This paper discusses the usability of non-parametric knn (k-nearest neighbour) method to detect changes in forest areas from satellite images. Spot Xi images acquired 1999, main forest characteristics from field measured sample plots and data of conventional stand-wise forest inventory from the year 1988 were used to estimate the grids of following forest characteristics: mean age of main forest storey, diameter, basal area, height, volume per 1 ha, as well as the percentages of coniferous, soft and hard deciduous tree species. The differences of grids, created using stand-wise forest attributes from the 1988 inventory and estimated using the k-nearest neighbour methods were experimented to detect changes in the forest. 68.7-75.5% of areas, classified as the potential felling areas, were detected to be clear cut areas or young stands less than 15 years according to the data of stand-wise inventory of year 2003. Different settings for the methods investigated are evaluated, too.

The vegetation of Pruno-Fraxinetum plant communities was described in 2004 – 2005 according to the Braun-Blanquet method throughout Latvia, in forests where common ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) are dominant species in tree layer on moist soils. Classification of relevés (in total 52) by two way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) resulted in two variants of this association: typical variant (typicum) and variant with Filipendula ulmaria. Ellenberg indicator values were used to find out the relationship of flora with climatic (light, temperature, continentality) and edaphic (soil reaction, nitrogen, moisture) factors. Canonical correspondent analysis (CCA) was used to find out differences between two variants of Pruno-Fraxinetum. Results of this research have shown that these forests have complicated structure (form four vegetation layers, high species richness), which mainly depends on moist, rich eutrophic soils, usually with presence of limes. Main differential soil factors in ecological analysis are gradients of soil richness: moisture and nitrogen regimes. The influence of other factors was less expressed. Due to the human influence, especially drainage, the moist ash forests are decreasing and the species composition is changed. As Pruno-Fraxinetum forests in Latvia lie on the northern border of its distribution, the species composition differs from forests in the rest Europe; species characteristic determined by floodplain forests in Central Europe are absent.

The article presents the part of PhD studies of the energy wood harvesting technologies in thinning, and its development possibilities. A possibility for energy wood procurement and use in Latvia as a good amount of not used energy, including estimation of how much wood for energy purposes could be available in Latvia is analyzed. Research has been made in two parts using forest stands cutting area in three different ages to get an average volume of energy wood per ha. First part of the research has been done in a 60 years old forest stand cutting area in the way that total chips volume is measured and then recalculated to the thinning area. The average volume from studied forest stand was 20.32 m**3 haE-1. The second part of the study shows that from 30 till 45 years old forest stands cutting area by the measuring possible removal tress, the energy wood volume could be 23.74 – 33.5 m**3 haE-1. Including the slash from this forest stands cutting area the possible volume of wood for energy purposes could be ~ 33 – 47 m**3 haE-1. The calculations also have been done to study available energy wood resources from whole forest stands thinning area. Totally the available energy wood volume in Latvian conditions is 0.85 million m3 yrE-1.

The human influence on hydrological cycle has created many surface problems in the Riga city. Rainfall amount increases year after year as a result of global warming and bad water exchange. Solid covering of squares and greened areas is one of the most significant results of urban development causing larger rainwater runoff from the territories and calling for the necessity to drain rain water rapidly in a short time. This phenomenon is observed in the last years due to the fast construction development and simultaneous expansion and improvement of streets and court yards. The main problem matter is the still existing old sewage co-system which encounters difficulties to work with full capacity during long term rainfall. Thus justifiable steps have to be taken in order to discover new engineering solutions to prevent overflow of streets in Riga during rains. To enquire into the matter, rain intensity in Riga, influence of rainwater on streets, overflowing of collectors, and operation of pumping stations are studied in this paper. Rain intensity measurements during 1980-2006 in Riga have been aggregated. As acquired data shows, maximum rain intensity was observed on July 30 of 2005 when the rainfall was 49.4 mm during a 3-hour time, which caused overflowing of some streets, collectors, and pumping stations. Data on local and main pumping stations at the right bank of the river Daugava during various rainfalls suggest that pumping stations start to overflow during enduring rainfalls, 1-3 hours long and with average intensity of 0.1-0.4 mm minE-1 (Ziemelnieks, Tilgalis, 2008). Data gathered indicate, that it is necessary to separate sewage systems for everyday necessities from those for rainwater.

Technologies of keeping livestock and management of manure pig complexes holdings built in the country under the Soviet regime no longer satisfy modern veterinary and environmental requirements. Conditions for the modernisation of such complexes were created as from 2000, when agricultural aid programmes (funds) appeared in Lithuania. Information about old and newly implemented manure management technologies, fertilisation value of manure, and quality of the drainage runoff from manure-fertilised fields has been collected in six large livestock companies. Analysis of collected data revealed that new livestock keeping, feeding and manure management technologies are more cost-effective in using energy and mineral resources and conform to the animal welfare, environmental protection and hygiene requirements that are becoming more and more stringent. As the traditional manure management in economic terms is quite expensive and has a significant impact on the environmental quality, academic community is looking for new manure processing methods. The global development of manure management technologies focuses on the manure processing in biogas plants. Biogas generated from liquid manure and animal waste in such plants is an alternative source of energy.

