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Scolytinae species that, in high populations, can damage reducing wood production in forest crops. These beetles are monitored with traps baited with ethanol and increasing their efficiency can improve the integrated management of these insects. The objective was to evaluate the increase in the capture efficiency of Scolytinae with a semi-funnel trap model, in two experiments, one including wooden elements and other increasing the flight interception area and to correlate the numbers of these beetles collected with climatic factors. In the experiment 1, Eucalyptus urophylla S. T. Blake slats were directly attached to the collector flask and in another treatment, in addition to these slats, Cedrela sp. strips were inserted inside the bait holding hose. In the experiment 2, the insect interception area in the trap, originally 480 cm2, was expanded to 1,200 cm2 and compared with the model Pet–Santa Maria trap with an interception area of 550 cm2. Weekly collections were carried out between May 2018 and June 2019. The beetles collected were taken to the Wood Biodeterioration Laboratory of the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) where they were sorted, identified at family level, counted and their number correlated with climatic factors. Statistical analyzes of the collected data were processed by the BioStat® 5.3 program. In the experiment 1 were collected 869 Scolytinae. The numbers of beetles collected per trap without modification, with E. urophylla slats and E. urophylla slats + Cedrela sp. strips were similar, 7.3 ± 3.8, 7.8 ± 6.2 and 7.7 ± 5.0 respectively. In the experiment 2 were collected 4,398 Scolytinae. Increasing the interception area of the beetles increased the efficiency of the semi-funnel trap, with 42.7 ± 20.5 Scolytinae collected compared to the original semi-funnel trap, 28.6 ± 12.6 and the Pet–Santa Maria, 20.4 ± 10.4, per trap. The number of Scolytinae did not correlate with climatic factors in the experiment 1 and it was correlated with temperature, relative humidity and wind speed, but not with precipitation, in the 2. The incorporation of E. urophylla slats or Cedrela sp. strips in the semi-funnel trap did not increase the number of beetles collected, but, the increase in the flight interception area and the temperature, relative humidity and wind speed were correlated with the number of beetles collected. Resumo Espécies de besouros Scolytinae, em altas populações, podem danificar a madeira e reduzir a produtividade de cultivos florestais. Esses besouros são monitorados com armadilhas iscadas com etanol e o aumento da eficiência das mesmas pode melhorar o manejo integrado desses insetos. O objetivo foi avaliar o aumento da eficiência de captura de Scolytinae com armadilha modelo semifunil, em dois experimentos, um incluindo elementos de madeira e outro aumentando a área de interceptação de voo e correlacionar o número desses besouros coletados com fatores climáticos. No experimento 1, ripas de Eucalyptus urophylla S. T. Blake foram fixadas, diretamente, no frasco coletor e em outro tratamento, além dessas ripas, fitas de Cedrela sp. foram inseridas no interior da mangueira porta isca. No experimento 2, a área de interceptação de insetos na armadilha, originalmente, com 480 cm2, foi ampliada para 1200 cm2 e comparada com a armadilha modelo Pet–Santa Maria com área de interceptação de 550 cm2. Coletas semanais foram realizadas entre maio de 2018 a junho de 2019. Os insetos capturados foram levados ao Laboratório de Biodeterioração da Madeira da Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) onde foram triados, identificados em nível de família, contados e a abundância correlacionada com fatores climáticos. As análises estatísticas dos dados coletados foram processadas pelo programa BioStat® 5.3. No experimento 1 foram coletados 869 Scolytinae. Os números de besouros coletados por armadilha sem modificação, com ripas de E. urophylla e com ripas de E. urophylla + fita de Cedrela sp. foram semelhantes, 7,3 ± 3,8; 7,8 ± 6,2 e 7,7 ± 5,0 respectivamente. No experimento 2 foram coletados 4398 Scolytinae. O aumento da área de interceptação dos besouros aumentou a eficiência da armadilha semifunil, com 42,7 ± 20,5 Scolytinae coletados por armadilha comparado a semifunil original, 28,6 ± 12,6 e a Pet–Santa Maria, 20,4 ± 10,4. O número de Scolytinae não se correlacionou com os fatores climáticos no experimento 1 e se correlacionou com a temperatura, umidade relativa e velocidade do vento, mas não com a precipitação, no 2. A incorporação de ripas de E. urophylla ou fitas de Cedrela sp. na armadilha semifunil não aumentou o número de besouros coletados, mas, o aumento da área de intercepção de voo e a temperatura, umidade relativa do ar e velocidade do vento se correlacionaram com o número de besouros coletados.

Recently, the whole world witnessed the fatal outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic originating at Wuhan, Hubei province, China, during a mass gathering in a film festival. World Health Organization (WHO) has declared this COVID-19 as a pandemic due to its rapid spread across different countries within a few days. Several research works are being performed to understand the various influential factors responsible for spreading COVID. However, limited studies have been performed on how climatic and socio-demographic conditions may impact the spread of the virus. In this work, we aim to find the relationship of socio-demographic conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and population density of the regions, with the spread of COVID-19. The COVID data for different countries along with the social data are collected. For the experimental purpose, Fuzzy association rule mining is employed to infer the various relationships from the data. Moreover, to examine the seasonal effect, a streaming setting is also considered. The experimental results demonstrate various interesting insights to understand the impact of different factors on spreading COVID-19.

The changes in the annual runoff of plain rivers are estimated on the method that based on the restoration of the natural runoff of the last decades, during which significant anthropogenic changes took place. For these purposes, we used data on the runoff of rivers (tributaries of the considered rivers and their upper parts), the water regime of which is relatively slightly changed by anthropogenic impact. Data on restored river flow were compared with anthropogenic-altered flow for this period and for the base period preceding it, when anthropogenic impact can be neglected. It is shown that climatic and anthropogenic factors act on the runoff both unidirectionally, increasing or decreasing it, and in opposite directions. At the same time, the influence of anthropogenic factors, mainly reservoirs and water consumption, they are commensurate with the influence of climatic factors, and in many cases exceeds it. Оценены изменения годового стока равнинных рек на основе метода, основанного на восстановлении естественного стока последних десятилетий, в течение которых происходили его существенные антропогенные изменения. Для этих целей использованы данные о стоке рек (притоков рассматриваемых рек и их верхних частей), водный режим которых относительно слабо изменен антропогенным воздействием. Данные о восстановленном речном стоке сравнивались с антропогенно-измененным стоком за этот период и за предшествующий ему базовый период, когда антропогенным воздействием можно пренебречь. Показано, что климатические и антропогенные факторы действуют на сток как однонаправленно, увеличивая или уменьшая его, так и в противоположных направлениях. При этом влияние антропогенных факторов, главным образом водохранилищ и водопотребления, соизмеримо с влиянием климатических факторов, а во многих случаях превосходит его.

The paper aimed at measuring the volatility of sheep price in real pastoral market. It used a long-term empirical data (2003-2017), an Empirical orthogonal Functions analysis (EOF) and statistics. With cumulated variances of 57.89%, EOF divided the results into 3 batches according to linear coefficient of correlation of Pearson (r). It measured low degrees of positive or negative dependence between variables. State intervention was not efficient for stabilizing prices also. The implications of the observed findings are improved instruments based on fundamental market forces for struggling efficiently against price instability.

Aedes aegypti is the main vector of dengue in the Americas and is also a transmitter of urban yellow fever arboviruses, Zika, and Chikungunya, all of which have substantial economic impacts on the affected countries. Through mathematical models, the influence of climatic factors on the oviposition of Ae. aegypti was determined. The data were collected in the city of Apucarana, Paraná State, using oviposition traps. Daily data were submitted to a negative binomial regression model (p

The population dynamics of shrews (Soricidae) are not well known even though they form an important part of forest ecosystems and represent suitable bioindicators of ecosystem quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the population dynamics of shrews in mountain and upland forest clearings in four study areas within the Czech Republic and to reveal how climatic factors influenced fluctuations in their abundance for a decade (2007–2017). In total, we trapped 7,538 individuals of 18 small mammal species. From 760 individuals of seven shrew species, the common shrew (Sorex araneus) was significantly dominated in all study areas. We did not observe any significant, regular multi-annual cycles of the common shrew. However, a cross-correlation in density fluctuation of this species was detected in all mountain areas indicating the influence of environmental factors acting on a larger geographical scale. The autumn abundance of shrews was dependent on the subset of climatic variables, together explaining 56% of the variance in the linear regression model. Except for the length of the snow cover of ≥ 5 cm, all other significant variables were associated with North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Longer duration of snow cover during the winter before trapping, higher average NAO value during months before trapping, and NAO value in September influenced negatively the autumn abundance of shrews, contrary, higher value of NAO in May and October increased the abundance. Our results demonstrate the sensitivity of shrews to winters with a longer period of snow cover and to climatic oscillations associated with the NAO, whose effect is monthly dependent and probably indirectly influencing shrews through their prey.

Tipulidae, one of the most diverse families of Diptera, is widely distributed in the world. The adults have weak flight ability, making it an ideal model for studying the formation of insect diversity. This study aims to explore the species diversity and endemism of Tipulidae in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the surrounding areas, as well as analyze the relationships between the diversity pattern and 25 environmental factors in mountainous and non-mountainous regions. To this end, we collected 2589 datasets for the distribution of 1219 Tipulidae species, and found three areas with high diversities of Tipulidae around the QTP, including the Sikkim-Yadong area, Kamen River Basin, and Gongga Mountain. Further R, generalized additive model (GAM), and stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that the richness and endemism of Tipulidae is mainly influenced by the warmest quarter precipitation and topographic heterogeneity in mountainous regions, but in non-mountainous regions, the richness is mostly affected by the precipitation seasonality, while there is no regularity in the relationship between endemism and environmental factors. In addition, the richness model in mountainous regions was in conformity with the results of GAM.

