Search results for: pond ecosystem

Authors: Noor Aliza Binti Ahmad, Azra Munirah Mat Daud, Sabariah Musa, Mohamad Azhar MK

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Flooding is a common natural disaster in Malaysia triggered by heavy rainfall. Urbanization that increases the construction of paved areas, subsequently raise surface runoff and reduce time of concentration. It increases flood magnitude and so that leads to greater flood problems as what has happened at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) area in December 2006 and earlier 2007. Tasik Kemajuan and Tasik Inovasi were constructed as recreation ponds and have also functioned as flood ponds. Unfortunately, the flood problem still occurs persistently. Thus, the effectiveness of Tasik Kemajuan and Tasik Inovasi in reducing the flood problems need to be investigated and the causes of flood events at UTHM Campus need to be evaluated. The results from this study show that the conditions of Tasik Kemajuan and Tasik Inovasi are effective in reducing the flood water levels. It also can be concluded that increasing water level in both lakes in UTHM Campus are significantly influenced by presence of the grass and rubbish. During dry condition, the flow rates with three different days are 59.38m3/s, 60.71m3/s and 59.08m3/s and while for wet condition in two different days are 89.59 m3/s and 86.61m3/s. In conclusion, this system should be improved to prevent future flooding either widened or reduced drainage floor, and also perform maintenance on the plants that live around the lake.

Keywords: drainage system, flood detention, lakes, storm water

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Authors: Arya Sarukkai

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Due to increased technological advances and the high use of phones, tablets, computers, and other electronics, we continue to see rapid growth in the volume of e-waste. There are millions just throwing out their old devices, millions who have many devices and don’t know what to do with them, and there are millions who would benefit from receiving those devices. The thesis of this paper is that by creating an ecosystem of donors and recipients and providing the right incentives, we can reduce e-waste. We discuss a system for sustainable e-waste by building a marketplace between donors and recipients. We also summarize experimental results comparing different incentives and present a live web service that allows for e-waste supplies to reach schools and nonprofit institutions.

Keywords: E-waste ecosystems, marketplaces, e-waste web app, online services

Procedia PDF Downloads 197

Authors: Abro Zain-Ul-Aabdin, Naheed Baloch, Khuhro Niaz Hussain, Waseem Akbar, Noor Abid Saeed

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The Melon Fruit Fly Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coq.) belongs to family: Tephritidae order: Diptera and is distributed throughout the vegetable growing areas of Pakistan. The B. cucurbitae is injurious pest of more than 125 species of the vegetables throughout the world. In the present studies we investigated the population of this important pest in cucurbit crops and influence of abiotic parameters such as: temperature, relative humidity and rainfall. The study was carried out at two different locations of District, Hyderabad. The locations were Jeay Shah and Dehli farm where three cucurbit vegetable crops, such as bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) and ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula) were grown. The traps were baited with Cue-lure and deployed at three meter height in the all locations from 01.01.2015 and up to 30.06.2015. Results revealed that overall significantly higher (P < 0.05) population was recorded on L.acutangula, M.charantia and L.siceraria (130.64, 127.21, and 122.91), respectively. However, significantly higher (P < 0.05) population was observed on L. acutangula (339.4±22.59) during the 4th week of May 2015 followed by M. charantia (334.6±22.76) L. siceraria (333.2±20.13). Whereas; lowest population was recorded on L. siceraria (5.8±1.39) followed by L. acutangula and M. charantia (6.8±0.80g, 8.0±1.30) respectively during the 4th week of January. The population of B. cucurbitae was significantly correlated with the temperature while negatively correlated with relative humidity. Meanwhile in the parasitism preference experiment pupal parasitoid Dirhinus giffardii showed significantly higher (P<0.05) parasitization when the pupae of B.cucurbitae were reared on Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) (24.8±0.48) and also female were yielded from pupae reared on C.sativus under no choice experiment. Similarly higher parasitization and female were recovered when pupae were supplied C. sativus under free choice experiment. Results of the present investigation would be useful in developing a sustainable pest management strategy in the vegetable agro-ecosystem.

Keywords: Dirhinus giffardii, Bactrocera cucurbitae Cucumis sativus, diptera, free choice, parasitization

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Authors: Chandrasekaran, Ravisankar N. Harikrishnan, Rajalakshmi, K. K. Satapathy M. V. R. Prasad, K. V. Kanagasabapathy

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Heavy metals were considered as highly toxic environmental pollutants to soil ecosystem and human health. In present study the 12 heavy metals (Mg, Al, K, Ca, Ti, Fe, V, Cr, Mn, Co,Ni and Zn.) are determined in soils of Yelagiri hills, Tamilnadu by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence technique. Metal concentrations were used to quantify pollution contamination factors such as enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and contamination factor (CF) are calculated and reported.

Keywords: soil, heavy metals, EDXRF, pollution contamination factors

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Authors: Azhar Naila, Steuer Benjamin

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Over-exploitation of resources and the burden on natural systems have provoked worldwide concerns about the potential resource as well as supply risks in the future. It has been estimated that the consumption of materials and resources will double by 2060, substantially mounting the amount of waste and emissions produced by individuals, organizations, and businesses, which necessitates sustainable technological innovations to address the problem. Therefore, there is a need to design products and services purposefully for material resource efficiency. This directs us toward the conceptualization and implementation of the ‘Circular Economy (CE),’ which has gained considerable attention among policymakers, researchers, and businesses in the past decade. A large amount of literature focuses on the concept of CE. However, contextual empirical research on the need to embrace CE in an emerging economy like Pakistan is still scarce, where the traditional economic model of take-make-dispose is quite common. Textile exports account for approximately 61% of Pakistan's total exports, and the industry provides employment for about 40% of the country's total industrial workforce. The industry provides job opportunities to above 10 million farmers, with cotton as the main crop of Pakistan. Consumers, companies, as well as the government have explored very limited CE potential in the country. This gap has motivated us to carry out the present study. The study is based on a mixed method approach, for which key informant interviews have been conducted to get insight into the present situation of the ecosystem readiness for the adoption of CE in 20 textile manufacturing industries. The subject study has been conducted on the following areas i) the level of understanding of the CE concept among key stakeholders in the textile manufacturing industry ii) Companies are pushing boundaries to invest in circularity-based initiatives, exploring the depths of risk-taking iii) the current national policy framework support the adoption of CE. Qualitative assessment has been undertaken using MAXQDA to analyze the data received after the key informant interviews. The data has been transcribed and coded for further analysis. The results show that most of the key stakeholders have a clear understanding of the concept, whereas few consider it to be only relevant to the end-of-life treatment of waste generated from the industry. Non-governmental organizations have been observed to be key players in creating awareness among the manufacturing industries. Maximum companies have shown their consent to invest in initiatives related to the adoption of CE. Whereas a few consider themselves far behind the race due to a lack of financial resources and support from responsible institutions. Mostly, the industries have an ambitious vision for integrating CE into the company’s policy but seem not to be ready to take any significant steps to nurture a culture for experimentation. However, the government is not playing any vital role in the transition towards CE; rather, they have been busy with the state’s uncertain political situation. Presently, Pakistan does not have any policy framework that supports the transition towards CE. Acknowledging the present landscape a well-informed CE transition is immediately required.

