Urban Agricultural Land Research Articles

A Comparative Study of the different remote sensing techniques for evaluating land use/ cover in Basra city, Iraq.(Dept. C)

Basra governorate represents one of the most important governorates in Iraq, where it is the only seaport for exporting oil and agriculture products. However, this governorate is facing serious land degradation problems results in major changes in land use/ cover (LULC) within the area. Accordingly, the main objective of this study was to evaluate LULC in Basra city using different techniques on remotely sensed data. For that purpose, Landsat 8, Sentinel 2A images were used in 2018 to study extent of urban areas, agricultural lands, water bodies and bare lands areas in Basra city center. The studied techniques include: the supervised classification in three methods (minimum distance, maximum likelihood, and Mahalanobis distance), spectral indices, manual digitizing of features and land surface temperature (LST). These methods were applied on both Sentinel 2A and Landsat data at three spatial resolutions 10, 15 and 30 m, respectively. The obtained results indicated that the minimum distance technique has the highest accuracy in identifying LULC when compared with the other classification methods. It was found that the higher the spatial resolution the higher the accuracy of the results. The spectral indices were more accurate than the classification methods in identifying agricultural areas and water bodies. There was a higher inclusion between urban areas and bare lands due to the similarity in their spectral reflectance. Accordingly, it is recommended to manually digitize urban areas than classifying it. The LST can be used as an indirect and fairly accurate method for evaluating LULC in Al-Basra city. In conclusion, remote sensing data and techniques could help in providing more accurate information about LULC in Basra City to be used in its future planning and sustainable development

Forest Cover Dynamics Detection in Lume District, Oromia Region, Central Ethiopia

Forest cover dynamics is a critical global problem that affects the socio-economic and ecological function of forest landscape in the globe The Earth's forest cover is continuously altered by several climatological and anthropogenic factors. And its change influence world carbon cycle and biodiversity pool at local, regional and global scale. Lume district in Ethiopia is one of potential area that has important socio-economic and ecological function. Currently, despite their contribution to both economic and ecological services forests of Lume district are under serious streak both from anthropogenic and natural calamities. Hence, the fundamental aim of this study is to investigate the magnitude, trend and rate of forest cover change for the last 33 years (1985-2018). Quantitative data was collected using Landsat5 TM and Landsat8 OLI_TIRS satellite image, which used to define the spatial and temporal changes. SCP, QGIS 2.18.2, MOLUSCE and EXCEL were used for processing and analyzing data obtained from satellite image (https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/). Four period Landsat image data of 1985, 1999, 2013 and 2018 were used to produce land cover map in general and forest cover map in particular. The finding of the study depicted that, during 33 years period agriculture land and urban building increased by 728ha (10.82%), 1547.92ha (21.39%) respectively with equivalent decline of 3887ha (5.37%) forestland and 17502.55ha (24.2%) shrub land. Throughout the study periods, steady net increasing rate of expansions observed for urban buildings and agriculture land by 468.8ha and 237.27ha/annual, whereas, a net decline rate noted for scrublands and forests by 530.38ha and 117.8ha/year. The main findings of this study disclosed that, a resume increase in agriculture land and urban buildings and settlements at the expense of forests and shrub lands throughout investigated periods. Hence, in order to revoke the problem of forest cover change and its impact, proper measures had been forwarded which can be implemented both in the long and short-term commitment of anxious stakeholders in the district and national level.

Spatial Expansion of Urban Activities and Agricultural Lands Encroachment in Makurdi Metropolis

This study assessed spatial expansion of urban activities and agricultural lands in Makurdi metropolis, Benue State-Nigeria between the period of 1999 and 2012. The study employed ILWIS Academic 3.2a image processing software to conduct Land Use Land Cover Change (LULCC) analysis on Remotely Sensed (RS) data and Geographical Information System (GIS). A supervised classification was also adopted to identify land use type, and image differencing to identify the change. The study found out that there is a continuous decline in the total amount of farmland in Makurdi from 1999-2012. Specifically, it was found that in 1999, farmlands covered 43% of the study area while in 2012 it was reduced to 22%, indicating that spatial expansion of urban activities has been on the increase and may result in absolute loss in cropland with other sustainability risks and threats of livelihoods if not appropriately managed. The study therefore recommended that spatial expansion of urban activities should be well managed and controlled as well as to take into cognizance areas needed to be reserved for farming while carrying out urban development of an area.

