ALBERT

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 112-121 Simon N., Gosling , Nigel W., Arnell , Jason A., Lowe We present simulations of the impact of climate change on global water scarcity for five greenhouse gas emissions mitigation policy scenarios and compare them with a business-as-usual emissions scenario. A global water scarcity model is driven by climate change projections from 21 global climate models (GCMs). An aggressive policy scenario that gives a 50% chance of avoiding a 2°C global-mean temperature rise from pre-industrial times could avoid almost 40% of the business as usual global impacts by 2100. However, mitigation policy does not completely eliminate the impacts of climate change. For any given GCM, the avoided impacts are affected more...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 136-145 Eleni, Karali , Mark D.A., Rounsevell , Ruth, Doherty Although there is a large body of research into complex land-use/cover change (LUCC), the mechanisms that underlie land transformation are still poorly understood. To a large extent this results from the limited attention that has been paid to the human dimension in LUCC studies. While environmental processes are described by detailed and sophisticated frameworks, human behaviour has often been theorised in oversimplified ways. This paper presents a novel approach to the analysis of rural LUCC that integrates agent-based models (ABMs) with a multi-phase social survey. Findings from the application of the latter to a farming area in Switzerland are used...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 146-152 Etsushi, Kato , Michio, Kawamiya , Tsuguki, Kinoshita , Akihiko, Ito In the preparatory phase of IPCC AR5 development, Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) have been constructed by Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) groups as new forcing scenarios used for climate modeling and earth system modeling groups. In the process of RCP 6.0 scenario development, which has been conducted by the Asia-Pacific Integrated Model (AIM), we constructed a scenario of spatially explicit long-term aerosol emissions from biomass burning and net land-use change CO2 emissions in order to complement energy use and industrial emissions scenarios projected by socio-economic component of AIM.To estimate the emissions from biomass burning, we incorporate a vegetation fire component into...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 153-161 Nikolinka G., Koleva , Uwe A., Schneider , Bruce A., McCarl This study uses mathematical programming to examine alternative assumptions about regulations of external costs from pesticide applications in US agriculture. We find that, without external cost regulation, climate change benefits from increased agricultural production in the US may be more than offset by increased environmental costs. The internalization of the pesticide externalities increase farmers’ production costs but increase farmers’ income because of price adjustments and associated welfare shifts from consumers to producers. Our results also show that full internalizations of external pesticide costs substantially reduces preferred pesticide applications rates for corn and soybeans as climate change.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 15-26 Muhammad, Afzal , Martin G., Mansell , Alexandre S., Gagnon The objective of this research is to analyse temporal changes in historic rainfall variability across Scotland using different measures of variability. The CUSUM and sequential Mann-Kendall test applied to records from 28 weather stations with up to 80 years of daily precipitation data reveal the occurrence of abrupt changes in the rainfall trends. Most weather stations show a turning point between 1978 and 1985, although some stations situated in Eastern Scotland have more than one turning point. The temporal changes in rainfall variability across Scotland are presented using a number of measures of variability.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 96-103 Sarah, Cornell Nitrogen-containing organic matter in rain and aerosol makes up a substantial proportion – 25–35% – of the total nitrogen in atmospheric deposition. Despite this quantitative significance, it is “invisible” in current policy; and existing global air quality and nitrogen deposition monitoring programmes routinely measure nitrate and ammonium but not the organic component. Although recent research, especially in Asia and Latin America, is helping to build up a global picture of organic nitrogen deposition, data sets are sparse and the chemical composition of the organic matter is relatively poorly characterised. As a result, its role in ecosystems and Earth system processes...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 3-14 Cat, Downy , Sarah, Cornell

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 1-2 Sarah, Cornell , Cat, Downy ESS2010 was the first Open Science Conference of the international collaborative initiative AIMES, and was convened and organized by QUEST, the UK's directed research programme for Earth System science. The conference showcased advances in Earth system modelling, deploying observations and process understanding to develop more quantitative and predictive understanding of the interactions of the climate system, the biosphere and the anthroposphere. These tools extend understanding of the system dynamics of biogeochemical cycles, and give perspectives on the relationships between climate, ecosystems and human needs. As Earth system science is a global research endeavour, and its remit has important societal and...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 104-111 Simon N., Gosling , Jason A., Lowe We compare heat-related mortality impacts for three European cities, London, Lisbon and Budapest, under five climate change policies representing different dates at which carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions peak, rates at which emissions decline, and emissions floors, and compare them with a non-mitigation business-as-usual emissions scenario, for three time periods, the 2030s, 2050s and 2080s. Under an SRES A1B business-as-usual emissions scenario and using climate projections from 21 GCMs, heat-related mortality rates (per 100,000 of the population) attributable to climate change in the 2080s are simulated to be in the range 2-6 for London, 4-50 for Lisbon and 10-24 for Budapest....

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 122-135 N.J., Grigg , F., Boschetti , M., Brede , J.J., Finnigan We demonstrate an approach to low-dimensional modeling of world population, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and gross domestic product (GDP) interactions in a way that explicitly characterizes the variability in the data informing model assumptions and the uncertainty in functional relationships. Our model choice was informed by the following considerations and choices. First, even a low-dimensional conceptualization of the interactions between these three global variables requires a model to illuminate the consequences of chains of cause and effect and feedback loops. Such interactions warrant analysis as they offer insights into influences on aggregate global dynamics. Second, rates are constrained to be...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 60-69 Mohammad, Aurangojeb The relationship between particle number concentration and the established air quality indicators such as PM10 and NO2 is very important regarding the environmental quality of air. The results of this study revealed that correlation of the number of particles and NO2 depends on the mixing processes in the atmosphere, such as the formation of boundary layer and mixing layer. The diurnal variation of the correlation of the number of particles and PM10 is related to their sources and life times in an urban atmosphere. The effect of the wind speed and rainfall is strong in the correlation of NO2 and...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 35-49 M. de C., Alves , L.G., de Carvalho , E.A., Pozza , L., Sanches , J.C. de S., Maia Geoinformation techniques were applied to develop predictive models to study the areas of risk to soybean rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi Sydow) in soybean (Glycine max L.); coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix Berk & Br) in coffee; and black Sigatoka (Mycosphaerella fijiensis var. difformis) in banana, considering Brazil's climatic characterization and the distribution of soybean, coffee and banana crops. Temperature and rainfall data were obtained for the period from 1950 to 2000, for which observational data are available, and of simulations for 2020, 2050 and 2080 using the SRES A2 climate change scenarios. Using principal components analysis, a single variable was generated...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 27-34 Akinori, Ito , Yan, Feng Iron is an essential nutrient for phytoplankton. Although iron-containing dust mobilized from arid regions supplies the majority of the iron to the oceans, the key flux in terms of the biogeochemical response to atmospheric deposition is the amount of soluble or bioavailable iron. Atmospheric processing of mineral aerosols by anthropogenic pollutants (e.g. sulfuric acid) may transform insoluble iron into soluble forms. Previous studies have suggested higher iron solubility in smaller particles, as they are subject to more thorough atmospheric processing due to a longer residence time than coarse particles. On the other hand, the specific mineralogy of iron in dust...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 70-87 Peter G., Baines An analysis is made of global sea surface temperature (SST) data sets over the past 110 years to determine the principal patterns of climate variability on time scales longer than ENSO, and to relate these to likely dynamical processes. Taking 5-year running means, the most recent versions of the interpolated global data from the UK Hadley Centre and the US NOAA are analysed using singular value decomposition, and described as coherent global patterns that have a physical/dynamical basis. These patterns are: Global Warming, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, the Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation and the Pacific Gyre Oscillation. Each of these patterns,...