Wet Areas Research Articles

Experience from a light trap Lepidoptera survey in a populated settlement: effects of meteorological factors and changes in lunar phases

In the framework of the research, light trap Lepidoptera collections were carried out in the territory of a settlement (Velyki Berehy, Zakarpatska Oblast, Ukraine), which is bordered by nature reserves, forests, and agricultural areas, as well as by the remains of a large marsh (Szernye bog) that had been drained in the past. A Jermy light trap with a household LED bulb was used to capture the moths and butterflies. In addition to assessing the Lepidoptera fauna of the area, the study aimed to find out which species of Lepidoptera are attracted to energy-saving light bulbs commonly used in households in a settlement located in a habitat-diverse environment. In addition to the artificial light pollution conditions and other anthropogenic influences of the settlement, the direction and magnitude of the effects of temperature, relative humidity, cloud cover, wind speed, and moon phase parameters at the time of collection on the flight trends of nocturnal Lepidoptera species were also investigated. A total of 97 days of collecting between May 2018 and May 2019 resulted in the collection of 122 Lepidoptera species from 16 families. In terms of their ecological requirements, species were found in closed and open forest, forest edge, scrub, meadow, actively cultivated and abandoned agricultural areas, as well as in dry and wet areas. Several species considered being agricultural, forestry, or horticultural pests were identified, but not in abundance. Among the environmental variables, temperature variation showed a strong significant positive correlation with daily species numbers and abundance, while relative humidity, wind speed, cloud coverage and moon phases showed varying degrees of negative correlation, but were generally weak. The effects of the interactions of natural and man-made environmental influences on living organisms are difficult to assess objectively, but their research is of paramount importance for the long-term effective conservation of habitats of particular conservation value and for the preservation of their biodiversity.

Perencanaan Drainase Saluran Terbuka Pada Area Tambang Komoditas Tanah Liat Kabupaten Trenggalek

One of the important aspects in mining activities is the drainage system. A good drainage system can prevent flooding, erosion, landslides, and water pollution caused by mining. The drainage system applied in the clay mining site consists of making drainage channels at the bottom of the mining benches. This is intended to capture the mine runoff water. The mine floor is sloped towards the drainage channel. Data collection is carried out, which includes data on location, area, and slope of the mining area, rainfall, runoff coefficient, and then calculations are performed using the Manning equation to obtain the channel dimensions. The planned open channel dimensions have a channel base width = 0.908 m, flow depth = 0.79 m, wet cross-sectional area = 1.07 m, wet perimeter = 1.943 m, hydraulic radius = 0.39 m, water surface width = 1.824 m, and freeboard = 0.197 m. The construction of the drainage channel is intended so that the water on the mine floor can flow directly to the drainage channel, thus not disturbing the mining activities

Estimasi Emisi Gas Rumah Kaca (GRK) di TPA Benowo Menggunakan Model LandGem

Greenhouse gases (GHG) are one of the dangerous gases that cause global warming. Greenhouse gases include methane gas and carbon dioxide. In large quantities, this gas can cause damage to the atmosphere. Greenhouse gas emissions are dominated by waste management activities at landfills. Benowo Landfill is one of the Landfills that manages the waste of the residents of Surabaya City. The more waste that is piled up in the landfill, the more gas is produced. So it is necessary to estimate the occurrence of methane gas and carbon dioxide gas in landfills. LandGem is a model that is able to estimate greenhouse gases that will appear in landfills. In this research, greenhouse gas estimates were carried out at the Benowo landfill using 3 scenarios. This scenario is applied to determine the influence of weather (k value) on the landfill. The results showed that scenario 3 which uses a k value of 0.7 (wet area) has the highest estimate of methane and carbon dioxide compared to the other scenarios, namely 6.801 x 107 m3/year. This happens because the k value means that the landfill area has high rainfall and there is a bioreactor or leachate circulation system. This value is considered a good value for bacterial growth in landfills.

