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Comparison of CO2-emissions of households heated by natural gas and firewood
64-72Views:108In terms of climate protection, one of the most important questions is the reduction of the GHG emission. In this study, I compared CO2 -emission of households heated by natural gas and firewood, which had similar heated area and volume of air, considering the carbon-dioxide absorbing of forests of the households heated by firewood. Natural gas is a fossil fuel; however, the firewood (solid biomass) is a renewable energy resource. One of the main features of renewable energy sources is to get into the atmosphere less CO2 than fossil fuels. The renewable energy resources emit into the air just as much CO2 as they absorb during their life cycle.
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The Mass Ratio of the Epiphytic Periphyton of the Nyéki-Holt-Duna
232-241Views:203The knowledge of the periphytic structure is important for the fact that the composition of epiphytic periphyton indicates the ecologically different habitats, the biological state of water-quality and its changes. Plants like reed, great bulrush, saligot, pondweed, and water-rose separately were collected from the different sampling sites for the epiphytic periphyton examination. We performed the comparability of the monitoring systems based on the periphyton category (mass), the group (ash%), the type (chl-a%), and the character (AI), and we used the biological indicators to determine the ecological state. Taking into consideration the examined years and the results of the analysis of the mass and the chemical composition of the periphyton, by means of the NTPI, the overweight of the good ecological state is characteristic of the Nyéki-Holt-Danube.
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Flood model for the Bódva catchment
12-26Views:184In term of floods the current area of Hungary has extensively been endangered. Modelling of flood processes – mainly following the hydrological events in the riverbed – has recently been developed. As far as protection dykes provide protection of the inhabited and agricultural areas, the flood models can run with acceptable preciseness. However, when dykes cannot withstand against the increasing load and a dyke burst occurs, fast and efficient protection measures shall be taken in the protected areas. The dynamic 4D Flood model presented in this paper makes possible a fast modelling of dyke burst occurring in the protected side and spreading of water mass, based on real parameters. For this reason the features of protected area shall be recognised, for example topology of creeks, features of agricultural and inhabited areas, parameters of roads, railways, rainwater drainage, buildings, natural conditions (soil parameters, meteorological characteristics, etc.). The results satisfy the comprehensive demands of the Directorate General for Disaster Prevention of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County. In case of dyke burst, the completed Flood Model can run the expected events of the next hour in a few minutes. This time is enough for the specialists to bring operative decisions to protect the inhabitants and avoid material losses.
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Periphery Dichotomy and its Investigation by GIS Methods
131-136Views:186Centre-periphery dichotomy can be regarded as one of the crucial issues in human geography and regional science. The definition of periphery is far from unambiguous due to its relative expression and its content. This is the reason why can significant number of studies be found focusing on the delimitation of central and peripheral areas. The revolution of computer technology and the rapid development of GIS cause the more and more extended usage of these techniques in the human geography as well. These related studies were categorised by their approaches – namely the locational or developmental centreperiphery concepts – and their GIS tools. Application of spatial parameters with extended datasets and complex GIS based calculations mean the most precise and complicated use of GIS and computer tools in the delimitation of peripheral (and central) areas.
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Types and characteristics of the oxbow-lakes in Lower-Tisza-valley - classification from landscape planning perspective
19-25Views:67The study area is located in Hungary on the South of the Great Plane called Alföld in Hungarian. There are ten oxbow lakes are located in the region of the Lower Tisza Valley. The quality of the area’s oxbow lakes are rather different. There are protected, highly valuable sites in terms of landscape and nature conservation, yet degraded areas utilized for economic purposes can also be found. In the course of river-control in the Lower Tisza Valley was affected by the 84-90th cutoffs, therefore oxbows have been formed in the area. Four of these oxbows are on the part that is not effected by floods, and six of them are located in the active floodplain.The attributes or usage of oxbow lakes allow for a complex system of categorisation. The assessment and classification of oxbow lakes can establish the grounds for assessment, as well as for planning the interventions of landscape restoration.
