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Mountain semi-natural grasslands of intermontane basins of Central Caucasus, North Ossetia-Alania and the history of its land use were studied. It was found that post-forest, meadow-steppe and partially subalpine grasslands in the study area had been used as croplands for centuries and have been transformed into grazing lands about 60 years ago. In the last 20 years, the grasslands have been underused. It was revealed that current spatial distribution of grasslands is different from the classic scheme of natural climate-induced vegetation distribution. Species composition of meadow steppes is similar in different locations and does not reflect climatic differences of "dry" leeward and "wet" windward slopes of the intermontane basins. Present-day soils reflect parent material differences and erosion degree, but not topography-induced local climate specificity. However, discovered buried soils showed contrasting soil diversity on the southern and northern slopes. It is assumed that the present convergence of soil cover and vegetation is a result of long homogenising human impact and relatively short grassland development. IzvlečekOpisali smo gorske polnaravne travnike v gorskih kotlinah srednjega Kavkaza, Republika Severna Osetija-Alanija, in zgodovino spremembe rabe tal. Ugotovili smo, da so nekdanje gozdne površine, stepske travnike in delno tudi subalpinske travnike, stoletja uporabljali kot obdelovalne površine in jih nato pred šestedestimi leti spremenili v pašnike. V zadnjih dvajsetih letih pa s travniki niso gospodarili ali pa so opuščeni. Ugotovili smo, da je trenutna prostorska razporeditev stepskih travnikov drugačna od klasične sheme razširjenosti vegetacije, ki so pod klimatskimi vplivi. Vrstna sestava stepskih travišč je podobna na različnih lokacijah in ne odraža klimatskih razlik med "suhimi" zavetrnimi in "vlažnimi" privetrnimi pobočji. Talne razmere odražajo razliko v matični podlagi in stopnji erozije, ne pa tudi posebnosti v klimi zaradi topografije. Vendar odkrita pokopana tla nakazujejo raznolikost tal na južnih in severnih pobočjih. Predvidevamo, da je današnja podobnost tal in vegetacije rezultat dolgotrajnega homogenzirajočega človekovega vpliva in relativno kratkotrajnega razvoja travišč.

− One of the principal features of climate is its spatial variability. Long distance travels are an essential part of life in contemporary societies. in 2012 tourism arri vals reached 1 billion people at the global scale. in a short time one can move to e xtremely different climatic conditions and one's organism is under great pressure of a tmospheric stimuli which can be very different from those experienced at home. spatial differences in climate stimuli need various adaptation strategies in humans. the paper considers adap ta tion strain in tourists from seven central and northern european cities travelling to the Mediterranean regions of Barcelona, rome and athens for the period 1991-2000. the adap tation strain index (ASI) was applied for this purpose. seasonal and spatial patterns of bioclimatic contrasts are considered. summer was the season with greatest spatially differen tiated adaptation strain, but in winter the need for adaptation was the highest.Keywords: Bioclimate, adaptation strain index (asi), tourism, europe, Mediterranean. resumo -índice de adaptação cliMática eM turiStaS ViaJando do centro e do norte da europa para o Mediterrâneo. Uma das principais características do clima é a sua variabilidade espacial. as viagens de longo curso, para turismo de lazer ou de trabalho, são uma característica da sociedade contemporânea. em 2012, as "chegadas" atingiram mil milhões a nível mundial. num curto espaço de tempo, o organismo humano pode ficar submetido a condições climáticas muito diversas das habituais, o que exige diversas estratégias de adaptação. estuda-se, neste artigo, a tensão a que ficam sujeitos os turistas que se deslocam de sete locais da europa Central e do norte em direc ção a três cidades no Mediterrâneos: atenas, Barcelona e roma, no período 1999-2000. Utiliza-se, para este propó sito, o Adaptation Strain Index (ASI). na análise,

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the point prevalence of at least mild anxiety symptoms and symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder in the Latvian general population, and to analyze the associated factors. Materials and Methods: A computer-assisted face-to-face survey was conducted in 2019–2020 with a multistage stratified probability sample of the Latvian general adult population (n = 2687). Anxiety was assessed using the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale; a score of ≥5 was defined as indicating the presence of mild symptoms of anxiety, and a score of ≥10 as the cutoff for identifying cases of generalized anxiety disorder. The Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) and MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) modules were used for assessing comorbid conditions. Multinomial logistic regression was conducted. Results: The point prevalence of mild anxiety symptoms was 10.9%. The point prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder symptoms was 3.9%. Higher odds of mild anxiety symptoms were detected in respondents of a young age (vs. 65 y.o. and older, aOR 3.1, p < 0.001), unmarried respondents (vs. married/cohabiting, aOR 1.5, p = 0.02), those living in the capital city (aOR 1.6, p = 0.008) or rural areas (aOR 1.5, p = 0.03) (vs. other towns), respondents with poor self-rated health (vs. good, aOR 2.6, p < 0.001), and diagnosed alcohol use disorder (aOR 1.9, p < 0.001), suicidal behavior (aOR 2.4, p < 0.001), and symptoms of depression (aOR 6.4, p < 0.001) (vs. no such conditions). As for symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, female sex (vs. males, aOR 2.5, p = 0.003), age below 44 years (vs. 65+, aOR 6.2, p = 0.002), average self-rated health (vs. good, aOR 2.6, p = 0.005), and poor self-rated health (vs. good, aOR 5.3, p < 0.001), together with comorbid suicidal behavior (aOR 6.1, p < 0.001) and symptoms of depression (aOR 43.4, p < 0.001) (vs. no such conditions), increased the odds. Conclusions: Young age, poor self-rated health, and comorbid symptoms of depression and suicidal behavior were significant factors associated with symptoms of both mild anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder. Being unmarried, living in the capital city or rural areas, and alcohol use disorder were associated with mild anxiety symptoms alone. Female sex was associated with generalized anxiety disorder symptoms alone.

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