Loss Of Natural Resources Research Articles

Índice para la estimación de ocurrencia de incendios forestales en superficies extensas

Introduction: Estimating the risk of occurrence of a fire contributes to reducing human, infrastructure and natural resource losses; promoting activities to maintain and restore fire regimes; and optimizing resources for suppression. Objective: To develop an index of occurrence of forest fires on large areas, called Area at risk of fire (SeR). Materials and methods: The index corresponds to the area associated with a probability level measured at the right tail of the density distribution of the area affected annually by forest fires. The density distribution was estimated from the history of the area affected (1970-2018) in Mexico by state. The fit was performed by minimizing the Kolmogorov- Smirnov statistic with four models: exponential, gamma, lognormal and Weibull. Two related indicators are proposed: proportion of forest area affected by wildfires (PSeR) and incremental area at risk (ISeR). Results and discussion: all models showed a statistically significant fit (P Conclusion: SeR is an extreme event risk index that provides useful information and has a statistically acceptable predictive power.

Renewable source of full protein for animal feeding

Existing technologies for industrial production of agricultural products lead to inefficient consumption and loss of natural resources and an increase in the environmental burden on the environment. To saturate the domestic market with high-quality foodstuffs, intensification of agricultural production is required through technological modernization of the agricultural sector of the economy and the introduction of modern resource-saving technologies. The growth of food production requires planning a mechanism for the production waste management, so this issue is very relevant for many manufacturers in connection with the tightening of environmental requirements in many countries. Several promising technologies for the entomologically poultry waste management, which provide complete protein for feeding farm animals and therefore increase the profitability of production, are discussed.

Pyrolysis Kinetics of Polypropylene and High Density Polyethylene Wastes Using Kaolin Catalyst

Plastic is materials that are not easily broken down, so it can cause a variety of complex problems such as loss of natural resources, environmental pollution, and depletion of landfill space. Plastic favored by the public is Polypropylene (PP) and High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) for example, food storage, transparent drinking glasses and drinking bottles for babies. This will be a problem in the future. Some alternatives used to reduce the volume of plastic waste are the thermal transformation process which is divided into three types of processing, namely combustion, gasification, and pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is a process of thermal degradation of long chains into smaller molecules. The process of pyrolysis in this study used a variety of catalysts (without catalyst, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) and used variations in particle size, namely size I (30 cm3); size II (7.5 cm3); size III (1,875 cm3) weighing 350 grams of plastic cups and 350 grams of bottle caps. Pyrolysis run for 100 minutes and took the result of pyrolysis every 20 minutes interval. The test carried out by using proximate analysis, fuel specification analysis, and GC-MS. Based on the result of research conducted on the pyrolysis process of a mixture of HDPE and PP variations of catalysts, it obtained optimum liquid and gas yields of 98.57% and 1.43%. Besides, in the size variation, the optimum liquid and gas yield was 96.57% and 3.43%. The proximate result has fulfilled the conditions set by the value of ash content, fly substance, and carbon bound 0.15%; 99.57%; 0.28%. In the GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) test the highest % area was 39.18% with C9H18 or 2,4-dimethyl-1-heptane compounds. The best simulation result obtained the value of activation energy and reaction speed for liquid and gas in the variation of the catalyst of (87,930.07; 101,527.17) J/mol and (2.03 x 102; 3.74 x 103).

Assessment of Economic Losses of Natural Resources under the Current System of Taxation of the Oil and Gas Industry of Republic of Uzbekistan and Proposals for their Improvement through Econometric Analysis

Assessment of Economic Losses of Natural Resources under the Current System of Taxation of the Oil and Gas Industry of Republic of Uzbekistan and Proposals for their Improvement through Econometric Analysis

Quantitative Mitigation Analysis: An ecosystem valuation tool to facilitate planning, restoration and mitigation

