Warner College of Natural Resources
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These digital collections include the materials from the Mongolia Project and datasets from the Warner College of Natural Resources.
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Item Open Access 20-year vegetation change data in three ecological zones in Mongolia(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Jamiyansharav, Khishigbayar; Fernandez-Gimenez, MariaMongolian rangelands have experienced warming temperatures and increasing livestock densities over the past 20 years. Remote sensing studies report widespread degradation, but there are no long-term field studies of vegetation responses to shifts in climate and stocking densities. In 2013, we resampled plots originally sampled in 1994-1995 in the desert-steppe, steppe and mountain-steppe, and analyzed changes in vegetation in relation to changes in climate, stocking densities and forage use. Summer temperatures significantly increased and stocking densities fluctuated in response to droughts followed by harsh winters. Total herbaceous biomass in 2013 was similar to (desert-steppe and steppe) or greater than (mountain-steppe) in 1995, and total foliar and herbaceous cover were unchanged since 1995 in all zones. In the mountain-steppe, functional type and species cover shifts were consistent with warming temperatures and increasing grazing pressure. All species richness and diversity indicators declined significantly in the mountain-steppe since 1995 as did richness in the steppe. Some Mongolian rangelands may be losing resilience due to interacting climate and grazing pressures, but our data suggest degradation observed at our study sites is reversible. Mountain-steppe systems appear more vulnerable to grazing- and climate-induced vegetation change than steppe and desert-steppe.Item Open Access A journey down the Tuin: the hydraulics of an internal draining river from the Khangai Mountains to the Gobi Desert(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Fassnacht, Steven R., author; Venable, Niah B. H., author; Odgarav, Jigjsuren, author; Sukhbaatar, Jaminkhuyag, author; Adyabadam, Gelegpil, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherRiver systems flowing through semi-arid and arid regions provide critical ecosystem services for inhabitants of these areas. In remote and/or difficult to access areas away from population centers, few direct measurements exist to characterize the nature of streamflow in these systems. The Tuin River flows from the rugged high mountain and forest steppe landscape of the Khangai Mountains in central Mongolia to its terminus at Orog Lake in the desert steppe and sand dunes of the northern Gobi Desert. Field measurements taken in June 2012 at numerous locations from river headwaters to mouth were used to characterize streamflow in the main river channel and associated floodplain. From these measurements, channel hydraulic characteristics were estimated and hydrologic properties were assessed using a digital elevation model and other spatial data. These properties include contributing area, slope, hydraulic radius, and channel roughness. During the low flow conditions of the survey, streamflow was decreasing from upstream to downstream. At a point between the Bayankhongor and Bogd gaging stations, streamflow ceased at the surface and reappeared approximately 10 kilometres downstream, exemplifying losing flow conditions and subsurface flow components. The results of this analysis could be scalable to other internally draining river systems, especially for hydrologic modelling.Item Open Access Acknowledgement of conference and proceedings funders(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Building Resilience of Mongolian Rangelands, Organizing Committee, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherThe Organizing Committee of the Building Resilience of Mongolian Rangelands: A Trans-disciplinary Research Conference would like to acknowledge all supporters and organizers of this conference.Item Open Access Building resilience of Mongolian rangelands: a trans-disciplinary research conference(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Fernandez-Gimenez, Maria E., author; Baival, Batkhishig, author; Fassnacht, Steven R., author; Wilson, David, author; Ganbold, Chimgee, author; Vanluu, Dugermaa, author; Purevsuren, Munkhzul, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherMongolia is a semi-arid and arid country in Asia where the climate has been changing more drastically than many other locations across the globe. The proceedings of the "Trans-disciplinary Research Conference: Building Resilience of Mongolian Rangelands" is divided into five sections: 1) Rangeland Ecology and Management, 2) Climate Change and Hydrology, 3) Institutional Innovations in Mongolian Rangelands, 4) Social and Economic Development in Rural Mongolia, and 5) Methods of Knowledge and Data Integration. The papers presented provide cause for concern regarding observed changes in climate, rangeland conditions and livestock populations, as well as reasons for hope and motivations for action to address the current challenges. We hope that this volume and the conference it accompanies, will inspire renewed