Keywords: circular economy, textile supply chain, textile manufacturing industries, resource efficiency, ecosystem readiness, multi-case study analysis

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Authors: E. Ormeno, C. Gutigny, J. Ruffault, J. Madrigal, M. Guijarro, C. Lecareux, C. Ballini

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Mediterranean plant species feature numerous metabolic and morpho-physiological responses crucial to survive under both, typical Mediterranean drought conditions and future aggravated drought expected by climate change. Whether these adaptive responses will, in turn, increase the ecosystem perturbation in terms of fire hazard, is an issue that needs to be addressed. The aim of this study was to test whether recurrent and aggravated drought in the Mediterranean area favors the accumulation of waxes in leaf litter, with an eventual increase of litter flammability. The study was conducted in 2017 in a garrigue in Southern France dominated by Quercus coccifera, where two drought treatments were used: a treatment with recurrent aggravated drought consisting of ten rain exclusion structures which withdraw part of the annual precipitation since January 2012, and a natural drought treatment where Q. coccifera stands are free of such structures and thus grow under natural precipitation. Waxes were extracted with organic solvent and analyzed by GC-MS and litter flammability was assessed through measurements of the ignition delay, flame residence time and flame intensity (flame height) using an epiradiator as well as the heat of combustion using an oxygen bomb calorimeter. Results show that after 5 years of rain restriction, wax content in the cuticle of leaf litter increases significantly compared to shrubs growing under natural precipitation, in accordance with the theoretical knowledge which expects increases of cuticle waxes in green leaves in order to limit water evapotranspiration. Wax concentrations were also linearly and positively correlated to litter flammability, a correlation that lies on the high flammability own to the long-chain alkanes (C25-C31) found in leaf litter waxes. This innovative investigation shows that climate change is likely to favor ecosystem fire hazard through accumulation of highly flammable waxes in litter. It also adds valuable information about the types of metabolites that are associated with increasing litter flammability, since so far, within the leaf metabolic profile, only terpene-like compounds had been related to plant flammability.

Keywords: cuticular waxes, drought, flammability, litter

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Authors: Remy Kulagowski, Tobias Sturm, Audrey Leopold, Aurelie Metay, Josephine Peigne, Alexis Thoumazeau, Alain Brauman, Bruno Fogliani, Florent Tivet

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A major challenge for agriculture is to enhance productivity while limiting the impact on the environment. Conservation agriculture (CA) is one strategy whereby both sustainability and productivity can be achieved by preserving and improving the soil quality. Soils provide and regulate a large number of ecosystem services (ES) such as agricultural productivity and climate change adaptation and mitigation. The aim of this study is to assess the impacts of contrasted CA crop management on soil functions for maize (Zea mays L.) cultivation in an eight years field experiment (2010-2018). The study included two CA practices: direct seeding in dead mulch (DM) and living mulch (LM), and conventional plough-based tillage (CT) practices on a fluvisol in New Caledonia (French Archipelago in the South Pacific). In 2018, soil quality of the cropping systems were evaluated with the Biofunctool® set of indicators, that consists in twelve integrative, in-field, and low-tech indicators assessing the biological, physical and chemical properties of soils. Main soil functions were evaluated including (i) carbon transformation, (ii) structure maintenance, and (iii) nutrient cycling in the ten first soil centimeters. The results showed significant higher score for soil structure maintenance (e.g., aggregate stability, water infiltration) and carbon transformation function (e.g., soil respiration, labile carbon) under CA in DM and LM when compared with CT. Score of carbon transformation index was higher in DM compared with LM. However, no significant effect of cropping systems was observed on nutrient cycling (i.e., nitrogen and phosphorus). In conclusion, the aggregated synthetic scores of soil multi-functions evaluated with Biofunctool® demonstrate that CA cropping systems lead to a better soil functioning. Further analysis of the results with agronomic performance of the soil-crop systems would allow to better understand the links between soil functioning and production ES of CA.

Keywords: conservation agriculture, cropping systems, ecosystem services, soil functions

