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POPULAR SCIENCE. Humans are rather weak when compared with many other animals. We are not particular fast and have no natural weapons. Yet Homo sapiens currently number nearly 7.5 billion and are set to rise to nearly 10 billion by the middle of this century. We have influenced almost every part of the Earth system and as a consequence are changing the global environmental and evolutionary trajectory of the Earth. So how did we become the worlds apex predator and take over the planet? Fundamental to our success is our intelligence, not only individually but more importantly collectively. But why did evolution favour the brainy ape? Given the calorific cost of running our large brains, not to mention the difficulties posed for childbirth, this bizarre adaptation must have given our ancestors a considerable advantage.

Seven published and four new pollen records from well-dated sediment cores from six Pleistocene and Holocene maar structures located in the Eifel, Germany, are combined to a pollen stack that covers the entire last 132,000 years. This stack is complemented by new macroremain data from one additional sediment core. The pollen data included into the stack show consistently that the Eifel was covered by a dense forest during the Eemian, early Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, and the Holocene. While other European records indeed indicate a warming, the early MIS 3 fully developed forest remains a unique feature in central European pollen records. Comparison to orbital parameters and insolation hints to warm and humid, however, not fully interglacial conditions, which are also visible in speleothem growth throughout Europe. With the cooling trend towards the glacial maxima of MIS 4 and 2, tree pollen declined, with recovering phases during MIS 5c and 5a, as well as during all MIS 3 interglacials. During the colder stadials, steppe vegetation expanded. For MIS 5 and 4, we defined six new landscape evolution zones based on pollen and macroremains.

\"This volume provides a landscape narrative of early hominin evolution, linking conventional material and geographic aspects of the early archaeological record with wider and more elusive social, cognitive and symbolic landscapes. It seeks to move beyond a limiting notion of early hominin culture and behavior as dictated solely by the environment to present the early hominin world as the outcome of a dynamic dialogue between the physical environment and its perception and habitation by active agents. This international group of contributors presents theoretically informed yet empirically based perspectives on hominin and human landscapes\"-- Provided by publisher.

Against the dual backdrop of rapid urban development and the drive to build an ecological civilization, coordinating industrial growth with ecological protection is crucial for the sustainable development of industrial cities. Using Haining—a typical industrial city—as a case study, this paper analyzes land-use and landscape-pattern evolution with five phases of land-use/land-cover data (1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020) and constructs an ecological security evaluation system. The results indicate that (1) under policy influences, multiple land types in Haining tended to convert into urban–rural residential construction land; (2) over the past forty years, the landscape pattern became more optimized, and ecological security improved, with increased diversity alongside reductions in fragmentation and contagion; and (3) the overall ecological security level rose significantly during the same period. Sustained macro-level policy regulation is needed to maintain long-term ecological security in industrial cities. The study shows that Haining’s ecological security is closely linked to landscape patterns, land-use change, and human disturbance. By tailoring development strategies for different stages, ecological security and sustainable development can be effectively supported, offering guidance for Haining and industrial cities worldwide.

Landscape Ecological Classification (LEC) is the premise and foundation of landscape ecology research. The current research on LEC of Mining Cities in the Semi-arid Steppe (MCSS) is relatively low. Moreover, the question of how to classify the mining landscape into ecologically significant landscape units at a scale suitable for ecological management has not been clear. The research results are as follows: (1) Google Earth, Gaode map, Baidu map, various high-resolution images, unmanned aerial vehicle, and field investigation were used to investigate the landscape types. Based on the land classification of the occurrence model, integrating theories of landscape ecology, mining, ecology, geography, and land resources, this study constructed the LEC system for MCSS using the top-down decomposition classification method, including 4 types of landscape kingdom, 16 types of landscape class, 62 types of landscape family, and more than 200 types of landscape species. (2) Based on LEC, we found the landscape type evolution characteristics of MCSS. Both the open-pit landscape and the dumping landscape were constantly expanding, and ecological restoration of the mining area was carried out simultaneously with coal mining. The trend of Change Intensity (CI) of mining industrial square landscape and industrial storage landscape was very similar. The development of coal has driven the development of the regional industry. The expansion intensity of the town commercial and residential service landscape was gradually decreasing, and the motivation for town expansion was insufficient. The research area was a typical landscape evolution mode of “human advance and grassland retreat”. However, the intensity of humans occupying grassland was decreasing. This study provides a reference for the research of LEC in the semi-arid steppe and provides a theoretical basis for the landscape ecological assessment, planning, and management of mining cities.

