Valorization of Agricultural By-Products Within the “Energyscapes”: Renewable Energy as Driving Force in Modeling Rural Landscape

Due to several growing environmental constraints, renewable energy sources currently play an increasingly crucial role that, owing to their high temporal and spatial variability, needs a careful planning approach. It is important therefore to develop a framework that examines the distribution of different energy sources in a spatio-temporal context. From an energy point of view, a regional territory, such as an internal southern Italian region (the Basilicata Region), can be considered as a paradigmatic case study, because it is characterized by significant sources of renewable energy (e.g., biomass, wind, solar, hydro) connected to its morphological and environmental structure, as well as to its agricultural and food productions. The present paper in based on an analysis of the spatial supply and relationships between renewable energy potentials and rural land, through the use of a Geographic Information System that has been implemented with the aim to analyze the energy system, as well as to optimize the valorization of biomass resources that may be still unutilized within the bioenergy production chain. This study has been carried out even to bridge the gap between energy systems modeling and landscape planning. Within this context, an “Energyscape” may be considered as the effect resulting on the rural landscape from a combination of the supply, demand and infrastructure for energy. This framework could be therefore a starting point for an interdisciplinary analysis able to figure out optimal solutions in decision-making processes, which duly respect the protection and restoring of endangered ecosystems, supporting the decision about an optimal spatial localization of energy plants as well.

     

Seasonal variations in the trophic structure of phyto-and zooplankton communities in lakes in different trophic states

A number of environmental factors are important in regulating the trophic structure of plankton. Increased nutrient supply results in an explosive development of small algae and herbivorous zooplankton. In the eutrophic lakes (Greifensee, Hallwilersee) several algal community collapses occur each year as a consequence of the grazing habit of the zooplankton, although only the grazing phase in May/June results in a ‘clear water period’. Vertical mixing influences the zooplankton community by reactivating the resting stages of predatory copepods. Predation phases can only be observed in lake Lucerne, where the hypolimnion ist deep and aerobic. Well balanced relationships between the different trophic levels are restricted to the phases with growth limiting conditions.     

Impact of coupled perturbations of atmospheric trace gases on Earth's climate and ozone

We have studied the effects on the ozone concentration and surface temperature, of perturbations in the atmospheric content of nitrous oxide, methane, carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons (CFC). The sensitivity study has been carried out with a radiative-convective-photochemical model. The doubling of carbon dioxide concentration has the effect of warming the troposphere and cooling the stratosphere. As a result of this cooling, the change of ozone columnar density produced by 10 ppb of chlorine amount to 9.3% as compared to –10.9% obtained without temperature feedback. Perturbation in nitrous oxide correspond to an increase in NO _x of the stratosphere with consequent ozone reduction while doubling the methane concentration correspond to a slight increase in columnar density. The effect of the increased methane concentration in the stratosphere contributes to reduce the effect of CFC due to the enhanced formation of HCl. The perturbation of these two minor constituents appreciably increase the greenhouse effect to 2.30 from 1.67°, obtained when carbon dioxide alone is considered.     

Groundwater vulnerability and risk mapping in a geologically complex area by using stable isotopes, remote sensing and GIS techniques

Groundwater vulnerability and risk mapping is a relatively new scientific approach for facilitating planning and decision making processes in order to protect this valuable resource. Pan European methodology for aquifers vulnerability has recently been developed by assessing all the existing relevant techniques and emphasizing on karstic environments. In the particular study, state-of-the-art methods and tools have been implemented such as remote sensing, isotopic investigations and GIS to map the groundwater vulnerability and pollution risk in a geologically complex area of W. Greece. The updated land use map has been developed from a Landsat 7+TM image elaborated with image analysis software, while the detailed hydrogeologic properties of the area have been recorded with an intensive isotopic study. The local groundwater vulnerability map has been produced following the aforementioned Pan European method, in a GIS environment while the risk map, which was the final product of the study, has been developed after combining the vulnerability and the land use maps. The results indicated that the areas comprised of highly tectonized calcareous formations represented high vulnerability and risk zones while forested areas away from the karstic aquifer illustrated moderate to low vulnerability. Moreover, human activities increase the pollution risk in lowland areas consisting of sedimentary deposits that have been classified as moderate vulnerability. The particular methodology operated efficiently in this study and due to its accuracy and relatively easy implementation can be used as a decision support tool for local authorities.     

The Simulation of the Opposing Fluxes of Latent Heat and CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> over Various Land-Use Types: Coupling a Gas Exchange Model to a Mesoscale Atmospheric Model

A mesoscale meteorological model (FOOT3DK) is coupled with a gas exchange model to simulate surface fluxes of CO₂ and H₂O under field conditions. The gas exchange model consists of a C3 single leaf photosynthesis sub-model and an extended big leaf (sun/shade) sub-model that divides the canopy into sunlit and shaded fractions. Simulated CO₂ fluxes of the stand-alone version of the gas exchange model correspond well to eddy-covariance measurements at a test site in a rural area in the west of Germany. The coupled FOOT3DK/gas exchange model is validated for the diurnal cycle at singular grid points, and delivers realistic fluxes with respect to their order of magnitude and to the general daily course. Compared to the Jarvis-based big leaf scheme, simulations of latent heat fluxes with a photosynthesis-based scheme for stomatal conductance are more realistic. As expected, flux averages are strongly influenced by the underlying land cover. While the simulated net ecosystem exchange is highly correlated with leaf area index, this correlation is much weaker for the latent heat flux. Photosynthetic CO₂ uptake is associated with transpirational water loss via the stomata, and the resulting opposing surface fluxes of CO₂ and H₂O are reproduced with the model approach. Over vegetated surfaces it is shown that the coupling of a photosynthesis-based gas exchange model with the land-surface scheme of a mesoscale model results in more realistic simulated latent heat fluxes.     

