Biotope Mapping

Вперше для відділення Українського степового природного заповідника "Крейдова флора" проведено інвентаризацію з класифікацією та оцінкою біотопів, з використанням сучасних підходів, не так давно впроваджених в Україні. Йдеться про найбільш детальну класифікацію біотопів UkrBiotp, яка стала основою для класифікації біотопів степової зони України і наразі активно розвивається, і національний каталог біотопів, а також співвідношення національних типів/підтипів з типами біотопів інших загальноприйнятих класифікацій, що використовуються у світі, як то EUNIS, перелік оселищ Резолюції 4 Бернської конвенції, та Додаток І Оселищної Директиви ЄС. Оцінка стійкості та созологічної цінності біотопів здійснювалась для деталізації стану рослинності і створення у подальшому плану управління територією заповідника, якого, нажаль, як і порядку організації, досі не розроблено. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For the first time in the "Kreidova flora" department of Ukrainian steppe nature reserve there biotopes inventory was conducted with their classification and assessment. There were used modern approaches recently introduced in Ukraine, such as UkrBiotop classification - the most detailed habitat classification, which is actively developing now, and the national catalog of biotopes. For each type there were selected the most suitable equivalent from other common classifications used in the world, such as EUNIS, Berne Convention Res. 4 and Annex I of the EU Habitat Directive. The assessment of the stability and sozological value of biotopes also were carried out to detail the state of vegetation and create a further management plan for the reserve, which, unfortunately, has not been developed yet.

АНОТАЦІЯ Спінова Ю.О. Созологічна оцінка біотопів екомережі на прикладі відділення Українського степового природного заповідника «Крейдова флора». – Кваліфікаційна наукова праця на правах рукопису. Дисертація на здобуття наукового ступеня кандидата біологічних наук за спеціальністю 03.00.16 – «Екологія» – Інститут агроекології і природокористування Національної академії аграрних наук України, Київ. – 2021. Дисертаційна робота присвячена класифікації, оцінці созологічної цінності та ризиків втрати біотопів відділення Українського степового природного заповідника «Крейдова флора», який є унікальною територією природно-заповідного фонду з точки зору об’єктів збереження, а також розташування у межах двох адміністративних районів Донецької області, що серед інших мають найвищий показник заповідності в регіоні. На прикладі комплексного дослідження стану та змін біотопів відділення Українського степового природного заповідника «Крейдова флора» та прилеглих територій запропоновано шляхи оптимізації ключового елементу екологічної мережі локального рівня. Розроблено екологічну мережу локального рівня на прикладі Краматорського району та запропонована перспективна схема Смарагдової мережі Донецької області. Ключові слова: збереження біорізноманіття, природно-заповідний фонд, екологічна мережа, класифікація біотопів, раритетні види, Донецька область, екосистема, Степова зона.


