The Handsome Cross Grasshopper Oedaleus decorus (Germar, 1825) (Orthoptera: Acrididae) as a Neglected Pest in the South-Eastern Part of West Siberian Plain

Oedaleus decorus is a widely distributed acridid over the Eurasian semi-arid territories, from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast. In many semi-arid territories, O. decorus was and is the most important pest, but in the south-eastern part of West Siberian Plain, it was not considered a pest until the 1960s. We compared two sets of data on the acridid distribution in the region: before 1960 and from 1961 until 2021. Until the 1960s, the species occurred mainly in the southern steppes. Since the 1960s, its distribution changed significantly. Nowadays, it occupies almost all local steppes and the southern part of the forest-steppes and can be also found on the eastern side of the Ob River. These shifts may be explained by both climatic changes and changes in human activities. During upsurges the densities of O. decorus were often more than one to two adults per square meter. It is often abundant in the same habitats and in the same periods as the Italian locust (Calliptamus italicus)—one of the most important acridid pests. This means during joint outbreaks these two species can simultaneously damage almost all spectrum of plants.

Diffuse Anthropization Impacts in Vulnerable Protected Areas: Comparative Analysis of the Spatial Correlation between Land Transformation and Ecological Deterioration of Three Wetlands in Spain

The management and conservation of wetlands and vulnerable protected areas of high ecological value dependent on the existence of water is complex and generally depends on the climate and rainfall in semi-arid territories such as southeastern Spain. However, one variable that is not usually considered sufficiently rigorously in this field of research is the environmental impact of the transformation of the surrounding territory due to anthropic diffuse issues. This phenomenon is not easy to appreciate, since it does not necessarily occur in the environment directly closest to protected areas and it is always difficult to measure and analyze. This study proposes an innovative spatiotemporal methodological framework to evaluate all these phenomena of diffuse anthropization whose indirect impacts on protected areas dependent on the existence of water are currently full of unknowns. Using GIS indicators, a geostatistical analysis based on the concept of the area of influence of diffuse anthropization (AIDA) is proposed to assess the spatial correlation between the anthropic transformation of the territory and the degradation of protected areas over time. The proposal has been applied with a comparative approach to three case studies located in Spain between 2000 and 2020, obtaining clarifying results on the existing spatial correlation patterns between both questions.

The history of creating Pamir Highway and its meaning for arranging artificial irrigation of Central Asia (late XIX – early XX centuries)

Appearing the Pamir Highway made the lands of Central Asia accessible for scientific expeditions. Arid and empty territories could not have been used in agriculture and industry without irrigation, and development of the region depended on this. At the end of the XIX century. Many scientists studied the geographic features and problems of artificial irrigation in the arid territories of Central Asia. In scientific works, they considered the opportunities of improving the land, arranging new systems of artificial irrigation, building dams and hydroelectric power stations. By the middle of the XIX century, the reclamation of agricultural lands was for the first time included in the list of the most important directions of state activities, the first state reclamation law in Russia was adopted. The railway and the communication routes connected with it enabled the development of agriculture and industry in the Turkestan Territory. The region acquired a connection with shopping centers and provinces of Russia, the expansion of markets for products, the growth of cities, the settlement and development of the regions of Central Asia began, and roads were laid there in the late XIX – early XX centuries.

Из опыта борьбы с эпидемическими заболеваниями в Калмыкии: эпидемия чумы 1914 г.

Introduction. The article analyzes the anti-plague efforts launched in the Kalmyk Steppe in 1914. The topic remains understudied in domestic historiography, and only a few papers dealing with Kalmykia’s public healthcare history contain occasional mentions of some epidemic diseases. So, the 1914 plague epidemic has been overlooked as well. And the study proves even more relevant nowadays when humanity is globally facing COVID-19 threats. Goals. The paper specifically aims to provide insight ― on the basis of primary archival sources newly introduced into scientific circulation ― to the struggle against plague in the Kalmyk Steppe in June and July of 1914. Materials and Methods. The work employs general scientific and specifically historical methods, with emphasis be laid on the principle of historicism, method of systemic analysis, and interdisciplinary approach. The latter is particularly important when it comes to examine an epidemic in a nomadic society across arid territories ― and all that took place over 100 years ago. The article deals with archival documents stored at the National Archive of Kalmykia (Kalmyk People’s Administration collection). Those files included in the catalogue of Public Healthcare Department contain materials on three episodes of plague in June and July of 1914, and prove instrumental in reconstructing the actual events in detail. Results. The article chronicles the dramatic vicissitudes of the 1914 plague epidemic in Kalmykia, and shows that all required and justified disinfection measures were assumed, e.g., a strict quarantine was established in the affected areas, sick individuals were isolated and healthy ones evacuated to a safe distance. The doctors were conducting a total inspection of the population in areas adjacent to those of outbreaks, which was followed by two more weeks of observations.