Lindisfarne-Tapper, Nancy and Tapper, Richard (2025): The Piruzai of Afghanistan: A Visual Ethnography. In association with White Horse Press. Winwick (Cambridgeshire). XII + 381 pp., 380 photographs, 5 maps, 2 diagrams, ISBN: 978-1-917813-00-6 (hardcover) £40, 978-1-917813-01-3 (e-book) £20.
Large-scale landslides are fundamental drivers of landscape dynamics that generate distinct abiotic legacies; however, few studies have explicitly linked geomorphological history to long-term ecological processes. This study investigates the geoecological role of a rock-avalanche deposit formed approximately 1100 years ago in the Akaishi Mountains (central Japan). It aims to elucidate how such geomorphic legacies contribute to the persistence of forests dominated by relict conifers. Detailed field surveys revealed a clear differentiation of site conditions within the landslide deposit, distinguishing with-matrix (WM) from no-matrix (NM) boulder slopes. At WM sites, fine-grained material infilling inter-boulder voids has promoted soil development over the past millennium, thereby supporting a closed-canopy mixed forest structurally comparable to the zonal vegetation on adjacent undisturbed slopes. In contrast, NM sites lack fine sediment. These severe edaphic conditions act as a spatial filter, limiting the establishment of competitively dominant broad-leaved species and thereby maintaining an edaphic climax community. NM sites harbor a distinctive assemblage of stress-tolerant relict taxa belonging to lineages that originated in the Tertiary (e.g., Chamaecyparis pisifera), as well as disturbance-dependent species with glacial histories. The latter group includes the glacial relict Picea alcoquiana and the cold-adapted pioneer Larix kaempferi, whose contemporary distributions are largely confined to unstable substrates. Our findings demonstrate that the ancient rock avalanche creates competitor-reduced rocky habitats that replicate the historical niches of these diverse lineages. Furthermore, given the region's ongoing tectonic activity, we propose that spatially dispersed landslide scars form a dynamic habitat network. This network likely facilitates the regional persistence of relict populations through metapopulation dynamics. We conclude that ancient landslide scars are not merely sites of destruction but are critical geoecological structures that enhance landscape heterogeneity and contribute to the conservation of regional floristic diversity.
Grabski-Kieron, Ulrike, Kordel, Stefan, Krajewski, Christian, Mose, Ingo, Steinführer, Annett (eds) (2024): Geographie ländlicher Räume. Paderborn: Brill Schöningh. 464 Seiten, 36 Tabellen, 125 Abbildungen. ISBN 978-3-8252-6068-2. EUR 38,00.
This article examines how hydrological extremes unfold at the local level and interact with socio-spatial inequality, focusing on recurrent flooding in West Java, Indonesia. In doing so, it contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how marginalized communities navigate and reshape unequal hydrosocial relations in urban contexts of the Global South. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork in the kampung (urban village) of Andir – a densely populated settlement in the Bandung Basin, often referred to as the ‘bottom of the bowl’ – we analyse how flooding is co-produced through state-led management strategies that prioritize large-scale infrastructural interventions and downstream protection, often at the expense of upstream communities. The aim is to analyse how people in Andir experience and cope with flooding events through social practices and political action. Bringing together literature on hydrosocial geographies and the concept of prefigurative politics, we show how residents respond to these conditions through collective action and community-based adaptation strategies. In particular, we identify three possibilities for prefigurative politics that emerge through grassroots action in Andir: community-led infrastructural interventions (e.g. improving local drainage systems), the creation of participatory discussion spaces such as ngobrol pintar, and the promotion of more care-full and relational understandings of the river. We argue that these actions not only address immediate flooding risks but also create spaces of empowerment by fostering collective identities and opening up political possibilities. In this way, they prefigure alternative socio-environmental futures while actively reshaping hydrosocial relations in the present.
The term ‘blue gentrification’ has emerged to describe socio-spatial transformations linked to waterfront redevelopment and blue infrastructure projects. However, the concept lacks a clear definition and is used inconsistently in academic discourse. Following the PRISMA guidelines, this paper systematically reviews 54 English and German publications to assess the state of research on blue gentrification, its conceptual clarity, and its socio-environmental implications. Despite the focus on these two languages, the findings reveal that blue gentrification is often subsumed under broader frameworks such as green or environmental gentrification, with only a minority of studies explicitly using or defining the term. Key characteristics of the phenomenon include rising property values, the displacement of economically deprived populations and restricted access to water-based amenities, which are often driven by neoliberal urban policies. Despite its growing relevance in the context of blue-green climate adaptation measures, the term lacks a robust theoretical framework, limiting its usefulness as an independent concept. Methodological and geographical biases further constrain the field, as most studies focus on the Global North and employ qualitative methods. While questioning the need for an explicit definition and introduction of the term, this review sets out its own approach to defining the term and argues in favor of a diversified research agenda to capture the particular dynamics of blue gentrification. Closing these gaps is crucial for promoting equitable urban planning and ensuring inclusive access to blue spaces.