commitment to support science and science-based policy-making and management to sustain Mongolia's unique natural and cultural heritage as they adapt to a changing planet.Item Open Access Building resilience of Mongolian rangelands: a trans-disciplinary research conference - preface(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Fernandez-Gimenez, Maria E., author; Fassnacht, Steven R., author; Baival, Batkhishig, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherMongolia is a semi-arid and arid country in Asia where the climate has been changing more drastically than many other locations across the globe. The proceedings of the "Trans-disciplinary Research Conference: Building Resilience of Mongolian Rangelands" is divided into five sections: 1) Rangeland Ecology and Management, 2) Climate Change and Hydrology, 3) Institutional Innovations in Mongolian Rangelands, 4) Social and Economic Development in Rural Mongolia, and 5) Methods of Knowledge and Data Integration. The papers presented provide cause for concern regarding observed changes in climate, rangeland conditions and livestock populations, as well as reasons for hope and motivations for action to address the current challenges. We hope that this volume and the conference it accompanies, will inspire renewed commitment to support science and science-based policy-making and management to sustain Mongolia's unique natural and cultural heritage as they adapt to a changing planet.Item Open Access Changes in soil properties along grazing gradients in the mountain and forest steppe, steppe and desert steppe zones of Mongolia(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Baasandorj, Ya., author; Khishigbayar, J., author; Fernandez-Gimenez, M. E., author; Tsogtbaatar, J., author; Delgertsetseg, R., author; Chantsallkham, J., author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherRecent debates about the condition of Mongolia's rangelands and possible causes of rangeland change highlight the need for greater understanding of changes in grassland soil fertility and physical characteristics associated with grazing. As part of a large observational study of grazing effects on different Mongolian ecological zones and soil types (ecological sites), we studied soil characteristics along grazing gradients from winter shelters in the mountain and forest steppe, steppe and desert steppe ecozones of Mongolia. Our objective was to determine how grazing affects soil properties in winter pastures in different ecological zones and ecological sites within zones, based on grazing gradients. Our findings did not support our hypothesis that livestock grazing along a grazing gradient from winter shelters would lead to increased concentrations of nutrients (C, NO3-, P, K and humus) near the shelters. Instead, where soil chemical properties differed with distance, they were lowest close to winter shelters and higher with increasing distance. As hypothesized, we observed greater bulk densities nearer to winter shelters than farther away. Our hypothesis that grazing effects on soil properties would vary among ecological sites also was not supported. Further experimental and observational studies are needed to understand grazing effects on soil properties at different spatial scales and to examine feedbacks between livestock-induced changes in plant communities and soil quality.Item Open Access Channel delineation datasets associated with "River channel response to invasive plant treatment across the American Southwest"(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Wieting, Celeste; Friedman, Jonathan; Rathburn, Sara L.Invasive riparian plants were introduced to the American Southwest in the early 19th century and contributed to regional trends of decreasing river channel width and migration rate in the 20th century. More recently efforts to remove invasive riparian vegetation (IRV) have been widespread, especially since 1990. To what extent has IRV treatment reversed the earlier trend of channel narrowing and reduced dynamism? In this study, paired treated and untreated reaches at 15 sites along 13 rivers were compared before and after IRV treatment using repeat aerial imagery to assess long-term (~10 year) channel change due to treatment on a regional scale across the Southwest U.S. We found that IRV treatment significantly increased channel width and floodplain destruction. Treated reaches had higher floodplain destruction than untreated reaches at 14 of 15 sites, and IRV treatment increased the rate of floodplain destruction by a median factor of 1.9. The effect of treatment increased with the stream power of the largest flow over the study period. Resolving observations of channel change into separate measures of floodplain destruction and formation provided more information on underlying processes than simple measurements of channel width and centerline migration rate. Restoration practitioners who perform IRV treatment projects often focus on wildlife or vegetation response; however, geomorphic processes should be considered in restoration planning because they drive aquatic habitat and vegetation dynamics, and because of the potential for damage to downstream infrastructure. Depending on the restoration goal, management practices can be used