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 50-59 C., Arcidiacono-Bársony , P., Ciais , N., Viovy , N., Vuichard Tropical deforestation is a major driver of climate change accounting for ∼12% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. A mitigation strategy named Reduction Emission from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) has been developed to tackle emissions due to forest loss in developing countries. REDD will be the core instrument in any post-2012 climate agreement according to the final document of the 15th UN Conference of the Parties. Nonetheless, REDD's implementation presents several political and scientific challenges. A review of current and future deforestation estimates in terms of forest surface change, carbon densities, and carbon fluxes is under preparation to aid the...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 88-95 Sarah, Cornell Economics – specifically, monetary valuation – has been given a pivotal role in ecosystem conservation. This is a retrogressive step, undoing important sustainability principles and practices that should have been embedded in environmental policy and management action. The concept of ecosystem services is a useful framework for understanding the dependency of human society on its natural environment, but it needs to be part of a larger solution that recognizes the complexity of the socio-ecological system, and the issues of equity and justice that pertain to sustainable responses to global environmental change. There have been a few recent critical analyses of...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 162-168 Ken’ichi, Matsumoto , Toshihiko, Masui This study purposes to analyze economic aspects of defined climate policies applying the AIM/CGE[Global] model to understand the economic consequences of abating a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions to avoid dangerous climate change. As a result, higher carbon prices and larger decreases in GDP are observed when emissions are abated more deeply. However, such GDP losses are rather small and insignificant compared to the GDP growth throughout this century. These results suggest that although it is challenging to abate emissions until the level to avoid dangerous climate change, there is a sufficient possibility to achieve it from economic perspectives.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 169-179 Kieran, O’Driscoll , Tatjana, Ilyina , Thomas, Pohlmann , Bernhard, Mayer , Peter, Damm The environmental fate of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the North Sea system is modelled with a high resolution Fate and Transport Ocean Model (FANTOM) that uses hydrodynamic model output from the Hamburg Shelf Ocean Model (HAMSOM). Large amounts of POPs enter the North Sea from the surrounding highly populated, industrialised and agricultural countries. Major pathways to the North Sea are atmospheric deposition and river inputs, with additional contributions coming from bottom sediments and adjacent seas. The model domain covers the entire North Sea region, extending northward as far as the Shetland Islands, and includes adjacent basins such as...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 180-193 Yasin M.S., Salah , Mary C., Scholes This study examined the mass loss and CO2 production from Pinus patula (Schlecht et Cham) leaf litter collected from fertilized plots in the Mpumalanga Province. Litter decomposition increased with increasing temperature. Warming between 15 and 18°C significantly increased the amount of CO2 emissions from the litter. Mass loss positively correlated with temperature levels. Nitrogen fertilizer applications had significant effects on litter decomposition rate but a minor effect on litter nitrogen quality. Litter quality was not a strong predictor of decomposition rates implying temperature is the major factor influencing the decomposition rate of Pinus patula needle litter. Results of this study...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 194-198 Carol Ann, Stannard , Richard J., Aspinall Modelling land system change using scientific approaches that integrate the human and environmental systems are increasingly needed. Integrated models are dependent upon our ability, not only to understand and describe the systems, but also to couple different modelling approaches. By promoting and supporting the Global Land Project science plan, the GLP Nodal Office of Integration and Modelling has contributed to the international research agenda through events which have brought together researchers from a broad range of disciplines to address the issues involved in modelling coupled human-environmental systems.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 199-205 P.J., Telford , J., Lathière , N.L., Abraham , A.T., Archibald , P., Braesicke , ... The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in June 1991 was the largest in the twentieth century. One of its effects was to produce cooler and drier conditions in the years following the eruption. We present the results of an integrated model study of the effect of these climatic changes on the emissions of isoprene from the biosphere. Our emissions model simulations showed that global isoprene emissions were reduced by 9% from 1990 to 1992. When incorporated into our model of global atmospheric chemistry this reduction of isoprene emissions led to an increase in the tropospheric OH burden of 2%. This caused...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 206-215 Christopher, Vernon , Erica, Thompson , Sarah, Cornell Contemporary increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration are in large part the result of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion. Scenario analysis is commonly used to generate projections of future carbon dioxide emissions, the resulting atmospheric concentrations and climate impact. In most scenario modelling published to date, carbon dioxide emission scenarios are based on demand-side (socioeconomic and technology) factors. The fossil fuel resource is assumed ample enough that supply-side factors do not drive future emission scenarios. This review of the literature on non-renewable resource extraction rate modelling and empirical studies of the global fossil fuel resource base suggests...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 6, 2011, Pages 216-221 Sönke, Zaehle , Colin, Prentice , Sarah, Cornell Complex Earth system models, and their various sub-components, are not yet subject to rigorous evaluation against observations as much as they should be, despite the existence of hundreds of proposed diagnostics. A concerted process is urgently needed to make this the norm, not the exception. Earth Observation, field observations and palaeo data can be applied to contexts as diverse as wildfire, marine ecosystems, the land carbon cycle, and greenhouse gases. Model evaluation (by comparing models and benchmark data) and model weighting (defining the ‘quality’ of models on the basis of such a comparison) should be considered as separate issues. Systematic...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 12-17 Shaoqing, Chen , Bin, Chen , Meirong, Su The importance of addressing cumulative environmental impact of large development projects on rivers has been increasingly highlighted. Consideration to potential impact pathways may be difficult, however, without appropriate analytical methods. By introducing ecological network model, this paper focuses on the quantification of the cause-effect relationships inherent the cumulative effects of dam construction from a holistic perspective. With Lancang river of Longitudinal Range-Gorge Region (LRGR) as an example, the risk-based interaction instead of the conventional energy or material flow of ecological network model has been created to conceptualize the cumulative effects network model. Based on this model, the network structural and...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 37-42 Chi, Li , Longlong, Lai As a piece of forestland under special protection and a specific site for tourism and leisure, national forest parks have already become an important carrier for forest tourism and drawn more and more attention from all walks of the society. This paper is a case study of Baicaowa National Forest Park in Chengde, which focuses on the development and utilization of forest parks based on the experiences strategy. It claims that during the planning of tourism facilities of national forest parks, principles of “thematic experience” (including temporal, spatial and physical experiences), “profound experience” and “educational experience” should be adopted to...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 18-24 Gengyuan, Liu , Zhifeng, Yang , Bin, Chen This emergy-based urban economic account provided a historical portrait of the urban economy and its structures to understand the overload of the biosphere‘s assimilative capacity. The basic situation of the urban economy, involving the indigenous resources base, emergy consumption patterns, emergy exports and imports, was investigated, accounted and discussed. Using a series of ratios and indices arising from emergy analysis, including emergy intensity, environmental load ratio and environmental sustainability, this paper analyzed the economic development in Beijing during the years of 1999 to 2006 and the heavy pressure it has put on the environment. Results showed that the development of...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 29-36 Xianchun, Tan , Junyi, Xu , Sheng, Wang With the research on some critical technology going deeply, the problem of technology route and project approach for the saving energy & reducing consumption have become the focus of municipal wastewater treatment process. In this article, LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) is applied to identify and compare the energy consumption of each stage of different technologies in municipal wastewater treatment from the view of whole process. This is carried out after reviewing the condition of energy utilizing of typical technologies in China. And some measures are brought forward to improve the efficiency of energy utilizing. Integrated Oxidation Ditch (IOD) is taken...