SUMMARY Spinova Yu. Sozological assessment of the ecological network’s biotopes on the example of the “Kreidova flora” Ukrainian steppe nature reserve branch.  The qualifying scientific paper manuscript copyright. Thesis for searching for the Candidate degree in Biological Sciences оn specialty 03.00.16 – “Еcology”. – Institute of Agroecology and Environmental Management of National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv. – 2021. The dissertation is regarding the classification, assessment of sozological value and risks of biotope loss of the branch of the Ukrainian Steppe Nature Reserve "Kreidova flora", which is a unique territory of the Nature Reserve Fund. It is located in the administrative district of Donetsk region, which has the highest conservation rate in the region and belongs to the Raigorodska regional key territory and the Sіversko-Donetsk meridional ecological corridor of the national level. The steppe zone of Ukraine in general, and the territory of Donetsk region in particular, is characterized by excessive agricultural development and excessive anthropogenic load. This is the reason for the high fragmentation of natural ecosystems, so it is here that the conservation of biodiversity through eco-networks is both a crucial and a complex task. The results of the nature reserve fund analysis and assessment of the adequacy of the ecological network of Donetsk region confirm the high degree of biodiversity and richness of natural conditions, high level of endemism and rarity of flora and unreasonably low percentage of protected areas – 3.8% compared to 7.3% average in Ukraine. The development of effective methods for the conservation of biological and landscape diversity with eco-networks, as well as management plans for protected areas is impossible without an inventory and assessment of the ecosystems state. That is why comprehensive studies of habitats and spatial distribution of natural ecosystems, which would allow effective methods and measures for their conservation, are extremely relevant. Analysis of the state of ecological networks from the local to the European level in Ukraine showed that the main problems of their formation and management are: lack of data on species and habitats; disproportionate distribution of protected areas; high level of fragmentation of territories; uncontrolled impact of climate change, as well as ignorance of communities about protected areas. The necessity of optimizing the existing structure of the nature reserve fund and the ecological network is shown, the main ones of which are the creation of new and increasing the areas of the existing protected area net, as well as ensuring the functioning of ecological networks of the local level filling the regional ecological network. Accordingly, descriptions of nature reserve networks of 18 districts of Donetsk region were provided with recommendations for the future, and a local ecological network was developed on the example of Kramatorsk district. For the first time, the classification scheme of its biotopes was formulated for the Nature Reserve "Kreidova Flora'', as well as the corresponding equivalents in the national and European classifications of biotopes. The assessment of the state of biotopes, the degree of stability and the level of their sozological value showed that 11 of the 22 that were assessed belong to the first class, which have the highest risk of loss and require special protection and special conservation measures. With the help of retrospective analysis of the most valuable types of biotopes, the positive dynamics of areas for pine forests on chalk was revealed. The main factor of change was the large fires in 1996 and 2007, which damaged up to 20% of this type of habitat in the reserve. The data show that after the first fire over the next four years, there was a successful recovery of the pine population. It is found that fire prevention and measures to preserve the diversity of species are the main problems of the "Kreidova flora" nature reserve at the present stage. In this case, the species should be constantly monitored, grass mowing should be carried out regularly together with pine sprouts in certain steppe areas with valuable steppe species, and the formation of clearings in pine areas may limit the spread of fire. Implementation of technical measures to prevent fires, limiting of invasive species and the regular pine population monitoring can be effective in reducing risks. The main types of vegetation damage from military actions in 2014 were identified and analyzed: damage to the tree/shrub layer (fires from arson / shelling, felled trees, individual trees damaged by shelling); damage to the grass layer (fires from annual fires, funnels in places where shells fall, remains of fortifications, trenches, dugouts, trenches, firing points, accumulation of household waste, as a result - nitrification and spread of ruderal plant species in such places); damage to the soil cover and its contamination with heavy metals. During the next period no significant successional changes in the disturbed areas are observed. Disturbed vegetation is restored very slowly and mainly with typical steppe species distributed in the surrounding lands. On the example of a complex study of the state and changes of Nature Reserve "Kreidova Flora” biotops and adjacent areas, ways to optimize a key element of the ecological network of the local level. An ecological network of the local level has been developed on the example of Kramatorsk district and a perspective scheme of the Emerald Network of Donetsk region has been proposed. Key words: biodiversity conservation, Nature Reserve Fund, ecological network, biotope classification, rare species, Donetsk region, ecosystem, Steppe zone.

Paramecium bursaria is an unicellular organism that lives widely in fresh water environments such as rivers and ponds. Recent studies have suggested that in vivo cellular robotics using the cells of P. bursaria as micro-machines controllable under electrical and optical stimuli, has a variety of engineering applications such as transport of micro-sized particles in the capillary systems. The present study aimed to test if the swimming cells of P. bursaria, implementable in capillaries or on chips, are applicable for detection of metal ions. For model assays, rare earth elements (REEs) were chosen as target chemicals. In P. bursaria, LC 50 values for REE ions ranged between 2.0 and 62.7 µM. Among them, Sc was shown to be most toxic. In addition to the lethal impacts of REE ions, most of REE ions at sub-lethal concentrations at around 10-30 µM, showed inhibitory action against the motility of the cells during the electrically forced motility known as galvanotaxisis. In conclusion, in the non-lethal ranges of REE concentration, swimming cells of P. bursaria report the presence of REE ions, by lowering the motility.