Globally, human development has proceeded at a rapid pace for the past several decades for both terrestrial and aquatic/marine environments. Project developers, government decision-makers and the public have had little data regarding the relative values of natural resources, or losses thereof, to facilitate project – and corresponding natural resource takings/ecosystem degradation – decision-making, resulting in intrinsic, but poorly quantified, environmental degradation. Accordingly, we have found that an effective strategy for communicating the value of ecosystems and related natural resources to facilitate smart resource management is to monetize the replacement value of resource losses from development. A number of tools have been developed for monetizing resource value, including quantitative mitigation analysis to address compensating for ecosystem and related natural resource losses due to human development. Quantitative Mitigation Analysis is a methodology developed to assist project developers and regulatory agencies alike with developing or evaluating cost-effective, defensible, quantitatively based compensatory mitigation strategies for developments that result in the taking of, or diminution in quality to, habitats and related natural resources. Quantitative Mitigation Analysis quantifies loss of ecological function from proposed developments and determines the amount of mitigation required as compensation. This paper introduces and describes Quantitative Mitigation Analysis and presents a case example that demonstrates how Quantitative Mitigation Analysis may be applied to construction projects resulting in substantive habitat destruction for the benefit of project developers and the regulatory community alike.

Environmentally Sustainable and Socioeconomically Responsible Management of Natural Resources in the Ecosystem of Olkhon Island

The authors consider the main problems of Olkhon Island ecosystem caused by anthropogenic activities and fast developing tourism. They suggest possible solutions of these problems in order to conserve and develop the microecological system of the island as part of the integral ecosystem of lake Baikal. Both systems are interconnected as any natural system develops due to the environment and, in its turn, influences it. Olkhon Island is a part of the central ecological area of Baikal natural territory and is a natural site of the UNESCO World Heritage «Lake Baikal». The main kinds of economic activities of the local population are cattle breeding and agriculture with the use of artificial irrigation. A lack of proper infrastructure, irresponsible exploitation of natural resources, a consumers attitude towards the unique natural site, frequent ignoring of the emerging problems by the authorities and also the attempts of business entities to expand their recreational activities on the territory of the island damage its ecosystem bringing it to the critical state and depriving people of the due quality of life at present and in the future. The authors proved it necessary to evaluate the population carrying capacity of the island area, to define the boundaries of stability of its ecosystem and to substantiate scientifically the optimal recreation capacity of this area. They suggest that the boundaries of the areas of traditional agriculture, recreational use and conservation areas should be set legislatively. In these areas, mans interference with nature should be prohibited in order to prevent irreversible consumption and loss of natural resources.

Investigating influence of green innovation on sustainability performance: A case on Malaysian hotel industry

Since consumers, governments, and society in general are increasingly concerned about the loss of natural resources, along with pollution of the environment, there is currently a significant tendency to recognize the value of green innovation toward the achievement of sustainable development. Hotels are considered responsible for a considerable proportion of the environmental pollution caused by the tourism industry. Yet, few studies have considered the effects that green innovation may have on sustainable performance in the hotel industry. Consequently, the present study aimed to investigate the factors influencing the adoption of green innovation, and its potential effects on the performance of the hotel industry. Data collection was performed through inspection of 183 hotels in Malaysia. Data analysis was carried out employing the partial least squares method. The two factors of environmental and economic performance were determined to have the strongest influence, affecting the green innovation procedures positively and significantly. The results of the present study have major implications for hospitality research, since they demonstrate the importance and potential of green innovation in promoting sustainable performance in the hotel industry. The proposed model and the identified influencing factors of green innovation can assist policy makers and hotel managers in understanding the drivers leading to the adoption of these practices in the hotel industry.