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 81-86 Gengyuan, Liu , Zhifeng, Yang , Bin, Chen This emergy-based four angle model application is used to depict the variations of urban metabolic profile (energy and money) based on the changes experienced across the economic sectors over the years. The urban metabolic structure and efficiency results obtained for Beijing are compared to those for other European cities. In addition, for the Beijing's case, the study creates the foundation for a future analysis comparing the development of Beijing with that of Rome. The results imply that over three decade Beijing's urbanizing movement has greatly promoted the sustained development of the real estate and growth of urban household. The results...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 60-64 Shaoqing, Chen , Bin, Chen , Meirong, Su City interaction, though of great importance in the context of market-oriented economy, has rarely been studied quantitatively compared to structure and function inside the city due to the tribulation when acquiring and disposing the relational data between cities. Herein, we quantified city-to-city relations in ecological and economic contexts with the application of emergy analysis, which proved to be a promising approach to evaluating various city flows on a common basis. Emergy diagram of urban system was constructed, and the related relational data were chosen from the ecological and economic aspects respectively to form two integrated indicator systems incorporating the transfer...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 120-130 Dacheng, Liu , XiaoouYang , Xianchun, Tian , Ruihao, Wu , Li, Wang In the near future, energy conservation and pollution reduction became two of the most significant factors in economic development and social circulate. For analyzing the issue, several models were applied involving the fields of mathematical optimization, economics theory, dynamics model and industrial management. Specifically, they are MARKAL model, Input-Output model, LEAP model and Systemic Dynamics model. In the paper, a collaborative distributed database and an integrated simulation were developed for the Economics-Energy-Environment (3E) system, especially four models were firstly synthesize in a unique way which achieve securities economically, environmentally, as well as in a sense of energy source. The integrated...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 199-207 Shan, Cao , Chi, Li The establishment of low-carbon eco-city planning in the pattern of low-carbon economic development and the low-carbon society consumption with cities as a unit can remove the bottleneck for urban development, promote sustainable urban development and provide ample opportunities for industry upgrading and transformation in cities. The paper highlights the low-carbon eco-city planning ideas and development strategies and introduces the practical exploration of the planning with the new eco-city of Tianjin as an example.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 2-11 Dacheng, Liu , Ning, Li , Xianchun, Tan , Xiaoou, Yang , Li, Wang , ... Chinese government committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40% to 45% by 2020. As the capital and one of the biggest cites, Beijing expected to both keep higher GDP growth than average and cut unit GDP carbon emission, and has to adjust the relevant energy strategy in near future. The paper analysis the characteristics of energy supply and energy consumption in Beijing, and setups the economic-energy-environment-oriented reference energy system (RES), selects MARKAL as the optimal model and constructs districted multi-period linear programming matrix, which including 15 energy carriers, 4 energy processes, 17 energy conversions, and...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 43-50 Gengyuan, Liu , Zhifeng, Yang , Bin, Chen Presented in this paper is an overview of environmental impacts in 31 typical Chinese cities in view of spatial variations based on emergy analysis. Moreover, the economic and ecological loss varies significantly across cities both in total sum due to diversities of geographic features, economic development levels and local energy use availability. A relative ranking of ESI variance ratio from the worst to best off showed the distribution of China's urban ecosystem metabolic levels. The results offer not only a classification of urban emissions’ impacts during the investigation period, but also the spatial hierarchy which may explain the spatial pattern...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 77-80 Q., Yang , G.Q., Chen , Y.H., Zhao , B., Chen , Z., Li , ... It is commonly assumed that the application of solar power system can save energy and relief global climate change. Presented in this study is the account of energy performance and greenhouse gas emissions of a planned solar tower power plant in China based on the life cycle analysis method. The conservative estimation of energy cost for the concerned plant is 1.21 times of the electricity output, which is a relatively decent performance amongst power generation technologies. In order to analyze the greenhouse gas performance, a comparison is carried out between the solar tower power plant and conventional coal-fired power plant...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 139-144 Xinyu, Zhang , Xianjing, Meng , Jinjuan, Fan , Lupeng, Gao , Xiaomin, Sun In this study, the responses of soil organic carbon and δ13C values to soil warming were conducted by relocating intact soil cores from high- to lowelevation forests for one year along a natural altitudinal transect in the northern slope of Changbai Mountain. As expected, the soil-core relocation caused significant increase in soil temperature but made no significant effect on soil moisture. The results showed that after one year incubation, soil relocation significantly decreased TOC contents, and δ13C decreased. Pearson correlation analysis demonstrates that TOC content was negatively related to soil temperature but positively related to soil moisture. After one-year simulated...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 114-119 Shaoqing, Chen , Brian, Fath , Bin, Chen , Meirong, Su Dam construction results in variations of hydrology, river morphology and habitat and the biota associated with the reservoir change significantly compared to the assemblage before dam construction in order to match these changed environmental conditions. Some attempts so far have been made to ascertain the changed properties of aquatilia due to dam construction. Most of them, however, were focused on perturbances to single factors, such as rearing habitats, reproduction and migration routes, etc. Few have been done on the performance of aquatilia from the whole-ecosystem perspective. Herein, we evaluate the structural properties of aquatic animals and their complex ecological relationships...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 160-166 N., Duan , C., Lin , X.D., Liu , Y., Wang , X.J., Zhang , ... With Beilangzhong eco-village as an example, the effects of the biogas project on the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and its economic effects are analyzed. The results show that 1833.45t GHG (CO2 equivalent) was reduced, and an income of 1,117,000 Yuan (RMB), a net income of 958,500 Yuan (RMB), was gained by biogas sales, alternative energy, comprehensive utilization of anaerobic fermentation residues and the reduction of GHG emission, so the biogas project can greatly promote the establishment of low-carbon circular economy mode and sustainable development of ecological agriculture in Beilangzhong eco-village.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 167-172 Xianchun, Tan , Zekun, Mu , Sheng, Wang , Hongxing, Zhuang , Longxing, Cheng , ... Low carbon economy has become a worldwide trend, many countries are seeking low carbon means to achieve environmentallyfriendly economy growth. However, various Greenhouse gases species in different industries, as well as various detection technology development levels in different countries lead to different carbon emissions accounting results eventually. So the accurate micro-level accounting on carbon dioxide emission is difficult to achieve while in the mean time, it is the basis for subsequent scenario analysis, which plays a crucial role in carbon pricing and carbon credits market promotion. That's why the regional carbon dioxide emission accounting is a hot issue in low-carbon...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 145-152 Chi, Li , Jingwen, Wang , Xiaoyu, Du Based on the local residents’ understanding to the green space system in the city of Yueyang and the first-hand information on Yueyang's urban green landscape status, use face to face survey, group interviews and individual interviews, to conduct in-depth investigation and analysis of urban green space system and its problems, meanwhile, to propose appropriate measures for improvement, and to provide support for optimizing the Yueyang's green space system planning program.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 65-70 Weidong, Chen , Zilong, Cao , Bing, Chen 1st ring landscape of Foshan is a great project of roadside afforestation in China because of its largest green quantities and great benefits. In this paper, we summarized the advanced design concepts and innovative design ways and the actual effect, so as to provide a reference for the roadside landscape design and construction of highway roadside.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 131-138 Meirong, Su , Zhifeng, Yang , Bin, Chen The development of urban ecosystems is usually restricted by a few key limiting factors, including both the natural resource condition and the socioeconomic performance. To link the natural, economic and social subsystems together and uniformly measure the multiple ecological flows within and amongst these subsystems, emergy analysis was applied in this paper to describe the status quo of urban ecosystems in terms of energy and materials metabolism. Three typical cities, namely Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai all in the Pearl River Delta urban cluster in China, are chosen as the cases, regarding the urban cluster as an important developmental pattern and...