Analizamos 103 censos de vegetación de la Estepa Magallánica Seca, un área de 12000 km2 de estepas graminosas semiáridas en el SE de la Patagonia. Los objetivos del presente trabajo fueron ampliar el relevamiento de vegetación de la región, clasificar las principales comunidades, interpretarlas en función de Modelos de Estados y Transiciones (MEyT), cartografiar su distribución espacial y buscar evidencias de posibles transiciones mediante análisis de contrastes de alambrado. El análisis de conglomerados definió 10 comunidades vegetales, algunas de las cuales no estaban contempladas en el MEyT previo, por lo que fue necesario generar un nuevo MEyT. Este modelo incluye transiciones ya descriptas previamente, en las que la erosión expone horizontes Bt y genera condiciones favorables a Estepas Subarbustivas, pero además, otras en las cuales se acumulan sedimentos que favorecen a Pappostipa chrysophylla, una gramínea psamófila invasora. Tres estados que se diferenciaban en el modelo anterior por cambios reversibles de cobertura de pastos cortos fueron combinados para reflejar solamente transiciones irreversibles. Para la cartografía se trazaron polígonos alrededor de cada censo sobre imágenes satelitales LANDSAT, se combinaron de acuerdo con el análisis de agrupamiento, se obtuvieron firmas espectrales, se clasificaron y se agruparon las clases del mapa en cinco estados. La precisión del mapa fue mayor al 61%. El 39% del área correspondió a Coironales en buena condición de conservación, dominantes al sur. Le siguen en importancia las Estepas Subarbustivas con P. chrysophylla (18%) y las Estepas Subarbustivas (15%), ambas degradadas. Los contrastes de alambrados evidenciaron transiciones que habían sido hipotetizadas en el modelo, como las que llevaron a Estepas Subarbustivas degradadas asociadas probablemente a un pastoreo de invernada intenso previo. El mapa y el MEyT que se presentan en este trabajo permiten interpretar mejor la dinámica de la Estepa Magallánica Seca, una de las áreas ecológicas más diversas y productivas de la Patagonia, que muestra extensas áreas degradadas. Estos pastizales deberían ser protegidos en el futuro, ya que no existen prácticamente áreas de conservación. En este sentido, toda la región debería ser conservada por medio de un manejo de cargas ganaderas moderadas y descansos que aseguren el mantenimiento de la biodiversidad, productividad y servicios ecosistémicos. We analyzed 103 vegetation relevés in the Dry Magellan Steppe, a 12000 km2 semiarid biozone (170-270 mm of annual rainfall) dominated by grass steppes in the SE of Patagonia. The objective was to map rangeland states within the State and Transition Model (STM). Cluster analysis showed 10 communities, some of them not included in previous STM models of the region, so that a new model was designed. In addition to already described transitions such as those driven by erosion that exposes argilic soil horizons covered by dwarf Shrub Steppes, the new model includes transitions driven by eroded soil accumulation that benefit Pappostipa chrysophylla, an invasive psammophyle grass species. Three states previously differentiated by short grass cover were combined in order to reflect only irreversible transitions. Maps were obtained by drawing polygons around each relevé, grouping them in accordance to the classes defined by cluster analysis and extracting spectral firms of these areas in a Landsat 8 image. These classes were grouped into five states. We estimated 61% precision of the map. Tussock grasslands in good conservation state occupied 39% and were dominant in the south of the area. Degraded dwarf shrub steppes with P. chrysophylla (18%) and dwarf shrub steppes (15%) were next in importance. Fence contrasts in the map show some of the hypothesized transitions, such as those that lead to dwarf shrub or dwarf shrubs with P. chrysophylla in highly grazed wintering areas in the north. The map and new STM will help to interpret the dynamics of the Magellan Steppe, one of the most diverse and productive biozones of Patagonia that shows clear evidence of past degradation. Some of these rangelands should probably be protected in the future, as conservation areas are almost nonexistent. In this sense, all of the region should be conserved in productive units by managing grazing with moderate stocking rates and rests in order to ensure conservation of biodiversity, productivity and other ecosystem services. EEA Santa Cruz Fil: Schenkel, Cintia Anahí. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina. Fil: Oliva, Gabriel Esteban. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina. Fil: Oliva, Gabriel Esteban. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral. Unidad Académica Río Gallegos; Argentina. Fil: Paredes, Paula Natalia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina. Fil: Humano, Gervasio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina. Fil: Ferrante, Daniela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina. Fil: Ferrante, Daniela. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral. Unidad Académica Río Gallegos; Argentina.

'Hop' (Humulus lupulus) cultivar trials were conducted at sites in three Virginia counties (Northampton, Chesterfield, and Madison) in response to demand by the craft beer industry for local ingredients. In 2016, a replicated study involving five cultivars (Cascade, Chinook, Newport, Nugget, and Zeus) was established on an 18-ft-tall trellis system at each site. Weather data influencing infectivity of downy mildew (Pseudoperonospora humuli) and powdery mildew (Podosphaera macularis), two economically important hop diseases, was collected, and to the extent possible, similar cultural practices were applied at each site. Climatic conditions favorable to P. humuli and P. macularis were present throughout the experimental period, and P. humuli infection was widespread at all sites starting from 2017. Among common pests, Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) was the only one observed to cause significant damage. Unseasonably high rainfall in 2018 led to crop failure at all but the Northampton site, and harvesting was done at all sites only in 2017 and 2019. Yields (kilograms per hectare by weight) in 2017 were found to be >= 45% lower than second-year estimates for yards in the north and northwestern United States. Quality attributes (alpha and beta acids; essential oil) for cones harvested from the Chesterfield site were comparable to published ranges for 'Cascade' in 2019, but lower for the other cultivars. More work is needed to identify or develop cultivars better suited to conditions in the southeastern United States. The influence of terroir on quality of commercial cultivars produced in the region should also be examined. U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture-1890 Institution Capacity Building Grant [2015-38821-24384] Published version This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture-1890 Institution Capacity Building Grant (Agreement 2015-38821-24384).

The study of the energy potential of forest bedding in the deciduous forest areas of the “Lisnyky” NatureReserve of the Holosiivsky National Nature Park revealed the nonlinear nature of its annual dynamics. Themain sources of replenishment of the organic stock of this component of broadleaf forest phytocoenosiswere the active development of herbaceous vegetation in spring and significant leaf rainfall in autumn. Atthe same time, significant changes in the processes of accumulation and decomposition of organic matter offorest bedding occurred under the influence of climatic factors such as temperature and precipitation. Theexperimental site was located in moderately moist oak forest ass. Convallario majali-Quercetum roborisShevchyk & V. Sl. in Shevchyk & al. 96. The age of the old Quercus robur oak trees, which occupy the firsttier of the forest, exceeds 100 years. The second tier is formed by other broadleaf species, Acer platanoides,A. campestre, A. tataricum, Carpinus betulus, Fraxinus excelsior and Tilia cordata, up to 30 years old. Theenergy reserve was calculated from the dry organic matter content. The obtained data were compared with meteorological data of the corresponding month of the year and correlation coefficients were calculated.Correlation analysis confirmed the relationship between climatic factors and the energy potential of forestbedding. The inverse of the mean force (R = -0.515) shows the relationship between the energy potential ofthe forest bedding and the average monthly temperature and the high direct correlation between the energypotential and the amount of average monthly precipitation (R = 0.755). In general, forest bedding can beconsidered an important component of the ecosystem, which responds quickly to external factors andcharacterizes the state of the forest ecosystem, and its energy potential can be an effective indicator of forestecosystem stability in climate change monitoring., Дослідження енергетичного потенціалу лісової підстилки на ділянках широколистяного лісузаказника «Лісники» НПП «Голосіївський» виявило нелінійний характер його річної динаміки.Кореляційний аналіз підтвердив наявність взаємозв’язку між кліматичними факторами таенергетичним потенціалом лісової підстилки. Показано обернений середньої сили (R = -0,515)зв’язок між енергопотенціалом підстилки і середньомісячною температурою та високий показник прямої кореляції між енергопотенціалом і кількістю середньомісячних опадів (R = 0,755).Загалом, лісову підстилку можна розглядати важливим компонентом екосистеми, який швидкореагує на зовнішні фактори та характеризує стан лісової екосистеми, а її енергетичний потенціал може бути ефективним показником стабільності лісової екосистеми в системі моніторингу наслідків зміни клімату.

