Influence of Ancient Mesopotamian Aesthetics of Gardens/Parks and Water Installations on the Development of Landscape Architecture

Based on the information from fundamental historical sources, the oldest origins of civilization can be found in the river valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates. Throughout Mesopotamia important routes of trade and migration of peoples followed, which influenced the emergence and development of one of the world’s first urban-type civilizations. It was here that the Sumerian civilization evolved, leading to a major cultural and technological breakthrough. Their widely used irrigation canals influenced not only the landscape, but also the entire ecological, economic and political systems of the time, water being a particularly important factor in this civilization. The oldest known gardens have also expanded here, and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon still fuel people's imagination. Due to its unique geographical location, the region has had a profound impact on the surrounding nations, and it is no accident that the Assyrian Imperial Parks of Northern Mesopotamia exerted a great influence on the civilizations that followed. Undoubtedly, ancient Mesopotamia occupies a fundamental place in the development of garden art. With the growing use of roof gardens and the use of plants in modern architectural constructions as an extremely important tool for composition, it is worth exploring more closely the origins of this landscape-relevant process.

GIS-based research on climate suitable region of Loquat in Lishui, Zhejiang province of China

To develop a climatic suitability index and conduct the cultivation division of loquat in Lishui, Zhejiang province of China, we introduced the multi-indicator comprehensive risk assessment method to combine with the hazard factor model, necessary climatic elements during the growing season of loquat and geographic information elements. Results show that the annual active accumulated temperature (rainfall ) over most Lishui is more than 4500°C (1600mm). The two climatic factors above can well meet the needs of loquat growth. The frozen injury days over most Lishui during the young fruit period of loquat are more than 10.0 days, which are higher than those during the flowering period. The annual mean number of continuous overcast rain occurrences is less than 4.5. The climatic mean annual occurrence of persistent abnormal high temperature weather is less than 1. Overall, the most suitable area for the cultivation of loquat mainly located over the relatively flat areas such as river valleys and basins, especially the banks of the Oujiang River in Qingtian and Xiaoxi River valley in Jingning. The excellent combinations of light, heat and water with relatively few meteorological disasters just like frozen injury, continuous rain and high temperature provide a good climatic conditions of the high-quality of loquat planting.

The impact of the placer gold mining in Eastern Transbaikalia (Russia) on the environment components of river valleys in the Amur River basin

Based on the results of the analysis of satellite images and field observations, data on the length of the gold-bearing placers disturbed by the development along a number of main tributaries of the Shilka and Argun rivers are presented, the formed technogenic relief forms are indicated. Depending on the method of development, two types of technogenic landscapes have been identified - the excavation-dump with hydromonitor mining and belt trench-dump when washing with drags. The main directions of research on the assessment of placer gold mining in the natural complexes of river valleys are proposed.

Analysis and Simulations of a Heavy Rainfall Event Associated with the Passage of a Shallow Front over Northern Taiwan on 2 June 2017

From 0200 to 1000 LST 2 June 2017, the shallow, East-West oriented Mei-Yu front (< 1 km) cannot move over the Yang-Ming Mountains (with peaks ∼ 1120 m) when it first arrives. The postfrontal cold air at the surface is deflected by the Yang-Ming Mountains and moves through the Keelung River and Tamsui River valleys into the Taipei Basin. The shallow northerly winds are anchored along the northern side of the Yang-Ming Mountains for 8 hours. In addition, the southwesterly barrier jet with maximum winds in the 900–950-hPa layer brings in abundant moisture and converges with the northwesterly flow in the southwestern flank of the Mei-Yu frontal cyclone. Therefore, torrential rain (> 600 mm) occurs over the northern side of the Yang-Ming Mountains. From 1100 to 1200 LST, with the gradual deepening of the postfrontal cold air, the front finally passes over the Yang-Ming Mountains and arrives at the Taipei Basin, which results in an E-W oriented rainband with the rainfall maxima over the northwestern coast and Taipei Basin. From 1300 to 1400 LST, the frontal rainband continues to move southward with rainfall over the northwestern slopes of the Snow Mountains. In the prefrontal southwesterly flow, the orographic lifting of the moisture-laden low-level winds results in heavy rainfall on the southwestern slopes of the Snow Mountains and the Central Mountain Range. With the terrain of the Yang-Ming Mountains removed in the high-resolution model, the Mei-Yu front moves quickly southward without a rainfall maximum over the northern tip of Taiwan.