to enhance or minimize the increase in channel dynamism caused by IRV removal.Item Open Access Characterizing environmental low flows in terms of magnitude, duration and frequency(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Kenner, Scott J., author; Nergui, Soninkhishig, author; Sodnom, Tumurchudur, author; Khurelbaatar, Tsogzolmaa, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherIncreased water demand has led to the need for development of water resources in Mongolia. With the Mongolian government implementation of integrated water resources management approach, assessing environmental flow requirements of major rivers becomes a primary issue. Using Indicators of Hydrological Alteration tools, physical habitat survey at Orkhon-Orkhon gauge site and statistical analysis of annual maximum flows, environmental low flow scenarios have been developed that attempt to reflect more "natural" characteristics of magnitude, frequency and duration. Specifically, minimum seasonal low flows of greater than the 75th percentile flow duration with bankfull flow releases during wet periods that have a duration of 12 to 24 days.Item Open Access Climatic data of the CSU Mountain Campus and surrounding area collected during the summers between 1959 and 1964(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Batten, Alan; Meyers, Alan; Turner, MarkItem Open Access Contemporary mobility of herders in central Mongolia(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Jargalsaikhan, Azjargal, author; Batjav, Batbuyan, author; Baival, Batkhishig, author; Ulambayar, Tungalag, author; Lhagvasuren, Tamir, author; Tsogtbaatar, Solongoo, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherSocial-ecological changes occurring in recent years have complicated herders' migration patterns, and because of rangeland climate variability, nomadic movement patterns have changed. The aim of this study was to determine how the present movement patterns of herders situated in different steppe regions along the road infrastructure corridor of central Mongolia have been affected by the intensification of community-based natural resource management activities and household livelihood levels, and to identify how herders adapt to those changes in their movement practices. The number and distance of herders' movements increased between 2010 and 2011, depending on regional geographical location and community-based natural resource management activities. In particular, household income and the number of livestock herders owned determined how far they moved. In the period 2010-2011 in central Mongolia there was a trend of movement from the western aimags to the forest steppe and from the desert steppe to the steppe and forest steppe, across administrative borders. Herders have a variety of ways to cope with social-ecological change which demonstrates the basic need for developing location-specific policies when establishing movement regulations and implementing risk reduction measures.Item Open Access Data associated with “Little South Poudre Watershed Climate and Hydrology 1961-1971”(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Meiman, James R.; Leavesley, George H.Item Open Access Dataset associated with "Differential influence of humans impacts on age-specific demography underpin trends in an African elephant population"(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Wittemyer, George; Daballen, David; Douglas-Hamilton, IainDiagnosing age-specific influences on demographic trends and their drivers in at-risk wildlife species can support the development of targeted conservation interventions. Such information also underpins understanding of life history. Here we assess age-specific demography in wild African elephants, a species whose life history is marked by long life and extreme parental investment. During the 20-year study, survival and its variation were similar between adults and juveniles in contrast to relationships found among many large bodied mammals. Prospective analysis on age-specific Leslie matrices for females demonstrated survival is more influential than fecundity on λ, with sensitivity of both decreasing with age. Results aggregated by stage classes indicate young adults (9-18 years) demonstrated the highest elasticity, followed by preparous juveniles (3-8 years). Mature adults (36+ years) had the lowest aggregate elasticity value. Retrospective analysis parameterized by data from the early and latter periods of the study, characterized by low then high human impact (faster and slower growth respectively), demonstrated fecundity (particularly for adults; 19-35 years) explained the greatest variation in λ observed during the period of low human impact, while survival (particularly juvenile and adult) was more influential during the high human impact period. The oldest females (mature adult stage) weakly influenced population growth despite demonstrating the highest fecundity and their behavioral importance in elephant society. Multiple regression models on survival showed the negative effects of human impacts and population size were the strongest correlates across sexes and ages. Annual rainfall, our metric for environmental conditions, was weakly informative. The presence of dependent young was