Search
Search Results
-
The impact of a plastic ban implementation scenario on residents of Tiruchirappalli region
30-41Views:145Plastic was created first for its durability, extended life, and capacity to be moulded into a broad range of items. There are three reasons why plastics are still used in the packaging sector, even though they are harmful to the environment. First, its low economic cost and widespread circulation. The second feature is their capacity to contain air and water while remaining watertight. The third characteristic is its relative inertness. Based on this, respondents were polled to assess their awareness of alternatives and to comprehend the pre- and post-ban situation for plastics. About 370 respondents from different age groups from different sectors from urban and rural dwellers of Trichy were asked about the prohibition of plastic carry bags, its acceptance, the alternatives available and the cost paid. Most respondents were unhappy about the removal of plastic bags and the high cost of cloth or other bags. Due to environmental concerns and their implications, it was revealed that the negative effects of plastics had not entered society sufficiently to allow the people to reject them. However, durability, lightness, flexibility, and low cost still predominate because the consumer requires plastic bags. Strict steps aiming at promoting public knowledge of the damaging consequences of plastics, their negative impact on the environment, and lowering the costs of alternatives should be explored as immediate remedies.
-
Estimating soil loss from a watershed in Western Deccan, India, using Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation
13-25Views:396USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) is the original and the most widely accepted soil loss estimation technique till date which has evolved from a design tool for conservation planning to a research methodology all across the globe. The equation has been revised and modified over the years and became a foundation for several new soil loss models developed all around the world. The equation has been revised as RUSLE by Renard et al. (1991) and is computed in GIS environment. The Revised equation is landuse independent which makes it a useful technique to apply in a variety of environment. The present paper is an attempt to estimate soil loss from a semi-arid watershed in Western Deccan, India by employing RUSLE. The region is a rocky terrain and sediments are restricted to only a few localities. The result indicates that the region is at the threshold of soil tolerance limit.
-
Agricultural sector, rural environment and biodiversity in the Central and Eastern European EU member states
46-64Views:50During the second half of the 20th century, agriculture and the rural environment diverged in Western and Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC). CEE countries itself are heterogeneous in the respect of land use intensity and history. In the current review we focus on the comparison of the agricultural sector and threats on biodiversities of EU new-member countries from Central and Eastern Europe and the old EU(15) member states. The clustering of countries revealed groups distinguished according to the level of their economic productivity, discriminating mostly among eastern and western European countries. CEE countries sub-divided according to geographic region, including also some old members of the EU. Within the western cluster, two large sub-clusters became evident according to economy affected by altitudinal and climatic differences. Partly because there are still areas where the intensity of land use remained low, the biological diversity in many regions of Central and Eastern Europe has remained high. However, loss of extensively used habitats, the restoration on intensive agriculture, reforestation with exotic species and urbanization are major threats to nature in CEE countries. The estimated variability among CEE countries is caused by different historical and cultural backgrounds of those countries. Due to the complexity and geographical diversity of driving forces, there remains much uncertainty in the possible impacts of particular factors on land use. This complexity and diversity have to be considered when planning economic as well as ecological means for developing the agricultural sector and conserving biodiversity in the future of CEE countries.
-
Landscape change in Aizawl city: A geospatial approach to assess landscape indices and human-induced transformation
65-81Views:253The change in an area’s natural surroundings is called landscape change. This change may be gradual or accelerated depending on the factors that influence the change. Natural elements such as native animals and birds seldom bring about any modification to the environment. However, human-induced change is devastating and severely transforms the environment. Such environmental transformation can be evaluated with the land use/ land cover assessment through satellite imagery and calculation of landscape indices. This paper attempts to ascertain the direction and the nature of the human-induced change in the city of Aizawl. To this end, the city has been divided into four zones to enable inter-zone comparisons. A northeast and southwest direction of human landscape transformation has been ascertained with the help of GIS and remote sensing techniques and landscape indices in Aizawl city.
-
Paleoenvironments reconstructed from the analyses of loess sequences on Susak Island, Adriatic Sea
1-9Views:174Susak Island is the outermost member of the archipelago of the Kvarner Bay, North Adriatic Sea, Croatia. Its long-term landscape evolution is defined by tectonic movements. Most characteristic are partly exhumed landforms of an ancient terrane (scarps, uplifted limestone cliffs) in a still active neotectonic environment, but the most appropriate tools for the reconstruction of Quaternary paleoenvironments are loess and loess-like deposits. The Quaternary sequence is up to almost 100 m thickness locally and intensively studied by numerous disciplines (from structural geology to geochemistry and geomorphology) today. The special location of the island makes it a key area of research into the evolution of the broader environment, including the Po Plain as well as other Italian source areas of wind-borne and redeposited dust. The loess mantle was also of great importance for a paleoecological reconstruction of floral and faunal evolution, on which efforts of nature conservation are founded.