Biodiversity of oribatid mites in the ecosystems of Dagestan and their infection with Moniezia sp. procercoids

The purpose of the research is studying the oribatid mite biodiversity on the Dagestan pastures in terms of altitudinal zonation and their infection with Moniezia sp. procercoids.Materials and methods. Oribatid mites were collected in different seasons of 1990–2020 on different types of pastures of the plain, foothill, and mountain belts of Dagestan. A total of 16,000 specimens of oribatid mites were collected. 120 sets of lamb intestines were dissected. Oribatid mites were collected using the Tulgren funnel. The method of complete helminthological dissection according to K. I. Skrjabin was used in the work.Results and discussion. On low-lying wet pastures of the flat belt, up to 5800 oribatid specimens were recorded per 1 m² with 38.0% prevalence of infection (PI) with moniezia cysticercoids; 675 specimens were collected on the steppe lands with the PI of 12.5%, up to 140 specimens were collected on salt marshes with the PI 0.9%, and 52 specimens were collected in the semi-deserts with the PI 0.4%. In the foothill steppes, 1,300 oribatids specimens were found per 1 m² with their procercoid infeсtion up to 18.0%, 2100 specimens with 16.0% were collected along river valleys, and 120 specimens with the PI of 0.5% on mountain plateaus. Lambs on low-lying wetlands of the lowland belt were infected with Moniezia sp. by 72.0% with the infection intensity (II) of 8-116 specimens, on steppe pastures by 67.5% at the II of 5–36 specimens, on salt marshes by 18.0% with the II of 2–8 specimens, and in semi-deserts by 12.0% with the II of 2–5 specimens. In the foothill steppes, lambs were infected with Moniezia sp. by 68.0% with the II of 9–64 specimens, along river valleys by 69.0% with the II of 11–62 specimens, and on mountain plateaus by 12.0% with the II of 2–4 specimens.

New data on the distribution of Pallas's spadefoot toad ( (Pallas, 1771)) and fire-bellied toad ( L., 1761) (Anura, Amphibia) on the territory of the Saratov region and adjacent territories

New data on the geographical distribution of Pelobates vespertinus and Bombina bombina in the Saratov region and adjacent districts of the Volgograd, Voronezh, Penza and Ulyanovsk regions are presented. The habitation of B. bombina and P. vespertinus populations in 25 and 22 localities, respectively, was established. Most modern populations of these species of anuran amphibians have been recorded near water bodies in river valleys.

. REGIONAL PALEOTURIES AS AN INTERACTIVE FORM OF LANDSCAPE KNOWLEDGE IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE GEOTURIST ROUTE «TERRA PODOLICA»