Increased diurnal temperature range in global drylands in more recent decades

AbstractThe diurnal temperature range (DTR) has generally decreased at global scale according to the IPCC reports and previous publications. Here, we examined the change in DTR within the past four decades and found that DTR decreased in wet areas, but it increased in dry areas. This is because the daily minimum air temperature (Tmin) increased at a slower rate than the daily maximum air temperature (Tmax) in the dry areas, while it increased more rapidly in the wet areas. The changes in cloud cover, water vapour and moisture flux were observed to have contributed to the observed change in DTR. The change in moisture flux largely contributed to this change through the indirect effect on the change in water vapour across the aridity gradient. The significant impact of moisture flux is linked to the differential change in moisture flux between the dry and wet zones.

Comparative Study Of Conventional And Precast Methods From The Cost Side (Case Study On Batang III Industrial Worker Flats Construction Project)

The Batang III Industrial Workers Flats Construction Project is part of the construction of the Batang integrated industrial estate, where these flats will be a residence for workers in the Batang industrial area later. In the initial design of this project used the full precast upper structure method. This method requires a fairly high implementation cost, so changes were made to the precast / precast VE implementation method. The purpose of the study was to determine the cost efficiency between the upper structure method of full precast, VE precast column multi floor, conventional and choose the type of method that is more economical as an alternative option. This type of qualitative research uses the Value engineering (VE) method, the VE method is one of the well-known methods and has a considerable potential for success in controlling costs. This technique uses an approach by analyzing its function. The process carried out is to reduce cost reduction as far as possible while still paying attention to the desired quality and reliability. The results of this study showed that in the upper structural work of the Batang III industrial worker apartment project, it was found that the initial cost of the full precast method at a cost of Rp. 6,418,779,618,-, the conventional method amounted to Rp. 7,414,918,929, - and the VE precast method multi-floor column joint CCP, precast beam, combination of precast plate and conventional plate in the wet area amounted to Rp. 5,650,987,713, - with a cost difference of Rp. 767,791,904, - or 11.96%, it can be said that the VE precast method multi-floor joint CCP column, precast beam, combination of precast plate and conventional plate in wet areas is cheaper than the full precast method and full conventional method by considering quality results and implementation time

Systematic Assessment of Electrode Wettability for Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries

Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) are a promising energy storage technology due to their advantages such as long-life cycle and scalability. In these systems, porous electrodes such as carbon paper and carbon felts have been used because of their desirable properties such as good acid resistance and low cost. However, these materials may have poor reversibility and wettability, which can negatively affect the system performance. Recently, different activation methods have been proposed to enhance physico-chemical properties and overcome these limitations. Among different methods, surface treatments have been commonly used in the literature [1-5] since they can introduce desirable functional groups (e.g., oxygen, nitrogen) and enhance electrochemically active surface area (ECSA), which is believed to be the main mechanisms for electrode performance improvement. Although it is suggested that higher electrode performance can be achieved by enhancing wetted or active surface area [6], there is still a disparity in how to assess relevant wetting properties, since wettability assessment is often neglected and performance assessment is usually done based on VRFB cycling test results, which is costly and time consuming.Static contact angle (CA) is commonly used to characterize electrode wettability and evaluate the effect of different treatments on the electrode surface. However, this technique offers a limited understanding and superficial analysis, since samples are either classified as hydrophobic or hydrophilic, showing no correlation to electrochemical performance. Moreover, CA measurements are not adequate for porous electrodes, since porosity and surface roughness can impact on contact angle results. In the present work, we propose to use the method of standard porosimetry (MSP) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) to evaluate the impact of surface treatments on electrode wettability from a complete physical (pore size distribution), chemical (functional group density), and electrochemical (electrochemically active surface area) perspective. These tools offer richer information than basic CA measurements and only take a few hours to be performed, thus reducing the assessment time and cost compared to VRFB assembly and cycling tests.Preliminary results show that both MSP and CV techniques can provide useful information regarding physical and chemical properties that can correlate electrode wettability to electrochemical performance. While MSP results can provide electrode morphology (pore size distribution, porosity, specific and wetted surface area), CV measurements can provide surface chemistry information (functional groups density) and electrochemically active surface area (capacitance). Thus, both tools can be used synergistically to investigate how different treatments impact both physical and chemical properties and how wetting properties impact electrode performance. Achieving high performance is essential to increase system energy density and decrease both capital and operational cost, making VRFBs more competitive and suitable for grid-scale storage of renewable energy, having positive environmental impacts and facilitating sustainable transition. Acknowledgements This research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF), Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD), Canada Research Chairs (CRC), and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). Technical support from Elizabeth Fisher and Jonas Stoll is also acknowledged.