Conservation research output in sub-Saharan Africa is increasing, but only in a few countries

AbstractWe tested if peer-reviewed conservation research output has increased in sub-Saharan African countries over the last 30 years in response to increased development. We carried out a bibliometric analysis to identify the number of conservation research papers published by national authors of 41 sub-Saharan African countries during 1987–2017, to provide an index of national conservation research output. We identified country-specific development factors influencing these totals, using general linear modelling. There were positive relationships between conservation research output and population size, GDP, literacy rate, international tourism receipts and population growth rate, and negative relationships with urban population and agricultural land cover, in total explaining 77% of variation. Thirty-eight per cent of countries contributed < 30 conservation research papers (of 12,701) in 30 years. Analysis of trends in primary authorship in a random subsample of 2,374 of these papers showed that primary authorship by sub-Saharan African authors has increased significantly over time but is now at a lower rate than primary authorship for authors from countries outside the country associated with the search term, usually a European or North American country. Overall, 46% of papers had national primary authors, but 67% of these were South African. The results show that conservation research output in sub-Saharan Africa overall is increasing but only significantly in a few countries, and is still dominated by non-national scientists, probably as a result of a lack of socio-economic development.

Tingkat Korosifitas Air Permukaan Hilir Rawa Pening pada Musim Kemarau dan Penghujan

Corrosion is an important factor that can affect the quality of air used by humans. This has an impact on health and economic factors, damage to air distribution equipment. The level of corrosivity of surface water as raw water for drinking water is important to be examined before the water enters the processing process or other uses such as hydroelectric power (PLTA). This study aims to measure the level of water corrosivity on the surface of the Pening swamp during the dry and rainy seasons in 2018. Taking air samples on the surface of the Pening swamp, then carrying out laboratory tests on the parameters of air corrosivity. The results showed that the downstream surface of the Pening swamp was not corrosive in terms of pH, temperature, TDS, and chloride parameters. The pH value in the dry season (J1) is 7.00, while in the rainy (J2) it is 7.77 and is non-corrosive. The temperature values are 28.6oC and 29.3oC in the rainy and dry seasons, respectively. The TDS measurement results in the dry season are lower than the rainy season by a difference of 12 mg / l. In the dry season it is 141 mg / l and the rainy season is 153 mg / l. This increase probably came from geological material (geological material) such as rocks and soil around the Pening Swamp Lake. Other sources of TDS include urban land, road workers, agricultural land and pasture. Human activities also increase in the increase of TDS in water including domestic activities (bathing and washing), trade, and industry. Chloride levels were 2.19 mg / l and 3.19 mg / l. This research has implications for the users of Sungai Pening Swamp. The corrosivity of air measurement is also by microbiological parameters which need to be investigated further.

