Search results for: land alteration

Authors: Rabindra K. Panda, Gurjeet Singh

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The major objective of this study was to analyze the trend and variability of rainfall in the middle Mahandi river basin located in eastern India. The trend of variation of extreme rainfall events has predominant effect on agricultural water management and extreme hydrological events such as floods and droughts. Mahanadi river basin is one of the major river basins of India having an area of 1,41,589 km² and divided into three regions: Upper, middle and delta region. The middle region of Mahanadi river basin has an area of 48,700 km² and it is mostly dominated by agricultural land, where agriculture is mostly rainfed. The study region has five Agro-climatic zones namely: East and South Eastern Coastal Plain, North Eastern Ghat, Western Undulating Zone, Western Central Table Land and Mid Central Table Land, which were numbered as zones 1 to 5 respectively for convenience in reporting. In the present study, analysis of variability and trends of annual, seasonal, and monthly rainfall was carried out, using the daily rainfall data collected from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) for 35 years (1979-2013) for the 5 agro-climatic zones. The long term variability of rainfall was investigated by evaluating the mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation. The long term trend of rainfall was analyzed using the Mann-Kendall test on monthly, seasonal and annual time scales. It was found that there is a decreasing trend in the rainfall during the winter and pre monsoon seasons for zones 2, 3 and 4; whereas in the monsoon (rainy) season there is an increasing trend for zones 1, 4 and 5 with a level of significance ranging between 90-95%. On the other hand, the mean annual rainfall has an increasing trend at 99% significance level. The estimated seasonality index showed that the rainfall distribution is asymmetric and distributed over 3-4 months period. The study will help to understand the spatio-temporal variation of rainfall and to determine the correlation between the current rainfall trend and climate change scenario of the study region for multifarious use.

Keywords: Eastern India, long-term variability and trends, Mann-Kendall test, seasonality index, spatio-temporal variation

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Authors: Byoungjoon Yu, Jihwan Park, Sujung Sin, Junghyun Im, Minsoo Park, Sehwan Park, Seunghee Park

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In this paper, we propose a technology to monitor the soundness of an Internet-based bridge using a non-conductive inspection function. There has been a collapse accident due to the aging of the bridge structure, and it is necessary to prepare for the deterioration of the bridge. The NDT/SHM system for maintenance of existing bridge structures requires a large number of inspection personnel and expensive inspection costs, and access of expensive and large equipment to measurement points is required. Because current drone inspection equipment can only be inspected through camera, it is difficult to inspect inside damage accurately, and the results of an internal damage evaluation are subjective, and it is difficult for non-specialists to recognize the evaluation results. Therefore, it is necessary to develop NDT/SHM techniques for maintenance of new-concept bridge structures that allow for free movement and real-time evaluation of measurement results. This work is financially supported by Korea Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) as 'Smart City Master and Doctor Course Grant Program' and a grant (14SCIP-B088624-01) from Construction Technology Research Program funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government.

Keywords: Structural Health Monitoring, SHM, non-contact sensing, nondestructive testing, NDT, Internet of Things, autonomous self-driving drone

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Authors: Oseni Taiwo Amoo, Bloodless Dzwairo

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In this paper, we extend the versatility and usefulness of GIS as a methodology for any river basin hydrologic characteristics analysis (HCA). The Gurara River basin located in North-Central Nigeria is presented in this study. It is an on-going research using spatial Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Arc-Hydro tools to take inventory of the basin characteristics in order to predict water abstraction quantification on streamflow regime. One of the main concerns of hydrological modelling is the quantification of runoff from rainstorm events. In practice, the soil conservation service curve (SCS) method and the Conventional procedure called rational technique are still generally used these traditional hydrological lumped models convert statistical properties of rainfall in river basin to observed runoff and hydrograph. However, the models give little or no information about spatially dispersed information on rainfall and basin physical characteristics. Therefore, this paper synthesizes morphometric parameters in generating runoff. The expected results of the basin characteristics such as size, area, shape, slope of the watershed and stream distribution network analysis could be useful in estimating streamflow discharge. Water resources managers and irrigation farmers could utilize the tool for determining net return from available scarce water resources, where past data records are sparse for the aspect of land and climate.

Keywords: hydrological characteristic, stream flow, runoff discharge, land and climate

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Authors: K. C. Sony

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This paper investigates the coping strategies of households confronting disease in large cardamom (Amomum Subulatum Roxb.) in eastern Nepal. Cardamom farmers draw on various coping strategies to reduce the impact of crop disease in their livelihoods. Yet farmers face tremendous decline in production with a constant effort for revival. Past evidences provides dearth of information about coping strategies employed by farmers and institutional intervention to combat disease. Using factual data from Ilam district, and conducting a political economic analysis, this research addresses the gap by 1) understanding the impact of crop disease in farmers’ livelihoods, 2) identifying the coping strategies adopted by farmers and, 3) examining the existing institutional arrangements to address the disease. Coping strategies vary by household’s status defined by size of land, alternative income, and access to supporting institutions. Measures adopted are burning the cardamom field, changing land use pattern, diversifying crops, and visiting institutions for support. The local government’s support is limited to providing trainings and producing new varieties of cardamom. During crisis, farmers expect institutions to help revive the cardamom production, despite customary practice to combat disease. To retain and improve the livelihoods of farmers, there needs to be institutional innovation at the community level and policies that endorse immediate and sustainable support during hazards.

