Abstract: This paper presents the results of a year-long research project conducted by GEODE (geode.science), a multidisciplinary team made up of geographers, computer scientists and area specialists.We developed a new methodology for mapping cyberspace in its lower layers (infrastructures and routing protocols) in order to measure and represent the level of fragmentation of the Internet in areas of geopolitical tensions using the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). Our hypothesis was that BGP could be used for geopolitical reasons in the context of a large-scale crisis, leading to a further fragmentation of the Internet. We focused on the Ukrainian crisis.BGP is a core protocol of cyberspace that connects the tens of thousands of autonomous systems (ASes) that compose the Internet. Based on a 35-year-old technology, this protocol is easy to manipulate to re-route Internet traffic or even to cut off entire regions (BGP hijacks). Our results show actions on BGP implemented right after the 2014 Maidan Revolution, when Russian forces took control of the Crimean Peninsula and started to back separatist forces in Eastern Ukraine. In both cases, Russian authorities and separatist forces modified BGP routes in order to divert the local Internet traffic from continental Ukraine – drawing a kind of "digital frontline" consistent with the military one. The study of Donbass and of the Crimean Peninsula leads to important methodological findings to (1) define and map digital borders at the routing level; (2) analyze the strategies of actors conducting actions via BGP; (3) categorize these strategies, from traffic re-routing to cutting-off entire regions for intelligence or military purposes; and (4) anticipate future uses for BGP manipulations by identifying strategic bottlenecks within the network.

Abstract: A new inventory of 66 small and shallow landslides within six pilot areas was created based on a high-resolution digital elevation model in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The geometrical characteristics of the landslides were recorded (i.e. surface area, maximum thickness and length), and the volumes were estimated. These data permitted the development of a model that provides the probability for a landslide to possess a maximum thickness or volume smaller than a given value based on the landslide horizontal surface area. The results are compared with three existing power-law relationships of surface area–volumes. This new approach constitutes a way to improve the quantification of the uncertainty of volume and maximum depth estimations for small and shallow landslides.

Abstract: The term agroforestry covers practices that are promoted to maintain or even enhance biodiversity. However, the relationship between agroforestry and invasive species is rarely addressed, even though the spread of such species is an important issue, not only ecologically but also economically and socially. Over the past few decades, humans have greatly accelerated the process of biological invasions, to such an extent that they are now recognized as the second cause of rapid decline in biodiversity. In France (as in other parts in Europe), abandonment of agricultural land in remote areas is a major problem having socio-economic, landscape and environmental implications. The objective of the research presented here was to find a method for studying the relationship between traditional agroforestry systems and invasive species, despite a lack of available data. We investigated the evolution of a traditional agroforestry system in the Pyrenean foothills, where invasive species are abundant, by implementing two complementary methods: (1) interviews highlighting the local stakeholders’ perception of landscape evolution, invasive species and the challenges they represent for the local traditional agroforestry landscapes, and (2) detailed mapping of an area occupied by invasive plants, by means of very high-resolution spatial technologies using UAV’s and aerial photography. The results show that invasive species have spread in relation with the abandonment of agricultural land, which has also led to “landscape closure” by the encroachment of natural afforestation. They also underline the difficulty of assessing the spread of invasive species. This situation is of major importance in terms of land-use planning, as the various stakeholders have different perceptions of the problem, and it raises questions about the sustainability of practices and territories.

Abstract: The mineral reserves of mountain environments have been exploited since the beginning of metallurgy and legacy contamination from activities such as mining persist to this day. This is particularly the case in the soils of the European mountains where potential harmful trace elements (such as Pb, Sb, As, and Hg) of anthropogenic origin have accumulated since Antiquity. The French Pyrenees are no exception to this, as many mine sites in the region date back to the Bronze Age, resulting in landscape alternations and anthropogenic environmental impacts on a millennial scale. The mountain critical zone is sensitive both to human‐induced environmental changes (e.g., agriculture, mining, clear‐cutting) as well as to climate‐induced rapid environmental fluctuations. The legacy of trace metal contamination in other environments has been documented at individual sites in Europe and around the world, however, the fate of such legacy metals over time, in particular within mountainous regions, is poorly understood. This is despite the fact that a large proportion of metals was deposited and stored before 1800 CE in these areas. Using a case study from the Central French Pyrenees as a specific example, we here show that legacy metal (e.g., Pb) contamination in mountain environments is still persistent and a potential threat to mountain ecosystem health. We emphasize methods that aim to understand, in an interdisciplinary and coordinated way, the fate of legacy metals in the Central Pyrenees and beyond. We highlight the importance of research in the mountain critical zone for the whole of Europe, as mountains are the source of water and provide regional economic and socio‐ecological resources. The goal of this chapter is, therefore, to draw attention to and provide fellow researchers with, the background information and methodologies needed to address the problem of legacy metal accumulation, transport, storage, remobilization, and redeposition in mountain watersheds, as well as potential subsequent environmental impacts downstream.