Greenspace exposure and cancer incidence in the Gazel Cohort

Background: Exposure to greenspace has been suggested to be associated with lower cancer incidence; however, the evidence is still very scarce, and controversial. Here, we reported the association between exposure to greenspace at any site and site-specific (breast, bladder, colorectal, prostate, lung and skin) cancer incidence in the French GAZEL cohort.Method: We used 27 years follow-up data for 19,360 out of 20,625 enrolled participants in 1989 and assessed their exposure to greenness using satellite-derived Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within several buffers, and residential proximity to urban greenspaces, agricultural and forest lands using Corine Land Cover data. We used extended Cox model controlled for time-varying personal and area-level variables, with age as time scale and a ten-year lag. We stratified according to urban-rural area of the participants’ residence over follow-up.Results: Over the 294,371 person-years of follow-up (mean age at enrolment: 43.7; 27.1% female), we registered 3,689 cases of cancer. We found an increased risk for all-sites cancer with an inter-quartile range (IQR) increase of greenness exposure for all buffers, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.08, 95%CI (1.03: 1.13) for the 100m buffer. We also found a positive association of all-sites cancer with each km of decreasing distance to agricultural lands (HR: 1.04; 95% CI: 1.02: 1.07) and to forests (HR:1.03; 95% CI: 1.01: 1.05), but nothing with urban greenspaces. The cancer site-specific analyses showed a negative association between breast cancer and higher greenness within 100m (HR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.76: 1.02), and no associations between any other site-specific cancers. Stratified analyses on rurality did not show any difference.Conclusion: Our study identified an increased risk of all-site cancer associated with increased greenness and proximity to agricultural lands and forests, whatever the level of rurality. Our findings are less clear for site-specific cancers.

Land cover/use change analysis and mapping of Borg El-Arab City, Egypt

One of the essential steps for agricultural development planning is the recognition of land cover and land use LCLU classes and the associated changes with time, in which LCLU avails as one of the major input criteria. The North coastal region of Egypt is exposed to significant spatial and temporal changes in LCLU classes (urban, agriculture, and water bodies) that basically affect any kind of development programs. Borg El-Arab City represents a potential community and new industrial site for future development in the region. The supervised classification of Landsat satellite images and computation of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) are applied as effective tools in the study area to observe the LCLU changes. Landsat 5, 7, and 8 satellite images were used and four images dated in 1986, 1999, 2006, and 2017 were selected. The area under consideration was classified into seven main classes ,e.g., Mediterranean Sea, salt marshes, agriculture, urban, bare land, swamps and wet land, and shoreline strip. The area was subjected to significant changes in the last three decades as a result of the reclamation projects growing and industrial effectiveness as well. Taking the whole period (1986–2017) into consideration, results show that the study area is exposed to a wide range of gain or loss in the area of different land cover classes, particularly in regard to the agriculture area, urban land, and bare land. The surface area of urban land, agriculture land, and water bodies increased on the expense of decreasing the bare land, where it lost 31.3%. The urban area expanded into much of the agricultural and the agricultural land expanded into bare land. In light of the recognized change causes, approach policy suggestions for better management of LCLU can be established.

Agent-based model of land system: Theory, application and modelling framework

Land change science has become an interdisciplinary research direction for understanding human-natural coupling systems. As a process-oriented modelling approach, agent based model (ABM) plays an important role in revealing the driving forces of land change and understanding the process of land change. This paper starts from three aspects: The theory, application and modeling framework of ABM. First, we summarize the theoretical basis of ABM and introduce some related concepts. Then we expound the application and development of ABM in both urban land systems and agricultural land systems, and further introduce the case study of a model on Grain for Green Program in Hengduan Mountainous region, China. On the basis of combing the ABM modeling protocol, we propose the land system ABM modeling framework and process from the perspective of agents. In terms of urban land use, ABM research initially focused on the study of urban expansion based on landscape, then expanded to issues like urban residential separation, planning and zoning, ecological functions, etc. In terms of agricultural land use, ABM application presents more diverse and individualized features. Research topics include farmers’ behavior, farmers’ decision-making, planting systems, agricultural policy, etc. Compared to traditional models, ABM is more complex and difficult to generalize beyond specific context since it relies on local knowledge and data. However, due to its unique bottom-up model structure, ABM has an indispensable role in exploring the driving forces of land change and also the impact of human behavior on the environment.

