Search results for "forest"
showing 10 items of 3780 documents
Experimental study on triangular central baffle flume
2019
Abstract In this paper the results of the experiments performed to study the flow through a Triangular Central Baffle Flume (TCBF) are reported. The investigated flume consists of a triangular baffle of the apex angle of 75° with a given base width. The theoretical stage-discharge formula was deduced by applying the Buckingham's Theorem and incomplete self-similarity hypothesis and was calibrated using the laboratory measurements carried out in this investigation. The proposed stage-discharge formula is characterized by a mean absolute relative error of 7.4% and 72% of the data points are in an error range of ±5%. The results indicate that TCBF flume is characterized by a flow capacity high…
A Simple Analytical Model for Remote Assessment of the Dynamics of Biomass Accumulation
2011
Efficient means for assessment of the dynamics and the state of the stocks of renewable assets such as wood biomass are important for sustainable supplies satisfying current needs. So far attention has been paid mainly to the economic aspects of forest management while ecological problems are rising with the expected transfer from fossil to renewable resources supplies of which from forest being essential for traditional consumers of wood and for emerging biorefineries. Production of biomass is more reliant on assets other than money the land (territory) available and suitable for the purpose being the first in the number. Studies of the ecological impacts (the “footprint”) of sustainable u…
Use of Guided Regularized Random Forest for Biophysical Parameter Retrieval
2018
This paper introduces a feature selection method based on random forest -the Guided Regularized Random Forest (GRRF)- which can be used in classification and regression tasks. The method is based on the regularization of the information gain in the random forest nodes to obtain a subset of relevant and non-redundant features. The proposed method is used as a preliminary step In the process of retrieving biophysical parameters from a hyperspectral image. Preliminary experiments show that we can reduce the RMSE of the retrievals by around 7% for the Leaf Area Index and around 8% for the fraction of vegetation cover when compared to the results using random forest features.
Bayesian calibration of the nitrous oxide emission module of an agro-ecosystem model
2008
1. NitroEurope Open Science Conference on Reactive Nitrogen and the European Greenhouse Gas Balance ; Ghent (Belgique) - (2008-02-20 - 2008-02-21) / Conférence; Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the main biogenic greenhouse gas contributing to the global warming potential (GWP) of agro-ecosystems. Evaluating the impact of agriculture on climate therefore requires a capacity to predict N2O emissions in relation to environmental conditions and crop management. Biophysical models simulating the dynamics of carbon and nitrogen in agro-ecosystems have a unique potential to explore these relationships, but are fraught with high uncertainties in their parameters due to their variations over time and space. H…
Evaluation of Suitability of Treated Sewage Sludge for Maize Cultivation
2020
The worlds growing population demands more food and creates more waste. Economically viable and environmentally friendly would be to use sewage sludge for agricultural production. There are several limitations for this use – heavy metal content, pathogenic microorganisms, helminths etc.. The different methods of treatment of sewage sludge helps to overcome this problem. The aim of the study is to find the effects of treated sewage sludge on the growth of maize and changes in soil biological activity. Experiments were carried out with dry sewage sludge preparation (SSP) in the such combinations 1) SSP, 2) SSP+PK, 3) SSP+NPK. Controls- loamy soil without additional fertilizer, soil mixed with…
A method for evaluating rainfall kinetic power by a characteristic drop diameter
2019
Abstract Empirical relationships linking kinetic energy to rainfall intensity are commonly used to estimate rainfall erosivity. In this paper, using the drop-size distribution (DSD) proposed by Marshall and Palmer, a relationship for calculating the rainfall kinetic power was firstly deduced. This equation requires the simultaneous measurement of both the median volume diameter and the rainfall intensity and its application also reveals the drawback of needing the measurement of the whole DSD by an expensive disdrometric technique. Then, using a fictitious precipitation, which is both constituted by droplets having the same diameter (mean volume diameter) and having the same volume of the a…
Células del cuello uterino con atipias que no descartan una lesión de alto grado (ASC-H) con premalignidad
2019
Introducción: la presencia de células escamosas con atipias que no descartan una lesión intraepitelial escamosa de alto grado (ASC-H) es significativa, pues cerca de 50% podrían corresponder a una lesión premaligna del cérvix uterino. Objetivo: describir las alteraciones citomorfológicas más frecuentes en los extendidos citológicos categorizados como células escamosas con atipias que no descartan una lesión intraepitelial escamosa de alto grado (ASC-H), con existencia de lesión clínicamente significativa en el resultado histopatológico. Metodología: estudio retrospectivo en el laboratorio de citología de la Facultad de Farmacia y Bioanálisis, Universidad de Los Andes y Clínica de Prevención…
Biodiversity conservation and protected areas in the Mediterranean region
2018
This chapter provides an overview of current biodiversity knowledge in Mediterranean forest ecosystems across all levels (genetic diversity, species diversity, landscape diversity) and endemism, ecological peculiarities that make Mediterranean forest ecosystems different. It also outlines the importance of biodiversity for functional forest ecosystems and illustrates some examples of conservation efforts in the region.
Ecosystem responses to land abandonment in Western Mediterranean Mountains
2017
Agricultural expansion in the Mediterranean resulted in plant and soil degradation due to the intensive use, climate conditions, and rugged terrain. After abandonment, the recovery of vegetation contributed to improvement in soil quality from a hydrological, pedological and geomorphological point of view. This paper shows three examples of ecosystem evolution in abandoned fields in Valencia, Murcia and Andalucia and the application of different methodological approaches that resulted in similar findings. In Valencia, the main responses were the recovery of vegetation after land abandonment and an increase in organic matter and infiltration capacity of soils. In Murcia, with the exception of…
Aridity index, soil erosion and climate drive no-till ecosystem services trade-off in Mediterranean arable land
2021
Abstract Despite the relevant literature on the advantages of no-till (NT) management, the world area under NT is only 10% of the arable land, probably due to several limiting factors as climate, soil types, farming systems and yield. Soil conservation practices and particularly NT soil management are able to provide many ecosystem services (ESs). This paper suggests a framework to determine the area distribution of soil erosion control and food security ESs trade-offs furnished by NT, starting from the potential soil erosion and aridity index maps. The interaction between the potential soil erosion and the aridity index showed that different trade-offs and synergies of multiple ESs may occ…