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The purpose of the research is to study the peculiarities of growth and meat productivity of Hereford and Kalmyk bull calves bred in the conditions of the foothill zone of the Central Caucasus. The object of the research were Hereford (group I) and Kalmyk (group II) bull calves. A more complete realization of the genetic growth potential of Hereford cattle took place by the end of the research – at the age of 18 months, when the superiority of animals of this breed over the Kalmyk breed representatives was 22.6 kg (P>0.99). Heavier hot carcasses of Herefords with a difference of 18.8 kg (P>0.99) testified to their greater fullness. As a result of the differences in the mass of the hot carcass and internal fat, the highest slaughter weight and its yield were obtained from representatives of the Hereford breed, who surpassed their peers of the Kalmyk breed in these indicators by an average of 21.4 kg (P>0.99) and 2.8 abs.% (P>0.99), respectively.

The article evaluates the source material of clover according to a complex of economically valuable features. Perennial varieties of meadow clover with high winter hardiness, fodder and seed productivity, tolerance to major diseases have been studied. It was revealed that all the studied varieties are adapted to the conditions of the foothill zone of North Ossetia.

Anoura cadenai Mantilla-Meluk & Baker, 2006 is currently known from the Pacific versant of the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia. Based on the review of additional specimens we present a range extension to the southern Cordillera Central and the western slopes of the Cordillera Oriental, extending its range by 30 km north-west, 138 km south, and 155 km southwest; our data also increase the known elevation of the species from 1600 to 1970 m a.s.l. Additionally, we present a summary of the current knowledge regarding the distribution of A. fistulata in Colombia.

Groundwater pollution of the watershed is mainly influenced by the multifaceted interactions of natural and anthropogenic process. To analyse the spatial–temporal variation and pollution source identification and apportionment, the dataset was subjected to a globally acknowledged coherent technique using water quality indices and chemometric techniques (principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis. The bulk of the samples tested were below the BIS’s permissible levels. Groundwater samples from the pre- and post-monsoon seasons mostly contained the anions HCO−3 > Cl− > SO2−4 > NO−3, while the primary cations were Ca2+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > K+. Groundwater was alkaline and hard at most of the sites. According to hydro-geochemical facies and relationships, Piper diagrams, and principal component analysis, weathering, dissolution, leaching, ion exchange, and evaporation were the key mechanisms influencing groundwater quality. The hydrochemical facies classified the groundwater samples into the Ca-Mg-HCO3 type. For all the sampling locations, PIG was determined to be 0.43, 0.52, 0.47, 0.48, 1.00, and 0.70; respectively. The majority of the test locations fell into the low to medium contamination zone, as determined by the groundwater pollution index (PIG) and contamination index. Three principal components, which together account for 93.8% of the total variance, were identified via PCA. The study’s findings confirm the value of these statistical techniques in interpreting and understanding large datasets and offering reliable information to reduce the time and expense of programmes for monitoring and evaluating water quality.

Sabatini FM, Jiménez-Alfaro B, Jandt U, Chytrý M, Field R, Kessler M, Lenoir J, Schrodt F, Wiser SK, Arfin Khan MAS, Attorre F, Cayuela L, De Sanctis M, Dengler J, Haider S, Hatim MZ, Indreica A, Jansen F, Pauchard A, Peet RK, Petřík P, Pillar VD, Sandel B, Schmidt M, Tang Z, van Bodegom P, Vassilev K, Violle C, Alvarez-Davila E, Davidar P, Dolezal J, Hérault B, Galán-de-Mera A, Jiménez J, Kambach S, Kepfer-Rojas S, Kreft H, Lezama F, Linares-Palomino R, Monteagudo Mendoza A, N'Dja JK, Phillips OL, Rivas-Torres G, Sklenář P, Speziale K, Strohbach BJ, Vásquez Martínez R, Wang HF, Wesche K, Bruelheide H