Keywords: cardamom, coping strategy, disease, institutions, Nepal

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Authors: Valdir Moura, Raniele dos Anjos de Souza, Fernando Gomes de Souza, Jose Vagner da Silva, Jerry Adriani Johann

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The estimate of the Area of Land to be planted with annual crops and its stratification by the municipality are important variables in crop forecast. Nowadays in Brazil, these information’s are obtained by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and published under the report Assessment of the Agricultural Production. Due to the high cloud cover in the main crop growing season (October to March) it is difficult to acquire good orbital images. Thus, one alternative is to work with remote sensing data from dates before the crop growing season. This work presents the use of multitemporal Landsat data gathered on July and September (before the summer growing season) in order to estimate the area of land to be planted with summer crops in an area of São Paulo State, Brazil. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and digital image processing techniques were applied for the treatment of the available data. Supervised and non-supervised classifications were used for data in digital number and reflectance formats and the multitemporal Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images. The objective was to discriminate the tracts with higher probability to become planted with summer crops. Classification accuracies were evaluated using a sampling system developed basically for this study region. The estimated areas were corrected using the error matrix derived from these evaluations. The classification techniques presented an excellent level according to the kappa index. The proportion of crops stratified by municipalities was derived by a field work during the crop growing season. These proportion coefficients were applied onto the area of land to be planted with summer crops (derived from Landsat data). Thus, it was possible to derive the area of each summer crop by the municipality. The discrepancies between official statistics and our results were attributed to the sampling and the stratification procedures. Nevertheless, this methodology can be improved in order to provide good crop area estimates using remote sensing data, despite the cloud cover during the growing season.

Keywords: area intended for summer culture, estimated area planted, agriculture, Landsat, planting schedule

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Authors: Michelle Eliane Hernández-García, Angélica Lozano

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The traffic accidents study usually contemplates the relation between factors such as the type of vehicle, its operation, and the road infrastructure. Traffic accidents can be explained by different factors, which have a greater or lower relevance. Two zones are studied, a mixed industrial zone and the extended zone of it. The first zone has mainly residential (57%), and industrial (23%) land uses. Trucks are mainly on the roads where industries are located. Four sensors give information about traffic and speed on the main roads. The extended zone (which includes the first zone) has mainly residential (47%) and mixed residential (43%) land use, and just 3% of industrial use. The traffic mix is composed mainly of non-trucks. 39 traffic and speed sensors are located on main roads. The traffic mix in a mixed land use zone, could be related to traffic accidents. To understand this relation, it is required to identify the elements of the traffic mix which are linked to traffic accidents. Models that attempt to explain what factors are related to traffic accidents have faced multiple methodological problems for obtaining robust databases. Poisson regression models are used to explain the accidents. The objective of the Poisson analysis is to estimate a vector to provide an estimate of the natural logarithm of the mean number of accidents per period; this estimate is achieved by standard maximum likelihood procedures. For the estimation of the relation between traffic accidents and the traffic mix, the database is integrated of eight variables, with 17,520 observations and six vectors. In the model, the dependent variable is the occurrence or non-occurrence of accidents, and the vectors that seek to explain it, correspond to the vehicle classes: C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, and C6, respectively, standing for car, microbus, and van, bus, unitary trucks (2 to 6 axles), articulated trucks (3 to 6 axles) and bi-articulated trucks (5 to 9 axles); in addition, there is a vector for the average speed of the traffic mix. A Poisson model is applied, using a logarithmic link function and a Poisson family. For the first zone, the Poisson model shows a positive relation among traffic accidents and C6, average speed, C3, C2, and C1 (in a decreasing order). The analysis of the coefficient shows a high relation with bi-articulated truck and bus (C6 and the C3), indicating an important participation of freight trucks. For the expanded zone, the Poisson model shows a positive relation among traffic accidents and speed average, biarticulated truck (C6), and microbus and vans (C2). The coefficients obtained in both Poisson models shows a higher relation among freight trucks and traffic accidents in the first industrial zone than in the expanded zone.

Keywords: freight transport, industrial zone, traffic accidents, traffic mix, trucks

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Authors: K. Nikilsha, Lakshmi Manohar, Debayan Chatterjee

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Landscape is a setting that informs the way of life of a set of people, and the repository of intangible values and human meanings that nurture our very existence. Along with the linkage that it forms with our lives, it can be argued that landscape and memory cannot be separated, as landscape is the nucleus of our memories. In this context, this paper studies landscape evolution of a region with unique geographic setting, where the dependency of the inhabitants on its resources, led to the formation of certain peculiar beliefs and taboos that formed the basis of a set of unwritten rules and guidelines which they still follow as a part of their lifestyle. One such example is Kuttanad, a low lying region in Kerala which is a complex mosaic of fragmented agricultural landscape incorporating coastal backwaters, rivers, marshes, paddy fields and water channels. The more the physical involvement with the resources, the more was the inhabitants attachment towards it. This attachment of the inhabitants to the place is very strong because the creation of this land was the result of the toil of the low caste labourers who strived day and night to create Kuttanad, which was reclaimed from water with the help of the finance supplied by their landlords. However, the greatest challenge faced by them is posed by the forces of water in the form of floods. As this land is fed by five rivers, even the slight variation in rainfall in its watershed area can cause a large imbalance in the water level causing the reclaimed land to be inundated. The effects of climate change including increase in rainfall, rise in sea level and change of seasons can act as a catalyst to this damage. Hasty urbanization has led to the conversion of paddy fields to housing plots and coconut/plantain fields giving no regard to the traditional systems which had once respected nature and combated floods and draughts through the various cultural practices and taboos practiced by the people. Thus it is essential to look back at the landscape evolution of Kuttanad and to recognise methods used traditionally in the region to establish a cultural landscape, and to understand how climate change and urbanisation shall pose a challenge to the existing landscape and lifestyle. This research also explores the possibilities of alternative and sustainable approaches for resilient urban development learned from Kuttanad as a case study.