Vegetation is an important part of a regional ecological environment and vegetation coverage can reflect the health of a regional ecological environment. Through an analysis of and research into changes in the vegetation NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) and its driving factors in the Pearl River Delta region, the spatial–temporal pattern of vegetation changes and the driving factors can be measured. It is of significance to improve the ecological environment quality of the Pearl River Delta region and to promote the sustainable development of the regional economy. Based on SPOT/VEGETATION NDVI satellite remote sensing data, meteorological data, population density data, and gross domestic product (GDP) data during the period 2000–2019, this paper analyzed the temporal and spatial trends of the vegetation NDVI as well as the climate factors and human activities in the Pearl River Delta on a pixel scale. The correlations between the vegetation NDVI and precipitation, temperature, population density, GDP, and other factors were also estimated. The results showed that during the period 2000–2019, the annual mean NDVI significantly increased, with a growth rate of 0.0044 (R2 = 0.71, p < 0.0001). The NDVI in the center of the Pearl River Delta was lower than that in other regions. As far as the driving factors of the NDVI were concerned, among the climatic factors, the response of the NDVI to temperature was higher than that for precipitation in the Pearl River Delta. Human activities had changed from a negative hindering effect on the NDVI to a positive promoting effect. The correlation between the NDVI and the GDP was higher than that for population density. Policy factors such as the “Grain for Green Project” as well as an increase in the sown area of crops and land use changes were also important driving factors of the NDVI. It is suggested that the NDVI can be increased by the implementation of artificial afforestation policies, building a “Green City”, and moderately increasing the sown area of crops.

This article is dedicated to the analysis and generalization of the Russian and foreign research results on natural and climatic factors effect on the intensity of epidemic process manifestations and the natural focal infections pathogens vectors vital activity which are the most widespread in the Russian Federation. Over the past seven years tick-borne infections have been accounting for more than 50 per cent in the natural focal diseases general nosological structure. Among the diseases of this group Lyme borreliosis leads in prevalence and frequency of cases identification. Tick-borne viral encephalitis is still a serious danger for national health. Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever epidemiological situation remains unfavorable in the south of the European part of Russia. In addition to the annual patients identification, the demonstrable trend of shifting and expansion of the pathogen’s area in a northerly direction was established. It creates a risk for the spread of the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus outside the southern regions of the country. High incidence of the dangerous vector-borne infection — West Nile fever — with the involvement of new subjects in the epidemic process and the emergence of local cases of infection in previously non-endemic territories is registered. Expansion of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome natural foci borders, which is the most widespread natural focal zoonosis of viral etiology in the Russian Federation and is the second by the frequency of patients identification after tick-borne infections, is noted. Research data for the dependence of the carriers pathogens number and the dynamics of the natural focal infections incidence on the values of climatic factors, confirmed using various methods of mathematical statistics (time-series analysis, autoregression integrated moving average, logistic regression, correlation analysis, one-way analysis of variance and other) were systematized. It was found that the temperature and humidity of the air and soil, the amount of precipitation, the height of the snow cover are the common abiotic factors for all of investigated infections. The values of these factors can be used for the subsequent epidemiological forecast. The further study of relationship between the incidence rate of the population, the number of arthropod vectors and small mammals with indicators of soil moisture and temperature at different depths, hydrothermal coefficient, normalized relative vegetation index, accumulated values of temperature and precipitation, as well as similar studies on other actual natural focal infections in the Russian Federation will be very promising.

Ocimum basilicum var. thyrsiflora is valuable for its medicinal properties. The barriers to the commercialization of essential oil are the lack of requisite high oil-containing genotypes and variations in the quantity and quality of essential oils in different geographic areas. Thai basil’s essential oil content is significantly influenced by soil and environmental factors. To optimize and predict the essential oil yield of Thai basil in various agroclimatic regions, the current study was conducted. The 93 datasets used to construct the model were collected from samples taken across 10 different agroclimatic regions of Odisha. Climate variables, soil parameters, and oil content were used to train the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model. The outcome showed that a multilayer feed-forward neural network with an R squared value of 0.95 was the most suitable model. To understand how the variables interact and to determine the optimum value of each variable for the greatest response, the response surface curves were plotted. Garson’s algorithm was used to discover the influential predictors. Soil potassium content was found to have a very strong influence on responses, followed by maximum relative humidity and average rainfall, respectively. The study reveals that by adjusting the changeable parameters for high commercial significance, the ANN-based prediction model with the response surface methodology technique is a new and promising way to estimate the oil yield at a new site and maximize the essential oil yield at a particular region. To our knowledge, this is the first report on an ANN-based prediction model for Ocimum basilicum var. thyrsiflora.

This study aims to explore the impact of climate change, technology, and agricultural policy on rice production in South Korea. In the presence of a long-run relationship among variables, the results show that an increase in CO2 emissions increases rice production by 0.15%. The mean temperature raises rice production by 1.16%. The rainfall has an adverse impact on rice production which shows improper irrigation systems and weather forecasting reports. Similarly, for technical factors, the area under rice and fertilizer used in the study has a direct effect on rice production. The study suggests that the Korean government needs to implement new policies and acquire advanced technology for weather forecasting. The concerned authorities need to inform rice growers about future weather and climate changes. We recommend that Korea needs to provide virgin arable undivided land to deserving rice growers based on ownership and/or lease for future food security. Finally, the study recommends that legislators should recommend policies for sustainable food security with the introduction of new agricultural technologies and subsidies, along with the provision of new varieties of seeds that can absorb the adverse shock of climate change and ensure a suitable amount of food. HIGHLIGHTS Carbon dioxide emission improves the process of photosynthesis due to which rice production increases in Korea.; Rice production increases 1.16% with an increase in mean temperature in the long-run.; Adverse shock of rainfall on rice production shows the improper irrigation system and weather forecasting reports.; Cultivated area under rice has a noteworthy direct effect on rice production both in the short- and long-run.

ZusammenfassungAn SARS-CoV‑2 haben sich in den letzten Monaten weltweit Millionen von Menschen infiziert, Hunderttausende sind an den Folgen einer Infektion gestorben. Das Ende der Pandemie ist nicht absehbar und viele Menschen haben Ängste, sich in unterschiedlichen Settings zu infizieren. Der Gasteiner Heilstollen (GHST) ist eine weltweit einmalige ambulante Einrichtung mit den Wirkfaktoren Wärme, hohe Luftfeuchtigkeit und milde Radonstrahlung. In dieser werden jährlich ca. 12.000 Patienten u. a. mit entzündlich-rheumatischen, degenerativen Erkrankungen und chronischen Schmerzen behandelt. Wir haben deshalb die Literatur gesichtet und hinsichtlich einer möglicherweise erhöhten Ansteckungsgefährdung für Patienten während einer Therapie bzw. Kur im GHST analysiert. Aus unserer Sicht sind zum einen die klimatischen und physikalischen Verhältnisse im GHST insgesamt als virenfeindlich anzusehen, zum anderen führen die milde Radonhyperthermie über komplexe physiologische Prozesse sowie die geografische Lage des GHST zu positiven gesundheitlichen Effekten. Daher erscheint uns eine Ansteckungswahrscheinlichkeit für Viren im GHST in keinem Fall erhöht, sondern sogar deutlich geringer als in anderen Settings.

Актуальность. Одной из основных причин высокой аварийности и отключений в распределенных системах электроснабжения 6(10) кВ кустов нефтяных скважин являются повреждения воздушных линий электропередачи вследствие однофазных замыканий на землю. Широко проводимые исследования по определению места возникновения однофазного замыкания на землю установили корреляцию между точностью определения и большим количеством изменяющихся факторов, таких как параметры режима работы, параметры воздушной линии электропередачи, вид повреждения, величина переходного сопротивления, сопротивление грунта и прочие, принимая их усреднённые значения, не зависимо от изменения климатических условий. Нормирование технических средств определения места возникновения однофазного замыкания на землю по инструментальным погрешностям без учёта методической составляющей обуславливает погрешность определения места повреждения, достигающую 30 %. Таким образом, актуальны исследования, направленные на определение первичных параметров ЛЭП и минимизацию методической погрешности определения места повреждения ЛЭП с учётом климатических факторов. Цель исследования заключается в повышении точности определения места возникновения однофазного замыкания на землю линии электропередачи 6(10) кВ путём разработки методики, учитывающей влияние климатических факторов. Методы. Учтены основные физические процессы распространения электромагнитной волны в линии электропередачи. Использованы основные положения теории электрических цепей и электромагнитного поля; алгоритмы пакета MATLAB Simulink. Результаты. Разработан алгоритм, позволяющий определить расстояние от понижающих подстанций 6(10)/0,4 кВ до места возникновения однофазного замыкания на землю в распределительных сетях кустов нефтяных скважин с учетом конструктивных особенностей линии электропередачи и климатических факторов. Разработана в среде MATLAB Simulink имитационная модель распределительной сети 10 кВ, питающей кусты нефтяных скважин, учитывающая зависимость первичных параметров линии электропередачи от климатических факторов и удельного сопротивления грунта. Research relevance. One of the main causes of high accidents and outages in distributed power supply systems of 6(10) kV oil well clusters is damage to overhead power lines due to single-phase ground faults. Widely conducted researches to determine the location of a single-phase ground fault have established a correlation between the determination accuracy and a large number of changing factors, such as operating mode parameters, overhead power line parameters, damage type, transition resistance, soil resistance, and taking their average values, regardless of changing climatic conditions. Rationing of technical means for determining the location of a single-phase ground fault according to instrumental errors without taking into account the methodological component defines the error in determining the location of the damage, reaching 30 %. Thus, the relevant research is aimed at determining the primary parameters of transmission lines and minimizing the methodological error in defining the location of damage to transmission lines considering climatic factors. The main aim of the research is to improve the accuracy of determining the location of a single-phase ground fault of a 6 (10) kV transmission line with developing a methodology that takes into account the influence of climatic factors. Research methods. The basic physical processes of propagation of an electromagnetic wave in a power line are taken into account. The main principles of the theory of electrical circuits and the electromagnetic field are used; MATLAB Simulink package algorithms. Research results. The authors have developed the algorithm that allows determining the distance from 6(10)/0,4 kV substations to the point of single-phase ground fault occurrence in distribution networks of oil well clusters taking into account climatic factors. A simulation model of a 10 kV distribution network supplying oil well clusters considering the dependence of the primary transmission line parameters on climatic factors and soil resistivity, was developed in MATLAB Simulink.