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Authors: Qiushi Ning

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The nitrogen (N) is an important limiting factor of various ecosystems, and the N deposition rate is increasing unprecedentedly due to anthropogenic activities. The N deposition altered the microbial growth and activity, and microbial mediated N cycling through changing soil pH, the availability of N and carbon (C). The CO2, CH4 and N2O are important greenhouse gas which threaten the sustainability and function of the ecosystem. With the prolonged and increasing N enrichment, the soil acidification and C limitation will be aggravated, and the microbial biomass will be further declined. The soil acidification and lack of C induced by N addition are argued as two important factors regulating the microbial activity and growth, and the studies combined soil acidification with lack of C on microbial community are scarce. In order to restore the ecosystem affected by chronic N loading, we determined the responses of microbial activity and GHG emssions to lime and glucose (control, 1‰ lime, 2‰ lime, glucose, 1‰ lime×glucose and 2‰ lime×glucose) addition which was used to alleviate the soil acidification and supply C resource into soils with N addition rates 0-50 g N m–2yr–1. The results showed no significant responses of soil respiration and microbial biomass (MBC and MBN) to lime addition, however, the glucose substantially improved the soil respiration and microbial biomass (MBC and MBN); the cumulative CO2 emission and microbial biomass of lime×glucose treatments were not significantly higher than those of only glucose treatment. The glucose and lime×glucose treatments reduced the net mineralization and nitrification rate, due to inspired microbial growth via C supply incorporating more inorganic N to the biomass, and mineralization of organic N was relatively reduced. The glucose addition also increased the CH4 and N2O emissions, CH4 emissions was regulated mainly by C resource as a substrate for methanogen. However, the N2O emissions were regulated by both C resources and soil pH, the C was important energy and the increased soil pH could benefit the nitrifiers and denitrifiers which were primary producers of N2O. The soil respiration and N2O emissions increased with increasing N addition rates in all glucose treatments, as the external C resource improved microbial N utilization. Compared with alleviated soil acidification, the improved availability of C substantially increased microbial activity, therefore, the C should be the main limiting factor in long-term N loading soils. The most important, when we use the organic C fertilization to improve the production of the ecosystems, the GHG emissions and consequent warming potentials should be carefully considered.

Keywords: acidification and C limitation, greenhouse gas emission, microbial activity, N deposition

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Authors: Sintayehu W. Dejene

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An ecological and biodiversity conservation study on species composition, population status and habitat association of large mammals and the impact of human interference on their distribution was carried out in Awash National Park, Ethiopia during October, 2012 to July, 2013. A total of 25 species of large mammals were recorded from the study area. Representative sample sites were taken from each habitat type and surveyed using random line transect method. For medium and large mammal survey, indirect methods (foot print and dung) and direct observations were used. Twenty three species of medium to large-sized mammals were identified and recorded from ANP. A total of 25 species of median and large size mammals were recorded from the study area. Out of this, 20 species were rodents of three families and five species were insectivores of two families. Beisa Oryx (Oryx beisa beisa),Soemmerings gazelle (Gazella soemmeringi),Defassa waterbuck (Kobus defassa), Lesser Kudu (Strepsiceros imberbis), Greater Kudu (Strepsiceros strepsiceros), Warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus), Baboon (Papio anubis baboon) and Salt's dikdik (Madoqua saltiana) were the most common seen median and large mammals in the study area. Beisa Oryx (Oryx beisa beisa) and Sommering Gazelles (Gazella soemmeringi) are commonly found in the open areas, where as Greater Kudus (Strepsiceros strepsiceros) and Lesser Kudus (Strepsiceros imberbis) was seen in the bushed areas. Defarsa waterbuck (Kobus defassa) was observed in the bushy river area in Northern part of the Park. Anubis baboon (Papio anubis baboon) was seen near to the river side. Hamadryas baboon founded in semi-desert areas of Awash National Park, particularly in Filwoha area. The area is one of a key biodiversity conservation and provide pure water, air, food, grazing land and storage of carbon.

Keywords: awash national park, biodiversity, ecosystem value, habitat association, large mammals, population status, species composition

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Authors: Sara Saboonian, Pierre Filion

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The dispersed-suburban model has been the dominant one across North America for the past seventy years, characterized by automobile reliance, low density, and land-use specialization. Two planning models have emerged as possible alternatives to address the ills inflicted by this development pattern. First, there is intensification, which promotes efficient infrastructure by connecting high-density, multi-functional, and walkable nodes with public transit services within the suburban landscape. Second is green infrastructure, which provides environmental health and human well-being by preserving and restoring ecosystem services. This research studies incompatibilities and the possibility of amalgamating the two alternatives in an attempt to develop a comprehensive alternative to suburban model that advocates density, multi-functionality and transit- and pedestrian-conduciveness, with measures capable of mitigating the adverse environmental impacts of compactness. The research investigates three Canadian urban growth centers, where intensification is the current planning practice, and the awareness of green infrastructure benefits is on the rise. However, these three centers are contrasted by their development stage, the presence or absence of protected natural land, their environmental approach, and their adverse environmental consequences according to the planning cannons of different periods. The methods include reviewing the literature on green infrastructure planning, criticizing the Ontario provincial plans for intensification, surveying residents’ preferences for alternative models, and interviewing officials who deal with the local planning for the centers. Moreover, the research draws on recalling debates between New Urbanism and Landscape/Ecological Urbanism. The case studies expose the difficulties in creating urban growth centres that accommodate green infrastructure while adhering to intensification principles. First, the dominant status of intensification and the obstacles confronting intensification have monopolized the planners’ concerns. Second, the tension between green infrastructure and intensification explains the absence of the green infrastructure typologies that correspond to intensification-compatible forms and dynamics. Finally, the lack of highlighted social-economic benefits of green infrastructure reduces residents’ participation. Moreover, the results from the research provide insight into predominating urbanization theories, New Urbanism and Landscape/Ecological Urbanism. In order to understand political, planning, and ecological dynamics of such blending, dexterous context-specific planning is required. Findings suggest the influence of the following factors on amalgamating intensification and green infrastructure. Initially, producing ecosystem services-based justifications for green infrastructure development in the intensification context provides an expert-driven backbone for the implementation programs. This knowledge-base should be translated to effectively imbue different urban stakeholders. Moreover, due to the limited greenfields in intensified areas, spatial distribution and development of multi-level corridors such as pedestrian-hospitable settings and transportation networks along green infrastructure measures are required. Finally, to ensure the long-term integrity of implemented green infrastructure measures, significant investment in public engagement and education, as well as clarification of management responsibilities is essential.