-
The scenic value of abandoned mining areas in Poland
132-142Views:56Abandoned Polish mining areas are commonly heavily transformed so that they endanger no longer the environment. A disadvantage is that the newly created areas commonly contribute to the monotonous urban-industrial landscape, rather than providing additional value. This is partly due to legislation that hampers a more diversified management of abandoned mining areas as potentially valuable landforms. One of the legal barriers that restricts the possibilities of making these areas more attractive, regards the utilization of remaining exploitation holes (i.e. land depressions of at least 2 m deep, formed as a result of open-pit mining of energy, chemical, building or metallurgical resources) and waste heaps as important cultural and scenic elements. Such a new use of these old mininginduced phenomena is important if it is intended not only to involve the regional population in the process of exploring and exploiting the earth’s resources, but also to confront them with some negative consequences of these activities, including shaping the landscape in which these objects are situated. The current attitude towards a new architecture for abandoned mining areas should be reconsidered; particularly the present-day approach based on narrow specializations – for instance of experts in mineral exploitation, spatial planning or environmental protection – should be replaced by interdisciplinary action regarding shaping the landscape of abandoned mining areas.
-
Possible reduction of environmental impacts of geothermal energy extraction in a theoritical spa
68-75Views:86Sustainable thermal water production involves the protection of the used reservoirs, as well as the minimizing of the environmental impact (caused by heat, gas and dissolved solid). Four water extraction models are discussed in which the water and heat demand of the theoretical spa are supplied using different sources. The most environmental friendly variation contains three wells with different depths of screening. In this case the dissolved gas and solid content became the lowest, as well as the radius of influence based on drawdown calculations. Beyond the environmental impact the owner have to consider other economic aspects, such as the number of wells, the possibility of independence from gas services, which force the owner to choose not the most environment friendly way. Optimizing the various factors, thermal water extraction for medical and wellness purposes could be feasible and appropriate for sustainable operation.
-
Boundless settlements – tendencies and future of urban sprawl in the agglomeration of Budapest
75-88Views:213The Budapest agglomeration is a rapidly changing environment. Urban sprawl has been a prominent process in municipalities around the Hungarian capital, and its pace has significantly increased since the change of regimes. In our paper, we analyse the tendencies of urban development, the role of territorial protection and the types of land use mostly threatened by urban sprawl in two study areas within the Budapest agglomeration. A significant part of the Northern study area – located on Szentendre Island – is under territorial protection, while the Southern study area – located on Csepel Island – has a considerably lower amount of protected areas. We found that the settlements of the Northern study area have been expanding at a much slower pace than their Southern counterparts, where in the absence of effective restrictions, extensive areas – mostly former agricultural fields – have been converted into built-up areas. In addition, the Spatial Plan of the agglomeration allows the same tendencies to continue in both areas in the future as well.
-
Heavy metal content of flood sediments and plants near the River Tisza
120-131Views:76The 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.
-
Monitoring the changes of a suburban settlement by remote sensing
76-83Views:80Satellite images and aerial photos support settlement surveys and provide valuable information of their physical environment. Aerial photos are excellent tools to overview large areas and simultaneously provide high-resolution images making them efficient tools to monitor built-up areas and their surroundings. Aerial photos can also be used to collect complex spatial data as well as to detect various temporal changes on the land surface, such as construction of illegal edifices and waste dumps. The 10 to 30-meter resolution SPOT and Landsat images are usually insufficient for site specific data collection and analysis. However, the recently available 0.5-meter resolution satellite images have broadened the scope of monitoring and data collection projects. Beyond environmental and urban monitoring, the new available high-resolution satellite images simplify the everyday work of local authorities and will facilitate the development of governmental databases that include spatial information for public utilities and other communal facilities.
-
Environmental educational potentials on school grounds in Budapest
23-30Views:188As nature and greenspaces in urban areas are agreed to enhance children’s appreciation towards nature and so the purposes of environmental education, it is of high importance to create spaces in and around schools that allow students to connect to nature on a daily basis. The aim of the study was to analyse functions and other components supporting environmental education appear in the open spaces of school grounds in Budapest, and to understand the main characteristics of school grounds with the highest potential in environmental education. The study points out that the presence of environmental educational functions often depends on the size, urban context and location of the school grounds, however the curriculum of the school does not necessarily influence its open spaces, while the presence of motivated and engaged teachers does. The study reveals environmental educational functions do exist in school grounds of primary schools in Budapest, however they play only secondary role behind active movement and play functions. The schools with the best potentials in environmental education are without doubt the ones situated on large plots in the suburban zone, mostly with a high proportion of green spaces in and around the school grounds.