positively correlated with survival for breeding females, suggesting condition-based mortality filtering during pregnancy. Notwithstanding the stabilizing effect of high juvenile survival on elephant population growth, demographic processes in elephants were similar to those shaping life history in other large herbivores. Implications of the study results with respect to the conservation of elephants and analysis of demographic impact of poaching are discussed, along with the study’s relevance to theories regarding the evolution of life history and parental care.Item Open Access Defining the ecological site descriptions and its use as a rangeland management tool in Mongolia(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Densambuu, Bulgamaa, author; Ulambayar, Budbaatar, author; Battur, Ankhtsetseg, author; Sainnemekh, Sunjidmaa, author; Nyam-Ochir, Gankhuyag, author; Bestelmeier, Brandon, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherThe concept of classifying any area into ecological sites, according to that area's productivity, based on varying soil, climatic and hydrological conditions, and its capacity to endure different intensities of use and to recover from degradation, and of using this classification as a basis of rational use of natural resources is more and more recognized internationally. Since 2009, the Green Gold Project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has been exploring opportunities to develop the ecological site description (ESD) concept for Mongolian rangelands and use it as an essential tool of rangeland management. Based on soil, vegetation and geomorphological data collected from approximately 500 points representing nationwide environmental zones, we developed the ESD concept for the Mongolian context. According to this concept Mongolian rangelands are divided into some 20 zones, representing distinct ecological potentials. Based on these plot data and state and transition models a preliminary conclusion is made that over 65 percent of Mongolian rangeland has, with varying degrees, altered from its reference state, and 80 percent of this area has potential to recover through changes in rangeland management. The main objective of this research was to identify, for each environmental zone, the main factors that determine rangeland ecological potential, to develop the ESD concept and to test the possibility of using it in rangeland management. The novelty of this study, as well as its scientific and practical significance, lie in development and testing of a more detailed classification based on ecological potential within Mongolian ecological zones and geo botanical regions. This approach is significant because the classification may be used as an essential tool for rangeland use planning, implementation and monitoring, as well as for regulating rangeland use agreements.Item Open Access Distance-to-well effects on plant community based on palatability and grazing tolerance in the desert-steppe of Mongolia(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Narantsetseg, Amartuvshin, author; Kang, Sinkyu, author; Ko, Dongwook, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherWells in grasslands are usually accompanied with increased traffic by humans and livestock. The purpose of this study was to detect whether plant community structure differs in spatial arrangement with different grazing gradients in the desert steppe of Mongolia. We found poor correlation between total coverage and distance-to-well in big-shrub and shrub-limited sites but strong correlation in the small-shrub site. Dominance of palatable plants along the transect appeared in the big-shrub site but that of palatable, grazing avoider and grazing tolerant plants appeared in other two sites. The results show that these communities might respond differently to grazing pressure. Livestock trampling was limited to near the well and then grazing might be effective far from the well, because all sites showed dominance of palatable herbaceous plants. Sub-dominance of Eurotia ceratoides appeared nearest to the well and followed Caragana spp. sub-dominance. Ajania spp. sub-dominance appeared more away than E. ceratoides and Caragana spp. Dominance of palatable herbaceous plants appeared near the well, compared with that of shrubs. In all sites, palatable herbaceous plant community was replaced by grazing tolerant plant community near the well and shrubs disappeared. This indicates that succession after grazing might be faster in herbaceous plant community than shrub one.Item Open Access Do formal, community-based institutions improve rangeland vegetation and soils in Mongolia more than informal, traditional institutions?