Вторичные течения Прандтля 2-го рода в пространственно-неравновесном турбулентном течении

In this work, a numerical study of turbulent flow and heat transfer in a plane channel was carried out. The features of secondary flows of Prandtl's 2nd kind, which arise in the vicinity of longitudinal ribs on the channel walls, are studied under conditions of spatial inhomogeneity of the flow. Simulations of four turbulent flows were carried out: flows in a smooth channel uniform in length, a uniform ribbed channel, as well as flows in a smooth and ribbed channel with an average velocity varying along the length. It is found that the presence of a rib in a homogeneous channel in the considered case significantly changes the distribution of turbulent flow characteristics over the channel section. These changes are due to the action of the emerging secondary flow with a maximum velocity of 5.2% of the average flow rate. In this case, changes in the velocity and thermal characteristics are similar. Both friction and heat transfer increase by about 10% due to the increased wetted surface area. The inhomogeneity of the flow, which is provided by the organization of blowing and suction through the upper wall of the channel, leads to more noticeable changes. In areas where the flow slows down, the fluid moves under conditions of an unfavorable pressure gradient. The intensity of turbulent pulsations in these places increases noticeably. In the presence of ribs, this leads to a significant increase in secondary flows. Both in the smooth and in the ribbed channel, an increase in the Reynolds analogy coefficient to a value of 1.07 was recorded, which is 6% higher than the uniform flow index. In general, based on the results of this work, we can conclude that the longitudinal ribbing is hardly capable of significantly changing the thermal-hydraulic properties of a flat surface in a turbulent flow, at least without taking special optimization measures. The spatial inhomogeneity of the flow, on the contrary, due to the different effects on the velocity and temperature profiles, has a certain potential for designing heat exchange devices with more suitable thermal-hydraulic properties.

A New Device (3D-MMD) and Method for Measuring Moisture Management Properties of Textiles

ABSTRACT Today, expectations from textile products have increased and the comfort features of clothes have gained more importance, especially for leisure and sports clothes. Therefore, the liquid moisture transmission of clothes is quite important, which has a significant effect on the body's ability to cool itself and the user's feeling cold after sweating. A new test instrument “3D-MMD” (3 Dimension Moisture Mapping Device), that measures the liquid moisture transmission feature of the fabrics in multidirection is introduced in this paper. The developed system includes two thermal cameras that allow measurement below and above of the sample. When the test liquid is dropped on the sample, the heat transfer occurs and due to the heat transfer during the transmission of moisture, the surface temperature of wetted and non-wetted parts of the fabric changes. This change is detected in the form of infrared data with the help of thermal cameras and converted into an electronic image. The wet area can be easily created by processing the images of the color visuals coming instantly from the thermal camera. The patent for this new method has been registered by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TR2020/21004). Meanwhile, the international patent application process continues (PCT/TR2021/051223).

Hydromorphological response of heavily modified rivers to flood releases from reservoirs: A case study of the Spöl River, Switzerland

AbstractReleasing experimental floods as part of environmental flow programs aims to restore river beds by moving and restoring sediments to improve hydromorphological conditions of the river. However, it remains a challenge to understand how flood release characteristics affect channel morphology, sediment transport, and hydrodynamics. In this study, field surveys and a 2D hydro‐morphodynamic and sediment transport numerical model were used to determine how differences in flood magnitude and falling limb alter hydrogeomorphic conditions within a 4 km reach of the lower Spöl River. The model was constrained by drone flight‐derived high‐resolution digital elevation models and two field‐measured flood releases. The highest flood magnitude of 40 m3/s resulted in 2,700 m3 of total sediment transport, 2,000 m3 of net total volumetric change and 16 900 m2 more wetted area after the flood. The same flood, simulated with an increase in falling limb slope, resulted in a decrease in the duration of full sediment mobility and a corresponding reduction of 8% in net total volumetric change and 5.3% in the total wetted area. Contrastingly, the lowest flood magnitude of 25 m3/s produced 130% lower total sediment transport, 105% lower net total volumetric changes and 10% less wetted area after the flood. Overall, we show that hydro‐morphodynamic modelling of river erosion and deposition combined with spatially rich topographic datasets are extremely useful in forming designed environmental flood scenarios to optimise sediment transport and thus hydrogeomorphic changes to set environmental flows. We contend that scenario modelling is necessary to help water managers optimise the amount of water allocated to environmental flows and to simultaneously restore and maintain riverine dynamics in heavily modified rivers.