The introduction of the article gives a comprehensive description of the Servech hydrological reserve of republican significance, with an emphasis on the nature protection status of the territory. The aim of the research is inventory of the composition and structure of vegetation in the Servech hydrological nature reserve of republican significance as a key element of a management plan for this specially protected natural area. The composition and structure of vegetation, the degree of biodiversity have been determined, the most valuable objects of natural complexes in need of special protection have been identified as a result of a field survey of the phytodiversity of the Servech reserve (Vitebsk region, Belarus). In the main part of the work, the characteristics of all types of vegetation are given: forest, marsh, meadow, shrub, water coastal water. A vegetation map of the reserve has been created, which contains 45 classification units. It was found that the dominant types of vegetation are forest and bog. Bog pine forests dominate among the forest communities. The age structure is dominated by forests of I and II age classes. By the abundance of the stand, medium-sized plantations (0.6–0.8) prevail. The share of bogs on the territory of the reserve is almost 48 %: lowland (1896.8 ha – 20.6 %), transitional (155.1 ha – 1.7 %) and upland (2336.3 ha – 25.4 %) bogs. Shrub and meadow vegetation is in active successional dynamics. The territory of the Servech reserve is characterized by a high level of phytocenotic diversity (88 types of communities) and it is an important functional element of the ecological network of the Republic of Belarus. Rare and typical habitats occupy about 85 % of the territory of the reserve. According to the EUNIS Habitat type name classification, 25 types of biotopes have been identified, of which almost 65% are excessively humid habitats. The obtained data are necessary for the sustainable management of protected area.

The oak forest of Polesye is an example of the deciduous wood areas of Western Europe, which covered large parts in many European countries and were transformed due to industrial and agricultural use during past centuries. Vast expanses of the relict oak forest in the floodplain of the Pripyat River (National Park " Pripyatski ") are pristine and uninhabited and human influence is negligible. The area maintains many diverse water ecosystems (temporary pools, brooks, ponds, bogs, oxbow lakes). The main sources of natural disturbance are flooding and droughts in some years. This investigation of 23 reservoirs in the extremely dry year of 2002 showed their rich and diverse flora (>200 species) and fauna (>420 species). Hydrochemical parameters of the investigated pools were measured in situ during the sampling and demonstrated considerable variability, for example in pH (6.1-8.8), conductivity (41.1-410 µS/cm), temperature (9.6-28.4 o C), oxygen (0.38-14.1mg/l), hardness total and carbonate (0.4-3.6 mmol/l), NH 4 + – (0-0.6 mg/l), NO 2-– (0-0.01 mg/l), NO 3-– (0-5 mg/l), PO 4 3-(0-0.75 mg/l). The species richness of Ostracoda in the reservoirs investigated totaled 27 species (6.3% of the total fauna community composition). The Ostracoda assemblages consisted of 2-6 (temporary pools, bogs), 6-12 (brooks), 7-10 (ponds), 17-19 (oxbow lakes) species. Species number correlated primarily with the chemical composition of the pools (hardness, conductivity and so on). The total species number in the reservoirs in the relict oak forest is 64% of the total Ostracoda list for the Pripyat floodplain area.