Background: The influence of climate on the epidemiology of dengue has scarcely been studied in Cartagena. Methods: The relationship between dengue cases and climatic and macroclimatic factors was explored using an ecological design and bivariate and time-series analyses during lag and non-lag months. Data from 2008-2017 was obtained from the national surveillance system and meteorological stations. Results: Cases correlated only with climatic variables during lag and non-lag months. Decreases in precipitation and humidity and increases in temperature were correlated with an increase in cases. Conclusions: Our findings provide useful information for establishing and strengthening dengue prevention and control strategies.

Picea koraiensis is major silvicultural and timber species in northeast China, and its distribution area is an important transition zone for genus spruce migration. The degree of intraspecific differentiation of P. koraiensis is high, but population structure and differentiation mechanisms are not clear. In this study, 523,761 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in 113 individuals from 9 populations of P. koraiensis by genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS). Population genomic analysis showed that P. koraiensis was divided into three geoclimatic regions: Great Khingan Mountains climatic region, Lesser Khingan Mountains climatic region, and Changbai Mountain climatic region. Mengkeshan (MKS) population on the northern edge of the distribution area and Wuyiling (WYL) population located in the mining area are two highly differentiated groups. Selective sweep analysis showed that MKS and WYL populations had 645 and 1126 selected genes, respectively. Genes selected in the MKS population were associated with flowering and photomorphogenesis, cellular response to water deficit, and glycerophospholipid metabolism; genes selected in the WYL population were associated with metal ion transport, biosynthesis of macromolecules, and DNA repair. Climatic factors and heavy metal stress drives divergence in MKS and WYL populations, respectively. Our findings provide insights into adaptive divergence mechanisms in Picea and will contribute to molecular breeding studies.

As a major component of the north–south transition zone in China, the vegetation ecosystem of the Qinling-Daba Mountains (QBM) is highly sensitive to climate change. However, the impact of sunshine duration, specifically, on regional vegetation remains unclear. By using linear trend, correlation, and multiple regression analyses, this study systematically analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics and trend changes of the vegetation coverage in the QBM from 2000–2020. Changes in the main climate elements in different periods and the responses to them are also discussed. Over the past 21 years, the vegetation coverage on the east and west sides of the QBM has been lower than that in the central areas. However, it is showing a continuously improving trend, especially in winters and springs. The findings indicate that change of FVC in the QBM exhibited a positive correlation with temperature, a negative correlation with sunshine hours, and both positive and negative correlation with precipitation. On an annual scale, average temperature was the main controlling climatic factor. On a seasonal scale, the area dominated by precipitation in spring was larger. In summer, the relative importance of the three was weak. In autumn and winter, sunshine duration became the main factor affecting vegetation coverage in most areas.

The southern coast of Hainan Island, China, is one of the most frequently hit areas of tropical cyclones in the Northwest Pacific regions. Although some of the extreme typhoon events were known in historical times, quantitative information on the timing and magnitude of paleo-typhoon events in this coastal area remains rare. In the present study, a large number of coral reef boulders were found on the Xiaodonghai reef platform, on the south coast of Hainan Island. Morphometric analysis of the boulders shows an exponentially fining landward trend, indicating a storm origin; a wave-induced current velocity of 2.41–5.71 m/s during the storm events is required to transport the boulders that were originally situated outside the reef edge. Based on the U/Th and 14C dating for the age-indicating samples taken from the boulders, seven major periods with intense typhoon activities were identified for the last 4,000 years, i.e., 1800–1500 BCE, 1200–900 BCE, 50–120 CE, 550–800 CE, 900–1000 CE, 1350–1900 CE, and 1910–2000 CE. A comparison with the regional typhoon records in terms of climatic parameters in the northwestern Pacific and the South China Sea regions indicates that the longitudinal variations of intense typhoon frequency were mainly controlled by El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), dominantly modulated by the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Because of the future warming climate, there will be a trend of enhanced typhoon risk for the southern Hainan Island coasts.

The nitrogen isotope composition of plants (δ15N) can comprehensively reflect information on climate change and ecosystems’ nitrogen cycle. By collecting common herbs and soil samples along the 400 mm isoline of mean annual precipitation (MAP) in the agro-pastoral zone of North China (APZNC) and measuring their δ15N values, the statistical characteristics of foliar δ15N of herbs and the responses of foliar δ15N to the MAP and mean annual temperature (MAT) were analyzed. The results showed that: (1) the δ15N values of all herbs investigated varied from −5.5% to 15.25%. Among them, the δ15N value range of C3 herbs (−5.5~15.00%) was wider than that of C4 herbs (−2.17~15.25%), but the average value (3.27%) of C3 herbs was significantly lower than that of C4 herbaceous plants (5.55%). This difference provides an important method for identifying plants of different photosynthetic types by nitrogen isotope technology. (2) Along the transect from northeast to southwest, the δ15N of both C3 and C4 herbs decreased with the increase in the MAP, but not significantly for C3 herbs. The inverse relationship between the nitrogen isotopic signatures of herbs and MAP is consistent with previous studies. However, the MAP in the APZNC is found to only explain a small amount of the observed variance in the δ15N herbs (C3 herbs: 10.40%; C4 herbs: 25.03%). (3) A strong negative relationship was found between δ15N of herbs and MAT across the transect (C3 herbs: −0.368%/°C; C4 herbs: −0.381%/°C), which was contrary to the global pattern and some regional patterns. There was no significant difference in the δ15N responses of two different photosynthetic herbs to temperature, but the effect of temperature on the variances of δ15N of C3 and C4 herbs was significantly greater than that of precipitation. This suggests that temperature is a key factor affecting foliar δ15N of herbs in this transect. The above findings may be of value to global change researchers studying the processes of the nitrogen cycle and gaining an insight into climate dynamics of the past.

Bats belong to the order Chiroptera, family Phyllostomidae, and present a wide diversity of reproductive strategies. However, information on the reproductive biology of male bats is scarce, mainly in the Northeast Region of Brazil. Thus, this study evaluated the seasonal testicular histomorphometry of the bat Carollia perspicillata in fragments of the Atlantic Forest in Pernambuco state. To this end, adult males were collected, euthanized for removal of the testicles, and later submitted to a routine histological technique. Histomorphometric analysis included assessment of the areas of tubular and intertubular compartment occupation, as well as quantification of spermatocytes, rounded spermatids, elongated spermatids, and Sertoli and Leydig cells. Results indicated that this bat species presents reproductive seasonality, because significantly higher averages of the testicular parameters were observed in the rainy season, which is a period of greater availability of food resources. Such inferences indicate that there is a synchrony between peak spermatogenesis and hormonal inversion in the months of high precipitation; furthermore, a higher carrying capacity of the Sertoli cells is noted. C. perspicillata males possibly present greater sperm and androgenic activity in the rainy season, associated with increased tubular area and number of spermatogenic cells, as well as with the intertubular area and number of Leydig cells, respectively. RESUMO: Os morcegos pertencem a ordem Chiroptera, família Phyllostomidae, e apresentam ampla diversidade de estratégias reprodutivas. Entretanto, as informações relacionadas à biologia reprodutiva dos machos são escassas, principalmente no Nordeste do Brasil. Dessa forma, o trabalho avaliou a histomorfometria sazonal testicular de Carollia perspicillata em fragmentos de Mata Atlântica de Pernambuco. Para tanto, os machos adultos foram coletados, eutanasiados para a remoção dos testículos, e posteriormente submetidos à técnica histológica de rotina. As análises histomorfométricas avaliaram as áreas de ocupação do compartimento tubular e intertubular, assim como a quantificação dos espermatócitos, espermátides arredondadas, espermátides alongadas, células de Sertoli e de Leydig. Os resultados indicaram que a espécie apresenta sazonalidade reprodutiva, visto que maiores médias significativas dos parâmetros testiculares foram encontradas na estação chuvosa, que é um período de maior disponibilidade de recursos alimentares. Tais inferências indicam que existe uma sincronia entre o pico de espermatogênese e investimento hormonal nos meses de alta precipitação, atrelado a isso, nota-se ainda, uma maior capacidade de suporte das células de Sertoli. Os machos de C. perspicillata possivelmente apresentam uma maior atividade espermática e androgênica na estação chuvosa, associadas ao aumento da área tubular e do número de células espermatogênicas, assim como da área intertubular e do número das células de Leydig, respectivamente.