Material mechanics properties and critical analyses of fish farm netting and trusses

Fish farms face the risk of aquaculture failure due to prolonged operation and the excessive loads caused by typhoons. Aging tests conducted for this study using salt spray, humid heat, and xenon lamps confirm that netting performance significantly declines compared to that of unused nets. The seawater-exposed portion of the netting in the dry–wet separation area is especially susceptible to damage. After three years of natural aging, the netting retains 48% of its original strength, and its elongation at break decreases from 90% to 32%. Under a standard load of 20 N, the equivalent wire model's maximum wear length is 205 m. The fishing net is prone to wear because of sliding friction with the truss. The net opening may fracture when loaded with 1000 N, with a maximum stress of 36.40 MPa at the corners. The netting's fatigue life decreases sharply when the vibration force exceeds 60% of its maximum strength. Moreover, risk analysis shows that fish farms with single-point mooring can successfully withstand a tension of 1256.72 kN during super-typhoons. In redesigned models, buoyancy tanks decrease current resistance, and trapezoidal fishing nets with an increasing slope along the truss column effectively reduce wear.

Experimental study on the gas desorption law in coal affected by dynamic water injection

Water from hydraulic technology affects the desorption of gas from coal seams. Gas desorption behavior is critical information for gas control in coal mines. In this study, a designed coal seam water injection simulation experimental device was utilized to conduct dynamic water injection experiments on coal samples at different adsorption equilibrium pressures, analyzing the gas desorption law under dynamic water injection, as well as the role of water replacement, water imbibition and water blockage in gas desorption. The results showed that water altered the gas desorption rate in coal, causing fluctuating attenuation of the desorption rate of a water-injected coal sample (WCS). Under the same adsorption equilibrium pressure, the relationship between the desorption rate of the WCS and the non-water-injected coal samples (NCS) underwent a transition in desorption time. In contrast to the NCS desorption curves, the WCS desorption curves lacked a rapid growth phase and exhibited only a slow growth phase and a stopping phase. Water imbibition and water replacement promoted the desorption of gas in the non-wet area during the water injection process, while it inhibited the desorption of gas in the wet area. Under the effects of water imbibition, water blockage, and water replacement, the discharge rate of WCS is greater than the desorption rate of NCS, indicating that water injection increases the total amount of gas desorption. The study results have significant implications for gas extraction and the prevention and control of coal and gas outbursts.

Effects of Riblet Dimensions on the Transitional Boundary Layers Over High-Lift Turbine Blades

Abstract Substantial research exists in the literature on reducing the profile loss of transitional boundary layers over low-pressure turbine (LPT) blades via different mechanisms such as freestream turbulence, upstream wakes, and surface roughness. These mechanisms have proven to be beneficial in mitigating the separation bubble-related losses in ultra-high-lift blade designs, despite an increase in the loss due to increased turbulent wetted area (TWA). In this work, we adopt a strategy of employing surface roughness in the transitional regime to minimize the separation bubble-related losses and flush-mounted riblets downstream to further mitigate the skin-friction drag and boundary layer losses due to an increase in the TWA. Several high-fidelity scale-resolving simulations are performed on this “rough-ribbed blade surface” to discern the effect of varying the riblet spacing (s+) and height (h+). The streamwise evolution of skin-friction coefficient, boundary layer integral parameters, and shape factor are compared and contrasted among riblets of different dimensions. The instantaneous flow features and second-order statistics such as the Reynolds stress, turbulent kinetic energy, and its production are analyzed for different test cases to determine the impact of riblets on these quantities. When compared to the roughness alone configuration, the scalloped shape riblets with s+ = 17 and h+ = 22 reduced the net skin-friction drag by 7.3% and the trailing edge momentum thickness by 14.5%, thereby demonstrating the efficacy of riblets in reducing the mixing losses under adverse pressure gradients. Through an analysis of flow blockage introduced by the application of riblets, the deleterious effects of increasing the riblet height along with the necessity of optimizing the riblet ramp are highlighted.