There are large uncertainties looming over the status and fate of the South Asian summer monsoon, with several studies debating whether the monsoon is weakening or strengthening in a changing climate. Our analysis using multiple observed datasets demonstrates a significant weakening trend in summer rainfall during 1901–2012 over the central-east and northern regions of India, along the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basins and the Himalayan foothills, where agriculture is still largely rain-fed. Earlier studies have suggested an increase in moisture availability and land-sea thermal gradient in the tropics due to anthropogenic warming, favouring an increase in tropical rainfall. Here we show that the land-sea thermal gradient over South Asia has been decreasing, due to rapid warming in the Indian Ocean and a relatively subdued warming over the subcontinent. Using long-term observations and coupled model experiments, we provide compelling evidence that the enhanced Indian Ocean warming potentially weakens the land-sea thermal contrast, dampens the summer monsoon Hadley circulation, and thereby reduces the rainfall over parts of South Asia. The response of the South Asian summer monsoon to climate change remains uncertain. Here, the authors combine observational datasets and model simulations and show that a warming Indian Ocean and weakened land-sea thermal gradient lead to significant rainfall weakening over the central Indian subcontinent.

The spatiotemporal variability and three-dimensional structures of mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) east of the U.S. Rocky Mountains and their large-scale environments are characterized across all seasons using 13 years of high-resolution radar and satellite observations. Long-lived and intense MCSs account for over 50% of warm season precipitation in the Great Plains and over 40% of cold season precipitation in the southeast. The Great Plains has the strongest MCS seasonal cycle peaking in May–June, whereas in the U.S. southeast MCSs occur year-round. Distinctly different large-scale environments across the seasons have significant impacts on the structure of MCSs. Spring and fall MCSs commonly initiate under strong baroclinic forcing and favorable thermodynamic environments. MCS genesis frequently occurs in the Great Plains near sunset, although convection is not always surface based. Spring MCSs feature both large and deep convection, with a large stratiform rain area and high volume of rainfall. In contrast, summer MCSs often initiate under weak baroclinic forcing, featuring a high pressure ridge with weak low-level convergence acting on the warm, humid air associated with the low-level jet. MCS genesis concentrates east of the Rocky Mountain Front Range and near the southeast coast in the afternoon. The strongest MCS diurnal cycle amplitude extends from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the Great Plains. Summer MCSs have the largest and deepest convective features, the smallest stratiform rain area, and the lowest rainfall volume. Last, winter MCSs are characterized by the strongest baroclinic forcing and the largest MCS precipitation features over the southeast. Implications of the findings for climate modeling are discussed.

Aim Protected areas are established to conserve global biodiversity threatened by various factors, including invasive plants. We recorded naturalised alien plants inside and outside of protected areas to test whether they act as a barrier against the spread of alien plants. Location Five protected areas of Nepal on the central Himalayan foothills. Methods Using 6‐km transects running 3 km inside and 3 km outside of the protected areas, we sampled 30 m × 30 m plots at 300 m intervals and analysed how the representation of naturalised plants changed with increasing distance from the boundary in both directions. The relationships between the position on a transect and naturalised species richness and Shannon diversity were tested by generalised linear mixed‐effect models and linear mixed‐effects models, respectively. Further, we used regression trees to identify variables potentially confounded with the distance from the park boundary. Then, we calculated the GLMM and LMM models accounting for the selected confounded variables. Multivariate constrained ordination analyses were performed to test the effects of elevation, tree canopy, vegetation type, disturbance, propagule pressure, distance from the park boundary, time since the park establishment and location inside versus outside protected areas on the composition of naturalised species. Results Chitwan National Park harboured most naturalised species (30), followed by Suklaphanta (20), Parsa (19), Bardia (18) and Banke National Park (17). Overall, the richness and Shannon diversity of naturalised plants were significantly higher outside than inside the protected areas. When all protected areas were evaluated together, naturalised plant species richness and diversity decreased significantly from the outside to the interior of the parks, even after accounting for the selected potentially confounded factors. Main Conclusions Naturalised plant species are less represented within protected areas than outside their boundaries, which is partly due to lower propagule pressure and less intensive disturbances.

The article discusses the state and current issues of the development and production of disk tillage working bodies. Special attention is paid to the problems of choosing technological parameters, improving technological efficiency and justifying the technological parameters of disk tillage working bodies. It is noted that the proposed tillage technology was tested in the non-irrigated rain-fed and foothill zones of Uzbekistan and the Caucasus region, for spring and winter grain crops, which gave an excellent result.