The sunflower has adaptation for cultivation in Brazilian conditions and the main product is the oil extracted from the seeds. This study aimed to verify the impacts of meteorological attributes on agronomic characteristics of sunflower genotypes cultivated as a second crop, in Mato Grosso, Brazil. The experimental design was randomized complete block design (RCBD), cultivating the two sunflower genotypes, M734 and Hélio, in three years (2009, 2011, 2012) with four replications. The agronomic characteristics evaluated were: plant height, capitulum diameter, weight of a thousand achenes, yield of achenes, oil content and oil yield. Then, water deficit and the maximum crop yield are estimated for correlation analysis between meteorological attributes and agronomic characteristics. In both genotypes studied there was a very strong correlation between plant height with evapotranspiration (r=0.99*) and very strong negative correlation (r=-0.99*) with water deficit. For mass of a thousand achenes, there was a very strong negative correlation with the maximum (r=-0.98*) and minimum (r=-0.96*) temperatures, and with evapotranspiration (r=-0.98*) in the Helio 358. In addition, effect of the water deficit on the oil yield (r=-0.98*) was verified for the same genotype. Very strong negative correlation was found between maximum temperature and oil content (r=-0.96*) in genotype M734. In sunflower cultivation in Mato Grosso, Brazil, water deficit reduces plant height, capitulum diameter and oil yield. The oil content of the achenes reduces when the maximum temperature increases, during the cultivation. For those reasons, the use of sunflower genotypes with shorter cycles and the earlier sowing could benefit the crop developing, by suiting the management, to avoid unfavorable climatic conditions that can cause reduction in production parameters.

Climate change is producing an increase on extreme weather events around the world such as flooding, drought and extreme ambient temperatures impacting animal production and animal welfare. At present, there is a lack of studies addressing the effects of climatic conditions associated with energy intake in finishing cattle in South American feed yards. Therefore, two experiments were conducted to assess the effects of environmental variables and level of metabolizable energy intake above maintenance requirements (MEI) on performance and carcass quality of steers. In each experiment (winter and summer), steers were fed with 1.85 or 2.72 times of their requirements of metabolizable energy of maintenance. A total of 24 crossbred steers per experiment were used and located in four pens (26.25 m2/head) equipped with a Calan Broadbent Feeding System. Animals were fed with the same diet within each season, varying the amount offered to adjust the MEI treatments. Mud depth, mud scores, tympanic temperature (TT), environmental variables, average daily gain, respiration rates and carcass characteristics plus three thermal comfort indices were collected. Data analysis considered a factorial arrangement (Season and MEI). In addition, a repeated measures analysis was performed for TT and respiration rate. Mean values of ambient temperature, solar radiation and comfort thermal indices were greater in the summer experiment as expected (Plt;0.005). The mean values of TT were higher in steers fed with higher MEI and also in the summer season. The average daily gain was greater during summer v. winter (1.10±0.11 v. 0.36±0.06) kg/day, also when steers were fed 2.72 v. 1.85 MEI level (0.89±0.12 v. 0.57±0.10) kg/day. In summer, respiration rate increased in 41.2% in the afternoon. In winter, muddy conditions increased with time of feeding, whereas wind speed and rainfall had significant effects on TT and average daily gain. We conclude that MEI and environmental variables have direct effects on the physiology and performance of steers, including TT and average daily gain, particularly during the winter. In addition, carcass characteristics were affected by season but not by the level of MEI. Finally, due to the high variability of data as well as the small number of animals assessed in these experiments, more studies on carcass characteristics under similar conditions are required.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of Mannheimia haemolytica in Syrian Awassi sheep. Between 2008 and 2012, 1520 nasal swabs from pneumonic and apparently healthy sheep, and 110 pneumonic lungs samples were collected and subjected to bacteriological, biochemical and PCR assays. A total of 191 isolates (11.7%) were identified as M. haemolytica, 44 (2.7%) were M. ruminalis and 18 (1.1%) were M. glucosida. All 191 isolates of M. haemolytica gave an amplified product of 1146 bp size by PCR when lktaA primer was applied. The highest rate of M. haemolytica isolation was from pneumonic lungs tissue (21.8%) and pneumonic sheep (14.1%), and the lowest was from apparently healthy sheep (8.5%). Geographical and seasonal distribution of M. haemolytica showed that the majority of the isolates originated from sheep reared in the Syrian Desert (30%) and Euphrates basin (26.7%), and a significant increase (P≤0.05) in the rate of positive isolates in summer and winter as compared to spring. These findings indicate that M. haemolytica may play an important role in development of pneumonia in Syrian Awassi sheep, especially in eastern parts of Syria, where drought and shortage of rain hit these zones periodically.

Documentation the relative influence of ecological dynamics on species diversity patterns can help us better understand spatial distribution patterns and devise a systematically comprehensive base for carrying out environmental explorations. The current attempt aimed at exploring the distribution patterns, diversity and richness of wild grasses with respect to climatic dynamics in the Gujrat district of Punjab, Pakistan. For this purpose, we applied the randomized sample method and sampled a total of 90 sites across the Gujrat district between 2019 and 2021 to document data on wild grasses and related ecological conditions. After assessment of the significant value index of each grass species with ecological records, we evaluated the data by ordination and cluster analysis. A total of 57 wild grasses from 37 genera were documented from the Gujrat district. The leading genera were Brachiaria, Cenchrus and Setaria, each accounting for 7.02% of all documented species, followed by Aristida and Panicum, each representing 5.76% of the species. Dactyloctenium, Dichanthium, Eragrostis,Polypogon,Poa and Saccharum each accounted for 5.26% of the species, and Digitaria, Pennisetum, Eragrostis, Chrysopogon Poa and Setaria each accounted for 3.51% of the species. Other genera each had a single species. Among all grasses, 75.44% of the species were native and 24.56% species were exotic and introduced to the study area. The leading life forms were therophytes (56.14%), followed by hemicryptophytes (42.11%) and geophytes (1.75%). Microphylls, with a 54.39% share, dominated the leaf size spectra of the wild grasses flora in this research. Other frequent classes included nanophylls (21.05%), macrophylls (19.3%) and leptophylls (5.26%). Flowering phenology of wild grasses showed that mainly species at the flowering phase were recorded during the months of June to August (40.35%) and July to September (19.29%). By applying Ward’s agglomerative clustering method, we classified the ninety transects into four major groups. Ordination analysis showed that different ecological factors had significant (p ≤ 0.002) effects on vegetation relations. The present endeavor provides a basic way to understand the impacts of ecological variables on the structure, diversity, composition and associations of wild grasses, which are helpful to improve the scientific-informed conservation and management measures for the environmental reestablishment of degraded habitat in the studied region.

During the past several decades, the carbon budget in the dryland ecosystem has experienced great variation under the joint impact of climate change and anthropogenic interference. How the net ecosystem productivity (NEP) responds to climate change and human interference in the Qilian Mountains (QLM), Northwest China, remains unclear. To fill these gaps, we first estimated the NEP in the QLM and then quantified the independent and interactive influences of natural environment factors, climatic factors, and human activity intensity on the NEP change from 2000 to 2020 by linking the Geodetector and structural equation models. The NEP of the QLM showed a significant increase during the recent 20 years, and 78.93% of the QLM experienced a significant increase in NEP; while only 4.83% of the area in the QLM experienced a decreasing trend, which is dominantly located on the southeast edge, surrounding the Qinghai Lake, and the midland of the QLM. The area percentage of the carbon sink region increased from 47% in 2000 to 62% in 2020. The natural environment factors (e.g., altitude and soil type) and climate factors (e.g., temperature and precipitation) were the dominant factors that determine the spatial distribution of NEP. Compared with a single factor, the interaction of pairs of factors enhanced the influence strength on NEP. The natural environment factors indirectly affected NEP change through influencing human activities intensity and climatic factors. Human activities intensity played a medium indirectly negative effect on NEP, while climatic factors exerted strong direct and indirect positive influences on NEP. The contributions of human activity intensity, climatic factors, and natural environment on NEP change in the QLM were 33.5%, 62.3%, and 38.3%, respectively. Overall, warming and wetting shifts in meteorological conditions offset the negative impact of human activities on NEP in the QLM, and the QLM has acted as a growing carbon sink in the past 20 years.

The North China Plain is an important summer maize production region in China. Investigating spatiotemporal variation patterns of precipitation during the summer maize growing season will guide the prevention of droughts and floods and ensure food production. Daily precipitation data during the summer maize growing season in the North China Plain from 1960–2020 were used to analyze spatiotemporal changes in precipitation, examine the migration patterns of precipitation barycenters, and quantitatively analyze the effects of ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) warm and cold events on precipitation variation characteristics. Results revealed that in the past 61 years, precipitation showed an insignificant decreasing trend; however, there were considerable differences detected in the spatial distribution layouts of precipitation between different developmental stages. The precipitation distribution layout during the sowing–jointing stage was mainly “North–South”, the zero contour was near 36° N, and the other developmental stages were mainly “global” with phases that were the opposite of one another. Moreover, the precipitation barycenter during the jointing–flowering stage showed a significant southward migration. Precipitation during the three developmental stages negatively correlated with warm events, precipitation during the flowering–maturation stage positively correlated with cold events, the relationship between precipitation changes during warm and cold events and the intensity of warm and cold events was not significant, and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) was the main climatic factor that affected precipitation changes during the summer maize-growing season in the North China Plain.