(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Reid, Robin S., author; Jamsranjav, Chantsallkham, author; Fernandez-Gimenez, Maria E., author; Angerer, Jay, author; Tsevlee, Altanzul, author; Yadambaatar, Baasandorj, author; Jamiyansharav, Khishigbayar, author; Ulambayar, Tungalag, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherSince the 1990's, herding communities across Mongolia have established over 2000 community-based rangeland management (CBRM) organizations to improve livestock grazing management and reverse perceived declines in rangeland (grassland) productivity. Here, we compare the vegetation and soils of rangelands managed by these formal community-based herder groups (CBRM) with those managed by informal traditional neighborhoods (non-CBRM) in four ecological zones across Mongolia. A companion study shows CBRM used both traditional and innovative rangeland management practices more often than traditional neighborhoods. We hypothesized that this should then result in better rangeland vegetation and soils in CBRM-managed than non-CBRM managed rangeland. We sampled vegetation and soils in winter pastures around 143 livestock camps or water points in soums (counties) with and without CBRM management. We explicitly controlled for grazing intensity by sampling plots along grazing gradients at 100, 500 and 1000 m from these impact points. At each 50 x 50 m plot (n=428) we sampled standing biomass, plant cover, basal gap, species richness, forage quality, and soil and site characteristics. We also compared paired time series of MODIS NDVI data in counties with and without CBRM organizations from 2000-2014 to quantify changes in length of the growing season, and current and previous season greenness (a proxy for biomass accumulation). We then analyzed all data using general linear models and χ2 tests. CBRM had surprisingly few and subtle impacts on vegetation and soils in Mongolia's rangelands, whether measured in the field or by remote sensing, compared with areas managed by more traditional neighborhood groups. Some CBRM pastures supported more litter biomass, plant connectivity and less soil erosion, and a lower abundance of grazing tolerant or annual plant species than non-CBRM pastures in some ecological zones. CBRM management appears to modestly improve vegetation condition in the steppe than other ecological zones. At the soum level, we could see no differences in the length of the growing season, current season greenness or current and previous season greenness of the vegetation over the 15 years from 2000-2014. We did find, however, that herding families that participate in CBRM groups hold more livestock, sometimes twice as many, in 3 of the 4 ecological zones. This suggests that CBRM management may be having more impact on pastures than our data show, since these pastures can support more livestock without losing rangeland vegetation abundance and soil retention capacity.Item Open Access Dzud and thresholds of 'property' in Mongolian pastoralism(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Murphy, Daniel J., author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherProperty and its allocation are key elements of resilience within socio-ecological systems. This presentation compares ethnographic and survey data on shifting ideas of property from 2008 to similar data gathered in 2014 in a district of southern Khentii aimag. The data illustrate how these attitudes emerged, their underlying logics, and how they articulate with broader historical and political economic conditions. The findings raise concern that dzud events could serve as a possible trigger for formal legal transformations in land rights given the increased political rhetoric and calls for land privatization following dzud events. This paper argues that crossing such property thresholds would pose considerable problems for both rangelands and livelihoods and suggests some future avenues for strengthening pastoral systems.Item Open Access Early warning system for pastoral herders to reduce disaster risk by using a mobile SMS service(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Balt, Suvdantsetseg, author; Oba, Akihiro, author; Wanglin, Yan, author; Myagmarsuren, Altanbagana, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherHerders in Mongolia are directly affected by climate change impact more than urban residents. This research project is developing an early warning system to prevent disaster risk by using mobile SMS services based on the partnership between a scientific research group, local policy makers, industrial technology developers and support of pastoral communities. The mobile message based forecasting system has included common weather information, forage information and other local requested information and been delivered in current time since August 2013 in a case study in Biger soum of Gobi-Altai province, Mongolia. After the system had been implemented 98% of participants agreed they had improved knowledge about adaptation to dzuds, understood the importance of information access, found it was manageable for their daily job and believed it would help reduce impacts of climate disasters.Item Open Access Earlywood, latewood, and adjusted latewood correlations to precipitation: a test case from the Khangai Mountains, Mongolia(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Wolf, J. Marshall, author; Venable, Niah B. H., author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherThe Khangai Mountains of central Mongolia provide important ecosystem services to the surrounding region as the headwaters for a number of river systems and critical pasture for the animal herds of nomadic pastoralists. The mountains also provide a long-term record of regional moisture variability preserved within the tree-rings of Siberian larch (Larix sibirica) forests. Ring