-
Monitoring temperature patterns at selected world heritage sites in Egypt using high resolution WorldClim data
42-58Views:531Long term temperature patterns helps in assessing changes in the climatic conditions of an area and climatic changes poses a major challenge to the world heritage sites whether it is natural or cultural. Therefore in this study using maximum and minimum temperature data for the period 1960-2021 downloaded from WorldClim 2.1 calculation of mean temperature is done in QGIS environment for the selected UNESCO world heritage sites of Arab Republic of Egypt. WorldClim 2.1 provides finer resolution gridded data downscaled from Climate Research Unit. Trend analysis using linear regression and Mann-Kendall method and Sen’s Slope estimate is used to understand the patterns of mean temperature at all the selected sites. The study reveals that mean temperature at all the selected sites is increasing but since 1990 the sites which are located geographically in lower Egypt are witnessing rapid increase in mean temperature compared to the sites located in upper Egypt which historically witnessed more temperature due to its geographical milieu. This study can help in stimulating the utility of geospatial data in understanding the changes in climatic parameters in relation to world heritage sites. Moreover it can serve as foundation upon which detailed longitudinal site specific investigation can be done.
-
Grain surface features and clay mineralogy of the quaternary sediments from Western Deccan Trap Region, India, and their palaeoclimatic significance
22-46Views:55Quartz sand grains obtained from a deeply gullied topography along the banks of two tributaries of River Pravara in Maharashtra (India) have been examined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Quartz grains have been selected after a heavy mineral separation and micro-photographs of each grain were taken at various angles and magnifications. The sediments reveal features resulting from mechanical grinding as well as from chemical alteration. Conchoidal fractures, cleavage planes, grooves, v-shaped indentations etc. are the mechanical features documented on the grains whereas solution pits of varying sizes and intensity, precipitation surfaces, oriented v-pits, solution crevasses and etching are the features of chemical origin. Several evidences indicate that the samples have undergone digenetic changes. Few grains show the features of intense chemical breakdown. The overall assemblages of the grain surface features suggest that the samples have been subjected to subaqueous transport for a considerable period of time. The minor chemical features such as solution pits or semi circular arcuate steps found in abundance on these grains are due to the dissolution of the sediments in a low energy fluviatile environment. For clay mineralogy, fractions between <2 and <0.2 mm were separated out from the sediments. The clay fractions were then subjected to examination by X-ray diffraction (XRD) of oriented K/Ca saturated samples using a Philips Diffractometer and Nifiltered Cu Ka radiation with the scanning speed of 1 0 2Ө min -1. The main clay minerals for all the samples are identical and show the presence of hydroxy-interlayered smectites with minor quantities of mica, kaolinite, smectites, quartz and feldspar. The first weathering product of the Deccan Basalt (DB) is the dioctahedral smectite. Since the present semi aridic climatic condition of the study area can not transform a smectite to HIS and either smectite to kaolin, it is quite likely that both the HIS and Sm/K are generated in the tropical humid climate of the Western Ghats and then carried through the exiting river system like Godavari, Adula and Mahalungi. Therefore it is evident that the clay minerals present in these sediments represent another climatic history more humid than the one prevailing at present.
-
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.
-
1:10000 scale mapping with GPS and free GIS tools - comparison with topographic map
11-21Views:76Reliability of the road system illustrated on topographic maps with 1:10000 scale is questionable due to their age, but surveying a territory with area over 100 hectares is expensive with classical geodetic tools, although there is no need of geodetic accuracy in most cases. GPS-based mapping method described in this paper is suitable in these situations. The main concept is to keep the costs of the survey as low as possible, therefore free GIS applications and databases were used with navigation purpose GPS receivers. The accuracy provided by these devices is good enough for those purposes where the accuracy of topographic map with 1:10000 scale is adequate. GPS-based mapping can be done to update the road system of existing map or create own detailed road databases. The result of the work is not just a database but a navigation capable digital map, which can aid further activities on the field, like geographic researches, environment protection, tourism, fire service etc.