Keywords: ecosystem services, green infrastructure, intensification, planning

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Authors: Po-Ching Wang

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Considering the notable effects of natural resource consumption and impacts on fragile ecosystems, reflection on contemporary sustainable design is critical. Nevertheless, the idea of ‘green’ has been misapplied and even abused, and, in fact, much damage to the environment has been done in its name. In 1996’s popular science fiction film Independence Day, an alien species, having exhausted the natural resources of one planet, moves on to another —a fairly obvious irony on contemporary human beings’ irresponsible use of the Earth’s natural resources in modern times. In fact, the human ambition to master nature and freely access the world’s resources has long been inherent in manifestos evinced by productions of the environmental design professions. Ron Herron’s Walking City, an experimental architectural piece of 1964, is one example that comes to mind here. For this design concept, the architect imagined a gigantic nomadic urban aggregate that by way of an insect-like robotic carrier would move all over the world, on land and sea, to wherever its inhabitants want. Given the contemporary crisis regarding natural resources, recently ideas pertinent to structuring a sustainable environment have been attracting much interest in architecture, a field that has been accused of significantly contributing to ecosystem degradation. Great art, such as Fallingwater building, has been regarded as nature-friendly, but its notion of ‘green’ might be inadequate in the face of the resource demands made by human populations today. This research suggests a more conservative and scrupulous attitude to attempting to modify nature for architectural settings. Designs that pursue spiritual or metaphysical interconnections through anthropocentric aesthetics are not sufficient to benefit ecosystem integrity; though high-tech energy-saving processes may contribute to a fine-scale sustainability, they may ultimately cause catastrophe in the global scale. Design with frugality is proposed in order to actively reduce environmental load. The aesthetic taste and ecological sensibility of design professions and the public alike may have to be reshaped in order to make the goals of environmental sustainability viable.

Keywords: anthropocentric aesthetic, aquarium sustainability, biosphere 2, ecological aesthetic, ecological footprint, frugal design

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Authors: Pholosho M. Kgopa, Phatu W. Mashela, Alen Manyevere

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Increasing incidents of drought spells in most Sub-Saharan Africa call for using alternative sources of water for irrigation in arid and semi-arid regions. A study was conducted to investigate chemical composition of borehole and treated wastewater from different sampling disposal sites at University of Limpopo Experimental Farm (ULEF). A 4 × 5 factorial experiment, with the borehole as a reference sampling site and three other sampling sites along the wastewater disposal system was conducted over five months. Water samples were collected at four sites namely, (a) exit from Pond 16 into the furrow, (b) entry into night-dam, (c) exit from night dam to irrigated fields and (d) exit from borehole to irrigated fields. Water samples were collected in the middle of each month, starting from July to November 2016. Samples were analysed for pH, EC, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Al, B, Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd and As. The site × time interactions were highly significant for Ca, Mg, Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb, Cd, and As variables, but not for Na and K. Sampling site was highly significant on all variables, with sampling period not significant for K and Na. Relative to water from the borehole, Na concentration in wastewater samples from the night-dam exit, night-dam entry and Pond16 exit were lower by 69, 34 and 55%, respectively. Relative to borehole water, Al was higher in wastewater sampling sites. In conclusion, both sampling site and period affected the chemical composition of treated wastewater.

Keywords: irrigation water quality, spatial effects, temporal effects, water reuse, water scarcity

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Authors: K. Ismail, A. Ali, R. C. Hasan, I. Khalil, Z. Bachok, N. M. Said, A. M. Muslim, M. S. Che Din, W. S. Chong

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The marine ecosystem in Malaysia holds invaluable potential in terms of economics, food security, pharmaceuticals components and protection from natural hazards. Although exploration of oil and gas industry and fisheries are active within Malaysian waters, knowledge of the seascape and ecological functioning of benthic habitats is still extremely poor in the marine parks around Malaysia due to the lack of detailed seafloor information. Consequently, it is difficult to manage marine resources effectively, protect ecologically important areas and set legislation to safeguard the marine parks. The limited baseline data hinders scientific linkage to support effective marine spatial management in Malaysia. This became the main driver behind the first seabed mapping effort at the national level. Taman Laut Labuan (TLL) is located to the west coast of Sabah and to the east of South China Sea. The total area of TLL is approximately 158.15 km2, comprises of three islands namely Pulau Kuraman, Rusukan Besar and Rusukan Kecil and is characterised by shallow fringing reef with few submerged shallow reef. The unfamiliar rocky shorelines limit the survey of multibeam echosounder to area with depth more than 10 m. Whereas, singlebeam and side scan sonar systems were used to acquire the data for area with depth less than 10 m. By integrating data from multibeam bathymetry and backscatter with singlebeam bathymetry and side sonar images, we produce a substrate map and coral coverage map for the TLL using i) marine landscape mapping technique and ii) RSOBIA ArcGIS toolbar (developed by T. Le Bas). We take the initiative to explore the ability of aerial drone and satellite image (WorldView-3) to derive the depths and substrate type within the intertidal and subtidal zone where it is not accessible via acoustic mapping. Although the coverage was limited, the outcome showed a promising technique to be incorporated towards establishing a guideline to facilitate a standard practice for efficient marine spatial management in Malaysia.

Keywords: habitat mapping, marine spatial management, South China Sea, National seabed mapping

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Authors: Anjum-Zubair, Muhammad, Muhammad Shoaib Alam, Muhammad Samee Mubarik, Iftikhar Ahmad

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The aim of present research was to evaluate the effect of dietary protein (soybean) formulated feed on the growth performance of carp fish seed (Rohu, Mori, Grass, and Gulfam) in ponds under polyculture system. Keeping in view the protein requirements of these four carps, they were fed with formulated feed contains 30% of crude protein. The fingerlings were fed once on daily basis at 5% of their wet body weight. A 90 days experiment was conducted in two cemented ponds situated at Fish Seed Hatchery and Research Centre, Rawal Town, Islamabad, Pakistan. Pond1 contain major carps i.e. Rohu and Mori while pond 2 was stocked with Chinese carps i.e. Grass carp and Gulfam. Random sampling of five individuals of each species was done fortnightly to measure the body weight and total body length. Maximum growth was observed in fingerling of Grass carp followed by Mori, Rohu and Gulfam. Total fish production was recorded as Grass 623.45 gm followed by Mori 260.3 gm, Rohu 243.08 gm and Gulfam 181.165 gm respectively. Significantly results were obtained among these four fish species when the corresponding data was subjected to statistical analysis by using two sample t-test. The survival rate was 100%. Study shows that soybean as plant based protein can be easily used as substitute to fish meal without any adverse effect on fish health and fish production.