Effects of grazing on grassland biomass and biodiversity: A global synthesis

ContextLivestock grazing, a common method of grassland utilization, has profound effects on the plant biomass and biodiversity of grassland ecosystems. However, the overall directions and magnitudes of such effects, especially involving multiple livestock types and grazing seasons, remain poorly understood on a global scale. ObjectivesWe conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the size and direction of the overall effects of grazing on grassland plant biomass and plant diversity; and to estimate the variation of these responses with area types, livestock types, grazing seasons, and grazing intensities. MethodsWe performed a comprehensive search of the Web of Science® and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) (1950–2019) using certain search terms, and considered the studies cited by several recent related syntheses. We compiled data from 175 field manipulative studies at 200 sites by selecting studies that satisfied five criteria. ResultsGrazing significantly decreased aboveground (−38.5%), belowground (−14.7%), and total biomass (−20.6%), but did not significantly change root–shoot ratio, species richness, or evenness. The effects of grazing on plant biomass and diversity depended on climate types and grazing patterns. Specifically, grazing significantly decreased plant total biomass and belowground biomass in dry areas only, but increased rootshoot ratio in wet areas only. Growing season and year-long grazing decreased total biomass, whereas non-growing season grazing had not changed total biomass. Among livestock types (bulk feeder, concentrate selectors, intermediate feeder or mixed), only intermediate feeder grazing significantly decreased belowground biomass (−16.5%) and total biomass (−25.3%). Heavy grazing significantly decreased belowground biomass (−19.2%), total biomass (−24.3%) and plant evenness (−21.2%), but not light and moderate grazing. ConclusionsAboveground biomass was more sensitive to grazing than belowground biomass, and only over grazing decreased grassland biodiversity. Under the same grazing intensities, mixed livestock or bulk feeder grazing in the non-growing season probably is one of the ways to maintain plant diversity and sustainable development of grassland agriculture. ImplicationsOur results highlight the key role of grazing patterns and climate types in mediating plant biomass and biodiversity in response to grazing disturbance, and should be considered in devising the sustainable grazing management of grasslands.

Oblique water entry of a curved foil with varying speed

The hydrodynamic problem of a curved foil entering into water obliquely with varying speed is investigated through the boundary element method in time domain, and fully nonlinear boundary conditions on the deforming free surface are adopted. The process of foil entry begins with a single point at the lower edge; posing numerical challenges due to the extremely small wetted area, we utilize the stretched co-ordinate system method to address this. An auxiliary method is adopted to solve for pressure distribution. The whole process of the attached flow forming along the curved body and then detaching from the top edge is considered. We engage in extensive discussions on the effects of curvature, gravity, and acceleration, exploring their physical significance and potential applications, particularly within the context of surface-piercing propellers.

Histopatological Impact of Malathion on the Reproductive Organs of Freshwater Crabs Barytelhusa Cunicularis (Westwood, 1836)

Crabs are particularly useful in aquatic environment and play a very important role in the ecosystem processes and good indicator for polluted condition. The terrestrial crab plays a significant modal in the study of population and also beneficial for human activities. The present study deals with the histochemical changes of organophosphate, malathion in the freshwater crab Barytelphusa cunicularis. Live specimens of Barytelphusa cunicularis were collected from local wet areas of Marodasector, Bhilai, (C.G). The crabs were sexed on the basis of the shape of the abdomen. Average weight of crabs varies from (45-50 gms), the carapace length and carapace width varies from 3.20-4.50mm and 4.25-5.80mm respectively. The crabs were acclimatized in the laboratory condition, and kept in two groups the control group set free from Malathion and the experimental group was exposed to malathion for LC50 at different concentration 0.45ppm, 0.30ppm, 0.26ppm and 0.25ppm for 24hrs, 48hrs, 72hrs and 96hrs respectively. The sections of 5µm were taken for the histopathological examination of testis and ovary; affected due to the impact of Malathion, the testicular follicular cells interstitials cells and nutritive cells were decreased and distracted number of sperm cells it exhibited irregular arrangement of nucleus, in the ovary epithelial layer destruction, degeneration of oocytes, Shrinkage in ooplasm, vacuolization and reduction in cytoplasmic material. The result suggests that rapid utilization to meet the energy demands under the impact of malathion.