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 105-113 Lei, Liu , Xiaoming, Ma This article estimated the carbon emissions embodied in China's foreign trade in 2007 with an input-output method. The results showed that China was a net exporter of at least 484.18MT carbon emissions in 2007, which accounted for 8.59% of total on a production basis. In total emissions, imported carbon accounted for 21.97% while exported carbon occupied 30.56%. In terms of sectors, Manufacture of Textile was the biggest net exporter, which was followed by Smelting and Pressing of Ferrous Metals, Manufacture of Metal Products, and so on. In terms of trading partners, Hong Kong was the biggest recipient of exported emissions...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 184-198 M.M., Jiang , B., Chen , S.Y., Zhou In this research, input-output (I-O) model was used to calculate the embodied (direct plus indirect) energy consumption of the Chinese 42 major sectors based on the estimation of the direct energy inputs to the Chinese economy in 2002. Several indicators, involving the embodied energy intensity, imported energy dependent index, and energy balance of trade, were provided to analyze the energy basement of the current Chinese industry. This study also explored the Chinese energy use structure for the added value and final use in 2002, and investigated the disparity in energy use between the rural consumption and the urban consumption. The...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 201-208 B.B. Jana The ecosystem management technologies are low cost, environment-friendly and effective, and are based on the interdependence and symbiotic relationships amongst some components of the ecosystem such as microalgae, probiotics, floating, rooted and marginal weeds, artificial islands, herbivorous fishes, mussels, benthic animals, etc. Due to relatively high toxic tolerance and rapid turnover of high organic loading, the so-called living machines develop self design and regulation in functional processes providing reclamation and ecosystem services. Other innovative methods are bottom raking with benthivorous animals, integrated wastewater management using solar-energy driven biological process like aquaculture and hydroponics. Right selection of species from nature's library, traditional knowledge, wise planning, innovative application and patience to natural functioning of ecosystems are the main attributes of the begin - of - the- pipe approach. It is unique for solving much of the environmental problems related with industrial development. It is now realized that the society may benefit more from the integration of ecological engineering and ecological sanitation. As a sustainable source of materials and energy, ecological sanitation can be profitably integrated with ecological engineering in terms of ecosystem services to the society. Human urine or feces obtained from source separated dry toilet can be profitably recycled into the production of vegetables in agriculture, or algal biomass or fish biomass in aquaculture and, hence, reap double benefits by protecting the environment from excreta-related pollution and by promoting the philosophy of recycling wastes into wealth. The present paper examines the state-of-the-art of the low-cost, nature-based reclamation strategies and economic use of reclaimed wastewater and the integration of ecological engineering and ecological sanitation.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 191-195 Manolia Vougioukalou, Triantafillos Akriotis, Anastastios Dimalexis The wetland of Chortarolimni is an island, seasonal wetland with brackish waters. Due to a drainage ditch installed in the 1970s the breeding wildfowl of the wetland (Mallard, Common Shellduck, Ruddy Shellduck, Black-winged stilt and Eurasian Coot) suffers from the early seasonal draught. After an ecological assessment of the site, which involved a site visit and analysis of previous reports on the wetland, restorative measures were identified and designed to conserve the breeding waterfowl by enhancing the availability of open water and pond habitats during the waterfowl breeding period. Successful monitoring of the restoration measures will enhance the wetland ecosystem services and the ecotourism potential of the area.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 104-112 Magalie Lesueur Jannoyer, Fabrice Le Bellec, Christian Lavigne, Raphaël Achard, Eric Malézieux Conventional agriculture is based on a high level of chemical inputs such as pesticides and fertilisers, leading to serious environmental impacts, health risks and loss of biodiversity. Pesticide reduction is a priority for intensive agricultural systems such as orchards. Reintroducing biodiversity in single crop systems can enhance biological regulations, and contribute to reduce the use of chemicals and to provide additional services such as run-off and erosion control. In tropical wet areas, weed control is difficult to manage without herbicides especially when orchards are not located in easily mechanised areas and when labour force is costly. Cover plants can be easily introduced in orchards and could be efficient in weed control and other functions. Based on this assumption, we developed a specific approach for the choice of adapted cover plants in single crop orchards to control weeds and provide additional ecological services. The approach was undertaken on citrus orchards in the French West Indies. A multicriteria evaluation grid was built to select an “optimal” cover crop. In both Martinique and Guadeloupe, 202 species were first selected in the local flora, and tested on vegetative characteristics. Specific criteria were secondly defined relating to seed availability (limitation of alien species introduction), farm constraints and regulations (no invasive species). Specific features were then determined according to the agronomic potential and ecological services for an optimal cover plant. Criteria included weed control, the ability to control runoff and erosion, water and nutrient competition, pests and natural enemies hosting capacity. The whole evaluation grid combines data from literature, expert assessment and experimental measurements. Optimum cover crop functional groups were defined according to agrosystem and associated objectives. In Guadeloupe, a participatory approach led first to the selection of Fabaceae (Neonotonia wightii) characterized by high auxiliaries hosting services. These services were assessed using a bio-indicator (family of phytoseiidae). In Martinique, the need for a high covering index associated with a low production led to the selection of grasses:Urochloa mozambicensisand threePaspalumspecies. The multicriteria grid can be used as a generic tool to select cover plants and can be easily adapted to apply to various cropping systems. Its use for banana cropping system is currently in progress. However, the concept of an optimal single cover plant remains difficult to achieve and the elaboration of a multi-specific cover system is often required to reach the desired efficiency.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 124-129 Dominique Masse, Edmond Hien, Théodore Kaboré, Ablassé Bilgo, Victor Hien, ... Demographic growth and climatic change in the sub-Sahelian region threaten the sustainability of environmental resources. Modifying farming practices could help to compensate for harmful changes in environmental conditions. A research program was carried out between 1980 and 1987 in Ziga, in the Yatenga region of Burkina Faso, to identify and evaluate changes in farming practices made to ensure the development of agriculture. In 2005, a survey was carried out in the same village to assess the changes made to farming practices. This revealed two practices -zaïanddjengo- that had not been previously observed or evaluated and which were widely applied in the cultivation systems.Zaïis a traditional technique for restoring degraded soil by capturing runoff using microcatchments and a localized supply of organic matter around the plants.Djengois based on the same principle aszaïbut it is applied on sandy soils whereaszaïis usually applied on degraded, crusty soils. These two practices could increase grain yields and limit the risk of crop failure. Observations also showed that there was frequent tree regeneration in plots and microcatchments wherezaïordjengopractices were used. This study highlighted an example of ecological engineering carried out by farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. The development of these practices indicates the importance of the spatial organization of the determining components that drive an ecological system. Further research should be carried out into this concept to help to improve soil fertility management and farming systems in savanna agrosystems.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 148-152 Sylvain Pioch, Philippe Saussola, Kirk Kilfoyleb, Richard Spieler It is critical to understand that an ecosystem integration of construction requires a close Engineering/Biology partnership to meet socio-economic benefits in management goals. Biologists are not typically trained or licensed for the requisite engineering involved in construction. Likewise, non-biologists designing habitat often can lead to egregious results. For example, unintentionally constructing the wrong habitat, i.e., refuge for predators in a nursery area, or habitat that facilitates the spread of non-desirable species can increase, rather than ameliorate, the impact of construction. In recent years, Pioch and co-workers (unpublished) developed an alternative to the “classic” engineering approach to marine construction. This new approach, of construction “integrated in ecosystem”, is now operational or in the planning stage for marinas, harbours, seawalls, dykes and pipelines. We will present the example of Mayotte project (France, West Indian Ocean) in 2008 established a 2,600 m underwater pipe line for around US $8.8 million (6.8 M€), linking “Grande Terre” to “Petite Terre” island, in a coral lagoon (marine protected area).