Keywords: carps, fry growth, poly culture, soybean meal

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Authors: Siavash Ostovar

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The Iranian national Law on the Ramsar Convention (officially known as the Convention of International Wetlands and Aquatic Birds' Habitat Wetlands) was approved by the Senate and became a law in 1974 after the ratification of the National Council. There are other national laws with the aim of preservation of environment in the country. However, Lake Urmia which is declared a wetland of international importance by the Ramsar Convention in 1971 and designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1976 is now at the brink of total disappearance due mainly to the climate change, water mismanagement, dam construction, and agricultural deficiencies. Lake Urmia is located in the north western corner of Iran. It is the third largest salt water lake in the world and the largest lake in the Middle East. Locally, it is designated as a National Park. It is, indeed, a unique lake both nationally and internationally. This study investigated how effective the national legal regulation of the ecosystem of Lake Urmia is in Iran. To do so, the Iranian national laws as Enforcement of Ramsar Convention in the country including three nationally established laws of (i) Five sets of laws for the programme of economic, social and cultural development of Islamic Republic of Iran, (ii) The Iranian Penal Code, (iii) law of conservation, restoration and management of the country were investigated. Using black letter law methods, it was revealed that (i) regarding the national five sets of laws; the benchmark to force the implementation of the legislations and policies is not set clearly. In other words, there is no clear guarantee to enforce these legislations and policies at the time of deviation and violation; (ii) regarding the Penal Code, there is lack of determining the environmental crimes, determining appropriate penalties for the environmental crimes, implementing those penalties appropriately, monitoring and training programmes precisely; (iii) regarding the law of conservation, restoration and management, implementation of this regulation is adjourned to preparation, announcement and approval of several categories of enactments and guidelines. In fact, this study used a national environmental catastrophe caused by drying up of Lake Urmia as an excuse to direct the attention to the weaknesses of the existing national rules and regulations. Finally, as we all depend on the natural world for our survival, this study recommended further research on every environmental issue including the Lake Urmia.

Keywords: conservation, environmental law, Lake Urmia, national laws, Ramsar Convention, water management, wetlands

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Authors: Rojean Ghafariasar, Leili Nosrati

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The article introduces the categories and characteristics of cross-design, respectively, between industry and industry designers, artists, brands and brands, science, technology, and fashion. It focuses on the combination of technology and fashion cross-design methods, corresponding case studies on the combination of new technology fabrics, fashion design, smart devices, and also 3D printing technology, emphasizing the integration and application value of technology and fashion. The document also introduces design elements into fashion design through scientific and technological intelligence, promoting fashion innovation as well as research and development of new materials and functions, and incubates an ecosystem for the fashion industry through science and technology.

Keywords: fashion, design, industrial design, crossover design

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Authors: Gabriel A. Juma, Adiel M. Magana, Githaiga N. Michael, James G. Kairo

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Seagrass meadows are important carbon sinks, thus understanding this role and their conservation provides opportunities for their applications in climate change mitigation and adaptation. This study aimed at understanding seagrass contribution to ecosystem carbon at Gazi Bay; by comparing carbon stocks in seagrass beds of two mangroves fringed creeks of the bay. Specifically, the objectives included assessing the distribution and abundance of seagrass in the fringed creeks, and estimating above and below-ground biomass. Results obtained would be added to the mangrove and open bay carbon in estimating total ecosystem carbon of Gazi bay. The stratified random sampling strategy was applied in this study. Transects were laid perpendicular to the waterline at intervals of 50 meters from the upper region near the mangroves to the deeper end of the creek across seagrass meadows. Along these transects, 0.25m2 square quadrats were laid at 10 m to assess distribution and composition of seagrasses in the creeks. A total of 80 plots were sampled. Above-ground biomass was sampled by harvesting all the seagrass materials within the quadrat while four sediment cores were obtained from each quarter of the quadrat and then sorted into necromass, rhizomes and roots to determine below ground biomass. Samples were cleaned and dried in the oven for 72 hours at 60˚C in the laboratory. Total biomass was determined by multiplying biomass with carbon conversion factor of 0.34. In all the statistical tests, a significant level was set at α = 0.05. Eight species of seagrass were encountered in Western creek (WC) while seven in the Eastern creek (EC). Based on importance value, the dominant species in WC were Cymodocea rotundata and Halodule uninervis while Thalassodendron ciliatum and Enhalus acoroides dominated the eastern creek. The cover of seagrass in EC was 67.97% compared to 56.45% in WC. There was a significance difference in abundance of seagrass species between the two creeks (t = 1.97, D.F = 35, p < 0.05). Similarly, there was significance differences between total seagrass biomass (t= -8.44, D.F. = 53, p < 0.05) and species composition (F(7,79) = 14.6, p < 0.05) in the two creeks. Mean seagrass in the creeks was 7.25 ± 4.2 Mg C ha-1, (range: 4.1 - 12.9 Mg C ha-1). The findings of the current study reveal variations in biomass stocks of the two creeks of Gazi bay that have varying biophysical features. It is established that habitat heterogeneity between the creeks contributes to the variation in seagrass abundance and biomass stocking. This enhances understanding of these ecosystems hence the establishment of carbon offset project in seagrass for livelihood improvement and increased conservation.