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Spatial distribution of selected soil features in Hajdú-Bihar county represented by digital soil maps
203-213Views:257With the ongoing DOSoReMI.hu project we aimed to significantly extend the potential, how soil information requirements could be satisfied in Hungary. We started to compile digital soil maps, which fulfil optimally general as well as specific national and international demands from the aspect of thematic, spatial and temporal accuracy. In addition to relevant and available auxiliary, spatial data themes related to soil forming factors and/or to indicative environmental elements we heavily lean on the various national soil databases. The set of the applied digital soil mapping techniques is gradually broadened. In our paper we present some results in the form of brand new soil maps focusing on the territory of Hajdú-Bihar county.
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The developement of red mud flood environmental information system and the methodology for the spatial analysis of the degraded area
1-11Views:218The red mud disaster occurred on 4th October 2010 in Hungary has raised the necessity of rapid intervention and drew attention to the long-term monitoring of such threat. Both the condition assessment and the change monitoring indispensably required the prompt and detailed spatial survey of the impact area. It was conducted by several research groups - independently - with different recent surveying methods. The high spatial resolution multispectral aerial photogrammetry is the spatially detailed (high resolution) and accurate type of remote sensing. The hyperspectral remote sensing provides more information about material quality of pollutants, with less spatial details and lower spatial accuracy, while LIDAR ensures the three-dimensional shape and terrain models. The article focuses on the high spatial resolution, multispectral electrooptical method and the evaluation methodology of the deriving high spatial resolution ortho image map, presenting the derived environmental information database.
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Comparison of soil moisture indices and field measurements in hilly agricultural lands of SW Hungary
50-57Views:301The retention of surface runoff and the preservation of soil moisture are among the most important water-related ecosystem services. In addition to field monitoring, advanced remote sensing techniques have been devised to reveal soil moisture dynamics on agricultural land. In our study we compare two soil moisture indices, TWI and SAVI, in three agricultural areas with different land use types. The SAVI has been found suitable to point out spatial variation on the moisture conditions of the vadose zone.
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Land use changes and their effect on floodplain aggradation along the Middle-Tisza River, Hungary
1-10Views:77Land-use changes and their effect on overbank sediment accumulation were investigated on the floodplain of Middle-Tisza River. Military survey maps (1783, 1860, 1883 and 1890) and aerial photos (1950, 1965, 1980 and 2000) were used to evaluate land-use changes and to calculate the vegetational roughness of the area. To determinate the rate of overbank sedimentation sediment samples were collected from a pit, the grain-size, content of organic matter, heavy metal content (Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni and Cd) and pH were measured. Until 1950 meadows and pastures were typical on the floodplain, gallery-forest was along the river, the oxbow-lake and the artificial levee. Notable landuse changes were detected in the second half of the 20th century, as the aerial photo taken in 1965 shows extensive forestry in the area. These land-use changes affected the average vegetational roughness, as it has been doubled since the disappearance of grasslands. Land-use changes highly affect the aggradation, as the increased roughness decreases the flood velocity on the floodplain, causing accelerated aggradation. Using Pb marker horizons and grain-size changes the studied sediment profile was compared to dated profiles (Braun et al. 2003), thus, the sediment accumulation rate could be determined for the periods of 1858-1965 and 1965-2005. According to our measurements the accumulation rate was doubled since 1965, very likely in connection with the doubled vegetational roughness.
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Comparative analysis of Landsat TM, ETM+, OLI and EO-1 ALI satellite images at the Tisza-tó area, Hungary
53-62Views:339Satellite images are important information sources of land cover analysis or land cover change monitoring. We used the sensors of four different spacecraft: TM, ETM+, OLI and ALI. We classified the study area using the Maximum Likelihood algorithm and used segmentation techniques for training area selection. We validated the results of all sensors to reveal which one produced the most accurate data. According to our study Landsat 8’s OLI performed the best (96.9%) followed by TM on Landsat 5 (96.2%) and ALI on EO-1 (94.8%) while Landsat 7’s ETM+ had the worst accuracy (86.3%).