By simulating erosion and deposition, landscape evolution models (LEMs) offer powerful insights into Earth surface processes and dynamics. Stream-power-based LEMs are often constructed from parameters describing drainage area (m), slope (n), substrate erodibility (K), hillslope diffusion (D), and a critical drainage area (A.sub.c) that signifies the downslope transition from hillslope diffusion to advective fluvial processes. In spite of the widespread success of such models, the parameter values are highly uncertain mainly because the advection and diffusion equations amalgamate physical processes and material properties that span widely differing spatial and temporal scales. Here, we use a global catalogue of catchment-averaged cosmogenic .sup.10 Be-derived denudation rates with the aim to optimise a set of LEMs via a Monte Carlo-based parameter search. We consider three model scenarios: advection-only, diffusion-only, and an advection-diffusion hybrid. In each case, we search for a parameter set that best approximates denudation rates at the global scale, and we directly compare denudation rates from the modelled scenarios with those derived from .sup.10 Be data. We find that optimised ranges can be defined for many LEM parameters at the global scale. In the absence of diffusion, nâ¼1.3, and with increasing diffusivity the optimal n increases linearly to a global maximum of nâ¼2.3. Meanwhile, we find that the diffusion-only model yields a slightly lower misfit when comparing model outputs with observed erosion rates than the advection-only model and is optimised when the concavity parameter is raised to a power of 2. With these examples, we suggest that our approach provides baseline parameter estimates for large-scale studies spanning long timescales and diverse landscape properties. Moreover, our direct comparison of model-predicted versus observed denudation rates is preferable to methods that rely upon catchment-scale averaging or amalgamation of topographic metrics. We also seek to optimise the K and D parameters in LEMs with respect to precipitation and substrate lithology. Despite the potential bias due to factors such as lithology, these optimised models allow us to effectively control for topography and specifically target the relationship between denudation and precipitation. All models suggest a general increase in exponents with precipitation in line with previous studies. When isolating K under globally optimised models, we observe a positive correlation between K or D and precipitation 1500 mm yr.sup.-1, plus a local maximum at â¼300 mm yr.sup.-1, which is compatible with the long-standing hypothesis that semi-arid environments are among the most erodible.

In his 1925 paper describing the Taung Child fossil, Dart makes various assertions about the landscape around Taung, inferring past climate dynamics, and the role these factors play in the evolution of our early prehuman relatives. He argues that this region of southern Africa is dry today and has been for much of the Cenozoic. This notion of long-term aridity and stability has dominated perspectives on southern African landscape evolution. Here, we present a review of this field, starting with the foundational studies from the late 1890s, which underpin Dart's hypothesis. We examine the work of 20th-century researchers who developed models of landscape evolution; however, almost all of these models have been qualitative. With technological advancements, new quantitative techniques have emerged to provide evidence of landscape evolution events and to test previous models, and we present a brief overview of these methods. We call for reflection on the framing and languaging of many of these landscape models, specifically the 'African land surface' model. While the evidence of a homogeneous and stable landscape is continually being challenged through scientific advancement, this terminology is rooted in outdated colonial thinking. We also note that the key narratives that have driven research on landscape evolution have been largely shaped by selected prominent Western-based scientists. As we mark the centenary of the Taung discovery, we look toward a new era of landscape evolution research: one characterised by technological advancements and more diverse, local teams that will produce more quantitative, nuanced models for southern Africa and create richer, more dynamic backdrops for our own human evolution.Significance:We provide a review of over 100 years of models used to characterise landscape evolution in southern Africa. We argue that it is essential to reconsider current models of landscape evolution and assess their relevance in the southern African context. With technological advancements, we must question whether these models remain applicable or require revision. As scientists, we should also re-evaluate the terminology used in scientific dialogue to ensure it accurately reflects evolving perspectives. Finally, while the use of qualitative and quantitative methods have their unique benefits, we consider the application of more quantitative methods of landscape dating to test the existing models and build new, more complex ones.