Keywords: ecological conservation, landscape and ecological engineering, landscape evolution, man-made landscapes

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Authors: WonHo Lee, Hyo-Gyoung Kwak

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A numerical model considering slip behavior of steel-concrete composite structure is introduced. This model is based on a linear bond stress-slip relation along the interface. Single node was considered at the interface of steel and concrete member in finite element analysis, and it improves analytical problems of model that takes double nodes at the interface by adopting spring elements to simulate the partial interaction. The slip behavior is simulated by modifying material properties of steel element contacting concrete according to the derived formulation. Decreased elastic modulus simulates the slip occurrence at the interface and decreased yield strength simulates drop in load capacity of the structure. The model is verified by comparing numerical analysis applying this model with experimental studies. Acknowledgment—This research was supported by a grant(13SCIPA01) from Smart Civil Infrastructure Research Program funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport(MOLIT) of Korea government and Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement(KAIA) and financially supported by Korea Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport(MOLIT) as U-City Master and Doctor Course Grant Program.

Keywords: bond-slip, composite structure, partial interaction, steel-concrete structure

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Authors: Ana Maria De Azevedo

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We are living a remarkable period, responsible for the thriving of the human population to unprecedented levels. Still, it is empirically obvious that sustaining such a huge population puts a tremendous pressure on our planet. Once Land resources grow scarcer, there is a mounting pressure to find alternatives to support basic human needs elsewhere. Occupying most of our planet, it’s therefore natural that, is not a so distant future, humankind look for such basic subsistence means at the Ocean. Thus, once the Ocean becomes essential to Human subsistence, it is predictable it's moving to the foreground of Geopolitics. Both future technologies and uses of the Ocean, as bidding for the exploration of its resources away from the natural territory of influence of a Country, are susceptible of raising the risk of conflict between traditional political adversaries and/or the dilemma of having to balance economic interests, with various security and defense concerns. Those empirical observations suggest the need to further research on this perspective shift of the main Geopolitical axis to the Ocean, the new sources of conflict that can result thereon, and how to address them. The author suggests a systematic analysis of this problematic, to attain a political and legal international consensus, namely on what concerns updating of the 'United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea' of 10 December 1982, and/or its annexes. To proceed with the present research, the primary analysis was based on a quantitative observation, but reasoning thereon relied essentially on a qualitative process of prospective scenarios assessment.

Keywords: marine resources, ocean geopolitics, security and defense, sustainable development

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Authors: Kumaraamy Sasikumar

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The study was conducted in Vadamarachchi-East in Sri Lanka. Data collection was done for a period of two months from June to July 2011. The main focus of this study was to examine factors contributing to mangrove deforestation within the study area, and resultant impacts from deforestation. The study found that, the main factors that have contributed to deforestation include: Long civil wars in the region, poverty which pushed people to clear the forest to earn income through the sale of firewood and timber among others, industrial development, increasing demand for farm and settlement land, limited knowledge within the local community, weak government polices and implementation strategies, and natural disasters especially the 2004 Tsunami destruction. The impacts presented are those that impact both on the environment and the economy including; loss of income sources, loss of biodiversity, climate change, desertification, conflicts in the use of forest products and loss of land productivity due to reduced fertility caused by soil erosion. However, a few strategies have been put in place by the government to ensure the sustainable use of mangrove forest products, though these have not proved successful in reducing deforestation. The recommendations make suggestions to the government and other stakeholders to work together in ensuring sustainable use of natural resources, for example implementing laws and regulations aimed at controlling deforestation among others.

Keywords: deforestation, impacts, actors, environment, economic, sustainable development

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Authors: Mahdi Naeemi Nooghabi, Mohammad Tofiqu Arif

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Gas Insulated Switchgears by using an insulation material named SF6 (Sulphur Hexafluoride) and its significant dielectric properties have been the only choice in urban areas and other polluted industries. However, the initial investment of GIS is more than conventional AIS substation, its total life cycle costs caused to reach huge amounts of electrical market share. SF6 environmental impacts on global warming, atmosphere depletion, and decomposing to toxic gases in high temperature situation, and highest rate in Global Warming Potential (GWP) with 23900 times of CO2e and a 3200-year period lifetime was the only undeniable concern of GIS substation. Efforts of international environmental institute and their politic supports have been able to lead SF6 emission reduction legislation. This research targeted to find an appropriate alternative for GIS substations to meet all advantages in land occupation area and to improve SF6 environmental impacts due to its leakage and emission. An innovative new conceptual design named Multi-Storey prepared a new AIS design similar in land occupation, extremely low Sf6 emission, and maximum greenhouse gas emission reduction. Surprisingly, by considering economic benefits due to carbon price saving, it can earn more than $675 million during the 30-year life cycle by replacing of just 25% of total annual worldly additional GIS switchgears.

Keywords: AIS substation, GIS substation, SF6, greenhouse gas, global warming potential, carbon price, emission

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Authors: Negin Parsamanesh, Saman Ameri-Mahabadi, Ali Nikfar, Mojdeh Mansouri, Hossein Chiti, Gita Fatemi Abhari

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Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe progressive X-linked neuromuscular illness that affects movement through mutations in dystrophin gene. The mutation leads to insufficient, lack of or dysfunction of dystrophin. The cause of DMD was determined in an Iranian family. Exome sequencing was carried out along with a complete physical examination of the family. In silico methods were applied to find the alteration in the protein structure. The homozygous variant in DMD gene (NM-004006.2) was defined as c.2732-2733delTT (p.Phe911CysfsX8) in exon 21. In addition, phylogenetic conservation study of the human dystrophin protein sequence revealed that phenylalanine 911 is one of the evolutionarily conserved amino acids. In conclusion, our study indicated a new deletion in the DMD gene in the affected family. This deletion with an X-linked inheritance pattern is new in Iran. These findings could facilitate genetic counseling for this family and other patients in the future.