The demand for social and economic development has promoted research into water resources. The combined effects of natural conditions and human activities on regional water resource usage are not well understood. The sustainable utilization of water resources was assessed in terms of supply (e.g., precipitation) and demand (e.g., ecological water resources footprint (EFw)) sides in Hunan Province, China, from 2010 to 2019. The results showed that: (1) on the supply side, water resources were increased across Hunan Province. The spatial patterns of total water resources are significantly heterogeneous, with high values in the east and south, which are mainly affected by precipitation; (2) on the demand side, evapotranspiration was great in areas with high vegetation coverage. The EFw was high in relatively developed areas. The mean percentage of agricultural EFw remained dominant at approximately 60% with a steady decreasing trend, while that of eco-environmental EFw increased; and (3) the sustainable utilization of water resources in Hunan Province is generally rational. Moreover, the potential for water resource development and utilization is really significant in eastern and southern Hunan Province. The findings are beneficial in providing an important scientific basis for policymaking relating to the efficient utilization of regional water resources.

Desert aerosols suspended in the atmosphere are a very marked fact in West Africa with estimates of 400 to 1000 million tons produced annually and concentrations exceeding 50 µg·m³ in Burkina. In Bamako, the daily dust concentration can go up to reach 504 µg/m³. The Sahara and the Sahel are recognized as the primary desert aerosol producing regions. Source areas continue to be discovered as the desert advances. Previous studies have mainly focused on the spatial and temporal variability of aerosols. The current question is: What makes an area a source of dust emission? Our study brings together all the climatic parameters of the 10–20 band, as well as the soil types and their characteristics; it reveals 4 soils characteristic of fine sandy semi-arid soils in Chad. The Ouadaï plateau in Chad was identified as a source area for dust emissions. We noted for JFM (January, February, March) that the strongest wind intensities were located mainly towards Chad for average rmaximum temperatures around 34.7 °C. The statistical study reveals a correlation of 66.8% between direct and indirect links between the climatic factors of the 10–20 band and the source area. The presence of vortexes throughout the year and a vertical wind profile that is among the strongest in the 10–20 band, this gradient is strongly localized in the grid “10° North, 20° North and 20° East, 30° East” next to the Kapka massif. The study shows that the AEJ (African Easterly Jet) profile, which is a strong wind, associated with the harmattan circulation, allows the transport of aerosols from Ouadaï to the West African coast. In Senegal, a significant deposition was observed.

Background Nationwide studies that examine climatic modification effects on the association between air pollution and health outcome are limited in developing countries. Moreover, few studies focus on PM1 pollution despite its greater health effect. Objectives This study aims to determine the modification effects of climatic factors on the associations between PM1 and the incidence rates of lung cancer for males and females in China. Methods We conducted a nationwide analysis in 345 Chinese counties (districts) from 2014 to 2015. Mean air temperature and relative humidity over the study period were used as the proxies of climatic conditions. In terms of the multivariable linear regression model, we examined climatic modification effects in the stratified and combined datasets according to the three-category and binary divisions of climatic factors. Moreover, we performed three sensitivity analyses to test the robustness of climatic modification effects. Results We found a stronger association between PM1 and the incidence rate of male lung cancer in counties with high levels of air temperature or relative humidity. If there is a 10 μg/m3 shift in PM1, then the change in male incidence rate relative to its mean was higher by 4.39% (95% CI: 2.19, 6.58%) and 8.37% (95% CI: 5.18, 11.56%) in the middle and high temperature groups than in the low temperature group, respectively. The findings of climatic modification effects were robust in the three sensitivity analyses. No significant modification effect was discovered for female incidence rate. Conclusions Male residents in high temperature or humidity counties suffer from a larger effect of PM1 on the incidence rate of lung cancer in China. Future research on air pollution-related health impact assessment should consider the differential air pollution effects across different climatic conditions.

The influence of soil water content on Aleppo pine growth variability is analyzed against climatic variables, using satellite and modeled soil moisture databases. The study was made with a dendrochronological series of 22 forest sites in Spain with different environmental conditions. From the results of the correlation analysis, at both daily and monthly scales, it was observed that soil moisture was the variable that correlated the most with tree growth and the one that better identified the critical periods for this growth. The maximum correlation coefficients obtained with the rest of the variables were less than half of that obtained for soil moisture. Multiple linear regression analysis with all combinations of variables indicated that soil moisture was the most important variable, showing the lowest p-values in all cases. While identifying the role of soil moisture, it was noted that there was appreciable variability between the sites, and that this variability is mainly modulated by water availability, rather than thermal conditions. These results can contribute to new insights into the ecohydrological dynamics of Aleppo pine and a methodological approach to the study of many other species.

RESUMEN : A finales de diciembre de 2019, se detectó una epidemia de neumonía en Wuhan, China que desembocó en una pandemia mundial. Recientemente, algunos estudios han identificado distinto factores geográficos que podrían estar involucrados en la propagación del SARS-CoV-2. En este contexto, los objetivos de este estudio ecológico son analizar el patrón geográfico de la incidencia acumulada de COVID-19 en España y evaluar la relación existente con los factores meteorológicos. Los casos de COVID-19 y la información meteorológica de las 52 provincias españolas se recogieron durante dos periodos determinados por la alta tasa de incidencia (el primero entre marzo y mayo de 2020 y el segundo entre septiembre y noviembre de 2020). Los resultados revelaron que las provincias costeras tuvieron una menor incidencia acumulada que las provincias localizadas en el interior peninsular (p

The spatial extent and incidence of Lyme disease is increasing in the United States, particularly in the Upper Midwest and Northeast. Many previous studies have explored the drivers of its spatial pattern, however, few studies tried to explore the drivers for the changes of Lyme disease. We here compared the spatial patterns of changes of human Lyme cases and incidence in the Northeast and Upper Midwest between 2003–2005 and 2015–2017, and applied two different approaches (i.e., a statistical regularization approach and model averaging) to investigate the climatic and landscape factors affecting the risk change between the two periods. Our results suggested that changes in land-use variables generally showed different relationships with changes of human Lyme risk between the two regions. Changes of variables related to human-use areas showed opposite correlations in two regions. Besides, forest area and forest edge density generally negatively correlated with the change of human Lyme risk. In the context of ongoing habitat change, we consider this study may provide new insight into understanding the responses of human Lyme disease to these changes, and contribute to a better prediction in the future.

The purpose of this study is to reveal the seasonal difference in vegetation variation and its seasonal response to climate factors in the Qilian Mountains (QM) under the background of global warming. Based on the MOD13 A2 normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data and meteorological data, this study analyzed the spatiotemporal dynamics and stability of vegetation in different seasons by using the mean value method, trend analysis and stability analysis method, and discussed their seasonal responses to climatic factors based on the correlation analysis method. The results show that the vegetation cover in the QM experienced a significant upward trend in the past 21 years, but there were obvious spatial differences in vegetation change in different seasons. The growth rate of vegetation in summer was the fastest, and summer vegetation provided the most significant contribution to the growing season vegetation. The order of vegetation stability in the QM among the seasons was growing season > summer > spring > autumn. The vegetation change was obviously affected by temperature in spring, while it was mainly controlled by precipitation in the growing season and summer. The response of vegetation to climatic factors was not significant in autumn. Our results can provide important data support for ecological protection in the QM and socioeconomic development in the Hexi Corridor.

Cereals are keystone crops for achieving food security and socioeconomic equilibrium, but rainfed cropland is highly sensitive to environmental anomalies that impact yields. The impact of soil moisture on cereal yield is particularly overlooked. This study evaluates the impact of root-zone soil moisture on yield compared to nine common climatic variables: maximum and minimum temperature, diurnal temperature range, growing degree days, accumulated rainfall, radiation, photothermal quotient, relative humidity of the air, and vapor pressure deficit. This study used the climatic database E-OBSv23 and the soil moisture databases ERA5-Land and LISFLOOD, focused on wheat and barley over the main cereal areas of Spain. Correlation analysis between annual yield and daily soil moisture and climatic data provided indicated the prevalence and concurrence of the impact factors on phenological stages of the Zadoks scale. Critical periods of impact on wheat and barley yields primarily concentrate during the growth and reproductive phases of spring. Soil moisture exceeds all other factors in magnitude and duration of influence, and our results suggest a complex interplay of factors during the critical spring period. This study highlights the preeminent role of soil moisture over climatic factors on the variability of rainfed cereal yields in water-limited areas.

Simple Summary The red gum lerp psyllid (Glycaspis brimblecombei) is an invasive pest of Eucalyptus trees worldwide, responsible for serious damage. A revisited analysis was carried out on data collected in eastern Sicily soon after the psyllid introduction in 2012/13. G. brimblecombei has been sampled by two different methods on Eucalyptus camaldulensis in nine different sites, where the main climatic data (air temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation) have been registered. G. brimblecombei population showed a similar trend in all nine sites, positively correlated only with air temperature. A negative correlation has emerged with precipitation and relative humidity. The results show the need for a deeper understanding of the role played by environmental factors as well as by the sampling methods based on the random collection of a fixed number of leaves, compared to methods based on the collection of infested leaves in a fixed time interval. Abstract The red gum lerp psyllid, Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae), is an invasive pest of Eucalyptus trees worldwide, responsible for serious damage, including the death of plants. Knowledge about the incidence of climatic factors on the insect development are essential to define useful strategies for controlling this pest. To this aim, G. brimblecombei has been sampled by two different methods from April 2012 to February 2013 in eastern Sicily on Eucalyptus camaldulensis in nine different sites, where the main climatic data (air temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation) have been also registered. The Glycaspis brimblecombei population showed a similar trend in all nine sites, positively correlated only with air temperature, but a negative correlation has emerged with precipitation and relative humidity. The results show the need for a deeper understanding of the role played by other abiotic (such as different concentrations of CO2) and biotic (e.g., the antagonistic action of natural enemies, competition with other pests, etc.) factors. The greater sensitivity, even at low densities of psyllid, of sampling methods based on the random collection of a fixed number of leaves compared to methods based on the collection of infested leaves in a fixed time interval has been also outlined.