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Landscape shape index, as a potencial indicator of urban development in Hungary
78-88Views:411The study of settlement shape, morphology and structure is a classic topic of urban geography. Since the 1960s multiple shape indices have been developed. Urban patterns were then compared with geometric forms or, alternatively their temporal changes were tracked and analysed. In the current study we adapted the landscape shape index (LSI) to analyse the historical shape development of eight Hungarian cities. The LSI is capable to demonstrate the functional and mutual relationship between the developed area and their immediate physical and natural environment. Over the past 230 years the land area of the studied cities has increased manifold for several reasons: on average, an areal increase of 10.4 to 24.5 was observed for the eight settlements, while their perimeter increased by 8.8 to 30.3 times. Simultaneously with their size growth, the studied cities are characterized by an increasingly fragmented and dissected ground plans. Consequently, due to the longer border between the developed areas and the adjacent natural zones, urban areas have become increasingly sensitive to environmental effects over the past century, while mutual ecological and environmental interactions has also considerably increased between the adjoining zones. In general, cities of hilly and low-mountain areas had the highest LSIs, whereas cities located on relatively flat grounds had comparatively low LSIs. We also investigated the rank correlation of the historical change of LSI of the studied settlements. Cities of high positive correlations (> 0.9) were classified into two major categories. Miskolc, Pécs, Szeged and Kecskemét belonged to the group of higher LSIs, whereas Székesfehérvár and Nyíregyháza fell into the class of medium LSIs and the third category included Debrecen and Győr, cities of low (< 0.9) LSIs. Based on the temporal trends of the LSIs, our results provide applicable information for decision makers in order to monitor, manage and track their investments, city management policies and infrastructural development strategies.
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Heavy metal content of flood sediments and plants near the River Tisza
120-131Views:77The River Tisza is Hungary’s especially important river. It is significant not only because of the source of energy and the value insured by water (hydraulical power, shipping route, stock of fish, aquatic environment etc.) but the active floodplain between levees as well. Ploughlands, orchards, pastures, forests and oxbow lakes can be found here. They play a significant role in the life of the people living near the river and depend considerably on the quality of the sediments settled by the river. Several sources of pollution can be found in the catchment area of the River Tisza and some of them significantly contribute to the pollution of the river and its active floodplain. In this paper we study the concentration of zinc, copper, nickel and cobalt in sediments settled in the active floodplain and the ratio of these metals taken up by plants. Furthermore, our aim was to study the vertical distribution of these elements by the examination of soil profiles. The metal content of the studied area does not exceed the critical contamination level, except in the case of nickel, and the ratio of metals taken up by plants does not endanger the living organisms. The vertical distribution of metals in the soil is heterogeneous, depending on the ratio of pollution coming from abroad and the quality of flood.
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Evaluation of the possibilities for stream restoration: preassessment of the Váli-stream (Hungary)
26-44Views:240The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential of restoration of a stream section. The starting point of the multiple-step assessment process was a historical analysis, which resulted in the definition of different sections within the study area, providing a base for the further restoration goals. The assessment of the current conditions was elaborated particularly to determine those factors, which could limit restoration. These assessments cover the land use pattern, furthermore the analysis of vegetation and habitat patches. As a result of the historical analysis, it has been found that the stream side habitat patches have decreased significantly despite the constant space available. This change was not caused by the increased area of the settlement, but rather by the higher dominancy of arable forms of land use. The greatest share of wet and mesic meadows and agricultural habitats in the study areas, covering 57.5% of the total area, indicates significant anthropogenic effects. Consequently it can be stated that the reference conditions are not the only determining factors of the restoration possibilities. Restoration style and intensity have been defined on basis of all assessed factors.