Keywords: duchenne muscular dystrophy, whole exome sequencing, iran, metabolic syndrome

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Authors: Muhammad Saad Aslam

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In 2021, our organization has launched our proprietary mobile App i.e. Farm Intelligence platform, an industrial-first precision agriculture solution, to Pakistan. It was piloted at 47 locations (spanning around 1,200 hectares of land), addressing growers’ pain points by bringing the benefits of precision agriculture to their doorsteps. This year, we have extended its reach by more than 10 times (nearly 130,000 hectares of land) in almost 600 locations across the country. The project team selected highly infested areas to set up traps, which then enabled the sales team to initiate evidence-based conversations with the grower community about preventive crop protection products that includes pesticides and insecticides. Mega farmer meeting field visits and demonstrations plots coupled with extensive marketing activities, were setup to include farmer community. With the help of App real-time pest monitoring (using heat maps and infestation prediction through predictive analytics) we have equipped our growers with on spot insights that will help them optimize pesticide applications. Heat maps allow growers to identify infestation hot spots to fine-tune pesticide delivery, while predictive analytics enable preventive application of pesticides before the situation escalates. Ultimately, they empower growers to keep their crops safe for a healthy harvest.

Keywords: precision pest management, precision agriculture, real time pest tracking, pest forecasting

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Authors: Chris J. Boreham, Dianne S. Edwards, Amber Jarrett, Justin Davies, Robert Poreda, Alex Sessions, John Eiler

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The origins of natural gases in the Amadeus Basin have been assessed using molecular and stable isotope (C, H, N, He) systematics. A dominant end-member thermogenic, oil-associated gas is considered for the Ordovician Pacoota−Stairway sandstones of the Mereenie gas and oil field. In addition, an abiogenic end-member is identified in the latest Proterozoic lower Arumbera Sandstone of the Dingo gasfield, being most likely associated with radiolysis of methane with polymerisation to wet gases. The latter source assignment is based on a similar geochemical fingerprint derived from the laboratory gamma irradiation experiments on methane. A mixed gas source is considered for the Palm Valley gasfield in the Ordovician Pacoota Sandstone. Gas wetness (%∑C₂−C₅/∑C₁−C₅) decreases in the order Mereenie (19.1%) > Palm Valley (9.4%) > Dingo (4.1%). Non-produced gases at Magee-1 (23.5%; Late Proterozoic Heavitree Quartzite) and Mount Kitty-1 (18.9%; Paleo-Mesoproterozoic fractured granitoid basement) are very wet. Methane thermometry based on clumped isotopes of methane (¹³CDH₃) is consistent with the abiogenic origin for the Dingo gas field with methane formation temperature of 254ᵒC. However, the low methane formation temperature of 57°C for the Mereenie gas suggests either a mixed thermogenic-biogenic methane source or there is no thermodynamic equilibrium between the methane isotopomers. The shallow reservoir depth and present-day formation temperature below 80ᵒC would support microbial methanogenesis, but there is no accompanying alteration of the C- and H-isotopes of the wet gases and CO₂ that is typically associated with biodegradation. The Amadeus Basin gases show low to extremely high inorganic gas contents. Carbon dioxide is low in abundance (< 1% CO₂) and becomes increasing depleted in ¹³C from the Palm Valley (av. δ¹³C 0‰) to the Mereenie (av. δ¹³C -6.6‰) and Dingo (av. δ¹³C -14.3‰) gas fields. Although the wide range in carbon isotopes for CO₂ is consistent with multiple origins from inorganic to organic inputs, the most likely process is fluid-rock alteration with enrichment in ¹²C in the residual gaseous CO₂ accompanying progressive carbonate precipitation within the reservoir. Nitrogen ranges from low−moderate (1.7−9.9% N₂) abundance (Palm Valley av. 1.8%; Mereenie av. 9.1%; Dingo av. 9.4%) to extremely high abundance in Magee-1 (43.6%) and Mount Kitty-1 (61.0%). The nitrogen isotopes for the production gases have δ¹⁵N = -3.0‰ for Mereenie, -3.0‰ for Palm Valley and -7.1‰ for Dingo, suggest all being mixed inorganic and thermogenic nitrogen sources. Helium (He) abundance varies over a wide range from a low of 0.17% to one of the world’s highest at 9% (Mereenie av. 0.23%; Palm Valley av. 0.48%, Dingo av. 0.18%, Magee-1 6.2%; Mount Kitty-1 9.0%). Complementary helium isotopes (R/Ra = ³He/⁴Hesample / ³He/⁴Heair) range from 0.013 to 0.031 R/Ra, indicating a dominant crustal origin for helium with a sustained input of radiogenic 4He from the decomposition of U- and Th-bearing minerals, effectively diluting any original mantle helium input. The high helium content in the non-produced gases compared to the shallower producing wells most likely reflects their stratigraphic position relative to the Tonian Bitter Springs Group with the former below and the latter above an effective carbonate-salt seal.

Keywords: amadeus gas, thermogenic, abiogenic, C, H, N, He isotopes

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Authors: Alicja Kot-Niewiadomska

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Securing sustainable access to raw materials is vital for the growth of the European economy and for the goals laid down in Strategy Europe 2020. One of the most important sources of mineral raw materials are primary deposits. The efficient management of them, including extraction, will ensure competitiveness of the European economy. A critical element of this approach is mineral deposits safeguarding and the most important tool - spatial planning. The safeguarding of deposits should be understood as safeguarding of land access, and safeguarding of area against development, which may (potential) prevent the use of the deposit and the necessary mining activities. Many European Union countries successfully integrated their mineral policy and spatial policy, which has ensured the proper place of mineral deposits in their spatial planning systems. These, in turn, are widely recognized as the most important mineral deposit safeguarding tool, the essence of which is to ensure long-term access to its resources. The examples of Austria, Portugal, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, discussed in the paper, are often mentioned as examples of good practices in this area. Although none of these countries managed to avoid cases of social and environmental conflicts related to mining activities, the solutions they implement certainly deserve special attention. And for many countries, including Poland, they can be a potential source of solutions aimed at improving the protection of mineral deposits.

