abstract>

Vegetation Dynamics of North African Steppe (Case Study of the Moulouya Plateau In Morocco)

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The effects of climate change have hit the agriculture sector in Africa hard. Making adjustments to adapt to the changing environment is critical for countries like Ethiopia, whose primary source of income is subsistence agriculture, which is heavily reliant on rainfall. As a result, establishing context-specific adaptation approaches is crucial for reducing the adverse effects of climate change. This study was conducted at Sofi district, Harari Regional State, Ethiopia, to compare the contribution of fruit tree–based agroforestry and monoculture in tackling climate change challenges. To choose two kebeles and 102 household heads, multistage random sampling was used. Soil and biomass measurements were used to collect soil samples and biomass samples. According to the findings of the study, there are significant differences in how agroforestry and monoculture smallholder farmers deal with climate change challenges in terms of livelihood strategies, with agroforestry smallholders being more resilient. Carbon stock accumulation was estimated to be 453.32 mg ha−1 in agroforestry and 124.7 mg ha−1 in monoculture, where no trees were found on monoculture land. The findings of the study demonstrated that carbon stock accumulation was statistically significant between the mean of soil organic carbon agroforestry land use. Agroforestry systems, in general, contribute significantly more to smallholder livelihoods, as well as the socioeconomic system, in the face of climate change concerns. Incorporating smallholders into an agroforestry system for long-term livelihood sustainability requires support in the form of resources, training, and research. In the face of climate change threats, local, regional, and national governments, as well as financial institutions and other agricultural credit providers, must support smallholders.
</abstract>

Comparative Analysis of Fruit Tree–Based Agroforestry and Monoculture in Tackling Climate Change Challenges: Evidence from Sofi District, Ethiopia

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>In this study, we used bootstrap simulation of a real data set to investigate the impact of sample size (N = 20, 30, 40 and 50) on the eigenvalues and eigenvectors resulting from principal component analysis (PCA). For each sample size, 100 bootstrap samples were drawn from environmental data matrix pertaining to water quality variables (p = 22) of a small data set comprising of 55 samples (stations from where water samples were collected). Because in ecology and environmental sciences the data sets are invariably small owing to high cost of collection and analysis of samples, we restricted our study to relatively small sample sizes. We focused attention on comparison of first 6 eigenvectors and first 10 eigenvalues. Data sets were compared using agglomerative cluster analysis using Ward’s method that does not require any stringent distributional assumptions.</abstract>

Institute of Environmental Studies, University of Karachi, Karachi-75270, Pakistan

Department of Botany, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences & Technology, Karachi-75300, Pakistan

Impact of sample size on principal component analysis ordination of an environmental data set: effects on eigenstructure

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The article compares and points out differences in driving forces of four main landscape change processes that shaped post-socialist countries and old democratic countries of Central Europe during the last two centuries. Studying landscape change processes and corresponding driving forces helps in understanding patterns of present landscape and can help among others in better prediction of future landscape change trends. Here, the presented results are based on review of scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2014. Driving forces affecting these processes were grouped into four categories. Economic forces drove mainly agricultural intensification; agricultural land abandonment and urbanisation and were pronounced especially in the second half of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century. Technological driving forces affected agricultural intensification especially in the 19th century and the second half of the 20th century while cultural driving forces had the biggest impact on urbanisation at the beginning of the 21st century. Political driving forces affected agricultural intensification, urbanisation as well as agricultural land abandonment and were pronounced mainly during the second half of the 20th century in the post-socialist countries. Political forces in the form of subsidies drove agricultural extensification at the beginning of the 21st century. The drivers for the agricultural intensification as well as urbanisation seem to be similar for both old democratic and post-socialist countries. In contrast, agricultural land abandonment in the old democratic countries was driven by technological, cultural and economic driving forces while in the post-socialist countries the political driving forces were mainly responsible. Changes in systems for subsidies and changes in the agricultural commodity markets are also responsible for different frequencies and rates of extensification of agriculture between the two groups of countries.</abstract>

Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening, Lidická 25/27, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic

Department of Physical Geography and Geoecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynská dolina, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Driving forces of main landscape change processes from past 200 years in Central Europe - differences between old democratic and post-socialist countries

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> The aim of this paper is to describe agricultural landscapes in the cadastral area of Hriňova and their development in the context of social and economic changes over the past 60 years. This area is characterized by the occurrence of historical structures of agricultural landscape (HSAL) which are important because they comprise various cultural, environmental and ecological aspects. The assessment of land use changes on the two scales of cadastral area and selected small localities highlights that the most important trend here is agricultural extensification. The results show that despite these changes in land use, the historical structures in the agricultural landscape represented by forms of anthropogenic relief remain a permanent part of this research area.</abstract>

Institute of Landscape Ecology SAS, branch Nitra, Akademická 2, P.O.Box 22, 949 10 Nitra, Slovak Republic

Department of Ecology and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 01 Nitra, Slovak Republic

Land use changes of historical structures in the agricultural landscape at the local level — Hriňová case study

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