Urban Change Detection Analysis during 1978–2017 at Kolkata, India, using Multi-temporal Satellite Data

This paper focused on urban change detection and growth pattern analysis for the period of 1978–2017 at Kolkata using remote sensing data and GIS. The supervised Maximum Likelihood Classification technique is used to classify the multi-temporal satellite data in five classes which are urban built-up, open land, vegetation, agricultural land and water body. Results revealed that urban built-up area has progressively increased by about 21.17% (239.097 km2) during study period due to the new construction of roads, flyovers, settlements, etc. Other geographical features such as open land, vegetation, agricultural land and water body have gradually declined. To assess the accuracy of classification, 88.27%, 92.42%, 91.62%, 90.18% and 89.34% overall accuracy and 0.851, 0.904, 0.893, 0.875 and 0.866 Kappa statistic have been achieved for the images of 1978, 1988, 2000, 2010 and 2017, respectively. The degree of magnitude of urban sprawl has measured using the Shannon entropy method which demonstrates that the overall entropy values are progressively increased throughout the entire region that means the urban built-up is gradually extended in different positions. Moreover, entropy outcomes revealed that urban development occurred more in the northern and southern regions as compared with the other regions. From this study, four urban growth patterns have been found which are low density continuous, continuous linear, noncontiguous linear, and leapfrog development. The important patterns are continuous linear and noncontiguous linear because most of the urban development happened along the sides of the major roads or highways. Future prediction has been obtained using CA–Markov chain model and estimates that the urban built-up may be increased by about 56.18% (509.82 km2) in the year of 2031.

SISTEM PENGAIRAN OTOMATIS MEDIA TANAM HIDROPONIK MENGGUNAKAN SENSOR KELEMBABAN UDARA

Population growth has led to a reduction in urban agricultural land. With the development of technology, the agricultural sector is also experiencing growth in farming patterns without soil media known as hydroponics. Hydroponics requires watering through pipes run by manually operated electric pumps. Human resources are needed to standby to operate it. Do not rule out the possibility, humans can be negligent and cause the water system is disrupted so that plants die. Making a pump active automatically is a way to reduce the occurrence of these problems. This automatic pumping system will be controlled by a microcontroller to irrigate plants automatically and can meet the required nutrient sources. An ATMega16 microcontroller is used that is programmed to analyze the input and output signals as needed. The input is a DHT11 sensor that is used to measure temperature and humidity, while the output is a water pump to irrigate all pipes. The output is also equipped with a 16x2 LCD which functions to display information on temperature and humidity. With the automatic irrigation system in hydroponic plants can save energy and facilitate the work in caring for plants with hydroponic growing media.

Analyzing Urban Agriculture’s Contribution to a Southern City’s Resilience through Land Cover Mapping: The Case of Antananarivo, Capital of Madagascar

High urbanization rates in cities lead to rapid changes in land uses, particularly in southern cities where population growth is fast. Urban and peri-urban agricultural land is often seen as available space for the city to expand, but at the same time, agricultural land provides many benefits to cities pertaining to food, employment, and eco-services. In this context, there is an urgent need to provide spatial information to support planning in complex urban systems. The challenge is to integrate analysis of agriculture and urban land-cover classes, and of their spatial and functional patterns. This paper takes up this challenge in Antananarivo (Madagascar), where agricultural plots and homes are interlocked and very small. It innovates by using a methodology already tested in rural settings, but never applied to urban environments. The key step of the analysis is to produce landscape zoning based on multisource satellite data to identify agri-urban functional areas within the city, and to explore their relationships. Our results demonstrate that the proposed classification method is well suited for mapping agriculture and urban land cover (overall accuracy = 76.56% for the 20 classes of level 3) in such a complex setting. The systemic analysis of urban agriculture patterns and functions can help policymakers and urban planners to design and build resilient cities.