Keywords: mineral deposits, land use planning, mineral deposit safeguarding, European practices

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Authors: Majid Samavatian, Reza Gholamipour, Vahid Samavatian

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This study addresses the role of rejuvenation on the fluctuation of atomic-level stresses and nanoscale topological heterogeneity in ZrCuNiAl bulk metallic glass (BMG). Based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) results, the rejuvenation process leads to an increase in nanoscale spatial heterogeneity manifested by the intensification of the local viscoelastic response of the BMG nanostructure. It means that the rejuvenation process induces more loose-packing structures which behave towards an external load in a viscoelastic way. Hence, it is suggested that the alteration of such heterogeneity may be attributed to the variation of positional atomic rearrangement during the evolution of structural rejuvenation. On the other side, the synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicate that the rejuvenation intensifies the variation of internal stresses at the atomic level. This conclusion unfolds that the increase of atomic-level stresses during rejuvenation induces structural disordering and nanoscale heterogeneity in the amorphous material.

Keywords: bulk metallic glass, heterogeneity, rejuvenation, nanostructure

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Authors: M. Anji Reddy, R. Uma Devi

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Environmental planning for urban development is very much needed to reduce air pollution through the enhancement of vegetative cover in the cities like Hyderabad. This can be mainly based on the selection of appropriate native plant species as bioindicators to assess the impact of ambient Ozone. In the present study, tolerant species are suggested aimed to reduce the magnitude of ambient ozone concentrations which not only increase eco-friendly vegetation but also moderate air pollution. Hyderabad city is divided into 5 zones based on Land Use/Land Cover category further each zone divided into residential, traffic, industrial, and peri-urban areas. Highest ambient ozone levels are recorded in Industrial areas followed by traffic areas in the entire study area ( > 180 µg/m3). Biomonitoring of selected sixteen local urban plant species with the help of Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) showed its susceptibility to air pollution. Statistical regression models in between the tolerant plant species and ambient ozone levels suggested five plant species namely Azardirachta indica A. Juss which have a high tolerant response to ambient ozone followed by Delonix regia Hook. along with Millingtonia hortensis L.f., Alestonia Scholaries L., and Samania saman Jacq. in the industrial and traffic areas of the study area to mitigate ambient Ozone pollution and also to improve urban greenery.

Keywords: air pollution tolerance index, bio-indicators, eco-friendly vegetation, urban greenery

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Authors: Meliha Nur Cercinli

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In the last period of the Ottoman Empire, foreign officers played important role in the political area. Behind their political activities, their wives had a considerable influence on Ottoman social life. Despite the difficult conditions, these women involved in educating girls, encouraging Ottoman women to take part in the production area. For this purpose, they opened many schools and workplaces in various regions of the capital-Istanbul. One of these women was Lady Alice Lowther, who was known as the wife of British ambassador Gerard Agustus Lowther. She arranged various organizations in order to create necessary resources to help families of martyrs. Also, she chaired the Committee for Aid to Ottoman Military Families (Asker Ailelerine Yardım Komitesi), made an effort to establish the Society for Protection Animals in Istanbul (Istanbul Himaye-i Hayvanat Cemiyeti) with the supports of The Royal Society For Prevention Cruelty For Animals. Apart from these, she was also a good observer and writer as a traveller. She wrote and published her memories with the name of Down The Old Road (1921), When It Was June (1923) Land Of Gold Mohur (1932), Moments In Portugal Or Land Of The Laurel (1939). This paper aims to analyze Lady Alice Lowther’s activities in Istanbul based on Ottoman Archive documents. In addition, her books will also be examined as they will present a different perspective regarding her experiences.

Keywords: Lady Lowther, Ottoman Empire, women history, social life

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Authors: Armanul Hoque Shaon, Md Baizid Mahmud, Askander Nobi, Md. Raju Ahmed, Md. Jiabul Hoque

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In the Internet of Things (IoT), devices are linked to the internet through a wireless network, allowing them to collect and transmit data without the need for a human operator. Agriculture relies heavily on wireless sensors, which are a vital component of the Internet of Things (IoT). This kind of wireless sensor network monitors physical or environmental variables like temperatures, sound, vibration, pressure, or motion without relying on a central location or sink and collaboratively passes its data across the network to be analyzed. As the primary source of plant nutrients, the soil is critical to the agricultural industry's continued growth. We're excited about the prospect of developing an Internet of Things (IoT) solution. To arrange the network, the sink node collects groundwater levels and sends them to the Gateway, which centralizes the data and forwards it to the sensor nodes. The sink node gathers soil moisture data, transmits the mean to the Gateways, and then forwards it to the website for dissemination. The web server is in charge of storing and presenting the moisture in the soil data to the web application's users. Soil characteristics may be collected using a networked method that we developed to improve rice production. Paddy land is running out as the population of our nation grows. The success of this project will be dependent on the appropriate use of the existing land base.

