Search results for "landscape conservation"
showing 10 items of 783 documents
Shoreline Evolution and Environmental Changes at the NW Area of the Gulf of Gela (Sicily, Italy)
2021
Coastal areas are among the most biologically productive, dynamic and valued ecosystems on Earth. They are subject to changes that greatly vary in scale, time and duration and to additional pressures resulting from anthropogenic activities. The aim of this work was to investigate the shoreline evolution and the main environmental changes of the coastal stretch between the towns of Licata and Gela (in the Gulf of Gela, Sicily, Italy). The methodology used in this work included the analysis of: (i) shoreline changes over the long- and medium-term periods (1955–2019 and 1989–2019, respectively), (ii) dune system fragmentation and (iii) the impact of coastal structures (harbours and breakwaters…
Selecting a small run-of-river hydropower plan by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP): A case study of Miño-Sil river basin, Spain
2015
Hydroelectric power is obtained by harnessing the potential energy of a mass of water flowing along a river bed to convert it first into mechanical and then into electrical energy. The system is therefore both clean and autonomous and has a high potential for development. A small hydropower plant has an installed power capacity of below 10 MW and is considered run-of-river when it diverts part of a river flow to generate its electricity. The use of multicriteria techniques in environmental decision making, including selecting between various alternatives, is important when it involves complex decisions in a number of disciplinary fields. The most widely used of these techniques is the analy…
Il muro di Padova: un muro di solida paura
2009
Il muro di Padova: un muro di solida paura - The Padua Wall: a Wall of Solid Fear, If there is a lucky relevance in the concept of liquid fear, it is the physical image of what, not having a solid content, slides over, trickles through chinks and floods any surface that comes across. If applied to a specific case, the concept materialises in its solid ambivalence. In the Padua case under examination, the municipality makes the choice, explosive from a communication perspective, to par8 tially isolate - with an iron fence, the so-called wall - an inhabited area, considered out of control because of the growing flow of regular and irregular immigrants, of crime episodes, of drug dealing, of a…
BIOCHARS IN SOILS: TOWARDS THE REQUIRED LEVEL OF SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING
2017
The special issue on Biochar as an Option for Sustainable Resource Management Key priorities in biochar research for future guidance of sustainable policy development have been identified by expert assessment within the COST Action TD1107. The current level of scientific understanding (LOSU) regarding the consequences of biochar application to soil were explored. Five broad thematic areas of biochar research were addressed: soil biodiversity and ecotoxicology, soil organic matter and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, soil physical properties, nutrient cycles and crop production, and soil remediation. The highest future research priorities regarding biochar’s effects in soils were: functional …
Effect of soil and canopy factors on vegetation of Quercus robur woodland in the boreo-nemoral zone: A plant-trait based approach
2013
Abstract The aim of the study was to determine the effect of soil and canopy on the understory vegetation of Quercus robur stands in Latvia, located in the boreo-nemoral zone. To determine the main processes regulating formation of the plant communities, the understory vegetation of Q. robur stands was described using plant traits. Vegetation and soils were described in 24 plots representing contrasting soil types and tree species composition. Redundancy analysis was used to determine the relation between vegetation, described using plant traits (proportion of species with each trait), and soil and canopy factors. About 50% of the variation in vegetation described by plant traits was explai…
Phylogenetic analysis of cryptic speciation in the polychaetePygospio elegans
2012
Development in marine invertebrate species can take place through a variety of modes and larval forms, but within a species, developmental mode is typically uniform. Poecilogony refers to the presence of more than one mode of development within a single species. True poecilogony is rare, however, and in some cases, apparent poecilogony is actually the result of variation in development mode among recently diverged cryptic species. We used a phylogenetic approach to examine whether poecilogony in the marine polychaete worm, Pygospio elegans, is the result of cryptic speciation. Populations of worms identified as P. elegans express a variety of developmental modes including planktonic, broode…
Investigation on a low environmental impact solvent mixture applied to a wooden painted slab
2016
Cleaning is one of the most complex and delicate step in a restoration project, often due to the manufacturing techniques of the artifacts and their advanced state of decay. Eco-friendly solvents can permit to execute the cleaning operations with a reduced health impact for the restorers and for the environment. In this work, the performance of the 1,3- dioxolane/methylal (DIOX-MET) solvent mixture is evaluated over a wooden painted slab that had been covered with a thin layer of a protective varnish, probably during a previous conservation work performed in the Sixties. Removal of this varnish has been considered on behalf of its yellowing degradation process, which caused chromatic change…
Forest drainage: a threat to benthic biodiversity of boreal headwater streams?
1998
1. Forest drainage, including mainly ditching of waterlogged peatlands in order to increase wood growth, has caused substantial changes in the hydrology and water quality of Finnish streams. However, knowledge on the ecological impact of these changes is poor. This paper studies the potential impact of forest drainage, catchment characteristics and habitat factors on the water quality and benthic macroinvertebrates in headwater streams of the River Isojoki, western Finland. An intensive programme of water sampling was carried out at nine study sites, while zoobenthic samples covered a total of 18 streams. 2. According to multivariate regression models concentrations of aluminium and suspend…
A new definition of soil to promote soil awareness, sustainability, security and governance
2022
Abstract In these last decades, the awareness that soil is a very important resource for humans has noticeably increased. Many actions and initiatives to promote soil governance, aiming at sustainable soil management and soil security have been undertaken by several national and international institutions and in many countries. Analysis of the changes of soil perception over the centuries allows highlighting a perfect harmony between the evolution of soil awareness and the level of knowledge and technology achieved by humans during their history and evolution. Notwithstanding these many achievements, soils continue to be scarcely considered in politics and society. We suggest some thoughts …
Transitioning towards a Sustainable Wellbeing Economy—Implications for Rural–Urban Relations
2021
This article focuses on the question of how a shift from a narrow economic perspective to a wider sustainable wellbeing focus in regional development strategies and actions might change rural–urban relations. A brief review of relevant research and discourses about economic development models provides the foundation for the analysis. The review leads to the development of an analytical framework that puts the notion of sustainable wellbeing at its center. The criteria included in the analytical framework are then used to assess the current situation, challenges and perceived ways forward based on data and analyses from 11 European regions. The focus of the analysis is on different exp…