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 153-168 Sandra Poikane, Marcel van den Berg, Seppo Hellsten, Caridad de Hoyos, José Ortiz-Casas, ... The Water Framework Directive (WFD) has been published in 2000 and the process of its implementation has created a new paradigm in the understanding of ecological status of water bodies in Europe. The Directive explicitly requires that ecological status is assessed through the analysis of various characteristics of aquatic flora and fauna. An Intercalibration exercise is foreseen to identify and resolve significant inconsistencies between the ecological quality classifications of EU Member States to ensure that the obligation to reach good status has the same meaning throughout Europe. The results of the first Lake Intercalibration exercise (2003-2008) are the setting of reference conditions and class boundaries for phytoplankton biomass metrics for all lake intercalibration types and all geographical regions of the EU. Work on macrophyte assessment methods has been carried out in the Alpine, Central/Baltic and Northern region, while only Alpine and Mediterranean countries have succeeded to develop and harmonize phytoplankton composition assessment methods. The aim of the second phase of intercalibration (2008-2011) is to close these gaps and improve the comparability of the results in time for the second river basin management plans due in 2015.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 113-117 Maria Elvira López-Mosquera, Emilio Fernández-Lema, Rubén Villares, Rafael Corral, Begoña Alonso, ... The fishing sector produces large amounts of waste in fish markets and processing industries. These by-products are mainly used in the manufacture of fish meal. However, there are other potentially valuable uses. One low-investment possibility is the elaboration of agricultural products by composting the fish remains with other marine materials such as seaweed. The main purpose of this work was to obtain a fertilizer suitable for use in organic agriculture, by composting a mix of seaweed and fish waste.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 118-123 Damien Marage In temperate forest, managers have both used civil engineering, biological engineering and ecological principles to optimize one function: wood production, flood regulation or reduction of soil erosion. Other forest practitioners used biological interactions and biotic controls to manage uneven-aged stands, especially in mountain forests. These actions just required the knowledge and control of both coarse biological and physical processes at a local scale. The challenges inherent to solve multi-scale biodiversity changes are crucial today. In order to achieve these crucial issues and optimize several ecological functions and ecosystem services, spatial modelling approaches are developed at a landscape level using species traits associated with environmental databases

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 60-63 Frédéric Gosselin We review the idea that ecological engineering needs to better incorporate ecological theories and concepts. We highlight the fact that other reasonable positions on the link between ecology and management are found in the literature, including different ways to go from ecology to ecological engineering and ways to integrate ecological research within management. These different proposals vary among theoretical, methodological or natural history approaches.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 96-103 Boris Leroy, Loïs Morel, Marie-Christine Eybert, Frédéric Ysnel, Anita Georges This study aims to analyse how the mosaic of habitats and the management measures of a marshy area in western France can influence the conservation value of a territory, based on the use of bird and arthropod assemblage indices. A multivariate analysis revealed that (1) marsh habitat heterogeneity that structures bird communities and (2) different management measures to control water levels are the most relevant environment indicators explaining the distribution of the meadow bird species. The occurrence of carabid (ground beetle) species and the distribution curve of the species abundance within the habitats proved the importance of flooding duration and grazing intensity on their species richness. Both the proportion of rare species and the intensity of rarity in spider species assemblages were used to assess the conservation value of the different habitats of the marsh. This revealed the importance of reed beds. Consequently, the conservation of a high-quality hedge network and the use of pastoral management techniques favouring reed-beds, are suitable both for aquatic passerines and arthropod communities, are finally advised to increase community richness.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 11-15 Adil Baghli, Philippe Thiévent R&D activities at Egis Environnement (a civil engineering-based environmental consultancy) facilitated the development of OptiFlux, a spatial analysis tool designed to predict and visualize the effects of implementing a linear infrastructure upon wildlife habitats. It also tests the relevance of positioning fauna passages to ensure the restoration of habitat connectivity and therefore allows the optimization of the number and location of potential fauna passages. OptiFlux makes use of habitat quality maps which correlated with ecological requirements of each studied species. The concept is based on the evaluation of the spatial distribution of wildlife in their natural habitats. It also allows the evaluation of the impact of a project that modifies landscape structures and contributes to territory fragmentation. OptiFlux is a project optimization instrument which helps in the decisionmaking process. Major applications are:•Identification of routes with the least impact on wildlife population fluxes and their habitats,•Optimization of the number and location of fauna passages for the benefit of wildlife and reduction of the conflict points between infrastructures (road, highway, railway) and ecological networks,•Simulation of the positive effects of the proposed fauna passages or biotopes (amphibian ponds, for example) for a better choice of installations and for a better reconnection of the fragmented habitats.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 40-46 Jean-Jacques Drevon, Nora Alkama, Adelson Araujo, Steve Beebe, Matthew W. Blair, ... As a major contributor to the reduced nitrogen pool in the biosphere, symbiotic nitrogen fixation by legumes plays a critical role in a sustainable production system. However this legume contribution varies with the physico-chemical and biological conditions of the nodulated-root rhizosphere. In order to assess the abiotic and biotic constrains that might limit this symbiosis at the agroecosystem level, a nodular diagnosis is proposed with common bean as a model grain-legume, and a major source of plant proteins for world human nutrition. The engineering of the legume symbiosis is addressed by participatory assessment of bean recombinant inbred lines contrasting for their efficiency in use of phosphorous for symbiotic nitrogen fixation. With this methodology, in field-sites chosen with farmers of an area of cereal-cropping in the Mediterranean basin, a large spatial and temporal variation in the legume nodulation was found. Soil P availability was a major limiting factor of the rhizobial symbiosis. In order to relate the field measurements with progress in functional genomics of the symbiosis,in situRT-PCR on nodule sections has been implemented showing that the phytase gene is expressed in the cortex with significantly higher number of transcripts in P-efficient RILs. It is concluded that various tools and indicators are available for developing the ecological engineering of the rhizobial symbiosis, in particular for its beneficial contribution to the bio-geochemical cycle of N, and also P and C.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 47-53 Guillaume Forget, Ivan Bernez Safeguarding of riparian ecosystems is a field of major study in the comprehension and the maintenance of the health of rivers. The aim of our study is to analyze vegetation changes after passive restoration on two headwaters. Follow-ups of vegetation were carried out using 36 permanent plots of 15 mper brooks during five years. Our results suggest that after restoration, vegetation assemblages are comparable to those present on other headwaters considered in good ecological health. The effectiveness of the passive restoration method employed is discussed in terms of strong potential of resilience for comprehension of ecological functions and in term of sustainability for river managers.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 54-59 R. Gómez Jiménez-T, E. Moliterni, L. Rodríguez, F.J. Fernández, J. Villaseñor This work deals about the feasibility of using different enzymatic complexes to enhance bioremediation of hydrocarbon polluted soils. These complexes were generated by non defined mixed microbial consortia that were isolated from three different oil contaminated sites at an oil refinery, and enriched through weekly aerobic cultivations using diesel hydrocarbons as the sole carbon source. Extracellular proteins mixtures were produced during laboratory batch diesel biodegradation experiments using the three microbial consortia, and after separation from the biomass and remanent substrate, the proteins production and the enzymatic activity were measured in every cases. The trend of the enzymatic activity of these consortia was similar qualitatively, achieving the maximum at the exponential phase of the standard bacterial growth curve; but one of the consortia (C) reached the highest activity (275.316 U/mg). In a second step of this work, batch bioremediation experiments were done to evaluate the feasibility of such enzymatic complexes using the the one that provided the best results (C) to enhance the hydrocarbon removal from a polluted soil carried out by the microbial consortia.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 72-82 Philippe Huneman This papers surveys philosophical issues raised by ecological engineering – both theoretical and practical. First, it singles out the role of stability of ecosystems and communities involved in defining ecological engineering program, and wonders about the individuation of stable entities that this presupposes. It distinguishes then a strong and a weak concept of individuality, the former being defined by natural selection, the latter by probabilistic connections between sub-entities. It argues that if ecosystems don’t have strong individuality, they still possess a weak individuality, ecological theories providing the values of the variables in the formula for individuality. Second, practical issues are derived from the ambiguous status of ecological engineering as mixing values from nature and from human agency, and this space of values is related to the pluralism of individuality concepts in ecology.