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К интерпретации русского селезень
No full textThe paper discusses the Russian word селезень ‘drake’, which is problematic from the point of view of etymology. This word can be explained as a lexical contamination connected by a grade metathesis to сизый ‘blue-grey’ and зеленый ‘green’: сизый (in Slavic folklore, this adjective is a constant epithet for a drake) and зеленый (this word indicates the plumage colour of the male bird) = *сизелень > *силезень > селезень (because of силезень ‘spleen’). The paper is based on historical and lexicological material and uses dialectal examples that ensure the reliability of the author’s conclusions
Drivers of herb-layer species diversity in two unmanaged temperate forests in northern Spain
No full textThe identification of the drivers of diversity in understorey plant assemblages is a major challenge in forest ecology. However, it is not yet fully understood whether the same factors consistently affect different facets of species organization, such as species richness, composition and turnover. Here, we compare the influence of fine-scale environmental variables and spatial organization on the herb-layer flora of two unmanaged and ecologically different forest stands in the Muniellos Biosphere Reserve, Northern Spain. The aims of our study are to identify the most important factors influencing different facets of herb-layer plant organization, and to test whether the effect of such drivers is consistent across facets and forest types. We used Generalized Linear Models, Redundancy Analysis and Multiple Regression on Distance Matrices to model, respectively, the response of species richness, species composition and species turnover to spatial distances as well as to several environmental factors, including forest structure, light conditions, soil and topographical features. We observed a substantial consistency among variables affecting the different facets of ground-layer species organization within stands, with a subset of topographical variables with a transversal effect across facets. Although potential solar radiation was the main variable influencing species richness in the two stands, the factors shaping species composition and turnover varied across forest types: in the beech stand, slope and canopy openness were the main determinants of herb-layer species diversity and turnover; in the oak stand, the main drivers of species composition were related to topography and spatial structure, while spatial distance was the main driver of species turnover. Our study shows that the ecological processes driving fine-scale variation of ground-layer plant richness and composition are similar to those driving species turnover. Although the ecological factors shaping different facets may be the same, we highlight that, at least in temperate forests, these factors are system-specific and vary according to forest types
Effects of land abandonment on bird communities of smallholder farming landscapes in post-war Croatia: implications for conservation policies
No full textLand abandonment is a widespread phenomenon in agricultural systems, especially in former communist countries of Eastern and South-eastern Europe. Moreover, Croatia was affected by acts of war which enhanced the depopulation of marginal areas impelling further land abandonment. Agricultural landscapes in Croatia are highly parcelled with various proportions of forest habitats due to traditional smallholder farming systems. Secondary successions as a consequence of land abandonment affect farmland birds that are among the most endangered bird species in Europe. We examined bird communities along a habitat gradient in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes. We used the share of woody vegetation cover as a proxy measure for land abandonment that we classified in four classes. Our results showed no significant Shannon Wiener Index differences of bird communities along the land abandonment gradient. However, there were differences in abundances when we examined bird guilds such as farmland, forest and “other” birds separately. However, the conservation value of each of the four land abandonment classes did not show significant differences. We extracted single bird species such as the Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella), Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio), Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) and European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) as potential indicator species for the four examined land abandonment levels. With these four species we successfully modelled the distribution of the recorded bird assemblages at the plot level along the four vegetation succession stages. We emphasized the need to develop new and integrative land use management concepts for areas affected by land abandonment in order to formulate sound conservation policy
Probability-based harmonization of digital maps to produce conceptual soil maps
No full textThree centrally edited nationwide soil maps were published in Hungary between 1953 and 1988. Each of these soil maps has advantages, but serious drawbacks as well. Authors’ hypothesis was that the drawbacks of the individual soil maps are correctable with the help of other soil maps and with ancillary data. Therefore, the oldest soil map was digitized and a study was conducted for the harmonization of data on a 266 km2 area at Keszthely (near Lake Balaton) by using the CHAID classification tree method. CORINE land cover database, digital map of surface geology, digital elevation model and derived slope categories were used as ancillary data.The seven source maps contained 7–38 categories. After the intersection of all seven maps, the resulting file contained more than 50,000 polygons and nearly 14,000 category combinations. A variable — showing the probability of the category combinations in relation to the expected areas — was calculated. This was the target variable for classification by the CHAID method, using categories of the seven original maps as independent variables.0.5% of the total area was grouped into 13 less probable classes, which represent the inaccuracies of the initial maps. 99.5% of the total area was classified into 19 classes and some of them were further subdivided on the basis of the geological map. These classes were interpreted as eight WRB soil categories. The final soil map had much better spatial resolution than any of the initial soil maps, non-soil categories were interpreted as soil categories and spatial accuracy was successfully corrected with the proposed method
Mineral composition as indicator of the origin of soils formed on carbonate rocks in the Bükk-Highland (NE Hungary)
No full textBedrock has an essential role in the formation of soils, it fundamentally determines mineral composition. The present research focuses on the minerals in forest soils formed in the Bükk Mountains (NE Hungary). The composition of soil minerals was in accordance with the geological features as well as with the changes in climate and vegetation, which provide a basis for tracking the past of the soil formation mechanisms (Nemecz, 2006). Thus, by studying the mineral composition the formation processes and development of the soils can be unveiled.According to the findings it can be assumed that the investigated soils, although formed primarily on solid limestone, cannot be the products of the weathering of limestone solely, as they also contain significant amounts of silicates. The major part of the soil forming materials presumably originates from earlier dust fallings or from alluvial deposits by erosion. The former assumption is confirmed by the fact that the investigated area is located at a high altitude, thus significant amounts of eroded material could only originate from a short distance, where the bedrock also consists of limestone. Further research is needed for more detailed knowledge on the mineral composition of the soils, thus on the development of the soils and the bedrock of the investigated area
Efficient algorithms for optimization of objects and systems
No full textEfficient algorithms are needed for optimization of objects and systems, because the user would like to be sure that the optimum is global. The paper shows a very well scalable discrete firefly algorithm, developed for solving a supplier selection problem. The built in general reduced gradient and evolutionary algorithms of the Excel solver are also compared solving this problem. The results show that the firefly algorithm solves the problem in the fragment of the running time of the evolutionary algorithm. In the second part of the article, a mathematical model was formulated to solve the fixed destination multidepot multiple tour multiple traveling salesmen problem (mdmMTSP)
Hydro-energy in Slovak Republic and Taiwan R.O.C.
No full textThe paper introduces the current stage of hydropower and hydro-potential in a European landlocked country — Slovak Republic and Asia-Pacific island country — Taiwan R.O.C. (Republic Of China). Published data are present results of ongoing, one-year bilateral project focused on mapping the current development of renewable resources with closer zoom at hydroenergy and its role in overall energy development in both case studies. Purpose of the practical action research was to collect data and update information about existing power stations for records, possible future development scenarios, alternative stand alone energy approach and bilateral cooperation in the field of sustainable energy