Stimulating Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals and Conservation Action: Predicting Future Land Use/Cover Change in Virunga National Park, Congo

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) presents a roadmap and a concerted platform of action towards achieving sustainable and inclusive development, leaving no one behind, while preventing environmental degradation and loss of natural resources. However, population growth, increased urbanisation, deforestation, and rapid economic development has decidedly modified the surface of the earth, resulting in dramatic land cover changes, which continue to cause significant degradation of environmental attributes. In order to reshape policies and management frameworks conforming to the objectives of the SDG’s, it is paramount to understand the driving mechanisms of land use changes and determine future patterns of change. This study aims to assess and quantify future land cover changes in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by simulating a future landscape for the SDG target year of 2030 in order to provide evidence to support data-driven decision-making processes conforming to the requirements of the SDG’s. The study follows six sequential steps: (a) creation of three land cover maps from 2010, 2015 and 2019 derived from satellite images; (b) land change analysis by cross-tabulation of land cover maps; (c) submodel creation and identification of explanatory variables and dataset creation for each variable; (d) calculation of transition potentials of major transitions within the case study area using machine learning algorithms; (e) change quantification and prediction using Markov chain analysis; and (f) prediction of a 2030 land cover. The model was successfully able to simulate future land cover and land use changes and the dynamics conclude that agricultural expansion and urban development is expected to significantly reduce Virunga’s forest and open land areas in the next 11 years. Accessibility in terms of landscape topography and proximity to existing human activities are concluded to be primary drivers of these changes. Drawing on these conclusions, the discussion provides recommendations and reflections on how the predicted future land cover changes can be used to support and underpin policy frameworks towards achieving the SDG’s and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Methods of decoding of the geoecological conditions of natural-anthropogenic complexes based on the data of Earth remote sensing

There is a steady tendency to significantly increase the volume of extraction and processing of mineral raw materials on our planet in recent decades. It leads to an increase in the volume of industrial waste, which predominant method of disposal is placement on the Earth surface in the form of anthropogenic arrays. There are accumulated billions tons of waste in such anthropogenic arrays, but its height can reach 100 meters. It determines the deterioration of the sanitary and hygienic situation in these territories, an increase in the morbidity and mortality of the population, a decrease in the species diversity of animals and plants, violation and modification of natural landscapes, and loss of natural resources. In addition, such anthropogenic arrays are especially subjecting to the risk of emergencies, which can entail significant social, environmental and economic damage. In this regard, the development and implementation of environmental monitoring systems on the territory of the impact of industrial waste storages, which can quickly identify sources of anthropogenic load and carry out their timely elimination, is of particular relevance to society, the economy and the state. Monitoring of the state of components of the environment based on remote sensing data is one of the most innovative and developing areas of environmental monitoring today.

Do riparian forest strips in modified forest landscapes aid in conserving bat diversity?

Agricultural practices lead to losses of natural resources and biodiversity. Maintaining forests alongside streams (riparian forest strips) has been used as a mechanism to minimize the impact of clearing for agriculture on biodiversity. To test the contribution of riparian forest strips to conserve biodiversity in production landscapes, we selected bats as a biodiversity model system and examined two dimensions of diversity: taxonomic and functional. We compared bat diversity and composition in forest, with and without stream habitat, and in narrow forest riparian strips surrounded by areas cleared for agriculture. We tested the hypothesis that riparian forest strips provide potential conservation value by providing habitat and serving as movement corridors for forest bat species. Riparian forest strips maintained 75% of the bat species registered in forested habitats. We found assemblage in sites with riparian forest strips were dominated by a few species with high abundance and included several species with low abundance. Bat species assemblage was more similar between sites with streams than between those sites to forests without stream habitat. These results highlight the importance of stream habitat in predicting presence of bat species. We registered similar number of guilds between forest sites and riparian forest strips sites. Relative to matrix habitats, stream and edge habitats in riparian forest strips sites were functionally more diverse, supporting our hypothesis about the potential conservation value of riparian forest strips. Results from this study suggest that maintaining riparian forest strips within cleared areas for agricultural areas helps conserve the taxonomic and functional diversity of bats. Also, it provides basic data to evaluate the efficacy of maintaining these landscape features for mitigating impacts of agricultural development on biodiversity. However, we caution that riparian forest strips alone are not sufficient for biodiversity maintenance; their value depends on maintenance of larger forest areas in their vicinity.

