Land degradation and soil erosion, intensified by frequent intense hydro-meteorological events, pose significant threats to ecological processes. In response to the environmental challenges, there is ...a growing emphasis on employing Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), such as Soil and Water Bioengineering (SWBE) techniques, which promote a sustainable approach and materials for the restoration of natural areas damaged by climate events, unlike traditional “grey” engineering works. However, the effective implementation of SWBE interventions requires a multidisciplinary monitoring approach, considering engineering, geological, ecological, biological, and landscape aspects. The success of these interventions depends on evaluating both short-term stabilities provided by the non-living supporting structure and the long-term development of vegetation introduced during the work. Monitoring should regard structural integrity assessments, vegetation evolution studies, and analyses of root system efficiency (distribution, mechanical characteristics, etc.). This study wants to fill the research gap in SWBE management by proposing a comparison of two study techniques for a root system development evaluation, within a multi-approach methodology for the assessment of these interventions in terms of soil stability and natural evolution. The paper provides insights into geotechnical analysis within a shallow landslide, comparing two different methods for the evaluation of root system evolution. Direct methods (RAR) and indirect methods (ERT) were used for root development monitoring and then compared. Vegetation development was assessed by NDVI parameter by analysing Landsat satellite images. An overall analysis of the data obtained from monitoring the study area shows good plant development, thanks to the SWBE intervention, which in addition to the slope stability effect contributes to better water regulation and initiates a natural ecological succession. The findings contribute to advancing the understanding of the effectiveness of SWBE techniques, offering valuable information for future bioengineering projects and environmental conservation efforts, and promoting them as sustainable techniques for natural recovery.
Although estimating forest disturbance area is essential in the context of carbon cycle assessments and for strategic forest planning projects, official statistics are currently not available in ...several countries. Remotely sensed data are an efficient source of auxiliary information for meeting these needs, and multiple algorithms are commonly used worldwide for this purpose. However, both more accurate maps and precise area estimates are strongly required, especially in Mediterranean ecosystems, and scientific research in this topic area is anything but concluded.
In this study, we present the new Three Indices Three Dimensions (3I3D) algorithm for the automated prediction of forest disturbances using statistical analyses of Sentinel-2 data. We tested 3I3D in Tuscany, Italy, for the year 2016, and we compared the results to those obtained using the Global Forest Change Map (GFC), LandTrendr (LT), and the Two Thresholds Method (TTM). The 3I3D map was the most accurate (omissions = 27%, commissions = 30%) followed by TTM (omissions = 35%, commissions = 39%), LT (omissions = 41%, commissions = 43%) and lastly GFC with slightly fewer omissions than LT (39%) but with many more commissions (69%). We also presented a probability sampling framework to estimate the forest harvested area using a model-assisted estimator that can be used at an operational level to produce large-scale statistics. 3I3D and TTM produced the smallest standard errors of the area estimates (8%) followed by LT (13%) and GFC (17%).
This article provides a short introduction to the interdisciplinary field of social network analysis and its applications in the humanities, including music.
Compaction and rutting on forest soils are consequences of harvesting operations. The traditional methods used to investigate these consequences are time consuming and unable to represent the entire ...longitudinal profile for a forest trail. New methods based on photogrammetry have been developed. The overall objective was to compare photogrammetry and traditional methods (e.g. cone penetrometer, manual rut depth measurements, bulk density and porosity) used for the evaluation of soil compaction and rutting (i.e. depth and rut volume) after multiple passes of a loaded forwarder using two different tyre pressure levels. The comparison of photogrammetric versus manually measured profiles resulted in R2 0.93. Both tyre inflation pressure and number of passes had effect on soil disturbance. The rut volumes on 100 m long trails after 60 passes were 8.48 and 5.74 m
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for tire pressures of 300 and 150 kPa, respectively. Increased rut volume correlated positively with increased soil compaction and decreased soil porosity. Structure-from-motion photogrammetry is an accurate method for informing the creation of high-resolution digital evolution models and for the morphological description of forest soil disturbance after forest logging. However, a problem with photogrammetry is object reflection (grass, logging residues and water) that in some cases influence the accuracy of the method.
•Air pollution removal by urban forests was estimated in the city of Florence, Italy.•Remote sensing data and field work were applied to assess LAI using regression model.•The regression model ...resulted in good linear agreement with ground-based measurements.•O3 and PM10 removal rate was higher in evergreen forest categories.•Urban forests removed monthly up to 5% of O3 and 13% of PM10.
Urban forests (UF) provide a range of important ecosystem services (ES) for human well-being. Relevant ES delivered by UF include urban temperature regulation, runoff mitigation, noise reduction, recreation, and air purification. In this study the potential of air pollution removal by UF in the city of Florence (Italy) was investigated. Two main air pollutants were considered – particulate matter (PM10) and tropospheric ozone (O3) – with the aim of providing a methodological framework for mapping air pollutant removal by UF and assessing the percent removal of air pollutant.
