Landscapes—Structure, Functions, and Development Trends (On the Example of Landscapes of Georgia)

The article discusses the peculiarities of landscape geography development, types of landscape structure and their types, the essence of cultural landscape and its types, landscape functions and peculiarities of their definition, the main tasks and challenges of using and managing Georgian landscapes.

The effect of water spreading system on the functionality of rangeland ecosystems

In recent decades, the control of floods is an efficient management practice for the rehabilitation of rangelands in most arid and semiarid areas. To evaluate the benefits, we used the Landscape Function Analysis （LFA） method to assess the function of patches and qualitative capability of a rangeland ecosystem in Gareh By- gone region, Fars province, southwestern Iran. Landscape functionality depends on soil, water and nutrient （col- lectively called ＂resources＂） conservation and use within a given ecosystem. Many landscapes are naturally het- erogeneous in terms of resource control and possess patches, where resources tend to accumulate, and in- ter-patches. Assessing rangeland health and function of landscape patches in response to environment and man- agement can give rise to correct management decisions for qualitative improvement of the ecosystem. Therefore, our study area was divided into two parts, i.e. water spreading and control parts, and sampling was done using LFA method in each part separately. Structural parameters, including the number, length and width of patches, and the mean length of inter-patches, were determined by the method to characterize the functional status of the monitoring sites. For each patch/inter-patch type identified in the transect organization log, we recorded its soil surface proper- ties classified according to the Soil Surface Assessment Method. The density, canopy cover and composition of plants were then assessed. The results showed that the number of ecological patches and their dimensions were significantly increased in the water spreading site. Soil stability and the values of nutrient cycling indices were in- creased but the infiltration values were decreased in the water spreading site. It could be related to the effect of suspended materials transported by floods to the soils in the study area. The improvement of ecological patches and rangeland ecosystem was achieved where water spreading systems were practiced. Therefore it can be con- cluded that water spreading as a management plan plays an important role in arid land ecosystem functionality.

Spatiotemporal Evolution and Influencing Factors of Landscape Ecological Vulnerability in the Three-River-Source National Park Region

The increasing impact of global warming and human activities has exacerbated the ecological environment in the Three-RiverSource National Park Region(TNPR). Understanding the temporal and spatial evolution of landscape ecological vulnerability(LEV)and its influencing factors are crucial to the implementation of environmental management. Here, we aimed to: 1) construct a LEV assessment model integrating landscape structure and function;2) analyze the temporal and spatial evolution of TNPR’s LEV from 1995to 2015;3) use geographic detectors to reveal the regional influence factors of TNPR’s LEV. The main findings were: 1) grasslands, water, and bare land are important landscapes of TNPR, accounting for 98.37% of the total area. During the study period, there were significant differences in the area of different landscapes;except for desert, shrub, and urban land, the other landscape areas showed a decreasing trend. 2) During the study period, the LEV of TNPR showed a downward trend;except for grasslands, the ecological vulnerability of the other landscapes decreased steadily. Furthermore, a pattern of conversion from high to low vulnerability grade was observed in the study area. In terms of spatial distribution, the LEV level shows a trend of high at both ends(east and west) and low in the middle.3) Overall, the impact of natural factors on the ecological vulnerability of the TNPR was significantly higher than that of human factors.In conclusion, our study provides a scientific basis for landscape structure optimization and the management of regional ecological vulnerability.

How the “Folding Funnel” Depends on Size and Structure of Proteins?A View from the Scoring Function Perspective

It has been well accepted that the folding energy landscape may resemble a funnel according to the theory of protein folding. This theory of ＂folding funnel＂ has been extensively studied and thought to play an important role in guiding the sampling process of the protein folding and refinement in protein structure prediction. Here, we have investigated the relationship between the ＂funnel likeness＂ of protein folding and the size/structure of the proteins based on a set of non-homologous proteins we have recently evaluated using a statistical mechanicsbased scoring function ITScorePro. It was found that larger proteins that consist of more helix/sheet structures tend to have a higher score-Root Mean Square Deviation（RMSD） correlation（or a more funnel like energy landscape）.Another measurement in protein folding, Z-score, has also shown some correlation with the size of the proteins.As expected, proteins with a better ＂olding funnel likeness＂（or score-RMSD correlation） tend to have a betterpredicted conformation with a lower RMSD from their native structures. These findings can be extremely valuable for the development and improvement of sampling and scoring algorithms for protein structure prediction.

The effects of land consolidation on the ecological connectivity based on ecosystem service value： A case study of Da＇an land consolidation project in Jilin province

Land consolidation has a profound impact on landscape patterns and ecological functions at various scales through engineering and biological measures. In recent years, China invests more than 100 billion RMB yuan on land consolidation each year. To under- stand how land consolidation affects landscape patterns and ecosystems, we investigated the ecosystem service value and the ecological connectivity in a consolidated area of Da＇an city from 2008 to 2014 using a revised ecological connectivity index. The results indicated that land consolidation has certain negative influences on the ecosystem services in this area. The total ecosystem service value will decrease by nearly 30% in the late stage of consolida- tion. This decrease is caused by the loss of ecosystem service of the wetland and grassland, despite a sensible increase of cultivated land. In addition, land consolidation could change the ecological connectivity as well as the land use structure. Up to 85% of the entire area will be in low connectivity in the late stage of consolidation, representing a 6.23% increase in the total coverage compared to pre-consolidation. Finally, the different connectivity landscape and their key areas can be identified by the revised ecological connectivity index effectively. This study is helpful to trace out the relationships between landscape pattern and ecological process, and provides insights for ecological planning and designing of land consolidation in this area. We suggest that more attentions should be paid to improve the quality and eco- system service value per unit area of the landscape, to establish ecological compensation mechanism of wetland losses, and to create the ecological corridors along the least accu- mulated impendence surface in the key areas during land consolidation.