Keywords: seagrass, above-ground, below-ground, creeks, Gazi bay

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Authors: M. Humayun Kabir, Mahamuda Afroze, K. Maudood Elahi

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Since the late 1900s, unplanned and rapid urbanization processes have drastically altered the land, reduced water bodies, and decreased vegetation cover in the capital city of Bangladesh, Dhaka. The capitalist modes of urbanization results in the encroachment of the surface water bodies in this city. The main goal of this study is to investigate the change detection of water bodies in Dhaka city, analyzing spatial distribution of water bodies and calculating the changing rate of it. This effort aims to influence public policy for environmental justice initiatives around protecting water bodies for ensuring proper function of the urban ecosystem. This study accomplishes research goal by compiling satellite imageries into GIS software to understand the changes of water bodies in Dhaka city. The work focuses on the late 20th century to early 21st century to analyze this city before and after major infrastructural changes occurred in unplanned manner. The land use of the study area has been classified into four categories, and the areas of the different land use have been calculated using MS Excel and SPSS. The results reveal that the urbanization expanded from central to northern part and major encroachment occurred at the western and eastern part of the city. It has also been found that, in 1988, the total area of water bodies was 8935.38 hectares, and it gradually decreased, and in 1998, 2008, 2017, the total areas of water bodies reached 6065.73, 4853.32, 2077.56 hectares, respectively. Rapid population growth, unplanned urbanization, and industrialization have generated pressure to change the land use pattern in Dhaka city. These expansion processes are engulfing wetland, water bodies, and vegetation cover without considering environmental impact. In order to regain the wetland and surface water bodies, the concern authorities must implement laws and act as a legal instrument in this regard and take action against the violators of it. This research is the synthesis of time series data that provides a complete picture of the water body’s status of Dhaka city that might help to make plans and policies for water body conservation.

Keywords: ecosystem, GIS, industrialization, land use, remote sensing, urbanization

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Authors: Ahmad Saleem

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Ethereum is the second largest crypto currency in blockchain ecosystem. Along with standard transactions, it supports smart contracts and NFT’s. Current research trends are focused on analyzing the overall structure of the network its growth and behavior. Ethereum addresses are anonymous and can be created on fly. The nature of Ethereum network and addresses make it hard to predict their behavior. The activity period of an ethereum address is not much analyzed. Using machine learning we can make early prediction about the disposability of the address. In this paper we analyzed the lifetime of the addresses. We also identified and predicted the disposable addresses using machine learning models and compared the results.

Keywords: blockchain, Ethereum, cryptocurrency, prediction

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Authors: Carolyn Hatch, Laurent Simon

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Urban mobility and the transportation industry are undergoing a transformation, shifting from an auto production-consumption model that has dominated since the early 20th century towards new forms of personal and shared multi-modality [1]. This is shaped by key forces such as climate change, which has induced a shift in production and consumption patterns and efforts to decarbonize and improve transport services through, for instance, the integration of vehicle automation, electrification and mobility sharing [2]. Advanced innovation practices and platforms for experimentation and validation of new mobility products and services that are increasingly complex and multi-stakeholder-oriented are shaping this new world of mobility. Transportation hubs – such as airports - are emblematic of these disruptive forces playing out in the mobility industry. Airports are emerging as the core of innovation ecosystems on and around contemporary mobility issues, and increasingly recognized as complex public/private nodes operating in many societal dimensions [3,4]. These include urban development, sustainability transitions, digital experimentation, customer experience, infrastructure development and data exploitation (for instance, airports generate massive and often untapped data flows, with significant potential for use, commercialization and social benefit). Yet airport innovation practices have not been well documented in the innovation literature. This paper addresses this gap by proposing a model of airport innovation that aims to equip airport stakeholders to respond to these new and complex innovation needs in practice. The methodology involves: 1 – a literature review bringing together key research and theory on airport innovation management, open innovation and innovation ecosystems in order to evaluate airport practices through an innovation lens; 2 – an international benchmarking of leading airports and their innovation practices, including such examples as Aéroports de Paris, Schipol in Amsterdam, Changi in Singapore, and others; and 3 – semi-structured interviews with airport managers on key aspects of organizational practice, facilitated through a close partnership with the Airport Council International (ACI), a major stakeholder in this research project. Preliminary results find that the most successful airports are those that have shifted to a multi-stakeholder, platform ecosystem model of innovation. The recent entrance of new actors in airports (Google, Amazon, Accor, Vinci, Airbnb and others) have forced the opening of organizational boundaries to share and exchange knowledge with a broader set of ecosystem players. This has also led to new forms of governance and intermediation by airport actors to connect complex, highly distributed knowledge, along with new kinds of inter-organizational collaboration, co-creation and collective ideation processes. Leading airports in the case study have demonstrated a unique capacity to force traditionally siloed activities to “think together”, “explore together” and “act together”, to share data, contribute expertise and pioneer new governance approaches and collaborative practices. In so doing, they have successfully integrated these many disruptive change pathways and forced their implementation and coordination towards innovative mobility outcomes, with positive societal, environmental and economic impacts. This research has implications for: 1 - innovation theory, 2 - urban and transport policy, and 3 - organizational practice - within the mobility industry and across the economy.

Keywords: airport management, ecosystem, innovation, mobility, platform, transport hubs

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Authors: Vicente Espinola, Luis Torres, Christhian Gonzalez

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Entrepreneurship is a topic of current interest in Mexico and the World, which has been fostered through public policies with great impact on its generation. The strategies used in Mexico have not been successful, being motivational strategies aimed at the masses with the intention that someone in the process generates a venture. The strategies used for its development have been "picking of winners" favoring those who have already overcome the initial stages of undertaking without effective support. This situation shows a disarticulation that appears even more in social entrepreneurship; due to this, it is relevant to research on those elements that could develop them and thus integrate a model of entrepreneurship and social innovation for Mexico. Social entrepreneurship should be generating social innovation, which is translated into business models in order to make the benefits reach the population. These models are proposed putting the social impact before the economic impact, without forgetting its sustainability in the medium and long term. In this work, we present a simple model of innovation and social entrepreneurship for Guanajuato, Mexico. This algorithm was based on how social innovation could be generated in a systemic way for Mexico through different institutions that promote innovation. In this case, the technological parks of the state of Guanajuato were studied because these are considered one of the areas of Mexico where its main objectives are to make technology transfer to companies but overlooking the social sector and entrepreneurs. An experimental design of n = 60 was carried out with potential entrepreneurs to identify their perception of the social approach that the enterprises should have, the skills they consider required to create a venture, as well as their interest in generating ventures that solve social problems. This experiment had a 2K design, the value of k = 3 and the computational simulation was performed in R statistical language. A simple model of interconnected variables is proposed, which allows us to identify where it is necessary to increase efforts for the generation of social enterprises. The 96.67% of potential entrepreneurs expressed interest in ventures that solve social problems. In the analysis of the variables interaction, it was identified that the isolated development of entrepreneurial skills would only replicate the generation of traditional ventures. The variable of social approach presented positive interactions, which may influence the generation of social entrepreneurship if this variable was strengthened and permeated in the processes of training and development of entrepreneurs. In the future, it will be necessary to analyze the institutional actors that are present in the social entrepreneurship ecosystem, in order to analyze the interaction necessary to strengt the innovation and social entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Keywords: social innovation, model, entrepreneurship, technological parks