Keywords: IoT based agriculture monitoring, intelligent irrigation, communicating network, rice production

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Authors: Samrat Paul, Satyajit Pahari, Krishnendu Basak, Amitava Roy

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Fishing is one of the pivotal livelihood activities, especially in developing countries. Today it is considered an important occupation for human society from the era of human settlement began. In simple terms, non-target catches of any species during fishing can be considered as ‘bycatch,’ and fishing bycatch is neither a new fishery management issue nor a new problem. Sundarban is one of the world’s largest mangrove land expanding up to 10,200 sq. km in India and Bangladesh. This largest mangrove biome resource is used by the local inhabitants commercially to run their livelihood, especially by forest fringe villagers (FFVs). In Sundarban, over-fishing, especially post larvae collection of wild Penaeus monodon, is one of the major concerns, as during the collection of P. monodon, different aquatic species are destroyed as a result of bycatch mortality which changes in productivity and may negatively impact entire biodiversity, of the ecosystem. Wild prawn seed collection gear like a small mesh sized net poses a serious threat to aquatic stocks, where the collection isn’t only limited to prawn seed larvae. As prawn seed collection processes are inexpensive, require less monetary investment, and are lucrative; people are easily engaged here as their source of income. Wildlife Trust of India’s (WTI) intervention in selected forest fringe villages of Sundarban Tiger Reserve (STR) was to estimate and reduce the mortality of aquatic bycatches by involving local communities in newly developed release method and their time engagement in prawn seed collection (PSC) by involving them in Alternate Income Generation (AIG). The study was conducted for their taxonomic identification during the period of March to October 2019. Collected samples were preserved in 70% ethyl alcohol for identification, and all the preserved bycatch samples were identified morphologically by the expertise of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata. Around 74 different aquatic species, where 11 different species are molluscs, 41 fish species, out of which 31 species were identified, and 22 species of crustacean collected, out of which 18 species were identified. Around 13 different species belong to a different order, and families were unable to identify them morphologically as they were collected in the juvenile stage. The study reveals that for collecting one single prawn seed, eight individual life of associated faunas are being lost. Zero bycatch mortality is not practical; rather, collectors should focus on bycatch reduction by avoiding capturing, allowing escaping, and mortality reduction, and must make changes in their fishing method by increasing net mesh size, which will avoid non-target captures. But as the prawns are small in size (generally 1-1.5 inches in length), thus increase net size making economically less or no profit for collectors if they do so. In this case, returning bycatches is considered one of the best ways to a reduction in bycatch mortality which is a more sustainable practice.

Keywords: bycatch mortality, biodiversity, mangrove biome resource, sustainable practice, Alternate Income Generation (AIG)

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Authors: A. H. Shaikat, M. B. Hossain, S. K. M. A. Islam, M. M. Hassan, S. A. Khan, A. K. M. Saifuddin, M. N. Islam, M. A. Hoque

Abstract:

A total of eighteen (18) sex reversed chickens with unusual phenotypic characteristics of male birds were identified over 2000 Hyline layer chickens at Motaher Poultry Farm, Ramu, Cox’s Bazar. Chickens were subdivided into two groups (case = 18, control = 20) based on the appearance of sex-reversed secondary sexual characteristics. Phenotypic traits of studied chickens were measured with farm management details. Hormone assay using ELISA, autopsy followed by gross examination of viscera was performed. The study found higher body weight (gm) (1579.3; 95% CI: 1561.7-1596.8), comb length (cm) (12.2; 11.5-12.8), comb width (cm) (7.9; 7.7-8.2), wattle length (cm) (4.9; 4.8-5.1) distinct spur, and shortened pubic bones distance, suggesting decrease oviposition in sex-reversed chickens. Testosterone concentration (ng/ml) (8.5; 6.4-10.6) was significantly higher (p<0.001) along with decrease estrogen (pg/ml) (5.1; 4.9-5.5) and progesterone concentration (pg/ml) (310.9; 289.4-332.5) in sex-reversed chickens. Mass abdominal fat deposition with atrophied ovary was found upon exploration of viscera.

Keywords: ovary, phenotypic traits, sex hormone, sex reversal

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Authors: Muhammad L. A. Dwiyoga

Abstract:

The condition of a spatial land in the industrial park needs special attention to be studied more deeply. Geoplanology modeling can help arrange area according to his ability. This research method is to perform the analysis of remote sensing, Geographic Information System, and more comprehensive analysis to determine geological characteristics and the ability to land on the area of research and its relation to the geological disaster. Cilegon is part of Banten province located in western Java, and the direction of the north is the Strait of Borneo. While the southern part is bordering the Indian Ocean. Morphology study area is located in the highlands to low. In the highlands of identified potential landslide prone, whereas in low-lying areas of potential flooding. Moreover, in the study area has the potential prone to earthquakes, this is due to the proximity of enough research to Mount Krakatau and Subdcution Zone. From the results of this study show that the study area has a susceptibility to landslides located around the District Waringinkurung. While the region as a potential flood areas in the District of Cilegon and surrounding areas. Based on the seismic data, this area includes zones with a range of magnitude 1.5 to 5.5 magnitude at a depth of 1 to 60 Km. As for the ability of its territory, based on the analyzes and studies carried out the need for renewal of the map Spatial Plan that has been made, considering the development of a fairly rapid Cilegon area.

Keywords: geoplanology, spatial plan, geological hazard, cilegon, Indonesia

Procedia PDF Downloads 481

Authors: Mohammadreza Mojtahedi

Abstract:

Urban agriculture, in the face of burgeoning urban populations and unchecked urbanization, presents a promising avenue for sustainable economic, social, and environmental growth. This study, set against the backdrop of Neishabour, Iran, delves into the potential and challenges inherent in this domain. Utilizing a descriptive-analytical approach, field survey data were predominantly collated via questionnaires. The research rigor was upheld with the Delphi method affirming the validity and a Cronbach's alpha score exceeding 0.70, underscoring reliability. The study encompassed Neishabour's 2016 populace, pegged at 264,375, drawing a sample size of 384 via Cochran's formula. The findings spotlight Neishabour's pronounced agricultural prowess, as evidenced by a significance level under 0.05 and an average difference of 0.54. Engaging in urban agricultural ventures can notably elevate job quality, spur savings, bolster profitability, promote organic cultivation, and streamline production expenses. However, challenges, such as heightened land valuations for alternative uses, conflicting land engagements, security dilemmas, technical impediments, waning citizen interest, regulatory conundrums, and perceived upfront investment risks, were identified. A silver lining emerged with urban locales, especially streets and boulevards, securing average ratings of 3.90, marking them as prime contenders for urban agricultural endeavors.