width measurements are commonly used to statistically reconstruct the hydroclimatology of a region based on the correlation of ring widths to precipitation and/or streamflow. Tree cores were collected, cross-dated, and the ring widths were measured from a site near Jargalant bagh in northern Bayankhongor aimag. Seasonal precipitation totals for the period from 1962 to 2012 were compiled from several meteorological stations surrounding the site. These historical precipitation values were compared to indices of total (TW), earlywood (EW), and latewood (LW) ring widths generated from a series of 16 cores. Nearly 70% of the annual precipitation in the Khangai region falls during the summer season (June, July, August), resulting in stronger correlations of ring widths (TW, EW and LW) to the previous year's summer precipitation than to the current year's spring or previous year's fall precipitation. The dependence of LW widths on antecedent EW ring widths masks any correlation to spring and fall precipitation. This dependence was removed using linear regression, resulting in the discovery of a negative relationship between the adjusted latewood (LWa) ring widths and precipitation in both spring of the current year and fall of the previous year. This indicates that LWa captures a different climate signal not detectable when working with the original LW, EW or TW measurements. Correlations of EW with (previous year's) summer precipitation were similar in value to correlations of TW with (previous year's) summer precipitation, suggesting that additional measurements of ring width may not be needed for use in reconstructing long-term summer precipitation variability. However, LWa and the associated measurements required for its calculation may be potentially useful for reconstructing spring and fall precipitation patterns in summer precipitation-dominated hydroclimate systems.Item Open Access Evaluating the impact of climate change based on herders' observations and comparing it with hydro-climatic and remote sensing data(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Jigjsuren, Odgarav, author; Baival, Batkhishig, author; Nayanaa, Kherlentuul, author; Jargalsaikhan, Azjargal, author; Dash, Khurelbaatar, author; Badamkhand, Bayarmaa, author; Bud, Amarzaya, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherStudying the impact of recent years' climate change on Mongolian rangeland livestock husbandry and on pastoral herders' livelihoods, based on herders' observations and their experience, is an approach that is of considerable interest to many scientists. Our research identifies changes in natural conditions and climate, as well as the changes in rangeland conditions, as observed by herders, and compares them against weather stations' multi-year observations and remote sensing data. Our research region of Khanbogd, Manlai and Bayan-Ovoo soums of Umnugobi aimag has been, in the recent years, experiencing a rapid development of the mining industry and human population growth. According to local herders, current rangeland quality greatly decreased compared to the period before the year 2000, while the area of barren land, sand movement and soil erosion increased. Herders also said that the amount of rainfall diminished and the rainy season's duration shortened, short high intensity rains grew in number, and it became extremely hot in summer. Soum weather station records of air temperature, precipitation and evaporation confirmed herders' observations, and were consistent with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) or the results of observations of rangeland vegetation phenology. To develop local adaptive capacity in the face of changing social-ecological systems it is important to use and integrate multiple sources of information that are essential for making policy implementation mechanisms and measures more locally appropriate and relevant.Item Open Access Evolution of common resource tenure and governing: evidence from pastureland in Mongolia Plateau(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015-06) Zhang, Yaoqi, author; Amarjargal, Amartuvshin, author; Nutag Action and Research Institute, publisherLand tenure is to define who hold the land as well as the relationship between tenant and the lord. Most fundamentally tenure and changing tenure is capturing the value of the resource. The nature of the resource and changing relative scarcity are essential to induce or lead evolution of land tenure. Pasture resources have been held in open access and communal tenure for much of the long history on Mongolia Plateau because of the abundant resource with low population density. Historically pasture tenure in this region has been evolving from open and semi-open access to communal tenure (control) to more private ownership, although other forces like political system can only cause temporary departure from the general patterns. Presently the variety of tenure arrangements largely reflects the scarcity of the pastoral resources: Mongolia is still primarily adopting semi-open access with community governing although state is viewed as sole ownership, while Inner Mongolia is more directing privatization of at least the use rights.
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