The objectives of nature conservation focused on the protection of selected animal and plant species and individual ecosystems through conservation. The basic components of nature conservation are flora and fauna including their habitats,  biodiversity, performance and functionality of the natural environment. These can be directly linked to the goals for ecosystem, species and biotope protection. The main objective of this study is the development of an efficient  nation-wide  procedure  for  biotope  type  mapping.  This  requires  the  methodical  development  of  a systematic biotope type mapping. In preparation an exemplary region was chosen  the Köprülü Canyon National Park, which covers an area of 35,672.72 ha, The biotope types in the area were recorded, classified and mapped using GIS-supported remote  sensed  technology. Methods  of digital classification  were  utilized in determining forest  types  and  maquis.  The  remotely  acquired  information  and  the  classes  had  to  be  combined  with  other information in order to be processed via GIS. The analysis and evaluation using GIS was the basis for establishing the biotope types. The GIS analysis served to place the polygon and object classes which were classified by visual or digital image evaluation on the biotope type layer. Thus the biotope type layer is a final layer for all biotope forming  shape  files  that  serves  the  transferring  of  adjoining  polygon  classes.  The  biotopes  were  classified  by coding the homogenous biotope surfaces according to their characteristics. This made it possible to address the biotope  types  via  their  properties  in  various  hierarchical  levels.  The  typification  and  description  of  biotopes achieved through hierarchic classification. Thereafter,  the biotope types were presented as a list together with their descriptions,  which  contained  information  used  during  classification.  The  characteristics  for  classification  are distinguished by hierarchical level which entails a discreet description of the particularities and characteristics. The biotope types were mapped for each layer in a hierarchical level.

In his book Greening Berlin, Jens Lachmund (2013) contributes to the growing genre of the social studies of environmental science and governance. Focusing on Berlin’s biotope-protection policy, Lachmund’s work provides an analysis of the co-emerging of ecology and urban environmental planning. By that, he adds to the recent historiography of nature conservation and landscape planning. The book is published by MIT Press in the ‘Inside Technology’ Series, which aims to combine historiographic books on technology with methodologies developed in sociological or scientific knowledge communities. Lachmund’s book fits well into this series as it ‘combines insights and methods from social studies of science and technology, from environmental sociology, from environmental history, and from urban studies to shed light on the nexus of science, politics, and the spaces of the natural environment’ (p. 5). This framing provides the background we have in mind when we review this book from the perspective of the social studies of science and technology (STS). Before turning to a discussion of Lachmund’s detailed argument, we begin our review with a brief reflection on the discourse of current (urban) environmental science and governance.

The paper presents a practice-based systemic design project regenerating former gardening colony of Prague 22 district. Codesigned with local and transdisciplinary stakeholders, COLreg is integrating human and non-human communities, generating a bioregion for-and with-all. Our regions and economies are dependent on the overall ecosystem. However, recent models are not good at equally integrating other species and beings. The COLreg project is aiming at introducing a new, 21st century, model of symbiotic synergy of Post-Anthropocene. Introduction:

Landscape planning, which is one of the fields of studies of landscape architecture are described briefly as a “creative nature conservation”. In the modern sense, nature conservation intended to protect geological and biological diversity of a landscape. In order to resources and recognition of objects and properties to be protected must be known. Of organisms, ie plants and animals living associations formed biocenos, the biotope is known as the space occupied by them. Distribution of biotopes, species composition and structure in landscape of the determined work of biotope mapping and planning studies, these studies have contributed much to the ecological approach. Biotope mapping can be made successfully in the flora of the region depends on a very well known. Therefore, biotope mapping, floristic surveys, and observations made as a prerequisite for the work is of great importance.

In this study, the spatial distribution of biotopes in the Valley of Zekeriyaköy, floristic composition and structure will be investigated. For this purpose, the spatial distribution of landscape elements, and the delineation of the biotopes, the studies to be made a priority. To be determined with the help of satellite images and aerial photographs, mapping and characterisation of the investigation of different biotopes, is of great importance in terms of planning. Evaluation of the data obtained with the help of GIS and digital maps, biotopes as a result of the transfer site, size and exact boundaries and clearly emerges.