Abstract: La region forestiere de Babagulu concerne ici la Reserve forestiere de Babagulu (RFB) et sa peripherie. En Republique Democratique du Congo, la region forestiere de Babagulu subit des pressions anthropiques suite notamment a sa proximite par rapport a la ville de Kisangani. Ces pressions anthropiques restent peu documentees et leurs impacts sur ce paysage forestier demeurent mal connus. Le but de cette etude est de faire un suivi regulier de l’anthropisation du paysage de la region forestiere de Babagulu. L’approche methodologique adoptee est basee sur les techniques de la teledetection, de la cartographie et de l’ecologie du paysage. Les images satellitaires Landsat TM (1984, 1986, 1990, 1994 et 2010), ETM+ (2001 et 2005) et OLI (2015 et 2018), toutes de 30 metres de resolution spatiale, ont ete mobilisees pour cartographier l’occupation du sol en trois classes (foret primaire, friches/forets degradees et complexe rural). Le calcul de dix indices spatiaux a permis de caracteriser la composition et la configuration du paysage entre 1984 et 2018. Ces indices spatiaux comprennent le nombre de taches, la taille moyenne des taches, sa variation absolue et relative, la densite du perimetre, l’indice d’agregation, l’indice du plus large fragment, indice de forme du paysage, la distance euclidienne moyenne au plus proche voisin, la dimension fractale et l’indice de contagion. Les resultats montrent une regression significative de la foret primaire au profit des classes anthropiques (complexes ruraux et friches/forets degradees) tant a l’exterieur (R² =0,98 ; p<0,01) qu’a l’interieur (R² =0,99 ; p<0,01) de la reserve. La structure paysagere se complexifie au fil des annees. Il est egalement a noter une fragmentation progressive des forets primaires mises en evidence par l’augmentation continuelle du nombre (+310) et de la densite des perimetres des taches (+14 m/ha) ainsi que la diminution remarquable de leur aire moyenne (-223 ha). Aussi, la distance moyenne separant deux taches voisines a augmente, passant de 119,30 metres en 1984 a 123,57 metres en 2018 (soit un ecart de 4,27 metres) signalant un isolement accru des taches. Ces resultats montrent la necessite de l’encadrement effectif de l’utilisation des terres en dehors de la reserve afin de preserver la biodiversite qui s’y trouve.

Abstract: Scholars have long stressed the need to bridge the gap between science and action and seek the most efficient use of knowledge for decision making. Many contributors have attempted to consider and understand the sociopolitical forces involved in knowledge generation and exchange. We argue, however, that a model is still needed to adequately conceptualize and frame the knowledge networks in which these processes are embedded. We devised a model for knowledge mapping as a prerequisite for knowledge management in the context of conservation. Using great ape conservation to frame our approach, we propose that knowledge mapping should be based on 2 key principles. First, each conservation network results from the conglomeration of subnetworks of expertise producing and using knowledge. Second, beyond the research-management gradient, other dimensions, such as the scale of operation, geographic location, and organizational characteristics, must also be considered. Assessing both knowledge production and trajectory across different dimensions of the network opens new space for investigating and reducing the gap between science and action.

