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Climate as a risk factor for tourism
113-125Views:135Weather and climate risk factors for tourism are surveyed and illustrated with regard to the expected climate changes in Hungary. These changes are not at all advantageous and which affect the business in question both directly and indirectly. These are the summer resort tourism (characterised by bioclimatic indices). Green tourism is the next one to characterise, including skiing, mountain climbing and eco-tourism, as well. Here both day-to-day weather extremes and long-lasting effects on the biota (e.g. drought, or inundation for plain-area eco-tourism). Last, but not least the urban (cultural- and shopping-) tourism is presented, since the large towns exhibit their special climate and different risks. The paper intends to specify these meteorological factors and effects also in terms of the different types of touristic activities. The general statements on the effect of weather and climate on tourism are illustrated by a few individual parameters and also by the so called Physiologically Equivalent Temperature. Annual and diurnal course of this parameter are presented, together with various trends in this variable at different sites and in different (hot and cold) extremities of the occurring values. Other examples, helping the tourism industry are presented in various climate conditions of the country. They include high precipitation and high relative humidity information. The paper also lists the possible adaptation measures to extreme events and also their likely changes in time.
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Climate change: Hungary’s perception and how we adopt renewables against it
58-65Views:16The aim of the research is to present the effects of climate change in Hungary, the public opinion on climate change and the related social acceptance of renewable energy sources and the reasons for their adaptation. Previous surveys have shown that the Hungarian population is aware of the dangers of climate change, yet they are less willing to act against either climate change or pollution. Global climate change threatens peripheral regions more than central regions, as several studies have shown. Hungary has so far successfully met its climate targets but is still far from reaching the 2050 climate neutrality target. The financial and economic situation of the Hungarian population does not currently allow them to widely adopt the opportunities offered by renewable energy sources, but those who can afford to invest in the technologies do so primarily for the financial savings, not to fight climate change.
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Landuse/landcover change process in a tropical semi-arid zone: case of two rural communes (Chadakori and Saé-Saboua) in Maradi region, Republic of Niger
1-12Views:197The study aimed to analyze the process of Landuse/Landcover change of two rural communes (Saé Saboua and Chadakori) of Maradi region (Republic of Niger) over the past 28 years (1986 – 2014), through landscape structure analysis by diachronic cartographic approach and landscape indices. Mixed classification of temporal series of Landsat images led to identifying six Landuse/Landcover (LULC) classes, namely ”cultivated land under shrubs and trees”, ”cultivated land under trees”, “continuous cropland”, ”fallow/pasture land”, ”forest reserve”, and ”settlement”. The composition and structure of the studied landscapes have greatly changed from 1986 to 2014. The class ”cultivated land under trees” was the landscape matrix in 1986 with 38.65% of landscape total area but in 2001 and 2014 the class ”continuous cropland” became the landscape matrix. The changes also affected the ”forest reserve” which was transformed to smallholder agricultural land from 1986 to 2014. The area occupied by classes ”cultivated land under trees” changed from 38.65% in 1986 to 8.78% in 2014; and from 1986 to 2014, the area occupied by ”fallow/pasture land” has decreased of about 16%. The decrease in these classes was in favor of ¨continuous crop land¨, ¨settlement¨ and “cultivated land under shrubs and trees” which respectively gained 38%, 0.3% and 8.15% of their areas in 1986. The results of this study reflect the problem of access to land and even land saturation in semi-arid region, a consequence of strong population growth. They also contribute to a better rethinking of agricultural practices in order to initiate adaptation and resilience strategies for the population facing food insecurity and poverty.
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Interpolation and 3D visualization of soil moisture
23-34Views:359Adaptation to climate change demands the optimal and sustainable water management in agriculture, with an inevitable focus on soil moisture conditions. In the current study we developed an ArcGIS 10.4. platform-based application (software) to model spatial and temporal changes in soil moisture in a soy field. Six SENTEK Drill & Drop soil moisture sensors were deployed in an experimental field of 4.3 hectares by the contribution of Elcom Ltd. Soil moisture measurement at each location were taken at six depths (5, 15, 25, 35, 45 and 55 cm) in 60-minute intervals. The model is capable to spatially interpolate monitored soil moisture using the technique. The time sequence change of soil moistures can be tracked by a Time Slider for both the 2D and 3D visualization. Soil moisture temporal changes can be visualized in either daily or hourly time intervals, and can be shown as a motion figure. Horizon average, maximum and minimum values of soil moisture data can be identified with the builtin tool of ArcGIS. Soil moisture spatial distribution can be obtained and plotted at any cross sections, whereas an alarm function has also been developed for tension values of 250, 1,000 and 1,500 kPa.
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Spatial distribution of vegetation cover in Erbil city districts using high-resolution Pléiades satellite image
10-22Views:190Green spaces are playing an essential role for ecological balance and for human health in the city as well. They play a fundamental role in providing opportunities for relaxation and enjoying the beauty of nature for the urban population. Therefore, it is important to produce detailed vegetation maps to assist planners in designing strategies for the optimisation of urban ecosystem services and to provide a suitable plan for climate change adaptation in one fast growing city. Hence, this research is an investigation using 0.5 m high-resolution multispectral Pléiades data integrated with GIS data and techniques to detect and evaluate the spatial distribution of vegetation cover in Erbil City. A supervised classification was used to classify different land cover types, and a normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) was used to retrieve it for the city districts. Moreover, to evaluate the accessibility of green space based on their distance and size, a buffer zone criterion was used. The results indicate that the built-up land coverage is 69% and vegetation land cover is 14%. Regarding NDVI results, the spatial distribution of vegetation cover was various and, in general, the lowest NDVI values were found in the districts located in the city centre. On the other hand, the spatial distribution of vegetation land cover regarding the city districts was non-equal and non-concentric. The newly built districts and the districts far from the Central Business District (CBD) recorded the lowest vegetation cover compared with the older constructed districts. Furthermore, most of the districts have a lack of access to green spaces based on their distance and size. Distance and accessibility of green areas throughout the city are not equally distributed. The majority of the city districts have access to green areas within radius buffer of two kilometres, whereas the lowest accessibility observed for those districts located in the northeast of the city in particular (Xanzad, Brayate, Setaqan and Raperin). Our study is one of the first investigations of decision-making support of the spatial planning in a fast-growing city in Iraq and will have a utilitarian impact on development processes and local and regional planning for Erbil City in the future.