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Sentinel-2 satellite-based analysis of bark beetle damage in Sopron Mountains, Hungary
33-40Views:61Sopron mountains were affected by bark beetle (Ips typographus) damage between 2017 and 2020, which was surveyed on high-resolution ESA Sentinel-2 satellite images for the period 2017 and 2020 using Mosaic Hub, Anaconda, and Jupyter Notebook web-based computing environments. Biotic forest damage was detected based on vegetation (NDVI) and moisture (MSI, NDWI) indices derived from satellite images. The spatial and temporal change of damage was observed in the image series, resulting in information about the level of degradation and regeneration. In pursuance of GIS processing, 84 forest compartments were compared, which showed in most of the cases (97%) negative interannual change in the index mean values (MSI = - 0.14, NDWI = - 0.2, NDVI= - 0.19) when years compared to each other. The remote sensing-based survey was marked out and validated based on the forest database of the Hungarian Division of Forest of National Land Centre and forest protection damage reports of the Hungarian National Forest Damage Registration System.
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History of the meteorological observatoions in Debrecen
1-5Views:78Debrecen was among the first cities in Hungary where meteorological observatories were established, although the weather station of our University was put into operation 80 years ago, Meteorological observations have a much longer history in the city. In the present paper history of the meteorological observations and stations worked in the city has been reviewed with special emphasis on the meteorological observatory of the University of Debrecen.
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Household heating in the light of climate change
53-65Views:40Greenhouse gas emissions resulting from anthropogenic activities play a significant role in climate change. The residential heating should be mentioned one of the main polluting source of greenhouse gases.This paper aims to give a comprehensive view about the amount of CO2 emission as well as objectives and strategies for reduction the GHG emission. In addition, we illustrate the example of an average Hungarian family house (100 m2 ), that biomass-based energy production what extent can reduce the current very high degree carbon dioxide emissions. We prepared investment analysis, as to what kind of ecological and economic benefits may result in heating modernization projects of a four-member family home. Additionally, a calculation method of CO2 emission from heating is demonstrated on the basis of IPPC report (2006); the role of biomass is explained in heating; furthermore I give an overview analysis about the significance of forests for reduction of CO2 concentration.
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Public perceptions and aesthetic preferences of lakeshore landscape: the example of Lake Velence (Hungary)
31-42Views:473Earlier, intervention programs and tourism development projects in the lakeside area of Lake Velence have led to the diversification of lakeshore landscape and shoreline. In the current study, we investigated the public aesthetic preferences of varying lakeshore landscapes, driving factors (which cause preference deviation and visual discomfort), and judgments of perceived beauty of 14 lakeshore scenes. The study also examined the differences in preferences of lakeshore landscapes between experts and waterfront residents. The results indicated that landscape characteristic and maintenance state have a significant impact on the receptor’s preference. In the investigation of lakeside landscape preference with different natural degrees, both the near-natural lakeshore and the natural lakeshore are lacking attention and attraction. Though natural (“wild”) lakeshore beneficial to the birds and other wildlife, overgrown riparian / aquatic plants and rigid shoreline caused visual fatigue and boredom feel. These findings provide a reference for the forthcoming lakeside intervention projects and land-use decisions.
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Characterization of urban aerosol sources in Debrecen, Hungary
109-119Views:61Debrecen is an average middle European city from the point of view of aerosol pollution. Its location makes the city an ideal place for observing aerosol transport processes. Systematic investigation of atmospheric aerosol of the east-Hungarian region has been performed in the Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences for 20 years by accelerator based elemental analytical technique. As a complementation of this research we observed the size distribution and short-term time variation of the elemental component of fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM10-PM2.5) urban aerosol in the frame of sampling campaigns during 2007 and 2008 in a downtown site of Debrecen. Meteorological parameters were also recorded parallel to the aerosol sampling. Elemental concentrations (Z ≥ 12) were determined by particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analytical technique at the Laboratory of Ion Beam Applications (IBA) of the ATOMKI. On the obtained database six sources of the urban aerosol were identified: 2 types of soil, domestic heating, sulphate originating from long range transport processes, an unidentified source enriched with chlorine and traffic. Emission episodes were also observed. The short-time variation of urban aerosol combined with meteorological data and with mass size distribution serves as a basis to reach a better understanding of the aerosol sources in receptor areas, to select local emission and long range transport episodes, to follow the evolution of aerosol, and to make a better estimate on the health impact.