50 Shades of Green Part II: The Fallacy of Environmental Markets

Recent calls to action to address critical loss of biodiversity are both long overdue and very welcome, but a parallel debate on the ‘how’ is missing. Yet the ‘how’ is arguably as important as the headline objective. The ‘how’ is also in the process of changing drastically with the promotion of new financial markets on environmental destruction, and the mainstreaming of a new kind of sustainable finance. Offset markets on biodiversity and other ecosystem services have been shown to suffer from intractable conceptual issues, including measurement issues, incalculable additionality, highly uncertain valuations and an inexistent price signal. As a result, they will never be able to achieve their environmental and social objectives. Empirical evidence also suggests an appalling social and environmental track record for some existing markets. As importantly, the selective pricing of only some ecosystem services and the ignorance of ecosystem interdependencies mean that the resulting values cannot claim to represent biodiversity. Traditional environmental regulation would be far more effective, simpler and cheaper to address the critical loss of natural resources. They would not require the unrealistic assumptions and oversimplifications needed to create markets on biodiversity, and would accommodate infinitely better the high scientific uncertainty and our incomplete scientific knowledge. While putting a price on nature to save it is a catchy formula, it would therefore seem that regulating nature’s destruction would be a far superior alternative. Sustainable finance should not foster the creation of such markets if it is to be truly sustainable.

Evaluating the spatial distribution and the intensity of urban heat island using remote sensing, case study of Isfahan city in Iran

In recent years, urbanization has widely been developed and resulted in great loss of natural resources on earth and many other consequences such as temperature rise which exposes the cities to a phenomenon called heat island. Urban heat island (UHI) can be identified and analyzed by thermal remote sensing. In the present study, satellite images of Landsat 7 ETM+ (1999 and 2006) and Landsat 8 (2013 and 2016) were used to retrieve the land surface temperature (LST) of Isfahan in Iran by means of the mono-window algorithm. Analysis of thermal levels showed an increase in the minimum temperature of 2016 compared to 1999. Furthermore, the results revealed that the heat island ratio (URI) in Isfahan in four different years followed a rising trend, moving from 0.16 in 1999 to 0.3 in 2016. The findings of this study indicated that the areas influenced by UHI are often in northern and southern parts of the city where vegetation cover is very sparse, the land is arid, and industrialization and regional settlements are booming.

Weedy futures: can we benefit from the species that thrive in the marine Anthropocene?

Humans are changing the marine environment at an accelerating rate, causing species decline and loss of natural resources. But counter to these declining trends, some species appear to be thriving in response to environmental change. Focusing on three divergent taxa – algae, jellyfish, and cephalopods – we discuss the concept of adaptable “weedy species” and how they may be the ultimate beneficiaries of rapidly changing marine environments. We then show how such species could benefit society, not only by absorbing human impacts and providing sustainable forms of food, but also by reducing pressure on species in decline. As the world's demand for natural resources continues to grow in a global environment under increasing strain, we should take a closer look at weedy species to see what they can provide.

The effect of link rewiring on a coevolutionary common pool resource game

For exploitation of social–ecological systems, cooperation has been considered to be a prerequisite to avoid the tragedy of the commons. As was theorized, coupling strategic and ecological dynamics could cause social regime shifts when the resource supply is sufficiently abundant. Regime shifts indicate the collapse of social cooperation and the loss of natural resources. The phenomenon has been demonstrated in an integrated society with static complex social networks; however, exploiting agents could dynamically switch their partners (i.e., link rewiring in social networks) in the real world. In this study, we investigate the evolution of cooperation in a coupled social–ecological model in which the ecosystem evolves according to the intrinsic rules and human extracting strategy, and agents are allowed to either change their strategies or switch their partners. Our results show that link rewiring has positive and negative effects on the evolution of cooperation in the common pool resource game according to both social and ecological attributes. Importantly, the partner switching can stabilize the cooperation when the resource has high inflow or reproductivity. These results broaden our understanding of the coevolution of structural, strategic, and ecological dynamics in a common pool resource game; the results also illustrate the importance of reputation mechanisms in the sustainable development of social–ecological systems.