Geometric overlapping coefficients for calculating the required emitters per plant in drip irrigation

The designer of irrigation systems must consider a complex combination of emitter type, emitter uniformity, hydraulics, topography, desired water distribution, crop salt tolerance, water requirements, water quality, fertilizer injection, soil salinity, cultural practices, and other site-specific conditions. In contrast to the approaches applied for the hydraulic design of irrigation installations, there is not a clear, general and consolidated design criterion for calculating the number required emitters per plant. In most cases, given the wide spectrum of possible scenarios, only guideline recommendations can be found, and the final decision is often based on the subjective experience of the designer or grower. This paper aims at revising, clarifying and refining the existing published guidelines and methodologies for estimating the required emitters per plant in drip irrigation, focussing on the Montalvo approach. The agronomic design should satisfy, among others, two specific conditions: (i) the emitters should wet at least a minimum threshold of the soil area (or volume) corresponding to the plant for ensuring a proper development of the roots; (ii) overlapping between emitter bulbs is required for merging wetted volumes and avoiding salt concentration near the root zone. Relying on this basis, a thorough theoretical geometric analysis of the overlapping between wet bulbs of contiguous emitters is carried out. As a result, Montalvo's overlapping coefficients are deduced here. This author assumes an identical net wetted area for all emitters in the laterals, but it can be stated that the overlapping areas between emitters differ in extreme emitters and interior emitters, as well as in configurations with one lateral per plant row and two laterals per plant row. Therefore, this study proposes new formulations for the computation of the overlapping coefficient, which need to incorporate the number of emitters as an additional variable, as well as to distinguish between the presence of one or two laterals per plant row, and between grouped and non-grouped emitters. In one lateral per plant row, the original overlapping coefficient underestimates the net wetted area by one emitter and thus overestimates the theoretical number of required emitters. In the case of two laterals per plant row, the original overlapping coefficient overestimates the net wetted area in the interior emitters, and thus underestimates the theoretical number of required emitters per plant. The presented formulations are applied in different practical examples covering a wide range of scenarios. The results allow a general overview of the influence of the soil type, the emitter flow rate, and the selected overlapping ratio in the number of required emitters per plant. The revision of guidelines and methods presented here, complemented with other experimental results and models of soil water dynamics under drip irrigation, might contribute to a better decision making of designers and field engineers.

Response of surface energy fluxes and hydrothermal characteristics to night‐time precipitation changes in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

AbstractThis study aimed to evaluate the applicability of the land‐surface model CLM 4.5 in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau by utilizing field observation data from Kabu and Pailong sites. Furthermore, the study investigated the impact of night‐time precipitation changes on radiation, surface energy fluxes and soil hydrothermal characteristics in this region. Results revealed that CLM 4.5 accurately simulated upward shortwave/longwave radiation, surface energy fluxes and soil temperature in this region. However, the simulation of soil moisture exhibited a slight fluctuation of the simulated value during precipitation, resulting in poorer performance during heavy precipitation and a failure to simulate the rapid change of latent heat flux and soil moisture. Sensitivity experiments demonstrated that night‐time precipitation significantly influenced upward shortwave/longwave radiation, energy budge and soil hydrothermal processes, with each element changing considerably with changes in precipitation. Surface energy fluxes and hydrothermal characteristics were found to be more sensitive to increased precipitation than decreased precipitation. Additionally, soil moisture was found to play a crucial role in the impact of precipitation changes on surface energy fluxes and hydrothermal characteristics. Furthermore, the study also found that changes in precipitation had a more pronounced effect on relatively dry areas and seasons than already extremely wet areas and seasons. Finally, the variation in soil moisture was found to be restricted by the original soil moisture. In conclusion, this study highlighted the significant influence of night‐time precipitation on surface hydrothermal characteristics and surface energy budget in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau.