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Accuracy assessment of different soil databases concerning WRB reference soil groups
1-12Views:232As a result of international cooperation, the conditions of data access and data usage have been significantly improved during the last two decades. Also, the establishment of web-based geoinformatic infrastructure allowed researchers to share their results with the scientific community more efficiently on the international level. The aim of this study is to investigate the accuracy of databases with different spatial resolutions, using the reference profiles of LUCAS topsoil database. In our study, we investigated the accuracy of World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) Reference Soil Groups (RSG) groups stored in freely accessible soil databases (European Soil Database (ESDB), International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC)) in Hungary. The study concluded that the continental scale database tends to be more accurate. We used the Kappa Index of Agreement (KIA) statistical index to evaluate accuracy. The European and the international databases showed a value of 0.9643 and 0.3968, respectively. Considering the results, we can conclude that the spatial resolution has a relevant impact on the accuracy of databases, however, the study should be extended to the national level and the indices should be assessed together.
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Environment protection and its reflection in the environmental consciousness of the inhabitants in a middle-sized town (Vác, Hungary)
83-94Views:88Abstract The paper presents the role of urban environmental protection in sustainable development while analysing the factors influencing the environmental consciousness of the inhabitants of a middle-sized town based on a general model, together with the role of environmental consciousness in solving environmental protection problems at settlement level. My particular research focused on characterising the environmental state of Vác, with a population of 35000 people, and on the knowledge and environmental consciousness of the inhabitants. In the course of the representative questionnaire survey, 439 people gave assessable answers. Questions were related to the most significant environmental problems (air pollution, water contamination, sewage treatment, waste management). Answers were compared to the real situation based on measurements. Results revealed that the knowledge of the inhabitants on local environmental problems is better than the national average. In certain relations (water contamination, sewage treatment), however, it is deficient, thus information transfer was studied separately as well. It can be stated that local governments should make greater efforts in order to inform inhabitants. Environmental attitude of the inhabitants can be regarded as good. Based on the general model, I analysed the tasks of the settlement to improve environmental consciousness in order to increase efficiency of urban environmental protection.
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Water chemical analysis of the oxbow lakes near the Upper-Tisza River
36-42Views:93The Tisza river plays an important role in the life of Eastern Hungary. Beside the river there are several oxbow lakes, cut off meanders. In this paper the water quality of these lakes was examined from the section of Tarpa to Rakamaz. 45 oxbow lakes were sampled and the chemical parameters were determined. Sodium was used as a pollutant (sewage water) indicator and 2 lakes were found extremely polluted. The lakes outside the dam were slightly polluted because of the lack of renewal of the water body and the ones in the active floodplain had good quality parameters.
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Environmental objective analysis, ranking and clustering of Hungarian cities
91-108Views:58The aim of the study was to rank and classify Hungarian cities and counties according to their environmental quality and level of environmental awareness. Ranking of the Hungarian cities and counties are represented on their „Green Cities Index” and „Green Counties Index” values. According to the methodology shown in Part 1, cities and counties were grouped on different classification techniques and efficacy of the classification was analysed. However, they did not give acceptable results either for the cities, or for the counties. According to the parameters of the here mentioned three algorithms, reasonable structures were not found in any clustering. Clusters received applying algorithm fanny, though having weak structure, indicate large and definite regions in Hungary, which can be circumscribed by clear geographical objects.