LAND USE OPTIMIZATION USING THE FUZZY MATHEMATICAL-SPATIAL APPROACH: A CASE STUDY OF CHELGERD WATERSHED, IRAN

In recent years, inappropriate land use, urban and industrial development along with different pollutions emanating from it gives rise to loss of natural resources and further leads to destructive floods, soil erosion, sedimentation and other various environmental, economic and social damages. Thus, management and planning are essential for the proper utilization, protection and revival of these resources. This study aimed to develop a mathematical-spatial optimum utilization model using FGP – MOLA in watershed including environmental and economic objectives while considering social issues. The results showed that the proposed model can lead to economic growth to 37% and decreasing the environmental damages to 2.4%. Under optimized condition, the area allocated to dry farming lands will decrease about 12% and gardens will increase about 423% and the other land uses remain unchanged too. In addition to, the results demonstrated the usefulness and efficiency of the proposed fuzzy model due to its flexibility and capability to simultaneously provide both optimum values and location of production resources.

Modelagem da erosão hídrica nas bacias hidrográficas dos rios Lontra e Manoel Alves Pequeno, Tocantins

Water erosion is one of the main factors that lead to the process of soil degradation, with impacts ranging from reducing productivity to losses of natural resources. Thus, this work aimed to estimate soil losses performing RUSLE model and to verify the effect of changes in land use changes, from 1990 to 2007, in the watersheds of the rivers Lontra and Manoel Alves Pequeno,Tocantins State-Brazil. Water erosion in the river Lontra ranged from “slight” (51.3%) in the central region of the basin (dominance of flat relief and forest land use), to “extremely high” (24.6%), in the range that goes from the north to the west (dominance of pasture land use and more declining relief). In the watershed of Manoel Alves Pequeno the erosion class “slight” (52%) was distributed along the basin, due to most soils had low erodibility and with most of the area covered by cerrado. While the “extremely high” class (6.7%), occurred in the northern and western part due to pasture land use, and in the eastern part due to the greater slope. Temporal evaluation of soil loss evidenced that there were no significant variations in the period studied. However, in the watershed of river Lontra, from 2000 to 2007, occurred a 0.3% reduction of the “extremely high”; at the wathershed Manoel Alves Pequeno, from 1990 to 2007, there was a gradual increase in the soil erosion rate.

Monitoring and Analysing Land Use/Cover Changes in an Arid Region Based on Multi-Satellite Data: The Kashgar Region, Northwest China

In arid regions, oases ecosystems are fragile and sensitive to climate change, and water is the major limiting factor for environmental and socio-economic developments. Understanding the drivers of land use/cover change (LUCC) in arid regions is important for the development of management strategies to improve or prevent environmental deterioration and loss of natural resources. The Kashgar Region is the key research area in this study; it is a typical mountain-alluvial plain-oasis-desert ecosystem in an arid region, and is one of the largest oases in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. In addition, the Kashgar Region is an important cotton and grain production area. This study’s main objectives are to quantify predominant LUCCs and identify their driving forces, based on the integration of multiple remote sensors and applications of environmental and socio-economic data. Results showed that LUCCs have been significant in the Kashgar Region during the last 42 years. Cultivated land and urban/built-up lands were the most changed land cover (LC), by 3.6% and 0.4% from 1972 to 10.2% and 3% in 2014, respectively. By contrast, water and forest areas declined. Grassland and snow-covered areas have fluctuated along with climate and human activities. Bare land was changed slightly from 1972 to 2014. According to the land use transfer matrix, cultivated land replaced grass- and forestland. Urban/built-up land mainly expanded over cultivated and bare land. LUCCs were triggered by the interplay of natural and social drivers. Increasing runoff, caused by regional climate changes in seasonal variation, and snow melt water, have provided water resources for LC changes. In the same way, population growth, changes in land tenure, and socio-economic development also induced LUCCs. However, expansion of cultivated land and urban/built-up land led to increased water consumption and stressed fragile water systems during on-going climate changes. Therefore, the selection of adaption strategies relating to climate change and oasis development is very important for sustainable development in the Kashgar Region.

