Black Lives, Green Books, and Blue Checks

The Negro Motorist Green Book was a publication that offered resources for the Black traveler from 1936 to 1966. More than a directory of Black-friendly businesses, it also offered articles that provided insights for how best to travel safely, engagement with readers through contests and invitations for readers to share travel stories, and even civil rights advocacy. Today, a contemporary counterpart to the Green Book is Black Twitter, where people share information and advocate for their community. By conducting qualitative open coding on a subset of Green Book editions as well as tweets from Black Twitter, we explore similarities and overlapping characteristics such as safety, information sharing, and social justice. Where they diverge exposes how spaces like Black Twitter have evolved to accommodate the needs of people in the Black diaspora beyond the scope of physical travel and into digital spaces. Our research points to ways that the Black community has shifted from the physical to the digital space, expanding how it supports itself, and the potential for research to strengthen throughlines between the past and the present in order to better see the possibilities of the future.

Assessment of the Consequences of Forest Fires in 2020 on the Territory of the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve

The article presents the consequences of fires that occurred on the territory Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve in April 2020. Research shows that the results of these events characterized as catastrophic. The condition of forests after fires was assessed using satellite data and field trips to review the condition of forests affected by wildfires. The total area affected by the fire in 4 foci was 51,806.5 hectares. The total area of fires in the exclusion zone is 66,222.5 hectares. About 25% of the territories affected by the fires have changed. To preserve the landscape diversity and mosaic of areas covered and not covered with forest vegetation, it is impractical to conduct afforestation (afforestation of fallows) on the territory of the reserve. Among the forests affected by fires, the majority has a high ecological and forestry potential and, accordingly, a high potential for natural recovery (81.6%). In dead forests, the share with a high potential for natural reforestation is slightly lower and amounts to 66.8%. The share of forests with low natural recovery potential is low and amounts to 1.9% and 4.8% in forests affected by fires and dead, respectively. Significantly damaged, and sometimes destroyed, were a number of rare settlements, which are not only important for nature conservation, but also classified by the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention (Resolution 4) as particularly valuable settlements, as well as the “Green Book of Ukraine” (2009). 2 groups were marked as excessively damaged on the territory of the reserve. It should be noted that there is a slight general violation of the protected core of this object of the nature reserve fund, which will allow it to preserve its environmental potential and the functions of protecting and reproducing biodiversity. Most of the areas of the reserve affected by fires have a high forestry potential and are able to recover independently, so they do not require intervention in natural processes for reforestation. The degree of transformation of the ground cover in pine and oak-pine forests of the reserve under the influence of pyrogenic factor is determined by the intensity of the fire. Reforestation in areas with low forest potential should be carried out with clear planning

Biotopic diversity and ecomorphic analysis of the Gryshkiv lis tract (Poltava)

The study of ecosystem and biotope biodiversity of park ecosystems allows to identify the most valuable plant objects in their composition, to assess the degree of stability of existing groups and to identify current threats of anthropogenic impact on them. Gryshkiv Lis tract (Poltava, Kyiv region) is one of the centers of natural phytodiversity conservation and is an array of deciduous forests with an area of ​​about 50 hectares, located adjacent to residential areas of the city. Research materials were collected during field expeditions in August–September 2021 using generally accepted geobotanical methods. The list of higher plants found on the territory of the Gryshkiv Lis tract includes 154 species belonging to 3 classes, 51 families. The most numerous of them are Asteraceae – 19%, Poaceae – 14%, Rosaceae – 11% and Lamiaceae – 10%. There are two species of plants listed in the Red Book of Ukraine and seven species are regionally rare plants. One plant group was identified in the Green Book of Ukraine. Ecomorphic analysis of species showed that mesophytes, sciogeliophytes and mesotrophs predominate in the study area. Thus, the proportions of hygromorphs, heliomorphs and tropomorphs are close to the structure of the typical flora of the forest-steppe zone, which indicates favorable development conditions for zonal forest vegetation. However, in the spectrum of cenomorphs the share of ruderants is quite significant – almost 20%, the percentage of adventitious species is close to 3%. This indicates a significant anthropogenic transformation of the flora of the surveyed object. Habitat classification was carried out in accordance with the structure of the National Catalog of Habitats of Ukraine. Studies have shown that in the tract "Grishkiv Lis" there are at least 7 habitats, including forest (Eastern European mesophilic eutrophic deciduous forests of forest-steppe and steppe zones), swampy (reedbeds normally without freestanding water, beds of large Carex spp.), shrubbery (lowland and collinar riverine willow scrub, Central European subcontinental thickets), grassy (mesophile fringes), synanthropic (ruderal biotops of perennial nitrophilic type grasses). The dominant habitat of the Gryshkiv Lis tract is natural deciduous forests. The studied object represents a characteristic type of vegetation for the forest-steppe zone – maple-linden oak wood (anthropogenically transformed) with elements of waterlogging. Its central areas are represented by stands with a high degree of preservation of the structure and have good prospects for preservation and restoration with moderate efforts. Recommendations for the preservation of floristic diversity and vegetation of the Gryshkiv Lis tract include the introduction of a system of biotechnical measures to support ecosystems, including restrictions and regulation of recreation, elimination of natural landfills, sewage disposal and elimination of unauthorized buildings. The territory has environmental, scientific, aesthetic and recreational significance. Creation here of a protected area will help preserve the coenotic, landscape and biological diversity of Poltava region.