-
Prediction of industrial land use using linear regression and mola techniques: A Case Study of Siltara Industrial belt
59-70Views:300The Siltara Industrial belt is an important industrial pocket of Chattisgarh state located in the northern part of the Raipur city, which is rapidly growing. In this process spatial, cultural, political and administrative factors are controlling its rate, direction and pattern. The Simple Linear Regression (SLR) and Multi-Objective Land Allocation (MOLA) techniques, which are embedded in SPSS and Idrisi Kilimanjaro software respectively, and have been used for the estimation of future scenario of the industrial growth. In this model, a suitable platform has been prepared in which future industrialization has been estimated by integrating physical, social, cultural factors and land acquisition policy. In this article, results have revealed that industrialization has occurred very fast during last one decade. The industrial land was 6.15 km2 in 2001 and 18.725 km2 in 2011 and estimated as 31.30 km2 in 2021 and 43.87 km2 in 2031 using SLR. The rapid industrial growth is very critical issues for agrarian society and fresh environment. This model very accurately estimating (overall accuracy=95.39%, Kno=97.24%, agreement=98.63 %) the future growth of industrial land. This work will be useful to the planners and policy makers of private and government sectors to regulate the sustainable planning practices and smart decision-making.
-
Protected areas in regions of intensive economical activity: conflict of nature protection and nature use (case study of Dovine river catchment)
43-56Views:69Nature protection and economical activity clash of interests is analysed on the example of Dovinė River catchment, situated in the south western part of Lithuania. It is a unique wetland complex consisting from Žuvintas Lake and the surrounding bogs (Fig. 1). Žuvintas Lake became the first protected area in Lithuania in 1937. However, the lake is situated in one of the most fertile region of Lithuania, where the methods of intensive farming activity is being employed for a long time. Eutrophication processes and overgrowth of this shallow lake has been very active during the several decades and the lake has lost its ecological value. Therefore the main goal of this article is to analyse the anthropogenic influence towards the water bodies and protected natural values situated in the territory of intensive economical activity. Cartographical material of different periods is being used for the evaluation of the hydrographical network transformations in Dovinė River catchment. Hydrochemical parameters of the periods 1953–1954, 1960–1961, 1980–1982; 1993–2003; 2004–2005 of the water bodies in Dovinė River catchment are being analysed. The field works in order to investigate the water quality in Dovinė River and it‘s tributaries were made in spring of 2005. Water samples were analysed in laboratory of the Institute of Geology and Geography according water quality analysis methods approved by Lithuanian Ministry of Environment (Table 2). Water quality was evaluated according maximum residue limits (MRL) in surface waters (Table 3). The results of the study showed that although Žuvintas Lake is being protected for 70 years, the farming activity intensified constantly in its catchment. Canalised river beds and sluice–regulated hydrological regime of the lakes diminished the natural self–cleaning abilities of the water system. The average annual decrease of the lake specular surface was about 1,1 ha in the period of 1961–2003. The average annual increase of vegetation area is about 0,14 ha. Even a strong protection regime did not preserve this territory. Therefore, in order to keep the sustainable development in the protected territories the anthropogenic loading from the neighbouring territories (catchment area, etc) must be evaluated. The objectives of nature protection in protected territory could not be attained if there is no regulation of economical activity in the territories surrounding the protected area.
-
Spatial pattern of soil erosion using RUSLE model and GIS software at the Saf Saf watershed, Algeria
31-47Views:158Soil erosion is one of the problems threatening the Algerian environment. In agriculture, soil erosion leads to the thinning of the topsoil under the effect of the natural erosive forces of water, or under the effect of agricultural activities. The present study aims to estimate average soil loss rate and to identify vulnerable zones. Through the integration of RUSLE model at the Saf Saf watershed, various parameters are utilized such as the rainfall erosivity factor (R), soil erodibility factor (K), slope length - slope factor (LS), crop management factor (C) and practice management factor (P). All these parameters are prepared and processed through a geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing using various database sources. The results reveal that the river basin has an average annual soil loss of 3.9 t ha−1 yr−1, and annual soil loss of 4.53 million tonnes for the period 1975-2017. Meanwhile, eighty five percent of the study area is experiencing acceptable rate of soil erosion loss, which is ranging between 0 to 5 t ha−1 yr−1. The present study of risk assessment can contribute to understand the spatial pattern of soil erosion in order to use appropriate conservation practices for sustainable soil management.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Heavy metal loads in the soil of Debrecen
57-67Views:67Results of examinations on the amount, and spatial distribution of heavy metal compounds in the soil of Debrecen, their geographic, pedologic and ecologic aspects are presented in this study. The effects of the differences in traffic conditions, build-up/land use and the density of vegetation on the heavy metal content of the soils have been examined in city of Debrecen and its closer environment. Cadmium-, cobalt-, nickel-, lead-, and copper-contents of the soil samples taken from 88 sites of the sample area have been studied after acidic extraction, using atomic absorption spectrometer with the flame technique. Close-to-background concentrations of heavy metals in unpolluted soils of the forested area of the Nagyerdő were determined. Spatial differences in the heavy metal content of the soils for the whole area of Debrecen have been studied. Influence of soil properties (humus, CalciumCarbonate content, pH and grain size distribution) on the binding and mobility of heavy metals in the soil has been examined. Vertical distribution and mobility of heavy metal compounds in acid sandy soils was determined. Heavy metal content of soil in the most sensitive areas, playgrounds, recreational areas, urban gardens and grazing fields along busy roads has been surveyed.