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Authors: Balázs Kulcsár

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Today, there is no part of the world that does not bear the mark of man in some way. This process seems unstoppable. So perhaps the best thing we can do is to touch that handprint gently and with the utmost care. There are multiple uses for the same piece of land, the coordination of which requires careful and sustainable spatial planning. The case study of the Rétközlake in north-eastern Hungary illustrates a habitat rehabilitation project in which a number of human uses were coordinated with the conservation and restoration of the natural environment. Today, the good condition of the habitat can only be maintained artificially, but the project has paid particular attention to finding a sustainable solution. The rehabilitation of Lake Rétköz is considered good practice in resolving land-use conflicts.

Keywords: sustainability, ecosystem service, land use conflict, landscape utilization

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Authors: Benedicte Madon, Marion Pillet, Justine Castrec, Quentin Fonatine, Pierre Lejeune, Michel Marengo, Helene Thomas

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Biodiversity in port ecosystems faces many anthropic pressures from port activities. The maritime industry and port areas have been under scrutiny regarding their environmental impacts. In the port value chain, port managers need to implement actions to fulfil environmental certifications and European Directive requirements. This paper seeks to highlight the lessons learned and opportunities through the QUAMPO project to move towards port biodiversity restoration in Corsica using innovative biomonitoring in the goal of obtaining green certification.

Keywords: biomonitoring, port, water quality, invertebrate, corsica, biomarker, trace elements, HAP, PCB, certification

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Authors: Bryan Clark B. Hernandez, Eugene C. Herrera, Kazuo Nadaoka

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Mangrove forests thriving in intertidal zones in tropical and subtropical regions of the world offer a range of ecosystem services including carbon storage and sequestration. They can regulate the detrimental effects of climate change due to carbon releases two to four times greater than that of mature tropical rainforests. Moreover, they are effective natural defenses against storm surges and tsunamis. However, their proliferation depends significantly on the prevailing hydroperiod at the coast. In the Philippines, these coastal ecosystems have been severely threatened with a 50% decline in areal extent observed from 1918 to 2010. The highest decline occurred in 1950 - 1972 when national policies encouraged the development of fisheries and aquaculture. With the intensive land use conversion upstream, changes in the freshwater-saltwater envelope at the coast may considerably impact mangrove growth conditions. This study investigates a developing urban watershed in Kalibo, Aklan province with a 220-hectare mangrove forest replanted for over 30 years from coastal mudflats. Since then, the mangrove forest was sustainably conserved and declared as protected areas. Hybrid land cover classification technique was used to classify Landsat images for years, 1990, 2010, and 2017. Digital elevation model utilized was Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IFSAR) with a 5-meter resolution to delineate the watersheds. Using numerical modelling techniques, the hydrologic and hydraulic analysis of the influence of land cover change to flow and sediment dynamics was simulated. While significant land cover change occurred upland, thereby increasing runoff and sediment loads, the mangrove forests abundance adjacent to the coasts for the urban watershed, was somehow sustained. However, significant alteration of the coastline was observed in Kalibo through the years, probably due to the massive land-use conversion upstream and significant replanting of mangroves downstream. Understanding the hydrologic-hydraulic response of these watersheds to change land cover is essential to helping local government and stakeholders facilitate better management of these mangrove ecosystems.

Keywords: coastal mangroves, hydrologic model, land cover change, Philippines

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Authors: Rajesh Kumar

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The largest issue in the current situation is managing solid waste since it pollutes the ecosystem. When considering how to manage waste, even the disposal of mixed waste is a challenge. The Saksham Yuva Project, which is managed by the Haryana government, highlights the consequences and drivers of managing the solid waste of urban areas in the municipal committee pundri in the present study. The overall goal of the Saksham Yuva project is to mobilise the public and educate them about the dangers associated with garbage management. There has been a 20% reduction in waste, according to the study's impacts, and the cost of waste management has also gone down. Further, the study also reported the alternative use of wastes in revenue generation by generating Khaad for agricultural purposes.

Keywords: solid waste management, people awareness, dry and wet waste disposal, material recover facility

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Ali K. M. Al-Nasrawi, Uday A. Al-Hamdany, Sarah M. Hamylton, Brian G. Jones, Yasir M. Alyazichi

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Surface elevation dynamics have always responded to disturbance regimes. Creating Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) to detect surface dynamics has led to the development of several methods, devices and data clouds. DEMs can provide accurate and quick results with cost efficiency, in comparison to the inherited geomatics survey techniques. Nowadays, remote sensing datasets have become a primary source to create DEMs, including LiDAR point clouds with GIS analytic tools. However, these data need to be tested for error detection and correction. This paper evaluates various DEMs from different data sources over time for Apple Orchard Island, a coastal site in southeastern Australia, in order to detect surface dynamics. Subsequently, 30 chosen locations were examined in the field to test the error of the DEMs surface detection using high resolution global positioning systems (GPSs). Results show significant surface elevation changes on Apple Orchard Island. Accretion occurred on most of the island while surface elevation loss due to erosion is limited to the northern and southern parts. Concurrently, the projected differential correction and validation method aimed to identify errors in the dataset. The resultant DEMs demonstrated a small error ratio (≤ 3%) from the gathered datasets when compared with the fieldwork survey using RTK-GPS. As modern modelling approaches need to become more effective and accurate, applying several tools to create different DEMs on a multi-temporal scale would allow easy predictions in time-cost-frames with more comprehensive coverage and greater accuracy. With a DEM technique for the eco-geomorphic context, such insights about the ecosystem dynamic detection, at such a coastal intertidal system, would be valuable to assess the accuracy of the predicted eco-geomorphic risk for the conservation management sustainability. Demonstrating this framework to evaluate the historical and current anthropogenic and environmental stressors on coastal surface elevation dynamism could be profitably applied worldwide.

