Definition, evolution and coverage of biodiversity is shown. The significance of biodiversity for the humanity is discussed with reference to the Rio-Janeiro Conference (1992) and the Global Conception of Biodiversity Preservation. The condition of biodiversity in Ukraine and worldwide is shown by use of rich statistical, descriptive and image information: biodiversity worldwide by number of species in main animal classes; increase in biodiversity in geological scale; forest cover on the Earth; primary products of biosphere; photosynthetic activity of the Earth continents, diversity of plants by region of the Earth, loss of species in ecosystems of the Earth continents; locations and concentrations of animal species in Ukraine, included in 'Red Book'; population densities and concentrations of plant species in Ukraine, included in 'Red Book'. Threats to biodiversity in Ukraine, caused by human interference in the nature (intensive ploughing up of lands and use of insecticides) and worldwide (cutting of tropical and subtropical forests) are shown.
The article tackles selected representations of animals in Ivan Laučík’s (1944 – 2004) poetry. From the wide range of animals which the poet invites into his verse, it focuses on the motifs of insects, birds, and whales. In the world of Laučík’s poetry, insects serve as a litmus test for the quality and viability of an ecosystem. The poet, however, also handles insects in relation to the question of the expressive possibilities of language. Laučík’s ethical and ecological worldview also encompasses numerous motifs of birds which serve functions similar to those of insects. The motif of the whale occupies an important position in the poet’s debut collection, Pohyblivý v pohyblivom ([Mobile within mobility] 1968) and is also an indicator of how people relate to fauna and nature in general: as either conquerors or explorers. The ideal of a peaceful cohabitation of humankind with other animals can be glimpsed in Laučík’s handling of the human as a “human animal.” Such ethos can be observed both in individual poems and in the poet’s system of values in general. It accentuates an eco-friendly attitude towards nature to which the human is radically related.
Nitra and its immediate surroundings were intensively settled during the entire Bronze Age. In the Early Bronze Age a fortified settlement existed on the castle hill, which had a significant position in the area of the middle Nitra basin. At the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age, after the hill fort on the castle hill disappeared, the settlement moved to the area below the castle (Fig. 1), where a larger settlement is assumed to have existed. Finds from the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age, especially pottery, were collected during all excavation seasons on Mostná street (1990-2009). In 2004, a section with structures and a part of a palisade was found, which on the basis of pottery can be dated to the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age, BB1 stage. These finds are presented in this study. Vessel shapes include amphorae, amphora vases, pots, jugs, bowls, cups and food containers, which belong to the final stage of the Maďarovce culture and the early Carpathian tumulus culture. New features occur as a result of permeating foreign cultural groups. These features are common for the entire area of the Carpathian basin. Eastern influences are related to the Otomani culture, which likely affected also the occurrence of the Suciu de Sus culture.
As soon as Art Nouveau began to appear in the architectural decor of Riga at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, depictions of nature became increasingly popular. Of course, there was not just the main and specific Art Nouveau approach, which Robert Schmutzler cleverly described as 'Biological Romanticism', there were also other ways of approaching the natural world. Paul Greenhalg has described this as 'symbolic conventionalization', pantheism, metamorphosis and evolutionism. Pantheism became the main strategy for interior design at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in Riga, particularly insofar as vestibules are concerned. By contrast, façades manifested ideas of conventional Symbolism or of metamorphosis and evolutionism. Stylisation of natural motifs was one of the most popular techniques in designing wallpaper and stenciled decor on walls. Specialist publications had a major influence when it came to selecting the range of colours and ornamentation and since the mid 19th century their number had increased very rapidly. In Riga, as in several other provincial centres in the Russian Empire, Historicism played a particularly important role in architectural décor. When architects and designers began to move toward Art Nouveau it was often in the context of a reinterpretation of motifs that were popular in various neo-styles. New meaning was also attached to motifs and subjects that had been tested in the decorative arts and remained well known in the latter half of the 19th century and whose sources were to be found in various popular publications such as the ornamental handbook by Franz Sales Meyer, the edition 'Alegorien un Embleme' issued by Martin Gerlach, etc.
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