The publication highlights the regional conditions for the implementation of paleotours, as the basic components of the structure of the complex route "Terra Podolica", the territory of Podolsk Transnistria. The main features of paleotours on the basis of territorial locations with the characteristic of technical aspects of their realization are revealed. Leading fossils have been identified that can become regional paleobrends and can be used as a means of promoting geotourism. The conditions for effective implementation of paleotours in the regional recreational complex of the Podolsk region are established. The analysis of efficiency of perspective formats of development of geotourism on the basis of regional conditions is carried out. The development of geotourism in the Podolsk region has strong prerequisites: resource base, tourist flow and developed tourist infrastructure. At the same time, among the specialized forms, only the speleological direction is actively developing. Other geotourism components are limited to mentions or brief demonstrations of individual objects during sightseeing tours. Popularization of the direction is just beginning, and geotourism products are in the state of development and experimental testing. In particular, the paleontological direction, which has examples of successful implementation of abstract implementation (for example: dinosaur parks without reference to the region), using the resource capabilities of Podillya effective formats can become branded. The main theoretical aspects to be addressed are: focusing on particularly interesting regional fossils that can be interpreted as values ​​and reveal through their prism geological history, features of modern landscapes and, if possible, regional cultural and economic phenomena, selection of effective forms of interactive interaction and development on their basis of competitive tourist products, formation and equipment of locations for realization of tourist products, popularization of the direction and interest in its realization of local economic, educational and nature protection subjects. In middle Transnistria, the valley and river landscapes change markedly from west to east (or vice versa). The main reason for this is the differences in lithological structure, emphasized by the shape of the slopes, the color of the rocks and the height distribution of plant tiers. This in turn affects the configuration of settlements, patterns of location of buildings, architectural composition of buildings, distribution of farmland. In combination with historical traditions, unique landscape and cultural entities are formed, promising for the organization of thematic tours. The visual change of geological deposits in the region is due to the lithological features of the structure, especially the Domezozoic tier. It is clearly visible in river valleys and weakly expressed in watersheds. In general, each large tributary of the Dniester corresponds to an "individual" lithological complex. Its features are preserved along the meridional extension of the watercourse with bright local manifestations in areas of tectonic activity. The effect of contrast occurs when laying a route across river valleys, when passing the watershed, the observer falls into another "landscape reality" Paleontological tours are considered by the authors focused on increasing the tourist attractiveness of the region, attracting untapped resources, optimizing tourist products within specific locations, developing innovative areas and forms of tourism and interaction with local economic systems of united territorial communities. The specifics of the organization of paleotours allows you to create a new economic niche with a staffing offer for specialists in natural specialties. Key words: geotourism, paleotours, Podolia¢/

Principles of organization of the water ecological framework of the city

This paper examines the problems of organizing coastal areas from the point of view of their most important role of the ecological framework in the structure of the city. Taking into account the needs of the population in health security, comfortable stay near the water space, possible ways to ensure the functionality of the environment and the integration of coastal territories into the planning structure of the area are proposed. Using the example of Moscow, changes in the natural component of river valleys as a result of anthropogenic impact are shown, the most significant criteria for organizing the coastal space are given, and the main design principles are identified.

Natural and anthropogenic systems as an ecological basis for the formation of an urban landscape

Natural and anthropogenic systems are the result of the transformation of natural systems included in the city boundaries. They form the basis for the formation of the urban landscape and are the centers of action of natural processes. They actively influence the development of urban infrastructure. The city of Naberezhnye Chelny is a large industrial center, the second largest in terms of population (more than 500,000 inhabitants) in the Republic of Tatarstan, which is a part of the Russian Federation. Using this city as an example, the article examines such natural and anthropogenic systems as: river valleys, gully-ravine systems and forest plantations that make up the ecological structure of an urban landscape. They are classified according to the degree of their change as a result of anthropogenic impact. There are revealed peculiarities of their influence on the development of the city’s environment.

Accumulative landforms in valleys with gas-hydrothermal manifestations of the Kuril-Kamchatka region

Within the watercourse valleys of geothermal zones, where manifestations of gas-hydrothermal activity are noted, the processes of relief formation are accompanied by chemical and thermal effects. Thermal waters contribute to the formation of specific accumulative landforms both directly in the channel and in the bottom and on the sides of river valleys. Similar phenomena have been studied in river valleys draining the slopes of the Mendeleev volcano (Kunashir Island), Baransky volcano (Iturup Island), Mutnovsky volcano and Uzon-Geyzernaya caldera (Kamchatka). The typification of accumulative relief forms is carried out, the influence of gas-hydrothermal manifestations on fluvial and slope processes is determined.