Integration of GIS-Based Multicriteria Decision Analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process to Assess Flood Hazard on the Al-Shamal Train Pathway in Al-Qurayyat Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Understanding the dynamics of floods in dry environments and predicting an accurate flood hazard map considering multiple standards and conflicting objectives is of great political and planning importance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s vision for the year 2030, in order to reduce losses in lives, property, and infrastructure. The objectives of this study are (1) to develop a flood vulnerability map identifying flood-prone areas along the Al-Shamal train railway pathway; (2) to forecast the vulnerability of urban areas, agricultural land, and infrastructure to possible future floods hazard; and (3) to introduce strategic solutions and recommendations to mitigate and protect such areas from the negative impacts of floods. In order to achieve these objectives, multicriteria decision analysis based on geographic information systems (GIS-MCDA) is used to build a flood hazard map of the study area. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is applied to extract the weights of eight criteria which affect the areas which are prone to flooding hazards, including flow accumulation, distance from the wadi network, slope, rainfall density, drainage density, and rainfall speed. Furthermore, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC Curve) method is used to validate the presented flood hazard model. The results of the study reveal that there are five degrees of flooding hazard along the Al-Shamal train path, ranging from very high to very low. The high and very high hazard zones comprise 19.2 km along the path, which constitutes about 26.45% of the total path length, and are concentrated at the intersections of the Al-Shamal train pathway with the Bayer and Al-Makhrouk wadis. Moderate, low, and very low flood severity areas constitute nearly 53.39 km, representing 73.55% of the total length (72.59 km) of the track. These areas are concentrated at the intersection of the Al-Shamal train track with the Haseidah Al-Gharbiyeh and Hsaidah Umm Al-Nakhleh wadis. Urban and agricultural areas that are vulnerable to high and very high flooding hazards are shown to have areas of 29.23 km2 (22.12%) and 59.87 km2 (46.39%), respectively.

Delineating urban growth boundaries under multi-objective and constraints

Urban growth boundaries (UGBs) have viewed as an efficient tool to control disorderly urban expansion and promote urban sustainable development. The existing methods related to UGBs delineation have also focused mainly on improving the efficiency and applicability of the methods. However, it is not enough to emphasize simply the superiority of the methods, especially in China. UGBs delineation not only considers regional heterogeneous resource endowments but also further coordinates pre-existing land-use plans and the conflicts with one another. The study presents a novel framework for delineating UGBs from carrying-capacity-oriented perspective whose contributions are twofold. Firstly, the level of carrying capacity on resource and environment for each sub-region was evaluated by carrying capacity analysis. A modified mechanism was used to coordinate the inter-regional trade-off between urban growth and carrying capacity on resource and environment and quantify as the constraints of the algorithm. The suitability evaluations of multiple land-use type, including urban lands, agricultural lands, and ecological lands, are viewed as the optimization objectives of the algorithm together with urban landscape compactness. Second, we develop a comprehensive method coupling carrying capacity analysis, land-use suitability evaluation, and modified ant colony optimization algorithm. It can not only coordinate the conflicts with the land-use plans but also ensure the sustainable development for each sub-region. The dilation and erosion algorithm generates optimal UGBs. The proposed framework was applied to UGBs delineation in Wuhan, a rapidly urbanizing city in China. Multi-scenarios UGBs were delineated by the proposed framework. The results demonstrated carrying-capacity-oriented UGBs delineation perspective is more practical and closer to reality than the results of traditional methods. The conceptual and methodological advancement of this study is applicable to other cities to assist UGBs delineation.

Residential greenspace and lung function up to 24 years of age: The ALSPAC birth cohort