Keywords: DEMs, eco-geomorphic-dynamic processes, geospatial Information Science, remote sensing, surface elevation changes,

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Authors: Patrick Mueller, Alan Martin, Justin Stockwell, Robert Goldblatt

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Elevated concentrations of inorganic nitrogen (N) compounds (nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia) are a ubiquitous feature to mine-influenced drainages due to the leaching of blasting residues and use of cyanide in the milling of gold ores. For many mines, the management of N is a focus for environmental protection, therefore understanding the factors controlling the speciation and behavior of N is central to effective decision making. In this paper, the passive attenuation of ammonia and nitrite is described for three northern water bodies (two lakes and a tailings pond) influenced by mining activities. In two of the water bodies, inorganic N compounds originate from explosives residues in mine water and waste rock. The third water body is a decommissioned tailings impoundment, with N compounds largely originating from the breakdown of cyanide compounds used in the processing of gold ores. Empirical observations from water quality monitoring indicate nitrification (the oxidation of ammonia to nitrate) occurs in all three waterbodies, where enrichment of nitrate occurs commensurately with ammonia depletion. The N species conversions in these systems occurred more rapidly than chemical oxidation kinetics permit, indicating that microbial mediated conversion was occurring, despite the cool water temperatures. While nitrification of ammonia and nitrite to nitrate was the primary process, in all three waterbodies nitrite was consistently present at approximately 0.5 to 2.0 % of total N, even following ammonia depletion. The persistence of trace amounts of nitrite under these conditions suggests the co-occurrence denitrification processes in the water column and/or underlying substrates. The implications for N management in mine waters are discussed.

Keywords: explosives, mining, nitrification, water

Procedia PDF Downloads 319

Authors: I .Ait El Harch, K. Outaaoui, Y. El Foutayeni

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This study aims to deepen the understanding and optimize fishing activity in Morocco by holistically integrating biological and economic aspects. We develop a biological equilibrium model in which these competing species present their natural growth by logistic equations, taking into account density and competition between them. The integration of human intervention adds a realistic dimension to our model. A company specifically targets the three species, thus influencing population dynamics according to their fishing activities. The aim of this work is to determine the fishing effort that maximizes the company’s profit, taking into account the constraints associated with conserving ecosystem equilibrium.

Keywords: bioeconomical modeling, optimization techniques, linear complementarity problem LCP, biological equilibrium, maximizing profits

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Authors: Abdalraheem Huwaysh, Khalil Al Samarrai, Yasmin ElAhmar

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Water quality is an important factor that determines its usage for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses. This study was carried out through the Tajoura Area, Jifarah Plain, Northwest Libya. Chemical and physical parameters were measured and analyzed for groundwater samples collected in 2021 from twenty-six wells distributed throughout the investigation area. Overexploitation of groundwater caused considerable deterioration in the water quality, especially at Tajoura Town (20 Km east of Tripoli). The aquifer shows an increase in salinization, which has reached an alarming level in many places during the past 25 years as a result of the seawater intrusion. The chemical composition of the water samples was compared with the drinking water standards of WHO and Libyan Standards. Groundwater from this area was not suitable to be a source for direct drinking based on Total Dissolved Solids. The dominant cation is sodium, while the dominant anion is chloride. Based on the Piper trilinear diagram, most of the groundwater samples (90%) were identified as sodium chloride type. The best groundwater quality exists at the southern part of the study area. Serious degradation in the water quality, expressed in salinity increase, occurs as we go towards the coastline. The abundance of NaCl waters is strong evidence to attribute the successive deterioration of the water quality to the seawater intrusion. Considering the values of Cl- concentration and the ratio of Cl-/HCO3-, about 70% of the groundwater samples were strongly affected by the saline water. Car wash stations in the study area as well as the unlined disposal pond used for the collection of untreated wastewater, contribute significantly to the deterioration of water quality. The water quality in this area needs to be monitored regularly and it is crucial to treat the water before consumption.

Keywords: Tajoura, groundwater, seawater intrusion, water quality

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Authors: Saem Lee, Thanh Nguyen, Hio-Jung Shin, Thomas Koellner

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Land-use management has an influence on the provision of ecosystem service in dynamic, agricultural landscapes. Agricultural land use is important for maintaining the productivity and sustainability of agricultural ecosystems. However, in Korea, intensive farming activities in this highland agricultural zone, the upper stream of Soyang has led to contaminated soil caused by over-use pesticides and fertilizers. This has led to decrease in water and soil quality, which has consequences for ecosystem services and human wellbeing. Conventional farming has still high percentage in this area and there is no special measure to prevent low water quality caused by farming activities. Therefore, the adoption of environmentally friendly farming has been considered one of the alternatives that lead to improved water quality and increase in biomass production. Concurrently, farm households with environmentally friendly farming have occupied still low rates. Therefore, our research involved a farm household survey spanning conventional farming, the farm in transition and organic farming in Soyang watershed. Another purpose of our research was to compare economic advantage of the farmers adopting environmentally friendly farming and non-adaptors and to investigate the different factors by logistic regression analysis with socio-economic and benefit-cost ratio variables. The results found that farmers with environmentally friendly farming tended to be younger than conventional farming and farmer in transition. They are similar in terms of gender which was predominately male. Farmers with environmentally friendly farming were more educated and had less farming experience than conventional farming and farmer in transition. Based on the benefit-cost analysis, total costs that farm in transition farmers spent for one year are about two times as much as the sum of costs in environmentally friendly farming. The benefit of organic farmers was assessed with 2,800 KRW per household per year. In logistic regression, the factors having statistical significance are subsidy and district, residence period and benefit-cost ratio. And district and residence period have the negative impact on the practice of environmentally friendly farming techniques. The results of our research make a valuable contribution to provide important information to describe Korean policy-making for agricultural and water management and to consider potential approaches to policy that would substantiate ways beneficial for sustainable resource management.

Keywords: organic farming, logistic regression, profitability, agricultural land-use

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