Geoecological analysis of the Korea alpine and subalpine plants and landscapes

Present work aims to designate the alpine and subalpine plants and landscapes, and also to analyse the species composition, physiognomy, attitudinal ranges as well as formation processes of Korean alpine and subalpine belts and their geoecology. The alpine and subalpine floras of Korean mountains are evidently descended from immigrants from NE Asia during the epochs of the Ice Age. These plants, which are very intolerant of competition in warm and mild climates, have been able to persist in alpine and subalpine belts thanks to their harsh climatic conditions, sterile soil, rugged topography and cryoturbation. Continuing works on the palaeoenvironment and thermal amplitude of alpine and subalpine elements on Korea high mountains may be enabled to understand better on the geoecology and natural history of the Korean Peninsula, as well as the structures, functions, mechanism and dynamics of alpine and subalpine plants and landscapes.

Impact of Anthropogenic Factor on Karst Landscape (Zemo Imereti Structural Plateau Case Study), Georgia, Caucasus

The Zemo Imereti (Chiatura) Structural Plateau covers the easternmost part of the western Georgia limestone belt and is the only region of the platform karst in the entire Caucasus. Zemo Imereti Plateau’s complex structural studies revealed that the karst landscape has been completely transformed due to human strong economic activities, mainly related to the manganese unplanned, predatory extraction. The ore mining process completely destroyed the soil and vegetation cover thus creating “anthropo-badlands”. Due to manganese open-cast mining, the layers located over limestones are almost totally removed and heavy rains stipulate intense washout of substances from loose rocks. Intense washout of manganese extracted from mines and high contamination of river water streams take place directly in the river beds. Karst sinkholes and wells are common in the plateau, which are often used as waste fills-storages by the local population. Contaminated underground karst waters flowing into the above mentioned landforms are directly related to the karst springs used by the population and occasionally cause their turbidity and contamination, which is also confirmed by our indicator tests. As a laboratory study of the samples showed, mineralization of underground karst waters in the study area is 1.5 - 3 times higher than similar values in neighboring karst areas, which should be explained by the widespread of manganese open pits in the feeding basins of underground karst waters. According to the materials obtained from our surveys and calculations carried out, karst (chemical) denudation (surface 64.2 - 190.6 m3/km2/year, underground 1.5 - 117.0 m3/km2/year) has been increased in the study area than in other karst regions of Georgia, which is also related to technologic factors.

Geoecological Monitoring of Karst Water in Georgia, Caucasus (Case Study of Racha Limestone Massif)

Karst groundwater is the major natural resource of drinking water for many countries in the world. Especially in karstic regions, karst water requirements for settlements are provided from karst aquifers. Also, we should consider, that karst groundwater is becoming more and more valuable for drinking water supply. Thus, karst groundwater quality and permanent ecological monitoring are very important for populations. Moreover, if we consider that the karst landscape is the extremely sensitive system towards anthropogenic activities, since exaclty the anthropogenic activities largely identify the karst water pollution-turbidity causing factors. This paper presents a new study regarding the quality of the karst groundwater of the study area, which contains important resource of drinking water. In the mentioned study, 12 water samples were collected from different locations of the 4 main karst springs (Krikhula, Dolabistavi, Kidobana and Sakishore) during the spring and summer of 2014 and 2015 years. The main aim was to identify chemical compositions (Ni, Ag, Co, Cd, Zn, Pb, Al, Mg, Fe, F, Cu), and also, it was important to detect Escherichia coli (E. coli). Our research regarding all these chemical compositions shows that all the values are low and under the environmental limit according to the Georgian standards. We measured chemical parameters of all these samples by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) in the chemical laboratory of Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, country of Georgia.

Geoecological parameters indicate discrepancies between potential and actual forest area in the forest-steppe of Central Mongolia

Background:Forest distribution in the forest-steppe of Mongolia depends on relief,permafrost,and climate,and is highly sensitive to climate change and anthropogenic disturbance.Forest fires and logging decreased the forest area in the forest-steppe of Mongolia.The intention of this study was to identify the geoecological parameters that control forest distribution and living-tree biomass in this semi-arid environment.Based on these parameters,we aimed to delineate the area that forest might potentially occupy and to analyse the spatial patterns of actual and potential tree biomass.Methods:We used a combination of various geographic methods in conjunction with statistical analyses to identify the key parameters controlling forest distribution.In several field campaigns,we mapped tree biomass and ecological parameters in a study area within the Tarvagatai Nuruu National Park(central Mongolia).Forest areas,topographic parameters and vegetation indices were obtained from remote sensing data.Significant correlations between forest distribution and living-tree biomass on one hand,and topographic parameters,climate data,and environmental conditions on the other hand,were used to delineate the area of potential forest distribution and to estimate total living-tree biomass for this area.Results:Presence of forest on slopes was controlled by the factors elevation,aspect,slope,mean annual precipitation,and mean growing-season temperature.Combining these factors allowed for estimation of potential forest area but was less suitable for tree-biomass delineation.No significant differences in mean living-tree biomass existed between sites exposed to different local conditions with respect to forest fire,exploitation,and soil properties.Tree biomass was reduced at forest edges(defined as 30m wide belt),in small fragmented and in large forest stands.Tree biomass in the study area was 20×10^(9) g(1,086 km^(2) forest area),whereas the potential tree biomass would reach up to 65×10^(9) g(>3168 km^(2)).Conclusions:The obtained projection suggests that the potential forest area and tree biomass under the present climatic and geoecological conditions is three times that of the present forest area and biomass.Forest fires,which mostly affected large forest stands in the upper mountains,destroyed 43% of the forest area and 45% of the livingtree biomass in the study area over the period 1986-2017.