BackgroundResiding in greener areas is increasingly linked to beneficial health outcomes, but little is known about its effect on respiratory health. ObjectiveWe examined associations between residential greenness and nearby green spaces with lung function up to 24 years in the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort. MethodsLung function was measured by spirometry at eight, 15 and 24 years of age. Greenness levels within circular buffers (100–1000 m) around the birth, eight-, 15- and 24-year home addresses were calculated using the satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and averaged (lifetime greenness). The presence and proportion of green spaces (urban green spaces, forests and agricultural land) within a 300 m buffer was determined. First, associations between repeated greenness and green space variables and repeated lung function parameters were assessed using generalized estimation equations (N = 7094, 47.9% male). Second, associations between lifetime average greenness and lifetime average proportion of green spaces with lung function at 24-years were assessed using linear regression models (N = 1763, 39.6% male). All models were adjusted for individual and environmental covariates. ResultsUsing repeated greenspace and lung function data at eight, 15 and 24 years, greenness in a 100 m buffer was associated with higher FEV1 and FVC (11.4 ml [2.6, 20.3] and 12.2 ml [1.8, 22.7], respectively, per interquartile range increase), as was the presence of urban green spaces in a 300 m buffer (20.3 ml [−0.1, 40.7] and 23.1 ml [-0.3, 46.5] for FEV1 and FVC, respectively). These associations were independent of air pollution, urbanicity and socio-economic status. Lifetime average greenness within a 100 m buffer and proportion of agricultural land within a 300 m buffer were associated with better lung function at 24 years but adjusting for asthma attenuated these associations. DiscussionThis study provides suggestive evidence that children whose homes are in more vegetated places or are in close proximity of green spaces have better lung function up to 24 years of age.

A Study on the Relationship between Land Use Change and Water Quality of the Mitidja Watershed in Algeria Based on GIS and RS

Many catchments in northern Algeria, including the coastal Mitidja Basin in the north central part of the country have been negatively affected by the deterioration of water quality in recent years. This study aims to discover the relationship between land use change and its impact on water quality in the coastal Mitidja river basin. Based on the data of land use and water quality in 2000, 2010 and 2017, the relationship between land use change and surface water quality index in the Mitidja Watershed was discussed through GIS and statistical analysis. The results show that the physical and chemical properties of the Mitidja river basin have obvious spatial heterogeneity. The water quality of upstream was better than that of downstream. There was a significant spatial relationship between the eight water quality indicators and three land use types, including urban residential land, agricultural land and vegetation. In most cases, settlements and agricultural land are the dominant factors leading to river pollution, and higher vegetation coverage helps to improve water quality. The regression model revealed that percentage of urban settlement area was a predictor for NH4-N, BOD5, COD, SS, PO4-P, DO and pH, while vegetation was a predictor for NO3-N. The analysis also showed that during this period, urban settlement areas increased sharply, which has a significant impact on water quality variables. Agricultural land only had a significant positive correlation with PO4-P. The results provide an effective way to evaluate river water quality, control water pollution and land use management by landscape pattern.

Group Empowerment Trough Kawasan Rumah Pangan Lestari (KRPL) in Karangbesuki Village, Malang City

This study aims to determine the empowerment process in the KRPL program conducted by the Malang Agriculture Service-KP Office at Cemara Hijau KWT Karangbesuki Village. This program is the government's effort to maintain the existence of agriculture and food security from decreasing urban agricultural land through the empowerment of domestic women's groups. This type of research is descriptive qualitative, using Wilson's empowerment process which includes the process of awakening, understanding, harnessing, and using. Data collection techniques are observation, interviews, and documentation. The results of the empowerment research on the vegetable cultivation activity KRPL program, KWT CHF can produce food contributions with a harvest weight of 25-40 kg. Within one month KWT CHF earns an income of around Rp. 1,000,000 to Rp. 2,500,000 from the sale of harvested vegetables. The income is used to pay salaries of Rp. 5,000 per day to active CHF KWT members. Active members earn income around Rp. 250,000 to Rp. 350,000 per month. The research concludes that KWT CHF has been empowered and can be said to be successful. This success was seen from the additional income obtained by KWT CHF from the KRPL program activities in Karangbesuki Village.Keywords: Empowering Women Farmers Group, revenue additions, KRPL Program

Urban food cultivation in the United Kingdom: Quantifying loss of allotment land and identifying potential for restoration