Keywords: urban agriculture, sustainable development, mid-sized cities, neishabour.

Procedia PDF Downloads 43

Authors: Jonny Beirne

Abstract:

Hydropower developments have come to assume an important role within the Ethiopian government's overall development strategy for the country during the last ten years. The Gilgel Gibe III on the Omo river, due to become operational in September 2014, represents the most ambitious, and controversial, of these projects to date. Further aspects of the government's national development strategy include leasing vast areas of designated 'unused' land for large-scale commercial agricultural projects and 'voluntarily' villagizing scattered, semi-nomadic agro-pastoralist groups to centralized settlements so as to use land and water more efficiently and to better provide essential social services such as education and healthcare. The Lower Omo valley, along the Omo River, is one of the sites of this villagization programme as well as of these large-scale commercial agricultural projects which are made possible owing to the regulation of the river's flow by Gibe III. Though the Ethiopian government cite many positive aspects of these agricultural and hydropower developments there are still expected to be serious regional and transnational effects, including on migration flows, in an area already characterized by increasing climatic vulnerability with attendant population movements and conflicts over scarce resources. The following paper is an attempt to track actual and anticipated migration flows resulting from the construction of Gibe III in the immediate vicinity of the dam, downstream in the Lower Omo Valley and across the border in Kenya around Lake Turkana. In the case of those displaced in the Lower Omo Valley, this will be considered in view of the distinction between voluntary villagization and forced resettlement. The research presented is not primary-source material. Instead, it is drawn from the reports and assessments of the Ethiopian government, rights-based groups, and academic researchers as well as media articles. It is hoped that this will serve to draw greater attention to the issue and encourage further methodological research on the dynamics of dam constructions (and associated large-scale irrigation schemes) on migration flows and on the ultimate experience of displacement and resettlement for environmental migrants in the region.

Keywords: forced displacement, voluntary resettlement, migration, human rights, human security, land grabs, dams, commercial agriculture, pastoralism, ecosystem modification, natural resource conflict, livelihoods, development

Procedia PDF Downloads 355

Authors: Sumiko Anno, Keiji Imaoka, Takeo Tadono, Tamotsu Igarashi, Subramaniam Sivaganesh, Selvam Kannathasan, Vaithehi Kumaran, Sinnathamby Noble Surendran

Abstract:

Dengue outbreaks are affected by biological, ecological, socio-economic and demographic factors that vary over time and space. These factors have been examined separately and still require systematic clarification. The present study aimed to investigate the spatial-temporal clustering relationships between these factors and dengue outbreaks in the northern region of Sri Lanka. Remote sensing (RS) data gathered from a plurality of satellites were used to develop an index comprising rainfall, humidity and temperature data. RS data gathered by ALOS/AVNIR-2 were used to detect urbanization, and a digital land cover map was used to extract land cover information. Other data on relevant factors and dengue outbreaks were collected through institutions and extant databases. The analyzed RS data and databases were integrated into geographic information systems, enabling temporal analysis, spatial statistical analysis and space-time clustering analysis. Our present results showed that increases in the number of the combination of ecological factor and socio-economic and demographic factors with above the average or the presence contribute to significantly high rates of space-time dengue clusters.

Keywords: ALOS/AVNIR-2, dengue, space-time clustering analysis, Sri Lanka

Procedia PDF Downloads 458

Authors: Nuria Vargas, Frances Rodriguez

Abstract:

Neotropical medium cities have opportunities to develop in a good manner. Xalapa City (Veracruz capital, Mexico) and its metropolitan region, near to the Gulf of Mexico, has already <1 million inhabitants, a medium city size, but it’s growing rapidly as several cities in Latin America. Inside a landscape where it had been a forest cloud and coffee land, emerges the city with an irregular topography. The rapid grow of the urbanization and the loss of vegetation has result in a change on the climate parameters. Frequently warms spells, floods and landslides had been impacted last 2 decades, also a higher incidence of dengue and diarrhea is mentioned in the region. Therefore, the analysis of hydrometeorological events is crucial to understand the role they play in its problem. The urbanization and others radiative forces has created a modulation that can explain the decadal climate changes on the Xalapa region. The Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation directly influences the temperature and precipitation of the region, even more than climate change does. The total effect of these drivers can create a significant context that origin more risk. However, the most policies frequently consider only the climate change as a principal factor, but other drivers are important to consider and evaluate for the implementation of actions that improve our ambient and cities, in a context of climate change. Medium-sized cities could create better conditions for future citizens, preventing with urban planning that considers possible risks associated with weather and climate.

Keywords: natural variability, urbanization, atlantic multidecadal oscillation, land use changes

Procedia PDF Downloads 40

Authors: Donglian Sun, Yu Li, Paul Houser, Xiwu Zhan

Abstract:

California experienced severe drought conditions in the past years. In this study, the drought conditions in California are analyzed using soil moisture anomalies derived from integrated optical and microwave satellite observations along with auxiliary land surface data. Based on the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) classifications, three typical drought conditions were selected for the analysis: extreme drought conditions in 2007 and 2013, severe drought conditions in 2004 and 2009, and normal conditions in 2005 and 2006. Drought is defined as negative soil moisture anomaly. To estimate soil moisture at high spatial resolutions, three approaches are explored in this study: the universal triangle model that estimates soil moisture from Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST); the basic model that estimates soil moisture under different conditions with auxiliary data like precipitation, soil texture, topography, and surface types; and the refined model that uses accumulated precipitation and its lagging effects. It is found that the basic model shows better agreements with the USDM classifications than the universal triangle model, while the refined model using precipitation accumulated from the previous summer to current time demonstrated the closest agreements with the USDM patterns.