By using analytical correlations derived as a result of theoretical research, a computer algorithm has been worked out for simulating the functions of the plough body and the forces exerted by soil upon the operating parts, as well as its draft resistance. These correlations allow to determine the draft resistance of the plough depending on the parameters of its body, as well as to evaluate the impact of the physical and mechanical properties of soil, such as friction upon it. The greatest influence upon the draft resistance is exerted by soil hardness, density and slip resistance along the surfaces of the operating parts. The latter is also affected by soil adhesion, which particularly manifests itself in wet clay soils at lower temperatures. It has been clarified that the friction resistance constitutes 46–62% of the total draft resistance of the plough body. The main ways of lowering the friction resistance and the total draft resistance of the plough are the introduction of a more rational design of its body having optimum parameters, decreasing the resistance of the share-mouldboard surface and the values of reactions of the supporting surfaces, as well as the application of antifriction materials and better modes of joining with tractors.

Nine multiparous cows were biopsied twice – in the first and fifth week after parturition in winter 2004/2005 on the Research and Study farm Vecauce of Latvia University of Agriculture. The aim of the research was to reveal distribution of inflammatory factors and apoptosis in the cow’s endometrium in post parturition period. Haematoxylin and eosin were used for routine staining of each sample. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα, w.d. 1:100, Abcam, England), and interleukin 10 (IL10, w.d. 1:400, Abcam, England) were detected immunohistochemically (IMH), and TUNEL method was used for detection of apoptosis. Distribution of these factors and substances was determined semiquantitatively by counting positive structures in visual fields. A significant increase in the total amount of inflammatory cells, as well as in the amount of the TNFα and apoptotic cells in endometrium between the first and fifth week after parturition (p is less than 0.01) was observed. A significant positive correlation (r=0.41; p is less than 0.01) between infiltration of endometrium with neutrophils and with macrophages was detected in the first week after parturition. A mild positive correlation (r=0.52; p is less than 0.01) between neutrophils and lymphocytes, as well as between lymphocytes and macrophages (r=0.35; p is less than 0.01) was found four weeks after parturition. A mild positive correlation (p is less than 0.05) was observed between amount of inflammatory cells and TNFα (r=0.52), and number of apoptotic cells and TNFα (r=0.58). The research suggests that inflammatory factors and apoptosis intensively act during the process of involution in the cows’ endometrium from the first up to the fifth week after parturition. Intensity, amount and activity of these components show individual variations in each case.

This study was done to evaluate the prevalence and colonization density of helicobacters in the gastric mucosa of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Mucosal samples were taken from several places of cardiac, fundic and pyloric gland region of the stomach to detect helicobacters with urease test, brush cytology, and light histological examination. Fourteen dogs of fifteen sampled animals showed positive urease test and the presence of tightly spiraled helicobacters. Positive urease test was observed in 80.4% of all examined samples. Helicobacters were detected in 82.7% of all examined samples by brush cytology and 80.8% of all examined samples by histological examination. Compared to gastric regions, in all employed detection methods have been showed significantly higher prevalence of helicobacters in cardiac and fundic gland region than in the less effected pyloric gland region of the stomach. Histological examination showed the location and colonization density of the bacteria at the superficial epithelium, gastric pits, and deep glandular epithelium of the gastric mucosa in different regions of the stomach. Colonization density of bacteria was evaluated in 4 groups: as absent, mild, moderate, and severe colonization density of helicobacters. Occurrence of helicobacters in the cardiac and fundic gland region showed mild and moderate colonization density of helicobacters at the superficial epithelium and at the gastric pits of the gastric mucosa. Colonization density of spiral-shaped bacteria between the deep glandular epithelium was more pronounced in the pyloric gland region than in the cardiac and fundic gland regions of the gastric mucosa in the domestic dogs.

The influence of solvent, storage time and temperature on the stability of the mycotoxin sterigmatocystin (STC) was investigated. STC calibrants (1.0 μg mlE-1) in acetonitrile, methanol and mixture of acetonitrile and methanol (50:50, volume/volume) were stored in dark glass bottles at (– 25), 4 and 25 °C for up to 8 weeks. Samples were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection. Obtained results indicate that more suitable solvents for storage of STC standard solutions at (–25 °C) are acetonitrile and mixture of acetonitrile and methanol (50:50, v/v), but not longer than for one week; for storage at 4 °C more suitable is mix of acetonitrile and methanol, but not longer than for one week.

Emmer wheat, Triticum dicoccum SCHRANK (SCHUEBL), is an old species of cereal which has been traditionally grown in arid areas. The renewed interest in this variety has its origin in favourable quality parameters of emmer wheat grain and a beneficial effect on human organism. This article deals with a study of quality parameters and storage protein composition of 6 varieties of emmer wheat (which have been chosen from the collection of gene bank at the Research institute of Crop Production in Prague-Ruzyně and in České Budějovice). High crude protein content in grain was proved during the trials. Nevertheless, such a characteristic is not suitable for the classical bakery processing (production of leavened products). The analysed genotypes contain more than 10% of high molecular weight glutenins (HMW glutenins), approximately 70% of low molecular weight glutenins + gliadins (LMW glutenins + gliadins), and almost 20% of residual albumins and globulins. Thanks to high share of albumins and globulins, emmer wheat grain is very valuable raw material for the production of healthy diet. The level of stability of storage proteins composition destines the suitability of emmer wheat for organic and low input farming in Less Favoured Areas.