Background Phenology data collected recently for about 300 accessions of Vigna radiata (mungbean) is an invaluable resource for investigation of impacts of climatic factors on plant development. Results We developed a new mathematical model that describes the dynamic control of time to flowering by daily values of maximal and minimal temperature, precipitation, day length and solar radiation. We obtained model parameters by adaptation to the available experimental data. The models were validated by cross-validation and used to demonstrate that the phenology of adaptive traits, like flowering time, is strongly predicted not only by local environmental factors but also by plant geographic origin and genotype. Conclusions Of local environmental factors maximal temperature appeared to be the most critical factor determining how faithfully the model describes the data. The models were applied to forecast time to flowering of accessions grown in Taiwan in future years 2020-2030.

Forest is the largest vegetation carbon pool in the global terrestrial ecosystem. The spatial distribution and change of forest biomass are of importance to reveal the surface spatial variation and driving factors, to analyze and evaluate forest productivity, and to evaluate ecological function of forest. In this study, broad-leaved forests located in a typical state nature reserve in northern subtropics were selected as the study area. Based on ground survey data and high-resolution remote sensing images, three machine learning models were used to identify the best remote sensing quantitative inversion model of forest biomass. The biomass of broad-leaved forest with 30-m resolution in the study area from 1998 to 2016 was estimated by using the best model about every two years. With the estimated biomass, multiple leading factors to cause biomass temporal change were then identified from dozens of remote sensing factors by investigating their nonlinear correlations. Our results showed that the artificial neural network (ANN) model was the best (R2 = 0.8742) among the three, and its accuracy was also much higher than that of the traditional linear or nonlinear models. The mean biomass of the broad-leaved forest in the study area from 1998 to 2016 ranged from 90 to 145 Mg ha−1, showing an obvious temporal variation. Instead of biomass, biomass change (BC) was studied further in this research. Significant correlations were found between BC in broad-leaved forest and three climate factors, including average daily maximum surface temperature, maximum precipitation, and maximum mean temperature. It was also found that BC has a strong correlation with the biomass at the previous time (i.e., two years ago). Those quantitative correlations were used to construct a linear model of BC with high accuracy (R2 = 0.8873), providing a new way to estimate the biomass change of two years later based on the observations of current biomass and the three climate factors.

Analyzing the distribution characteristics and influencing factors of cultivated land in complex geomorphic areas is significant in evaluating the agricultural farming environment and formulating cultivated land protection measures. This study extracted cultivated land information based on multi-source remote sensing data, and analyzed the geomorphic differentiation of cultivated land distribution and climate response from 2000 to 2020 using the Gini coefficient, spatial autocorrelation analysis and geographic detector. The results show that cultivated land is mainly distributed in low-altitude hills and low-altitude small undulating mountains, and secondarily in low-altitude alluvial and proluvial plains and platforms. Moreover, from 2000 to 2020, the cultivated land in the high-altitude and high-altitude undulating mountains and medium and high-altitude undulating mountains in the Northwest Plateau of Sichuan showed an upward trend, while the cultivated land in the Sichuan Basin mainly increased from the north and south to the middle of the basin. In addition, the highest temperature has the strongest ability to explain the spatial heterogeneity of cultivated land. From the calculation results of the influence coefficient of a single climatic factor and the combined effect of multiple climatic factors, the main factors that affect the distribution of cultivated land are different in different geomorphological regions. Finally, it is proposed to formulate a long-term strategy for agricultural production to adapt to climate change in complex geomorphic areas in order to reduce the negative impact of environmental change on agricultural production.

Aim of study: This study was conducted to determine climatic conditions conducive for the spread and persistence of microsporidian infection of Rugispora istanbulensis in elm leaf beetle, Xanthogaleruca luteola.Area of study: The samples were collected from May to September between 2013 and 2015 in İstanbul.Material and Methods: Each month a hundred of X. luteola individuals were dissected and a total of 1500 beetle examined with the light microscope for three years. In this study, all statistical analyzes carried with the SPSS 21 (SPSS Inc. 1989-2012) software program.Main results: The results indicated that the year 2014 was the most intensive year of microsporidiosis with a frequency rate of 21.48%. There was a strong correlation between the frequency of microsporidiosis and humidity (r = 0.455, P, Çalışmanın amacı: Bu çalışma, karaağaç yaprak böceği, Xanthogaleruca luteola Muller (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) 'da bir mikrospor türü olan Rugispora istanbulensis enfeksiyonunun yayılımı ve oluşumu için uygun iklim koşullarının belirlenmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır.Çalışma alanı: Çalışma örnekleri 2013-2015 yıllarının Mayıs ile Eylül ayları arasında İstanbul’dan toplandı.Materyal ve Yöntem: 2013-2015 yılları arasında her ay 100 X. luteola bireyi disekte olacak şekilde 3 yıl boyunca toplamda 1500 örnek ışık mikroskobu kullanılarak incelendi. Bu çalışmadaki tüm istatiksel analizler SPSS 21 (SPSS Inc. 1989-2012) adlı istatistik programı kullanılarak gerçekleştirildi.Sonuçlar: 2014 yılı çalışma yılları arasında %21,48 mikrosporidiosis oranı ile en yoğun mikrospor enfeksiyonunun görüldüğü yıl olarak tespit edildi. Yapılan korelasyon analizlerine göre, nem ile microsporidiosis arasında güçlü bir korelasyon olduğu tespit edildi (r = 0.455, P

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and correlates of Leptospira IgG antibodies in backyard pigs in the northern Mexican state of Durango. We performed a cross-sectional study of 305 backyard pigs. Anti-Leptospira IgG antibodies were detected using microscopic agglutination assay (MAT) with a panel of 12 Leptospira antigens. Results: Overall, antibodies against Leptospira (any of the 12 Leptospira serovars examined) were found in 186 (61.0%) of the 305 pigs studied. Seropositive pigs were found on 80 (70.2%) of the 114 properties surveyed. The predominant serovar was Leptospira interrogans Pomona (n = 55); followed by Leptospira noguchii Lousiana and Leptospira santarosai Tarassovi (n = 53 each); L. interrogans Bataviae (n = 47); Leptospira biflexa Semaranga and L. interrogans Hebdomadis (n = 36 each); L. interrogans Pyrogenes (n = 30); L. interrogans Djasiman (n = 20); Leptospira borgpetersenii Ballum (n = 11); L. noguchii Panama and L. interrogans Canicola (n = 5 each); and L. borgpetersenii Mini (n = 2). Logistic regression showed that seropositivity was associated with low (

The objective of this study is to analyze the hydrological regime of the Prahova River along its Carpathian and Subcarpathian stretches. The study reach has a length of 56 km and is situated between the Prahova River source and the downstream confluence with its main left tributary, the Doftana River. The description of the hydrological regime of the Prahova River is based on the statistical analysis of the climatic and hydrological data recorded at the meteorological stations and hydrometric stations in the area of interest. In order to understand the hydrological regime of the Prahova River, we focused on the following aspects: (1) sources of supply, (2) climatic factors (temperature regime, precipitation regime), (3) the mean flow, (4) the maximum flow (floods), (5) the sediment discharge and (6) the thermal and freezing regime of the Prahova River. The importance of this study lies in the need to know the hydrological regime that plays a leading role in the study of the morphodynamics of the Prahova River channel.

Increasing sugarcane production to meet sugar industry demands is a major challenge facing agricultural sector in a more vulnerable environment to climate change in subtropical China. Numerous studies have shown the impact of climate change on sugarcane production, but most of these studies were conducted in a plot or catchment scale without assessing the impacts at regional scale. In this paper, climatic elements of temperature, rainfall, and radiation data, simulated by 28 global climate models, were evaluated using the Taylor chart. The two greenhouse gas emission scenarios, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, were used to generate climate changes in the region. Combined with the spatial analysis method, the spatial and temporal variation of temperature, rainfall and radiation in Guangxi region from 2010 to 2100 were studied. A validated APSIM-sugarcane model was selected to simulate sugarcane yield at 22 research stations in Guangxi region under different RCP scenarios in the future, and to analyze the three research stages (2030s: 2021-2040; 2060s: 2051-2070 and 2090s: 2081-2100). The spatio-temporal changes of aboveground biomass weight (DM), sugarcane stalk and sucrose (S) yields of the years 2021-2100 were compared with those in the base years (1961-2010), and the effects of climate change on sugarcane yield were quantified. On average, the DM yields were projected to increase by 3.6 and 4.7 and 5.8 t ha−1 for RCP4.5 and 2.9, 5.4 and 8.5t ha−1 for RCP8.5 in 2030s, 2060s and 2090s as compared to 1961–2010, respectively. Similarly, the projected increase in S yields were 5.2, 7.0, and 8.3 t ha−1for RCP4.5 and 4.3, 7.2 and 10.8 t ha−1 for RCP8.5 in the respective future years in comparison with baseline years. The results showed that sugarcane yield had no significant relationship with changes in solar radiation, but the yield had significant correlations with rainfall and temperature changes. Combine changes in radiation, rainfall, temperature and elevated CO2 might be accounted for 69 and 76% changes in sugarcane DM and S yields, respectively, across the entire location. An increase in temperature caused a little increase in sugarcane yield, while an increase in rainfall increased sugarcane yields significantly, but decreased when it exceeded a certain limit. On the other hand, the S yield increased with increase in temperature at constant radiation, but decreased when the radiation exceeded a certain limit. Temperature changes only caused S yield increase when radiation and temperature increased simultaneously. The effects of temperature and rainfall on S yield were similar to those on biomass yield. The effects of radiation and rainfall on S yield showed that both rainfall and radiation increased S yields, but the amplitude was limited. Therefore, to mitigate climate change in the future, supplemental irrigation can be used to increase soil moisture content to improve sugarcane yield.