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 27-32 Emilio Carral, Marcela Bello, M. Elvira López-Mosquera A site-specific dairy-industry sludge application plan (GIS-based) has been development in Vilalba municipality, Galiza (NW Spain). Sites suitable for sludge application were identified using GIS based weighted linear combination (WLC) model. The degree of land suitability for dairy sludge was determined using a range of environmental, agronomic and socio-economic factors: water runoff and groundwater risk of pollution, heavy metals input to system, proximity to watercourses and potable water sources, presence of sensitive areas (protected and flooded land), land use, soil depth, plot suitability for mechanisation, distance from human settlements and main roads, and sludge spread cost were included in the model.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 130-139 Philippe Morand, Paul Robin, Aurélie Escande, Bernadette Picot, Anne-Marie Pourcher, ... A wastewater treatment system including a screen, a vermifilter, macrophytes ponds, and constructed wetlands has been built after a pig housing on slatted-floor. The aims were, all at once, to recycle water for excretion washing and to produce, from the nutrients contained in the effluent, organic matter and plants that can be either sold or reused on the farm to reduce inputs. Analyses, made on the effluent at different steps of the treatment plant, show that the concentrations of the nitrogen, microorganisms and endocrine disruptors are drastically reduced, while the phosphorus and potassium removal go through the byproducts harvesting.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 64-71 Hubert Höfer, Jochen Bihn, Clóvis Borges, Ricardo Miranda de Britez, Roland Brandl, ... The competence center InBioVeritas was founded in 2007 with the vision to integrate competences for ecological and socioeconomic research, sustainable land management and biodiversity conservation in the southern Mata Atlântica. Originating from a successful partnership in a recently terminated Brazilian-German research project (SOLOBIOMA), it is based on long experience and strong commitment of its members. It is concerned with a region of the Atlantic Forest where the largest forest remnants are found in protection areas of different status. However, cumulative effects of land use and climate change are likely to threat conservation and promote further loss of biodiversity in the future.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 183-190 Julien Tournebize, Bernard Vincent, Cédric Chaumont, Christelle Gramaglia, Christelle Margoum, ... Thanks to a R&D research program regarding artificial wetlands (TRUSTEA), we got the opportunity to improve the state of the art, assess the performance of artificial wetlands as ecological services and find economical, legal and social incentives for further nationwide extension. One artificial wetland was tested at pilot scales and an application on a real site is presented. Artificial wetland's test is based on tracer experiment in controlled conditions. Parameters of water and pesticide in and out flows have been measured and monitored. The application is based on the issue of groundwater preservation in a subsurface drained context. We also recorded the conditions of implementation since we were very close to real conditions. For this purpose, inquiries addressing the various actors were carried out by sociologists. The results of the performance regarding pesticide dissipation are shortly given. Sociologic approaches and amenities assessments have revealed unsuspected relations of the farmers with the society and the environment, andvice versa. The implementations have resulted of a co-construction where each actor had personal involvement. Even if co-construction should be a driving line, solutions for appropriate incentives and land reallocation tools should be fought with politics and authorities in order to facilitate further realizations.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 33-39 Clémentine Coiffait-Gombault, Elise Buisson, Thierry Dutoit Exogenous disturbances change plant communities and sometimes the spontaneous vegetation that colonizes heavily disturbed areas remains very different even in the very long-term. To speed up a steppe plant succession, two experiments were conducted with or without the restoration of traditional sheep grazing: (1) hay transfer and (2) sowing of indigenous structuring species. Hay transfer significantly increases plant species richness and changes floristic composition reintroducing characteristic steppe species but fails to reintroduce perennials structuring the reference plant community. The second protocol enables to reintroduce these perennial species with the objective to improve changes in the plant community composition and structure.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 140-147 Kouamé André N’Guessan, Koffi Félix Konan, Kotchi Yves Bony, Oi Edia Edia, Théophile Gnagne, ... Yamoussoukro, the political capital of Ivory Coast, is characterized by ten lakes built in the 1970s. These lakes cover an area of approximately 140 ha, with a catchment area close to 28.5 km2. Since the creation, they lost their aesthetic charm and they are today almost completely flooded by aquatic plants, with the exception of three lakes. This eutrophication is attributable to the watershed use, and to the activities developed on the watersides and in the neighbouring habitats (domestic waste, oil, sewage, sludge drain). Besides, they are affected by a modification of their water balance, due to hydrological and hydrodynamical modifications, increased sedimentation and physicochemical pollutions. We propose here several complementary strategies for restoring the integrity status of these man-made lakes, protecting water resources and natural environments, in order to improve public health, and contribute to the economic and social development of the neighbouring populations.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 9, 2011, Pages 178-182 Nicolas Theodorakopoulos, Benjamin Govetto, Benoit Industri, Lionel Massi, Marc Gaysinski, ... In nature, the organisation of microbial species into biofilms has a great influence on local environments and in human or plant diseases. This important trait of prokaryotes and eukaryotes is poorly understood while the knowledge of the related biological processes could constitute a novel base for controlling diseases. A study is developed on the oomycete Phytophthora parasitica belonging to a major class of eukaryotic plant pathogens to understand molecular and ecological basis of biofilm formation. The identification of signalling molecules and the definition of their spectrum of activity within the biofilm community will improve our understanding of fundamental biological processes, our ability to forecast pathogen behaviour and to elaborate new tools dedicated to plant diseases management with low environmental impact.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 2-7 Fabio, Sigrist , Hans R., Künsch , Werner A., Stahel A spatio-temporal model for precipitation is presented. It is assumed that precipitation follows a censored and power-transformed normal distribution. Through a regression term, precipitation is linked to covariates. Spatial and temporal dependencies are accounted for by a latent Gaussian variable that follows a Markovian temporal evolution combined with spatially correlated innovations. Such a specification allows for nonseparable covariances in space and time. Further, the Markovian structure yields computational efficiency and it exploits in a natural way the unidirectional flow of time. In addition, the model is space as well as time resolution consistent. The model is applied to three-hourly Swiss...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 8-13 Sarah E., Nevillea , M.P., Wand We devise a variational Bayes algorithm for fast approximate inference in Bayesian Generalized Extreme Value additive model analysis. Such models are useful for flexibly assessing the impact of continuous predictor variables on sample extremes. The new methodology allows large Bayesian models to be fitted and assessed without the significant computing costs of Monte Carlo methods.© 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Alfred Stein.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 44-49 V.F., Rodríguez-Galiano , F., Abarca-Hernández , B., Ghimire , M., Chica-Olmo , P.M., Atkinson , ... The spatial variability of remotely sensed image values provides important information about the arrangement of objects and their spatial relationships within the image. The characterisation of spatial variability in such images, for example, to measure of texture, is of great utility for the discrimination of land cover classes. To this end, the variogram, a function commonly applied in geostatistics, has been used widely to extract image texture for remotely sensed data classification.The aim of this study was to assess the increase in accuracy that can be achieved by incorporating univariate and multivariate textural measures of Landsat TM imagery in classification...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 99-104 O.P., Sekretenko , T.T., Efremova , A.F., Avrova , S.P., Efremov The ash stock in forest litter influences the fertility of forest soil and should be studied. Litter samples were taken at 70 locations within a 270x60 metre transect in 2004-2007 in the bog birch forest, western Siberia. A geostatistical model with external trend was applied to describe the spatial pattern of the ash mass (kg m-2) on the forest floor. Hydrological factors, used as explanatory variables in an external trend equation, account for the main portion of spatial variation (83% and 49% in the years of, respectively, low and high spring flooding). Covariance structure of the data, connected with patterns...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 105-110 Xi, Zhao , Alfred, Stein , Xiaoling, Chen , Lian, Feng Uncertainty modeling now engages the attention of researchers in spatial temporal change analysis in remote sensing. Some studies proposed to use random sets for modeling the spatial uncertainty of image objects with uncertain boundaries, but none have considered the parameter determination problem for large datasets. In this paper we refined the random set models for monitoring monthly changes in wetland vegetation areas from series of images. Twelve cloud-free HJ-1A/1B images from April 2009 to March 2010 were used for monitoring spatial-temporal changes of Poyang Lake wetlands. We applied random sets to represent spatial uncertainty of wetland vegetation that were extracted...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 117-122 V.F., Rodríguez-Galiano , E., Pardo-Igúzquiza , M., Chica-Olmo , J.P., Rigol-Sánchez Thermal infrared (TIR) satellite images are of great interest in many remote sensing applications. However, owing to well-known physical reasons and technical limitations, the TIR band has a spatial resolution that is coarser than the other multispectral bands for a given satellite sensor, i.e. visible and shortwave IR. Although the correlation coefficient between the TIR band and the other spectral bands is relatively small, the spatial cross-correlation shows a pattern of joint variability. In this fact, and in the spatial correlation of each spectral band, reside the fundamentals of image fusion by cokriging. A method is showed here for obtaining...