Urban agriculture contributes to food security and human wellbeing and is associated with a wide range of environmental benefits. In the United Kingdom, a substantial proportion of urban agriculture occurs in allotment gardens, and these are a historically significant part of the landscape. However, allotment land provision has declined significantly since its mid-twentieth century peak. Here, we examine the magnitude and nature of this decline using a GIS analysis of historic Ordnance Survey maps covering ten British urban areas from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present. We find there has been a 65% decline in allotment land from its peak to 2016, a pattern also reflected in per capita provision, which declined by 62%, demonstrating a long-term trend across the case study areas, and the loss of food provisioning land for an average of 6% of the urban population. We also show that the most at-risk areas for food insecurity have faced eight times the level of allotment closures than the least deprived areas. Assessing subsequent land-use of former allotments, we show that 47% of allotment land is now part of the urban built infrastructure, and 25% is other forms of urban greenspace. Restoration of these greenspace sites to allotments has the potential to meet up to 100% of the current levels of demand for new allotments by residents of our case study areas. Our results demonstrate that whilst a significant amount of urban agricultural land has been lost, opportunities for restoration exist on a substantial scale.

Green open space of riverbanks in Bogor City as a potential location for development of urban agriculture

Bogor City is one city that has a history as a green city. To meet food security, green cities are not only directed at planting trees or ornamental plants. However, currently the green city is more directed at the development of productive plants so that the people of Bogor City can use it in meeting food needs. One alternative to conversion of urban agricultural land is in the river area. One of the structures of the Green Open Space (GOS) in Bogor City is referred to as the GOS river bank. Riverbank GOS is one of the potential locations for the development of urban agriculture, so this study aims to identify potential locations on river banks for the development of urban agriculture. The method used in this study is GIS analysis. The analysis process is done by overlaying the hydrological map (river), GOS land use map, and land slope map, which then produces the riverbank GOS thematic map. This data analysis technique is followed by an initial inspection process to check the correct location of potential points. The results of this study indicate potential location points of riverbank GOS that can be used for the development of urban agriculture in Bogor City.

Stabilization by co-composting dry drain sludge with fermentescible fractions of household garbage from the city of Sokodé (Togo)

The management of fecal sludge is a recurrent problem for the actors in charge of the urban environment of Sokodé. Often, the sludge emptied is poured on empty spaces or used, without treatment, on urban and suburban agricultural land and for market gardening; in fact, a survey of market gardeners in the city of Sokodé found that around 40% of them directly use untreated dried sludge to amend their production areas. Consequently, bacteria and worm eggs can adhere to vegetable products and infect consumers. In view of these potential risks, the objective of this work was then to stabilize the organic matter of dried sludge with a view to their hygienic use for the agricultural amendment. In this research it has been developed compost obtained from fermentable fractions of household waste and compost obtained from the fermentable fractions of household waste with sludge (co-composting). Results have shown that both types of compost have a high content of nutrients, which is an advantage for use in the agriculture. Therefore, the assessment of stability and maturity parameters shows that co-composted sludge produces mature compost and can improve soil fertility without biological risk.Keywords: Bacteria, worm eggs, sludge, organic materials, market gardening.

Sociolinguistic Consequences of Economic Convergence in Galicia, Spain

Changes in the nature of capitalist production over the past thirty years have allowed regions to assert a greater political and economic presence in the new global marketplace. Galicia, a Spanish region located in the northwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula, was once Spain’s lowest economic performer. Galicia’s late move from a rural agrarian to an industrialized and technology-based economy has been accompanied by urban growth and drastic changes in land use over the past three decades. These changes have brought cultural consequences to the region, including prominent language shift from the regional language of Galician to the prestigious majority language of Castilian. To help analyze these themes, this article looks at the aims and application of both the European Union (EU) regional development and cultural policies and uses remote sensing tools to track the land-use change of urban centers and agricultural land over a thirty-year period in Galicia, along with historical and current analysis of Galicia’s economy and sociolinguistic geographies. Results show that a policy mismatch exists between EU regional economic and cultural policies, wherein the former inadvertently damages the latter.