Characterization and Comparison of Microbial Soil Diversity in Two Andean Peatlands in Different States of Conservation-Vega Tocorpuri

Cerro Tocorpuri, belongs to the II region of Chile, in San Pedro de Atacama, on the border of Chile-Bolivia. The presence of a more or less constant supply of water conditions the existence of characteristic vegetation systems known as bogs (bofedales, vegas and marshes). These wetlands have a cultural, environmental and economic social importance. As a result of the exploitation of aquatic rights, peatlands began to dry up with the consequent loss of natural resources and damage to ancestral rights, and natural resources. The activities of microorganisms in wetlands play an important role in biogeochemical processes. The interaction between microbial diversity and soil, influences to the ability of the ecosystem to recover from stress (resilience). In the present work, the soil characteristics and the associated microbial biodiversity were studied, comparing samples of active and deteriorated peatland. It was seen that the loss of water causes great changes in the physical-chemical characteristics of the soil, which leads to a modification of the microbiota Proteobacteria decreased by 18% in deteriorated peatlands, which are evident more sensible to extreme conditions while Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria increased in these sample showing a better adaptation to the change of conditions. In view of the fact that high Andean Peatlands are exposed to increasing environmental impact, this preliminary comparative study of pristine and altered soil could guide the research directed to recovery of dead peatlands strategies.

Technology Factors of Improving the Performance Properties of Anticorrosive Protective Coatings for Safety Enhancement of Coal Enterprises

Corrosion, aging, wear of the basic production assets of the of the Kuznetsk Basin coal industry enterprises lead to huge losses of natural resources and material supplies; labor costs being increased. Most failures, breakdowns, malfunctions at industrial facilities, except for cases of misuse, are caused by the above mentioned factors. Therefore, the primary task is to develop methods for protecting equipment from corrosion. In this paper, the measures to increase the longevity of polymer-silicate mastic protective coatings by studying and optimizing the group of internal properties of polymer-silicates that determine the properties of the coating as a whole are proposed.

Using Annual Landsat Time Series for the Detection of Dry Forest Degradation Processes in South-Central Angola

Dry tropical forests undergo massive conversion and degradation processes. This also holds true for the extensive Miombo forests that cover large parts of Southern Africa. While the largest proportional area can be found in Angola, the country still struggles with food shortages, insufficient medical and educational supplies, as well as the ongoing reconstruction of infrastructure after 27 years of civil war. Especially in rural areas, the local population is therefore still heavily dependent on the consumption of natural resources, as well as subsistence agriculture. This leads, on one hand, to large areas of Miombo forests being converted for cultivation purposes, but on the other hand, to degradation processes due to the selective use of forest resources. While forest conversion in south-central rural Angola has already been quantitatively described, information about forest degradation is not yet available. This is due to the history of conflicts and the therewith connected research difficulties, as well as the remote location of this area. We apply an annual time series approach using Landsat data in south-central Angola not only to assess the current degradation status of the Miombo forests, but also to derive past developments reaching back to times of armed conflicts. We use the Disturbance Index based on tasseled cap transformation to exclude external influences like inter-annual variation of rainfall. Based on this time series, linear regression is calculated for forest areas unaffected by conversion, but also for the pre-conversion period of those areas that were used for cultivation purposes during the observation time. Metrics derived from linear regression are used to classify the study area according to their dominant modification processes. We compare our results to MODIS latent integral trends and to further products to derive information on underlying drivers. Around 13% of the Miombo forests are affected by degradation processes, especially along streets, in villages, and close to existing agriculture. However, areas in presumably remote and dense forest areas are also affected to a significant extent. A comparison with MODIS derived fire ignition data shows that they are most likely affected by recurring fires and less by selective timber extraction. We confirm that areas that are used for agriculture are more heavily disturbed by selective use beforehand than those that remain unaffected by conversion. The results can be substantiated by the MODIS latent integral trends and we also show that due to extent and location, the assessment of forest conversion is most likely not sufficient to provide good estimates for the loss of natural resources.