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 63-68 Mohsen, Mohammadzadeh , Fatemeh, Hosseini Spatial generalized linear mixed models are usually used for modelling non-Gaussian and discrete spatial responses. In these models, spatial correlation of the data is usually modelled by spatial latent variables. Although, it is a standard assumption that the latent variables have normal distribution, in practice this assumption may not be valid. The first purpose of this paper is to use a closed skew normal distribution for the spatial latent variables which is more flexible distribution and also includes normal and skew normal distributions. The second is to develop Monte Carlo EM gradient algorithm for maximum likelihood estimation of the model...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 111-116 Gabrielle E., Kelly Bovine TB is a disease that affects cattle and the wildlife badger, species Meles meles, in Ireland and the UK, and badgers have been implicated in the spread of the disease in cattle. Efforts to eradicate the disease that have included localized badger culling, have not been successful. In a study to understand how the disease spreads, Kelly and More [1] determined that the disease spatially clusters in cattle herds and estimated the practical spatial ranges at which this occurs. We extend this work by examining possible anisotropy in clustering and the consequences for TB control policy.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 14-19 Konstantin, Krivoruchko , Alexander, Gribov , Eric, Krause Geographic information system (GIS) users often need to disaggregate and reaggregate data collected in polygons, but classical kriging models only allow for data collected in points. We discuss our implementation of areal interpolation, a kriging-based disaggregation technique, in the Geostatistical Analyst extension of ArcGIS 10.1 for Gaussian, binomial, and overdispersed Poisson data. All methods allow for surfaces of prediction standard errors. We also allow for the use of a secondary cokriging variable, which can be any of the three above-mentioned distributions. Our areal interpolation model overcomes several computational problems, such as how to handle polygons of vastly different sizes and...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 26-31 Ngai Sze, Wong , Shui Shan, Lee From 1 May 2009 when the first case of H1N1 in Hong Kong was reported through the end of September 2009, a total of 24,415 successfully geo-coded cases were studied. To investigate the spatial and temporal patterns of H1N1 spread, space-time K-function, implemented on the programme R, was applied. Four geographic regions were delineated in the exploration, but only in two of these, namely, Hong Kong Island and North, were statistically significant results obtained. On Hong Kong Island, clustering was detected from an intercase distance of 5km and intercase time of 12weeks onwards, which reflect continuous spread of H1N1 over...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 20-25 Darío, Rojas-Avellaneda , Javier, Martínez-Cervantesb Improved techniques for analyzing data and spatial interpolation of the concentration of pollutants in urban air, obtained from monitoring stations, it is important to study the problems of smog formation and to determine the urban areas where a high concentration of pollutants may affect the health of its inhabitants, nature conservation and preservation of property. The most common techniques used so far considered the methods based on the inverse of the distance between measured points and points to consider IDW, and the geostatistical methods ordinary kriging KO, and universal kriging KU, which account for stationary and nonstationary data respectively. To...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 50-57 Miroslav, Trnka , Andreas, Schaumberger , Herbert, Formayer , Josef, Eitzinger , Petr, Hlavinka , ... Over the past years, the changing climate has affected parts of Czech Republic and Austria by drought spells of the intensity and extend that was unprecedented in previous decades. These events had a significant impact on agricultural areas, especially on the grasslands. The idea behind the GIS monitoring relies on hypothesis that the effect of weather and climate conditions on the grassland production can be estimated by models that describe certain natural processes in a simplified manner and in spatialized form.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 58-62 A., Holzkämper , P., Calanca , J., Fuhrer Climate in its spatial and temporal variability is one of the major drivers determining agricultural productivity in a region. In order to develop long-term agricultural policies, planners need to understand the likely impacts of climate change on agricultural suitability zones. In this paper we present a flexible approach for the spatio-temporal evaluation and analysis of climate suitability for different crops. First results of a case study application, aiming at investigating how climate suitability for grain maize production in Switzerland varies in time and space and may shift with climate change, are discussed.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 69-74 Dongwei, Gui , Yuwei, Wu , Fanjiang, Zeng , FaxiangYang , Jiaqiang, Lei , ... Oasification is an important geography process in arid areas, although little research attention has been paid to the process compared to desertification. In fact, studying oasification not only directly reveals its effects on the environment, but can also uncover causes of desertification through examination of oasification causes and processes. In this study, oases located on the south rim of Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, China, were selected as a regional study area. For assessing changes in oases area over the past 30years, four images taken in September in 1977, 1992, 2000 and 2010 were used. To further investigate the effects of...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 123-129 André, Stumpf , Norman, Kerle The increasing availability of very high resolution (VHR) remote sensing images has been leading to new opportunities for the cartography of landslides in risk management and disaster response. Object-oriented image analysis has become one of the key-concepts to better exploit additional spatial, spectral and contextual information. The multitude of additional object attributes calls for the use of advanced data mining and machine learning tools to identify the most suitable features and handle the non-linear classification task. In this study we used the Random Forest algorithm for the selection of useful features and object classification in the context of landslide mapping....

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 38-43 Bruno G., Ruettimann Is the economy really globalizing? Economic globalization is not only characterized by increased trade flows but also by increased interweavement of trade flows. To analyze the evolution of globalization in different macro-geographic regions a new inequality measure based on a paradigmatic interpretation of Boltzmann's entropy will be applied.Boltzmann's disorder of a thermodynamic system can be re-interpreted figuratively as risk of an economic system by creating an economy-genotypic risk inequality measure covering the spatial nature of globalization; the greater the disorder (i.e. equality) within the system, the lower the risk within the economic system. By substituting the pole of statistics variance...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 32-37 Coco M., Rulinda , Wietske, Bijker , Alfred, Stein In this study we propose a validation method for the Meteosat SEVIRI derived NDVI values in regards to vegetation health from ground observations. The percentage of vegetation cover and the chlorophyll content are selected as vegetation health variables and their variability within and between SEVIRI pixels are assessed. No significant variability was found within pixels but between pixels for each of the variables. These variables are compared first separately with NDVI values, and later combined, with the NDVI values composited at different time steps. Results show that the combination of variables shows a similar trend than the mean NDVI or...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 87-92 Mariusz, Szymanowski , Maciej, Kryza Geographically weighted regression (GWR) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) models have been applied to derive the spatial structure of urban heat island (UHI) in Wrocław, SW Poland and compared. It was found that GWR is better suited for spatial modeling of UHI than MLR, as it takes into account non-stationarity of the spatial process. Both local and global models were extended by the interpolation of regression residuals, and used for spatial interpolation of the UHI structure. The combined: GWR + interpolated regression residuals (GWRK) approach is recommended for spatial modeling of UHI© 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 136-140 Damian, Absalon , Barbara, Ślesak The study attempt to define an anthropogenic pressure index (IA) on the basis of the data, available for Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union districts. The volume of generated waste, population density and road network density, were taken into account to determine this parameter. Each of these factors was given the same level of importance in assessing the degree of its contribution to deterioration of the natural environment. The data were related to the mean of each factor for all districts. This index uses values of IA