The distribution of UF was mapped by high spatial resolution remote sensing data and classified into seven forest categories. The Leaf Area Index (LAI) was estimated spatially using a regression model between in-field LAI survey and Airborne Laser Scanning data and it was found to be in good linear agreement with estimates from ground-based measurements (R2=0.88 and RMSE%=11%). We applied pollution deposition equations by using pollution concentrations measured at urban monitoring stations and then estimated the pollutant removal potential of the UF: annual O3 and PM10 removal accounted for 77.9t and 171.3t, respectively. O3 and PM10 removal rates by evergreen broadleaves (16.1 and 27.3g/m2), conifers (10.9 and 28.5g/m2), and mixed evergreen species (15.8 and 31.7g/m2) were higher than by deciduous broadleaf stands (4.1 and 10g/m2). However, deciduous forests exhibited the largest total removal due to the high percentage of tree cover within the city. The present study confirms that UF play an important role in air purification in Mediterranean cities as they can remove monthly up to 5% of O3 and 13% of PM10.
Within the Paris Agreement's Enhanced Transparency Framework, consistent data collections are the prerequisite for a successful reporting of GHG emissions. For such purposes, NFIs are usually the ...primary source of information, even if they are frequently not designed for producing estimations on a yearly basis and in the form of wall-to-wall high-resolution maps. In this framework, we present a new spatial model to produce yearly growing stock volume (GSV), above-ground biomass (AGB), and carbon stock wall-to-wall estimates. We tested the model in Italy for the period 2005–2018, obtaining a time-series of yearly maps at 23 m spatial resolution. Results were validated against the 2015 Italian NFI reaching an average RMSE% of 19% for aggregated areas. Results were also compared against data reported by the Italian GHG inventory, reaching an RMSE% of 28% and 20% for GSV and carbon stock respectively.
We demonstrated that the modeling approach can be successfully used for setting up a forest monitoring system to meet the interests of governments in inventories of GHG emissions and private entities in carbon offset investments.
•A spatial approach for multitemporal estimation of carbon stock is presented.•The approach is consistent with the IPCC's best guidance and practices.•The aboveground carbon stock of forests in Italy exceeded 566 million tons in 2018.•Results are consistent with official Greenhouse gasses and national forest inventories.
Key message
This work analyses the rate of recovery of the spectral signal from clearcut areas of coppice Mediterranean forests using Landsat Time Series (LTS). The analysis revealed a more rapid ...rate of spectral signal recovery than what was found in previous investigations in boreal and temperate forests.
Context
The rate of post-disturbance vegetation recovery is an important component of forest dynamics.
Aims
In this study, we analyze the recovery of the spectral signal from forest clearcut areas in Mediterranean conditions when the coppice system of forest management is applied.
Methods
We used LTS surface reflectance data (1999–2015).We generated an annual reference database of clearcuts using visual interpretation and local forest inventory data, and then derived the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) spectral trajectories for these clearcuts. From these spectral trajectories, we calculated the Years to Recovery or Y2R, the number of years it takes for a pixel to return to within a specified threshold (i.e., 70%, 80%, 90%, 100%) of its pre-disturbance value. Spectral recovery rates were then corroborated using measures of canopy height derived from airborne laser scanning (ALS) data.
Results
The coppice system is associated with rapid recovery rates when compared to rates of recovery from seeds or seedlings in temperate and boreal forest conditions. We found that the Y2R derived from the spectral trajectories of post-clearcut NBR and NDVI provided similar characterizations of rapid recovery for the coppice system of forest management applied in our study area. The ALS measures of canopy height indicated that the Y2R metric accurately captured the rapid regeneration of coppice systems.
Conclusion
The rapid rate of spectral recovery associated with the coppice system is 2–4 years, which contrasts with values reported in boreal and temperate forest environments, where spectral recovery was attained in approximately 10 years. NBR is an effective index for assessing rapid recovery in this forest system.
Simultaneously, we need not look far for examples of the perils involved, as content industries have moved to protect their busi- ness models and neutralize the inherent ability of their digital ..."Read/Only" tokens to become "Read/Write," to borrow Lawrence Lessig's terminology, to anyone with a com- puter, broadband access, and the will to do so.1 In the digital audio economy, as else- where, it has become commonplace for the content industry to lump together as piracy the activities of the amateur musician, the remix artist, the audio archivist, and the user of illegal peer-to-peer file sharing net- works. SoundCloud has been the benefactor of several generous injections of venture capital, and recently announced partnerships with some unlikely suspects (Red Bull, Blue Mic, and Blue Bottle Coffee, for starters) have fed speculation that the service is investigating advertise- ments as an additional revenue stream.5 Functionality and Navigation In the most current iteration of the site, clicking on the SoundCloud URL will take the registered user to the Stream page.
Carbon assimilation and wood production are influenced by environmental conditions and endogenous factors, such as species auto-ecology, age, and hierarchical position within the forest structure. ...Disentangling the intricate relationships between those factors is more pressing than ever due to climate change’s pressure. We employed the 3D-CMCC-FEM model to simulate undisturbed forests of different ages under four climate change (plus one no climate change) Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) scenarios from five Earth system models. In this context, carbon stocks and increment were simulated via total carbon woody stocks and mean annual increment, which depends mainly on climate trends. We find greater differences among different age cohorts under the same scenario than among different climate scenarios under the same age class. Increasing temperature and changes in precipitation patterns led to a decline in above-ground biomass in spruce stands, especially in the older age classes. On the contrary, the results show that beech forests will maintain and even increase C-storage rates under most RCP scenarios. Scots pine forests show an intermediate behavior with a stable stock capacity over time and in different scenarios but with decreasing mean volume annual increment. These results confirm current observations worldwide that indicate a stronger climate-related decline in conifers forests than in broadleaves.
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