-
Field pedological characterisation of two transects along the inner and outer sides of a sixty years old Tisza dike - a contribution to the problem of primary and secondary alkali grasslands
87-112Views:49Two transects were studied by field pedological investigations and soil bulk electrical conductivity measurements in order to understand the effect of a 60 year old dike along the Tisza River on soil formation and vegetation composition. There were no great differences in the soil properties. The soil is more saline and wetter inside the dike and vegetation reflected this environment. We hypothesize that the increasing build up of the riverbed might contribute to the contrast in soil and groundwater salinity between the area inside and the area outside the dike, similarly as conceptualised by Kuti (1989) for the Danube area, but at a much smaller distance.
-
Development of MSW collection service on regional scale: spatial analysis and urban disparities in North-Easr Region, Romania
13-18Views:46The cities are facing illegal dumping of municipal solid waste (MSW) because the waste collection facilities do not cover the entire population. Furthermore, this sector is poorly developed in small towns or villages annexed to administrative territory units (ATU) of cities , MSW are disposed in open dumps polluting the local environment. This paper analyzes on the one hand the urban disparities on public access to waste collection services (WCS) in the North-East Region on the other hand, it performs a comparative analysis between 2003 and 2010 outlining the changes made in the context of Romania’s accession to EU. Also, it performs a quantitative assessment method of uncollected waste at urban level and correlated to demographic features of each city. Spatial-temporal analysis of waste indicators using thematic cartography or GIS techniques should be a basic tool for environmental monitoring or assessment of projects from this field in every development region (NUTS 2). The EU acquis requires the closure of noncompliant landfills, the extension of waste collection services, the development of facilities for separate collection, recycling and reuse according to waste hierarchy concept. Full coverage of urban population to waste collection services is necessary to provide a proper management of this sector. Urban disparities between counties and within counties highlights that current traditional waste management system is an environmental threat at local and regional scale.
-
Environmental monitoring using linden tree leaves as natural traps of atmospheric deposition: a pilot study in Transilvania, Romania
24-35Views:115Atmospheric pollution caused by toxic elements is an emerging problem of concern. Tree leaves have been widely used as indicator of atmospheric pollutions and they are effective alternatives to the more usual biomonitoring methods. Tree leaves can be used as natural traps of atmospheric deposition. Elemental composition of dust deposited onto leaf surfaces can be used to characterize the urban environment. A pilot survey including 16 Romanian settlements was carried out in order to evaluate the characteristics and sources of air pollutants. Tree leaves (Tilia tomentosa, Tilia cordata, Tilia platyphyllos) were collected and used for the measurements. Elemental analyses were carried out by ICP-OES and ICP-MS. Principal component and discriminant analyses were used to characterizing and estimating the level of pollution. Settlements were grouped on the basis of discriminant function values. Multivariate comparison of chemical data ordered the settlements into 3 main groups, which showed a systematic geographic distribution.
-
Studying the development of fluvial landforms in the Berettyó-Körös Region using geoinformatic methods
137-144Views:181Development of fluvial landforms from 1980 till nowadays was studied based on digital elevation maps (DEM) composed from contour lines of topographic maps, field data obtained by RTK GPS and aerial photos taken by a drone. Greatest denudation of 6-9 metres was measured in the eastern side of the erosional valley at Pocsaj caused by piping and mass movements. As a result, the valley widened and slightly deepened. Since 1980 around 1-2 metres of accumulation and erosion of similar rate have been measured in the secured floodplain environment dissected by abandoned beds, point-bars and swales at Kismarja. These values, however, rather reflect the geometric uncertainties and deficiencies of the contours of topographic maps than real land changes. Therefore topographic maps can give reliable basis for studying the development of lowland landforms only if they depict adequately large sized (minimum 100 x 100 m) positive or negative forms with great height difference as well (minimum 8-10 m). Accuracy of DEMs composed from aerial photos using photogrammetric methods – taking off height faults caused by vegetation – is around the same as that of the models created on the basis of RTK GPS measurements.