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 3, 2011, Pages 75-80 Rongfu, Tang , Michael, Cramer , Dieter, Fritsch The basic mathematical principle for bundle adjustment (BA) in photogrammetry is the Gauss-Markov Theorem within the framework of classical statistical inference. In the present article we try to show how Bayesian statistics can be applied in this field, leading to a so-called Bayesian bundle adjustment. The rigorous implementation of the Bayesian approach is derived and a comparison with the traditional BA both in theory and practice is accomplished. The empirical test results show that the Bayesian approach achieves almost the same accuracy as the conventional one, but with advantages as well as some difficulties to be discussed at the end...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 4, 2011, Pages 1-9 Ma, Chun , Ju, Mei-ting , Zhang, Xiao-chun , Li, Hong-yuan Analyses of energy consumption and carbon emissions in Tianjin are ways to understand the dynamics of developing cities in China. Using carbon emission calculation methodology recommended by IPCC, the amount of energy consumption and carbon emissions in Tianjin were calculated from 1995 to 2007. The results showed that the energy consumption structure in Tianjin relied on coal. Annual carbon emission was 26.37 million tons with growth of 4.48% per year; Sc (carbon emission per GDP) reduced year by year, and Se (carbon emission per energy consumption) decreased overall. We also proposed countermeasures to reduce carbon emissions from energy consumption.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 4, 2011, Pages 95-102 Juliana, Steffens , Roberto, Guardani , Eduardo, Landulfo , Paulo F., Moreira Jr. , Renata F., da Costa Results of a campaign on the use of Lidar in an industrial area in the city of Cubatão, Brazil, are presented. Scattered light signal at different heights was correlated with air quality data monitored at ground level using multivariate techniques, aimed at identifying in a quantitative basis the similarities in the behavior of groups of variables. By using neural networks as a non-linear association method, a clear correlation was obtained between the Lidar scattered light signal and hourly-averaged ground-level ozone concentration.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 178-183 Gengyuan, Liu , Zhifeng, Yang , Bin, Chen An urban metabolic optimization model of energy resources consumption and airborne pollution emissions is built up in this paper, and taken as a yardstick for the efficiency of the four different scenarios measures for urban development. Sensitivity Analysis is proposed to the emergy approach in order to explain the procedure and the obtained results for the selected case study of Beijing metabolic system in the year 2006. The solution to the urban optimization problem can be obtained using the optimal control theory as an analytical tool. In this case, the theory of optimal control gives a normative answer to the...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 208-218 Qun’ou, Jiang , Xiangzheng, Deng , Jinyan, Zhan , Haiming, Yan With the economic development and population growth, humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively to meet the rapidly growing demand for food, fresh water, timber, fiber and fuel. This has led to a substantial and largely irreversible loss of the biodiversity on earth. The ecosystem risk is created as a new concept to understand the environmental problems. Therefore, it is important to develop quantitative methods for regional ecosystem risk analysis. Yellow River Delta is the widest, most intact and youngest delta both in China and in the world; its ecosystem environment is much more vulnerable due to its special...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 51-59 B., Zhang , G.Q., Chen , Q., Yang , Z.M., Chen , B., Chen , ... Emergy analysis provides a feasible approach to evaluate the status and position of different energy carriers in the universal energy hierarchy. In this paper, an emergy-based method is conducted to measure the resources input of Chinese industry from 1997 to 2006. Resources inflows including fossil fuels, mineral resources, agricultural products, and other imported materials are accounted, based on which related indicators including resources intensity, industrial output, and environmental emissions are investigated. Results show a steady upward trend for the total resources input of Chinese industry during the past decade. The total resources input amounted to 1.53×1025 sej in 2006, of...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 25-28 Q., Yang , G.Q., Chen , Y.H., Zhao , B., Chen , Z., Li , ... Wind power is considered as one of the most promising renewable energy sources in China. Presented in this study is a life cycle analysis of energy performance and greenhouse gas emission for a typical wind farm in Guangxi, with different stages of manufacturing, transportation, and installation of mechanical components, operation and maintenance, and disassemble and disposal taken into account. Results show that the nonrenewable energy cost and greenhouse gas emission to generate 1 MJ of electricity for the grid are 0.046 MJ and 0.002 kg CO2 equivalent, respectively. In consideration of the dominant power generation technology of coal combustion in...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 71-76 N., Duan , C., Lin , R.Y., Gao , Y., Wang , J.H., Wang , ... In this study, the effect of different fertilizers on the nutritional quality, sanitary quality and the yield of greenhouse cucumbers were analyzed by comparative experiments with chemical fertilizer and anaerobic fermentation residues (biogas fertilizer). Particularly the properties of bio-fertilizer and diseases and pests inhibition of biogas fertilizer were demonstrated and its comprehensive benefits were evaluated. The results show that compared with chemical fertilizer, biogas fertilizer increased the dry matter, solids, reductive sugar, Vc, soluble protein of cucumbers by 4.62%, 4.08%, 29.05%, 20.83%, 10.85% respectively; the chlorophyll of leaf was 9.18% higher and the incidence of aphids and mildew 20% and...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 5, 2011, Pages 96-104 Jinqiu, Xu This paper for the first time examines the EKC(environmental Kuznets curve) relationship for CO2 emission for China over the period of 1990-2009, employing of time series data and a multivariate model of carbon emission among GDP, investment for real estate, fixed capital, urban household and money (M1). The empirical result reveals that there is Granger causality running from investment for real estate, GDP and fixed capital to carbon emission in the long run. The result of this study also suggests that there is unidirectional Granger causality from M1 to real estate industry. Therefore, China's government should adapt economic development model...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 4, 2011, Pages 10-16 Elena, Paoletti , Tommaso, Bardelli , Gianluca, Giovannini , Leonella, Pecchioli The Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) model, a computer model designed to use tree allometric, air pollution and meteorological data to statistically estimate urban forest characteristics and various urban forest functions, was applied to the main park in the city of Florence, Italy (Cascine Park), in 1985 and 2004, in order to study how the natural and man-made evolution of the park affected its ability to control air quality. Plant data were for both the years, while climate and pollutant data were for year 2004 only, in order to remove the variability due to changes in the atmospheric variables. The results...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 4, 2011, Pages 35-42 Sharif E., Guseynov , Janis, Rimshans , Eugene A., Kopytov Atmospheric pollution in cities increasingly pay attention. The most important air pollutants in cities are exhaust gases. The pollution concentration may exceed air quality standards and therefore it is important to find tools of control them, particularly by using a mathematical modelling. Atmospheric dispersion system dynamics and kinetics models are multivariate and nonlinear, and cannot be solved by analytical methods. That brings up a question about finding approximate solutions for that type of models. In this study the simplified mathematical model for determination of the urban air pollution concentration dynamics is considered, taking into account the important condition that the...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 4, 2011, Pages 25-34 Styliani, Karra , Liora, Malki-Epshtein , Marina, Neophytou Traffic emissions are measured at several locations along and across a non-homogeneous symmetrical street canyon in Nicosia, with a single off-centre traffic lane. Under several background wind conditions, CO concentrations were higher on the pavement near the traffic lane at various locations and heights within the street, as opposed to predicted flow regimes for street canyons in these winds. The levels of pollution experienced at ground level, depending greatly on street geometry and local wind conditions, are affected by the location of the traffic lanes, and thus might exceed safe pollution levels for long periods in time.

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 4, 2011, Pages 43-50 Hrvoje, Kozmar The classical Counihan vortex generators for wind-tunnel simulations of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) flow were redesigned to experimentally simulate natural wind characteristics in urban environments. Three redesigned (truncated) vortex generators, a castellated barrier wall and a fetch of roughness elements were employed to reproduce a lower portion of the neutrally stratified ABL developing above an urban type terrain. A hot-wire anemometry system was used to measure mean velocity and velocity fluctuations. Investigated parameters were mean velocity, turbulence intensity, integral length scale of turbulence, and power spectral density of velocity fluctuations. Experimental results indicate that the truncated vortex generators developed...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 4, 2011, Pages 260-265 Nicholas, Kathijotes Weather changes and population increase on coastal zones clearly dictate higher demand for water which; in arid and semi arid regions is considered as a limited resource, with almost all groundwater resources under heavy pressure. Future demands will not be met by traditional water resources like surface and ground water. In order to handle increased water demand, the treated wastewater originating from municipal wastewater treatment plants has to be developed and offered to farmers for agricultural irrigation. Most of marine pollution arises from land-based activities such as urban development and sewage disposal, manufacturing, transport, energy production, and especially from tourism...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 4, 2011, Pages 51-60 J.R., Tavares , M.S., Sthel , L.S., Campos , M.V., Rocha , G.R., Lima , ... The increasing number of automotive vehicles around the world is responsible for the emission of great amounts of pollutant gases, which can cause serious problems to environment and to human health. Among the fuels used in light vehicles, two of them deserve special mention: gasoline, hegemonic fuel in the world scenario and ethanol, whose consumption is rapidly increasing, once it is a renewable fuel that mitigates emissions of carbon dioxide. The Brazilian ethanol program is now supported by 2 basic factors: the mandatory use of ethanol blend in gasoline, and the expanding market for flex-fuel cars. The gasoline sold in...

Description: Publication year: 2011 Source: Procedia Environmental Sciences, Volume 4, 2011, Pages 71-75 A., Tiwary , A.K., Namdeo , A.J., Dore , M.C., Bell This study presents outcomes from a preliminary dispersion modeling exercise for the extent of aerosol loading owing to enhanced biomass combustion in the future energy mix. Secondary aerosol generation potential from photochemical interactions between the precursor emissions from a typical biomass based combined heat and power (CHP) plant and the associated local emissions from harvest and transportation of the biofuels has been estimated for a peri-urban site in the UK. The study provides results for two options – one, direct firing of the energy crop (miscanthus) i.e. base case; two, biomass gasification prior to combustion i.e. mitigation. We demonstrate that...