Natural Determinants of the Earth-Mound Fields Distribution in the Southwest of the State of Goiás

Murundusfields, also known as covoais,are frequent microreliefs in the Cerrado. These are sets of semicircular elevations that protrude from the surface of the land, rounded or oval, with average dimensions of 70 cm in height and 6 m in diameter. The determinants of its regional spatial distribution are still poorly known. This study aimed to identify the natural determinants of its spatial distribution in the Southwest of Goiás, in the Sedimentary Basin of Paraná. All occurrences of murundusfields identified by the project Mapping of Remnant MurundusFields in the state of Goiás (SEMAD-GO/LAPIG-UFG) were compared with information referring to lithology, geomorphology,NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index), and SMI (Soil Moisture Index). The indices were obtained from SENTINEL 2-A (MSI) and Landsat 8 (OLI and TIRS) orbital images. It was found that murundusfields preferentially occur in the Alluvial Deposits, Cachoeirinha, Detritic-lateritic Covers, and Serra Geral geological units. Murundusfields predominate under slopes of 0 to 8% (flat to gently undulating relief), and in areas with lower drainage density. The NDWI and the SMI indicated that murundusfields are concentrated on wet surfaces, occurring less frequently in saturated/very wet areas and in moderate humidity, dry, and very dry surfaces.

After the ‘Black Summer’ fires: Faunal responses to megafire depend on fire severity, proportional area burnt and vegetation type

Abstract Climate change and human activities have disrupted historical fire regimes, leading to complex and far‐reaching impacts on global ecosystems. Despite extensive research in fire ecology, studies exploring vertebrate responses to megafires, and to nuanced fire characteristics, remain limited. We collected camera trap data 3–27 months following Australia's 2019–20 ‘Black Summer’ megafires from 30 burnt sites and 10 unburnt sites. Our data included 14 animal species/groups, encompassing mammalian predators, small and medium‐sized mammals, large herbivores, and birds. We used generalised additive mixed models to assess the influence of time‐since‐the‐fires, burn status, fire severity, proportional area burnt, and vegetation type on species' activity. Models that included fire variables were well‐supported for all species. The proportional cover of low‐moderate or high‐extreme severity fire had substantial support for five species, particularly herbivores, which generally showed a preference for burnt sites but at differing fire severities. The proportional area burnt, disregarding severity, was well supported for four species. At highly burned sites fox activity peaked shortly after the fires while small to medium‐sized mammal activity increased more gradually. Vegetation type strongly influenced the response of four species to fire; in particular, wet forest birds preferred unburnt areas. Policy implications. We document variable short‐ to medium‐term responses of a range of species to fire which could help guide management interventions. We demonstrate that animal species' responses to fire are diverse and better captured using broader landscape scale fire variables. We found that species were strongly influenced by proportional area burnt, fire severity and vegetation type. Introduced foxes were attracted to recently burnt areas, so timely predator control may benefit vulnerable prey species. Wet forest species were sensitive to fires and could benefit from preservation and restoration of these habitats. Some species exploited low‐moderate severity burnt areas, while others preferred high‐severity burns. This suggests that species will face diverse challenges and opportunities in future extreme fire events. We emphasise the importance of using multi‐faceted approaches to account for the complex responses of co‐occurring species to fire events.

Deep Learning Tools for the Automatic Measurement of Coverage Area of Water-Based Pesticide Surfactant Formulation on Plant Leaves

A method to efficiently and quantitatively study the delivery of a pesticide-surfactant formulation in a water solution to plant leaves is presented. The methodology of measurement of the surface of the leaf wet area is used instead of the more problematic measurement of the contact angle. A method based on a Deep Learning model was used to automatically measure the wet area of cucumber leaves by processing the frames of video footage. We have individuated an existing Deep Learning model, called HED-UNet, reported in the literature for other applications, and we have applied it to this different task with a minor modification. The model was selected because it combines edge detection with image segmentation, which is what is needed for the task at hand. This novel application of the HED-UNet model proves effective, and opens a wide range of new applications, the one presented here being just a first example. We present the measurement technique, some details of the Deep Learning model, its training procedure and its image segmentation performance. We report the results of the wet area surface measurement as a function of the concentration of a surfactant in the pesticide solution, which helps to plan the surfactant concentration. It can be concluded that the most effective concentration is the highest in the range tested, which is 11.25 times the CMC concentration. Moreover, a validation error on the Deep Learning model, as low as 0.012 is obtained, which leads to the conclusion that the chosen Deep Learning model can be effectively used to automatically measure the wet area on leaves.