Keywords: soil moisture, high resolution, regional drought, analysis and monitoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: C. Silveira, A. Ascenso, J. Ferreira, A. I. Miranda, P. Tuccella, G. Curci

Abstract:

Poor air quality is one of the main environmental causes of premature deaths worldwide, and mainly in cities, where the majority of the population lives. It is a consequence of successive land cover (LC) and use changes, as a result of the intensification of human activities. Knowing these landscape modifications in a comprehensive spatiotemporal dimension is, therefore, essential for understanding variations in air pollutant concentrations. In this sense, the use of air quality models is very useful to simulate the physical and chemical processes that affect the dispersion and reaction of chemical species into the atmosphere. However, the modelling performance should always be evaluated since the resolution of the input datasets largely dictates the reliability of the air quality outcomes. Among these data, the updated LC is an important parameter to be considered in atmospheric models, since it takes into account the Earth’s surface changes due to natural and anthropic actions, and regulates the exchanges of fluxes (emissions, heat, moisture, etc.) between the soil and the air. This work aims to evaluate the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem), when different LC classifications are used as an input. The influence of two LC classifications was tested: i) the 24-classes USGS (United States Geological Survey) LC database included by default in the model, and the ii) CLC (Corine Land Cover) and specific high-resolution LC data for Portugal, reclassified according to the new USGS nomenclature (33-classes). Two distinct WRF-Chem simulations were carried out to assess the influence of the LC on air quality over Europe and Portugal, as a case study, for the year 2015, using the nesting technique over three simulation domains (25 km², 5 km² and 1 km² horizontal resolution). Based on the 33-classes LC approach, particular emphasis was attributed to Portugal, given the detail and higher LC spatial resolution (100 m x 100 m) than the CLC data (5000 m x 5000 m). As regards to the air quality, only the LC impacts on tropospheric ozone concentrations were evaluated, because ozone pollution episodes typically occur in Portugal, in particular during the spring/summer, and there are few research works relating to this pollutant with LC changes. The WRF-Chem results were validated by season and station typology using background measurements from the Portuguese air quality monitoring network. As expected, a better model performance was achieved in rural stations: moderate correlation (0.4 – 0.7), BIAS (10 – 21µg.m^-3) and RMSE (20 – 30 µg.m^-3), and where higher average ozone concentrations were estimated. Comparing both simulations, small differences grounded on the Leaf Area Index and air temperature values were found, although the high-resolution LC approach shows a slight enhancement in the model evaluation. This highlights the role of the LC on the exchange of atmospheric fluxes, and stresses the need to consider a high-resolution LC characterization combined with other detailed model inputs, such as the emission inventory, to improve air quality assessment.

Keywords: land use, spatial resolution, WRF-Chem, air quality assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Desta Brhanu Gebrehiwot

Abstract:

The study aims to investigate the impact of land tenure arrangements on fertilizer use per hectare in Northern Ethiopia. Household and Plot level data are used for analysis. Land tenure contracts such as sharecropping and fixed rent arrangements have endogeneity. Different unobservable characteristics may affect renting-out decisions. Thus, the appropriate method of analysis was the instrumental variable estimation technic. Therefore, the family of instrumental variable estimation methods two-stage least-squares regression (2SLS, the generalized method of moments (GMM), Limited information maximum likelihood (LIML), and instrumental variable Tobit (IV-Tobit) was used. Besides, a method to handle a binary endogenous variable is applied, which uses a two-step estimation. In the first step probit model includes instruments, and in the second step, maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) (“etregress” command in Stata 14) was used. There was lower fertilizer use per hectare on sharecropped and fixed rented plots relative to owner-operated. The result supports the Marshallian inefficiency principle in sharecropping. The difference in fertilizer use per hectare could be explained by a lack of incentivized detailed contract forms, such as giving more proportion of the output to the tenant under sharecropping contracts, which motivates to use of more fertilizer in rented plots to maximize the production because most sharecropping arrangements share output equally between tenants and landlords.

Keywords: tenure-contracts, endogeneity, plot-level data, Ethiopia, fertilizer

Procedia PDF Downloads 66

Authors: Bankole Wright

Abstract:

The late 20th to the early 21st century has been predominantly characterized by the movement of individuals from one country to another country or countries. The chief reasons for migration have always been premised on socio-cultural, socio-political and socio-economic factors, with influences of migration finding expression through various ways. Indeed, migration experiences have formed points of subjectivity which functions as agencies that propel migrants to strongly quest for migrating from their home space to other socio-cultural space that performs the role of escape for them. This paper interrogates the discourse of migration, agency and subjectivity in Helon Habila’s Travellers. The essay explores the interconnectedness between migration which is the physical [as deployed in this paper] movement from one location to another, agency as seen in the ability to act based on various ideological frameworks within which the action is taken, and subjectivity which identifies with the predominant factors that influence human actions; and how these connections are responsible for defining the diaspora individual. The discourse of what makes migrants desire to move from their various spaces is as critical as the experiences they face in their various host land. Hence, this paper demonstrates, through the analysis of an African diasporic novel, that the quest for migration is mostly determined by certain agencies in the diaspora home space, which characters have been subjects of and desire to escape. Traveller is a novel which chronicles the various experiences of migrants who journey from their various home space to another land as a result of different agencies that precipitated their migration. This paper engages these agencies as impediments to human survival.

Keywords: migration, agency, subjectivity, Helon Habila, diaspora, home, space

Procedia PDF Downloads 247