Testing the utility of structure‐from‐motion photogrammetry reconstructions using small unmanned aerial vehicles and ground photography to estimate the extent of upland soil erosion

Quantifying the extent of soil erosion at a fine spatial resolution can be time consuming and costly; however, proximal remote sensing approaches to collect topographic data present an emerging alternative for quantifying soil volumes lost via erosion. Herein we compare terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), and both unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and ground photography (GP) structure‐from‐motion (SfM) derived topography. We compare the cost‐effectiveness and accuracy of both SfM techniques to TLS for erosion gully surveying in upland landscapes, treating TLS as a benchmark. Further, we quantify volumetric soil loss estimates from upland gullies using digital surface models derived by each technique and subtracted from an interpolated pre‐erosion surface. Soil loss estimates from UAV and GP SfM reconstructions were comparable to those from TLS, whereby the slopes of the relationship between all three techniques were not significantly different from 1:1 line. Only for the TLS to GP comparison was the intercept significantly different from zero, showing that GP is more capable of measuring the volumes of very small erosion features. In terms of cost‐effectiveness in data collection and processing time, both UAV and GP were comparable with the TLS on a per‐site basis (13.4 and 8.2 person‐hours versus 13.4 for TLS); however, GP was less suitable for surveying larger areas (127 person‐hours per ha^?1 versus 4.5 for UAV and 3.9 for TLS). Annual repeat surveys using GP were capable of detecting mean vertical erosion change on peaty soils. These first published estimates of whole gully erosion rates (0.077 m a^?1) suggest that combined erosion rates on gully floors and walls are around three times the value of previous estimates, which largely characterize wind and rainsplash erosion of gully walls. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heat and moisture budgets from airborne measurements and high-resolution model simulations

High-resolution simulations with a mesoscale model are performed to estimate heat and moisture budgets of a well-mixed boundary layer. The model budgets are validated against energy budgets obtained from airborne measurements over heterogeneous terrain in Western Germany. Time rate of change, vertical divergence, and horizontal advection for an atmospheric column of air are estimated. Results show that the time trend of specific humidity exhibits some deficiencies, while the potential temperature trend is matched accurately. Furthermore, the simulated turbulent surface fluxes of sensible and latent heat are comparable to the measured fluxes, leading to similar values of the vertical divergence. The analysis of different horizontal model resolutions exhibits improved surface fluxes with increased resolution, a fact attributed to a reduced aggregation effect. Scale-interaction effects could be identified: while time trends and advection are strongly influenced by mesoscale forcing, the turbulent surface fluxes are mainly controlled by microscale processes.     

Temporal and spatial distribution of hypoxic/seasonal anoxic zone in Amvrakikos Gulf, Western Greece

Coastal hypoxia and anoxia have become a serious environmental problem in many coastal ecosystems, and recent evidence suggests an increase in the number of systems experiencing hypoxia globally and an increased frequency and duration of hypoxia in many historically hypoxic systems. Eutrophication, low physical energy and large freshwater input are some of the most important factors, which lead to the development of hypoxia in coastal areas. The Amvrakikos Gulf, located in western Greece, is one of the most important protected areas in Greece and in Europe and past studies indicated that some regions of the Gulf experience hypoxia. Despite the importance of the Amvrakikos Gulf ecosystem, little is known about key ecological, chemical, and physical processes in the Gulf and their relationship with oxygen depletion. In the present study, authors try to answer some important questions regarding the distribution and variation of the hypoxic zone. After a year of measurements, it was concluded that according to spatial distribution of DO, the gulf can be divided into two parts, the western and eastern areas, with important differences occurring between them. Within the western area, the water column was well oxygenated during winter and spring and hypoxic conditions occurred only in summer and autumn. The eastern area was hypoxic throughout the year and anoxic conditions occurred only during autumn. In conclusion, taking into account the author’s measurements and previous studies, the seasonally hypoxic eastern area in 1987 converted into a seasonally anoxic area in 2009 and the western part of the gulf, remained seasonally hypoxic, indicating the degradation of the gulf’s environmental state within the last 20 years.     

The habitation Model Trend Calculation (MTC): A new effective tool for predictive modeling in archaeology

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to create and present a new archaeological predictive model via GIS, incorporating what archaeologists consider the most important criterion absent of similar past models, that of critical thinking. The new model suggested in this paper is named habitation Model Trend Calculation (MTC) and is not only integrates the archaeological questions with a critical view, but it can be easily adjusted, according to the conditions or the questions concerning the archaeological community. Furthermore, it uses new topographical and geomorphological indexes such as Topographical Index (TPI), Hillslope and Landform Classification that give a new sense of the topographical and geomorphological characteristics of the examined area; therefore this model is a more powerful tool compared to older models that did not use new topographical and geomorphological indexes. The success of the created model is checked as a case study in the region of Messenia, Greece during the Mycenaean era. The region of Messenia is considered as one of the most important Mycenaean regions of Greece due to the great number and the importance of Mycenaean sites identified. For the present paper, 140 habitation sites were divided into four hierarchical categories (centers, large villages, villages, and farms) based on the extent and the plurality of the tholos tombs that exist in the broader region and according to the hierarchical categorization used by the archaeologists who have studied the area. The new predictive model presented in this work can assist in solving a series of criticisms that have been expressed in the previous studies regarding such models. Additionally, in the case of Mycenaean Messenia, the model shows excellent results in relation to the habitats of the time.