Biocrusts are an essential soil surface cover at drylands where ecosystems are especially fragile to soil degradationprocesses due to climatic peculiarities. In the present work, (micro)biological and physicochemical properties indic-ative of soil functionality were studied in two different biocrust types dominated byDipolschistes diacapsisandLepraria isidiataand in underlying soil at two different depths (SL1, soil layer right below the biocrusts, and SL2,soil layer underlying SL1) at the Tabernas desert (southeast Spain). The influence of climatic factors (rainfall andtemperature) and general soilproperties on the (micro)biological properties were also analyzed in different envi-ronmental (climatic) conditions over a period of two years. PERMANOVA analyses showed significant statisticaldifferences (Pseudo-F = 63.9; P (perm) = 0.001) among biocrust and soil layers. Throughout the study period, en-zyme activities involved in C, N, and P cycles; microbial biomass-C; basal respiration; and several properties directlyrelated to ecosystem productivity (total organic carbon, total nitrogen, concentration of ammonium and nitrate)were higher in both biocrust types than in the underlying soil layers, showing that biocrusts improved soil functionsrelated to nutrient cycling. These properties progressively diminished in successive soil layers under the biocrusts(biocrusts > SL1 > SL2). Biocrusts showed greater similarity to each other and to SL1 than to SL2 in (micro)biologicalproperties. A distance-based linear model analysis showed that total organic carbon, rainfall, pH, mineralized N-NH4+, and total nitrogen were the most important variables for predicting (micro)biological soil properties inbiocrusts. Different biochemical behavior between the biocrusts and successive underlying soil layers has beenfound in wet periods. After rainfall periods, the biocrusts showed important peaks in basal soil respiration and in en-zyme activities involved in C and P cycles. Nevertheless, soil biochemical properties hardly showed any peak in SL1anddidnotchangeinSL2despitesoilmoisturebeinghigherinthesoillayersbelowthebiocrusts.Correlationanal-yses corroborated the existence of different relationships between soil moisture and enzymatic activities. In biocrusts, soil moisture showed a greater number of significant positive correlations with enzymes such asβ-glucosidase, invertase, and phosphomonoesterase among others, whereas in SL1 it was only correlated with cellu-lase and in SL2 with dehydrogenase. A change in rainfall regime, as predicted by models based on climate changein arid and semiarid zones, could affect the activity of soil enzymes in the biocrusts and underlying layers, thus ag-gravating the degradation of these fragile dryland ecosystems., This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and FEDER, through the project CGL2017-88734-R (BIORESOC) MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE, the FEDER-Junta deAndalucía Research Projects: RESTAGRO (UAL18-RNM-A021-B) andRestoration of Abandoned Agricultural Soils in Semiarid Zones toImprove Productivity and Soil Quality and Enhance Carbon Sequestra-tion (P18-RT-4112), and by the Xunta de Galicia by the projectIN607A 2017/6. Isabel Miralles is grateful for funding received fromthe Ramón y Cajal Research Grant (RYC-2016-21191) from the SpanishMinistry of Economy,Industry andCompetitiveness (MINECO)and Raúl Ortega thanks his postdoctoral contract HIPATIA of the University of Almería Research Plan.

As an important part of the terrestrial ecosystem, vegetation is commonly used as an indicator to evaluate climate change and ecological restoration efforts. In China’s farming-pastoral areas, the Mu Us Desert is a typical area utilizing desertification control methods where vegetation cover has significantly changed in recent years. It is important to assess how climate change and afforestation affect vegetation activity dynamic in this region. This study aims to investigate the relationship between vegetation and climate change by using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and to find the cause of vegetation change by performing multiple linear regression analysis in the Mu Us Desert (including 11 counties) during the period from 2000 to 2019. The results showed that NDVI of the growing season (May to October) across the whole region increased by 0.0058 per year during the 20-year study period. Correlation analysis between the NDVI and climatic factors indicated that precipitation, temperature and relative humidity had a significant positive correlation, and mean wind speed and sunshine hours had a significant negative correlation across the study area (except for mean wind speed in Shenmu and Yuyang). Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the relative contribution by climatic factors and afforestation to NDVI change was 41.9% and 58.1% across the study area, respectively. Findings from our study may help to provide scientific support for decision making concerning ecological restoration management and policy efficiency estimation in other similar desert areas.

The data contained in this article refers to the measurements of climatic factors during an entire year in low latitudes regions with warm and humid climates, in Santa Rosa city from Ecuador. Since the geographical location and the importance of cloudiness in these regions, these measurements have focused on the solar radiation flux, cloud cover and sky temperature. The data obtained have been configured in a weather file for energy calculations, which has been used in the research article “Assessment of the reflectivity and emissivity impact on light metal roofs thermal behaviour, in warm and humid climate” [1] .

As climate change intensifies, surface vegetation productivity and carbon exchange between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere are significantly affected by the variation of climatic factors. Due to the sensitivity of grasslands to these climatic factors, it is crucial to understand the response of vegetation greenness, or carbon exchange within grasslands, to environment factor dynamics. In this study, we used solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF), precipitation (P), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), evaporative stress (ES), and root zone soil moisture (RSM) derived from remote sensing, reanalysis, and assimilation datasets to explore the response of vegetation greenness within Eurasian Steppe to climatic factors. Our results indicated deseasonlization based on the Seasonal-Trend decomposition using Loess (STL) method, which was an effective means to remove the seasonality disturbances that affect the qualification of the relationship between SIF and the four climatic factors. The response of SIF had a time lag effect on these climatic factors, and the longer the response period, the greater the impact on the correlation of SIF with P, VPD, ES, and RSM. We also found, among the four factors, that the response of SIF to ES was the timeliest. The findings of this study emphasized the impact of the seasonality and time lag effect on the dynamic response between variables, and provided references to the attribution and monitoring of vegetation greenness and ecosystem productivity.

the article describes a chinch bug Kleidocerys resedae (Panzer, 1797) as a pest of deciduous trees. The main purpose of the work is to determine the percentage of damaged deciduous trees of different types, which were damaged by the pest bug and the influence of climatic factors on their numbers. The main work results are the following: calculated percentage of the trees leaf blades damage, the researcher has indicated the percentage of deciduous trees, damaged by bugs, presented a phenocalendar of a chinch bug development and the occurrence of pests’ frequency in number. The author concluded that the main limiting factor, affecting the increase in the number of bugs is a high moisture level in Almaty.

Background Rodent-borne hantaviruses (genus Orthohantavirus) are the etiologic agents causing two human diseases: hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Euroasia; and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in North and South America. In South America fatality rates of HPS can reach up to 35%–50%. The transmission of pathogenic hantaviruses to humans occurs mainly via inhalation of aerosolized excreta from infected rodents. Thus, the epidemiology of HPS is necessarily linked to the ecology of their rodent hosts and the contact with a human, which in turn may be influenced by climatic variability. Here we examined the relationship between climatic variables and hantavirus transmission aim to develop an early warning system of potential hantavirus outbreaks based on ecologically relevant climatic factors. Methodology and main findings We compiled reported HPS cases in northwestern Argentina during the 1997–2017 period and divided our data into biannual, quarterly, and bimestrial time periods to allow annual and shorter time delays to be observed. To evaluate the relationship of hantavirus transmission with mean temperature and precipitation we used dynamic regression analysis. We found a significant association between HPS incidence and lagged rainfall and temperature with a delay of 2 to 6 months. For the biannual and quarterly models, hantavirus transmission was positively associated with lagged rainfall and temperature; whereas the bimestrial models indicate a direct relationship with the rainfall but inverse for temperature in the second lagged period. Conclusions/Significance This work demonstrates that climate variability plays a significant role in the transmission of hantavirus in northwestern Argentina. The model developed in this study provides a basis for the forecast of potential HPS outbreaks based on climatic parameters. Our findings are valuable for the development of public health policies and prevention strategies to mitigate possible outbreaks. Nonetheless, a surveillance program on rodent population dynamics would lead to a more accurate forecast of HPS outbreaks., Author summary Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a Pan-American emerging disease with a high mortality rate caused by a rodent-borne virus. In Argentina, almost half of the HPS infections occur in the northwestern endemic region. Most of the reported cases (75%) developed severe respiratory insufficiency, of which 30% required mechanical ventilation and 15% with a fatal outcome. In this study area, nearly half of the population is below the poverty line, particularly in rural areas, where most infections occur. Since there are no vaccines currently available nor specific therapeutic treatments, prevention of hantavirus infection involves mainly environmental management practices and educational campaigns. Our results provide a framework for the planning and implementation of early public health prevention campaigns based on the significant relationship between hantavirus outbreaks and delayed climatic variables.