Abstract: I was lucky enough to meet Mariano Valenza in September 1995 I was hitchhiking on the highway that leads from Cefalu to Palermo to go back home I had spent my summer holidays in the beautiful and wild Madonie mountains An off-road vehicle (a Land Rover Defender) stopped and a refined gentleman with a curious and charismatic gaze offered me a ride During our journey, we chatted pleasantly and he told he was originally from that area When I told him, I was a Geology student, he smiled at me and said Then we will meet again soon, I am going to be your Teacher of Geochemistry! After a few weeks the lessons began and I met again Professor Valenza in Via Archirafi 36, at the University of Palermo I will never forget the first introductive lesson of his course: we are going to study how the chemical elements have formed in the stars, and how these elements have spread out on our planet; we are going to study the chemical- physical laws regulating their geochemical cycles and how they move in between the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the lithosphere We will also learn how the isotopes of these elements allow us to date the geological phenomena and the age of our own planet Earth; let's imagine that we are ourselves made of billions and billions and billions of atoms, and it is statically possible that one of Napoleon atom could be here, in this class room! I was truly fascinated and I discovered my passion for this interesting subjectIn via Archirafi 36, in the historical building of the University of Palermo, once home of the Istituto di Mineralogia, I have graduated and got a PhD in Geochemistry, and still nowadays I am working there In these last 25 years I have learnt to know the stories of different personalities and their scientific researches, which have been hidden and looked after in the ancient building of the University for almost one century With this article, we would like to remember Professor Mariano Valenza, by telling some stories about him and some others told by himself Amongst these extraordinary stories we have focused on the one of a little-known scientist, Ludovico Sicardi (1895 - 1987), a modest man who followed his passion for volcanoes In his field, he was a true innovator and the present research in the field of the geochemical surveillance of volcanos is deeply in debt to him The Scuola di Geochimica dei Fluidi, born in the '70s at the University of Palermo, has the most debt of gratitude to him, but also the one which has treasured best his memory This special paper is dedicated to Professor Valenza, who was one of the founders of this school and, before that, the teacher of most of this piece's authors He had preserved, beside the historical memory, also many documents, photos, and the scientific equipment used by Sicardi for his studiesSergio Calabrese, Palermo, March 2020

Abstract: L’article etudie l’evolution des programmes de la geographie scolaire francaise de l’ecole elementaire, c’est-a-dire des eleves de six a onze ans, de 1977 a 2015, date du dernier programme publie. L’objectif est de reperer dans cette periode, qui a connu six changements de programmes, les grandes thematiques de discours de la geographie scolaire, les points de continuite et de rupture entre les programmes et, en particulier, la place que ceux-ci conferent a l’enseignement a partir de l’espace proche des eleves. Ces evolutions se sont operees dans un contexte de renouvellement epistemologique de la geographie universitaire francaise qui a eu des repercussions sur la geographie scolaire. Le corpus est analyse a l’aide de la lexicometrie pour degager, en plus des analyses textuelles classiques, les grandes categories de discours identifiees dans les programmes de geographie. Les resultats permettent de saisir les proximites entre les programmes des activites d’eveil et les programmes actuels qui placent l’espace proche en tant qu’objet d’etude mais donnent egalement un point de vue epistemologique sur presque 40 ans d’evolution des programmes scolaires.

Abstract: Capsule SummaryThe Facility for Climate Assessments (FACTS) provides access to multi-model, multi-forcing climate experiment data and analysis tools for the understanding of weather and climate var...

Abstract: Artificial light at night (ALAN) is considered as a major threat to biodiversity, especially to nocturnal species, as it reduces availability, quality and functionality of habitats. However, its effects on the way species use landscape elements such as rivers are still largely understudied, especially the effect of crossing infrastructure lighting on bridges. These elements are nevertheless key commuting and foraging habitats in heavily urbanised landscapes for several taxa such as bats that are particularly affected by ALAN. We studied the effects of the illumination of facades and undersides of bridges on the relative abundance of pipistrelle bats, on their 3D distribution and their behavioural response (i.e. flight speed) close to bridges. We set-up an innovative approach based on a microphone-array to reconstruct positions and flight trajectories in 3D. We studied the effect of lighting on bats in the close proximity of six similar bridges, mostly differentiated by the presence or absence of lighting (3 lit and 3 unlit). All bridges cross the same waterway, within a uniformly and highly urbanized agglomeration (Toulouse, France). We found that bat activity was 1.7 times lower in lit sites. Bats tended to keep a larger distance, and to fly faster close to illuminated bridges. These results suggest that bridge lighting strongly reduces habitat availability and likely connectivity for bats. In that case, results call for switching off the illumination of such bridges crossing riverine ecosystems to preserve their functionality as habitats and corridors for bats.