A New Global Demand for Digital Soil Information

Author(s):  
S.E. Cook ◽  
A. Jarvis ◽  
J.P. Gonzalez
2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
László Pásztor ◽  
E. Dobos ◽  
G. Szatmári ◽  
A. Laborczi ◽  
K. Takács ◽  
...  

The main objective of the DOSoReMI.hu (Digital, Optimized, Soil Related Maps and Information in Hungary) project is to significantly extend the potential, how demands on spatial soil related information could be satisfied in Hungary. Although a great amount of soil information is available due to former mappings and surveys, there are more and more frequently emerging discrepancies between the available and the expected data. The gaps are planned to be filled with optimized digital soil mapping (DSM) products heavily based on legacy soil data, which still represent a valuable treasure of soil information at the present time. The paper presents three approaches for the application of Hungarian legacy soil data in object oriented digital soil mapping.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanaa Ashour

Transnational education (TNE), responding to the growing global demand for education, plays a fundamental role in the current debate on the internationalisation and globalisation of higher education. Conducting a systematic literature review, this paper examines the characteristics of German transnational education, which has little in common with the American and British models, the reasons for its limited presence in the Gulf and its potential for having a stronger footprint. Since education for Germany is a public good, financial gain has never been a decisive factor for German universities to venture abroad. Whilst the Gulf Region is the largest importer of foreign education, German TNE is only represented by one university there, compared to the overwhelming number of US, UK and Australian higher education institutions. Although the Gulf Region is considered as a lucrative and appealing market for foreign education, lack of engagement of German TNE there could be interpreted through public policy-related reasons. Since Germany has already established its footprint in creating a unique brand of TNE, the paper recommends to build upon the country’s expertise in low-risk option for Germany to invest in the Gulf. For this to materialise, Germany must build awareness of its unique brand to stand out among the competition. 


2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-67

<p>The Soil Science Institute of Thessaloniki produces new digitized Soil Maps that provide a useful electronic database for the spatial representation of the soil variation within a region, based on in situ soil sampling, laboratory analyses, GIS techniques and plant nutrition mathematical models, coupled with the local land cadastre. The novelty of these studies is that local agronomists have immediate access to a wide range of soil information by clicking on a field parcel shown in this digital interface and, therefore, can suggest an appropriate treatment (e.g. liming, manure incorporation, desalination, application of proper type and quantity of fertilizer) depending on the field conditions and cultivated crops. A specific case study is presented in the current work with regards to the construction of the digitized Soil Map of the regional unit of Kastoria. The potential of this map can easily be realized by the fact that the mapping of the physicochemical properties of the soils in this region provided delineation zones for differential fertilization management. An experiment was also conducted using remote sensing techniques for the enhancement of the fertilization advisory software database, which is a component of the digitized map, and the optimization of nitrogen management in agricultural areas.</p>


Soil Horizons ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
John Doe
Keyword(s):  

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 439
Author(s):  
Shannon N. Rivera ◽  
Andrew Knight ◽  
Steven P. McCulloch

Increased focus on the illegal global wildlife trade has resulted in greater numbers of live animals confiscated by authorities, increasing the need to manage these animals responsibly. Most wildlife seizures take place in Southeast Asia, with global demand for live animals fuelling much of the trafficking. Guidelines for the ‘disposal’ of live specimens are provided by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), although individual Parties must implement provisions through national laws and regulations. ‘Disposal’ is the term used for the management of illegally traded wildlife upon confiscation. Confiscated live animals can be euthanised (i.e., killed), repatriated to their native country and released, or kept in captivity. This study investigates barriers to proper care and disposal of confiscated live animals in Southeast Asia, where roughly one quarter of the global multibillion dollar illegal wildlife trade takes place. Interviews were conducted with 18 professionals working within conservation, wildlife crime, and confiscated live animal management. Eight limitations to the proper care and disposal of confiscated wildlife were identified: (1) political will, (2) policy, (3) funding, (4) capacity, (5) expertise (6) attitudes and behaviours, (7) exploitation, and (8) corruption. Based on interviews, we propose seven key reforms to support the efficient and humane management of illegally traded wildlife for national authorities and CITES parties. These are wildlife seizure management, legislative support, enhanced political will, demand reduction, global participation, registry of rescue centres, and terminology change. This research highlights major barriers to the proper care and disposal of live confiscated animals and proposes key reforms to improve the conservation of threatened species and the welfare of millions of illegally traded animals.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 451
Author(s):  
Moritz von Cossel ◽  
Lorena Agra Pereira ◽  
Iris Lewandowski

The global demand for plant biomass to provide bioenergy and heat is continuously increasing because of a growing interest among many industrialized and developing countries towards climate sound and renewable energy supply. The exacerbation of land-use conflicts proliferates social-ecological demands on future bioenergy cropping systems. Perennial herbaceous wild plant mixtures (WPMs) represent an approach to providing social-ecologically more sustainably produced biogas substrate that has gained increasing public and political interest only in recent years. The focus of this study lies on three perennial wild plant species (WPS) that usually dominate the biomass yield performance of WPM cultivation. These WPS were compared with established biogas crops in terms of their substrate-specific methane yield (SMY) and lignocellulosic composition. The plant samples were investigated in a small-scale mesophilic discontinuous biogas batch test for determining the SMY. All WPS were found to have significantly lower SMY (241.5–248.5 lN kgVS−1) than maize (337.5 lN kgVS−1). This was attributed to higher contents of lignin (9.7–12.8% of dry matter) as well as lower contents of hemicellulose (9.9–11.5% of dry matter) in the WPS. Only minor, non-significant differences to cup plant and Virginia mallow were observed. Thus, when planning WPS as a diversification measure in biogas cropping systems, their lower SMY should be considered.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1694
Author(s):  
Amna Komal Khan ◽  
Sidra Kousar ◽  
Duangjai Tungmunnithum ◽  
Christophe Hano ◽  
Bilal Haider Abbasi ◽  
...  

Flavonoids represent a popular class of industrially important bioactive compounds. They possess valuable health-benefiting and disease preventing properties, and therefore they are an important component of the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetical and medicinal industries. Moreover, flavonoids possess significant antiallergic, antihepatotoxic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumor, antiviral, and antibacterial as well as cardio-protective activities. Due to these properties, there is a rise in global demand for flavonoids, forming a significant part of the world market. However, obtaining flavonoids directly from plants has some limitations, such as low quantity, poor extraction, over-exploitation, time consuming process and loss of flora. Henceforth, there is a shift towards the in vitro production of flavonoids using the plant tissue culture technique to achieve better yields in less time. In order to achieve the productivity of flavonoids at an industrially competitive level, elicitation is a useful tool. The elicitation of in vitro cultures induces stressful conditions to plants, activates the plant defense system and enhances the accumulation of secondary metabolites in higher quantities. In this regard, nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as novel and effective elicitors for enhancing the in vitro production of industrially important flavonoids. Different classes of NPs, including metallic NPs (silver and copper), metallic oxide NPs (copper oxide, iron oxide, zinc oxide, silicon dioxide) and carbon nanotubes, are widely reported as nano-elicitors of flavonoids discussed herein. Lastly, the mechanisms of NPs as well as knowledge gaps in the area of the nano-elicitation of flavonoids have been highlighted in this review.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Hebel ◽  
Sophie Reynaert ◽  
Klaas Pauly ◽  
Pieter Janssens ◽  
Isabelle Piccard ◽  
...  

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