Following the 130 ± 5 x 10.sup.6 m.sup.3 detachment of the Sedongpu Glacier, south-eastern Tibet, in October 2018, the Sedongpu Valley, which drains into the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River, underwent rapid large-volume landscape changes. Between December 2018 and 2022 and in particular during summer 2021, an enormous volume of in total ⼠335 ± 5 x 10.sup.6 m.sup.3 was eroded from the former glacier bed, forming a new canyon of up to 300 m depth, 1 km width, and almost 4 km length. The 2021 erosion peak happened through massive but still gradual retrogressive erosion into the former glacier bed. Several rock-ice avalanches of in total ⼠150 ± 5 x 10.sup.6 m.sup.3 added to the total rock, sediment, and ice volume of over 600 x 10.sup.6 m.sup.3 (0.6 km.sup.3) that has been exported from the basin since around 2017. The recent erosion volumes at Sedongpu are by order of magnitude equivalent to the average annual denudation volume of the entire Brahmaputra basin upstream of the location where the river leaves the Himalayas. This high-magnitude low-frequency event illustrates the potential for rapid post-glacial landscape evolution and associated hazards that has rarely been observed and considered at such high intensity so far.

Exhumation of the southern Tibetan plateau margin reflects interplay between surface and lithospheric dynamics within the Himalaya–Tibet orogen. We report thermochronometric data from a 1.2-km elevation transect within granitoids of the eastern Lhasa terrane, southern Tibet, which indicate rapid exhumation exceeding 1 km/Ma from 17–16 to 12–11 Ma followed by very slow exhumation to the present. We hypothesize that these changes in exhumation occurred in response to changes in the loci and rate of rock uplift and the resulting southward shift of the main topographic and drainage divides from within the Lhasa terrane to their current positions within the Himalaya. At ∼17 Ma, steep erosive drainage networks would have flowed across the Himalaya and greater amounts of moisture would have advected into the Lhasa terrane to drive large-scale erosional exhumation. As convergence thickened and widened the Himalaya, the orographic barrier to precipitation in southern Tibet terrane would have strengthened. Previously documented midcrustal duplexing around 10 Ma generated a zone of high rock uplift within the Himalaya. We use numerical simulations as a conceptual tool to highlight how a zone of high rock uplift could have defeated transverse drainage networks, resulting in substantial drainage reorganization. When combined with a strengthening orographic barrier to precipitation, this drainage reorganization would have driven the sharp reduction in exhumation rate we observe in southern Tibet.

Speciation genomic studies aim to interpret patterns of genome-wide variation in light of the processes that give rise to new species. However, interpreting the genomic \"landscape\" of speciation is difficult, because many evolutionary processes can impact levels of variation. Facilitated by the first chromosome-level assembly for the group, we use whole-genome sequencing and simulations to shed light on the processes that have shaped the genomic landscape during a radiation of monkeyflowers. After inferring the phylogenetic relationships among the 9 taxa in this radiation, we show that highly similar diversity (π) and differentiation (FST) landscapes have emerged across the group. Variation in these landscapes was strongly predicted by the local density of functional elements and the recombination rate, suggesting that the landscapes have been shaped by widespread natural selection. Using the varying divergence times between pairs of taxa, we show that the correlations between FST and genome features arose almost immediately after a population split and have become stronger over time. Simulations of genomic landscape evolution suggest that background selection (BGS; i.e., selection against deleterious mutations) alone is too subtle to generate the observed patterns, but scenarios that involve positive selection and genetic incompatibilities are plausible alternative explanations. Finally, tests for introgression among these taxa reveal widespread evidence of heterogeneous selection against gene flow during this radiation. Combined with previous evidence for adaptation in this system, we conclude that the correlation in FST among these taxa informs us about the processes contributing to adaptation and speciation during a rapid radiation.