scholarly journals Where to prescribe burn: the costs and benefits of prescribed burning close to houses

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronique Florec ◽  
Michael Burton ◽  
David Pannell ◽  
Joel Kelso ◽  
George Milne
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Public Land ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Prescribed Burns ◽  
South West

Prescribed burning is used in Australia as a tool to manage fire risk and protect assets. A key challenge is deciding how to arrange the burns to generate the highest benefits to society. Studies have shown that prescribed burning in the wildland–urban interface (WUI) can reduce the risk of house loss due to wildfires, but the costs and benefits of different arrangements for prescribed burning treatments have rarely been estimated. In this study, we use three different models to explore the costs and benefits of modifying the spatial arrangement of prescribed burns on public land, using the south-west of Western Australia as a case study. We simulate two hypothetical scenarios: landscape treatments and WUI treatments. We evaluate the long-term costs and benefits of each scenario and compare the results from the three models, highlighting the management implications of each model. Results indicate that intensifying prescribed burning treatments in public land in the WUI achieves a greater reduction in damages compared with applying the majority of the treatments in rural areas. However, prescribed burning in the WUI is significantly more expensive and, despite additional benefits gained from this strategy, in most cases it is not the most economically efficient strategy.

scholarly journals Quantitative Analysis of Forest Fires in Southeastern Australia Using SAR Data

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2386
Author(s):  
Aqil Tariq ◽  
Hong Shu ◽  
Qingting Li ◽  
Orhan Altan ◽  
Mobushir Riaz Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fires ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
Backscatter Coefficient ◽  
Prescribed Burns ◽  
Southeastern Australia ◽  
Sar Data ◽  
Sar Imagery

Prescribed burning is a common strategy for minimizing forest fire risk. Fire is introduced under specific environmental conditions, with explicit duration, intensity, and rate of spread. Such conditions deviate from those encountered during the fire season. Prescribed burns mostly affect surface fuels and understory vegetation, an outcome markedly different when compared to wildfires. Data on prescribed burning are crucial for evaluating whether land management targets have been reached. This research developed a methodology to quantify the effects of prescribed burns using multi-temporal Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery in the forests of southeastern Australia. C-band SAR datasets were specifically used to statistically explore changes in radar backscatter coefficients with the intensity of prescribed burns. Two modeling approaches based on pre- and post-fire ratios were applied for evaluating prescribed burn impacts. The effects of prescribed burns were documented with an overall accuracy of 82.3% using cross-polarized backscatter (VH) SAR data under dry conditions. The VV polarization indicated some potential to detect burned areas under wet conditions. The findings in this study indicate that the C-band SAR backscatter coefficient has the potential to evaluate the effectiveness of prescribed burns due to its sensitivity to changes in vegetation structure.

BUILDING THE SOCIAL CAPITAL IN RURAL AREAS’ SMES WOMEN COOPERATIVE, GARGALIANI, SOUTH-WEST PELOPONNESOS

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonidas Papakonstantinidis
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local People ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
South West ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Procedure

The purpose of this paper is to prove that the rationalization of the “Integrated Endogenous Local Development” should be proved to be a valuable policy mean, under the proposed methodological procedure of Sensitizing Local People, through the “animation procedure”, toward developing their own skills, capacities and therefore their place, that are asked by the local SMEs Sensitization may be proved to be the fundamental methodological tool, for building the social capital at local level, by making valuable local people’s “intrinsic inclinations”-a “term” which is stronger than “capacities”- under a new value system, and human communication. ”Sensitization” - as the upper limit of the sensitization procedure- is been approached, step by step, especially: Establishing the “bottom-up approach” in planning the development procedure at local level, Establishing the “animation procedure” among local people, Analysing local people “intrinsic inclinations” in context with a “system value”, Creating a “team psychology” among local people, Encouraging local people in finding and adopting the local “Flag Theme”. The proposed procedure may be useful, especially in small, less developed and isolated rural areas. A case-study “Women Cooperative, Gargaliani, South-West Peloponnesos”, is referred as a typical case of the development procedure, based on local people (women) animation in Greece.

A Regional Approach to Mobility Management

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Morgan D. Vogel ◽  
Robert Blair ◽  
Jerome Deichert
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Regional Growth ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sustainable Transportation ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Transit Services ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas

Across the United States there is increased pressure for communities, especially in states like Nebraska, to engage in sustainable transportation infrastructure development. Through a case study of an ongoing statewide transportation initiative in nonmetropolitan Nebraska, this chapter examines transportation sustainability and planning from a regional and collaborative perspective. The Nebraska effort can be adapted to other states with significant rural and dispersed population centers. Funded by the state and the federal governments, Nebraska's transportation initiative, using an innovative public-private partnership, is creating and enhancing regional transit services in small urban and rural areas, using public transportation as a means to promote long-term economic growth and sustainability. Smaller urban and micropolitan communities, often serving as regional growth centers, frequently are overlooked when it comes to research on transportation planning and policy.

scholarly journals Where are they working? A case study of twenty Cuban-trained South African doctors

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Munirah Motala ◽  
Jacqueline Van Wyk
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
South African ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Career Choices ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Primary Care Level

Background: The year 2017 marked the 21st anniversary of the South African Cuban Medical Collaboration (SACMC) programme that offers disadvantaged South African (SA) students an opportunity for medical training in Cuba. Graduates are expected to return to practice at a primary care level in rural communities; however, little is known about the professional trajectories and career choices of graduates from the programme.Aim: This study explored the reasons why students enrolled in the programme, their professional and career choices as graduates and their career intentions.Setting: The study setting was the whole of SA although participants were primarily drawn from KwaZulu-Natal.Methods: An exploratory, qualitative case study used a purposive sampling strategy to gather data through semi-structured interviews from participants.Results: Graduates (N = 20) of the SACMC programme were all practicing in local SA settings. Participants preferred the SACMC programme as it offered them a full scholarship for medical training. Nineteen doctors had fulfilled their obligation to work in rural areas. Thirteen doctors are engaged in primary healthcare practice, either as private practice generalists or as public service medical officers. Three doctors had completed specialty training: one doctor was training towards specialisation, one doctor was employed at national government and two doctors were employed as medical managers. At the time of the study, 11 doctors were practicing in rural locations and 19 had indicated a long-term intention to work and live within South Africa.Conclusion: The participants of this study who graduated from the SACMC programme are fulfilling their obligations in rural communities. They all intend to contribute to the SA medical workforce in the long-term.

Cross-sectoral optimization and visualization of transformation processes in urban water infrastructures in rural areas

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 1730-1738 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Baron ◽  
I. Kaufmann Alves ◽  
T. G. Schmitt ◽  
S. Schöffel ◽  
J. Schwank
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Wastewater Disposal ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research Project ◽  
Transformation Processes

Predicted demographic, climatic and socio-economic changes will require adaptations of existing water supply and wastewater disposal systems. Especially in rural areas, these new challenges will affect the functionality of the present systems. This paper presents a joint interdisciplinary research project with the objective of developing an innovative software-based optimization and decision support system for the implementation of long-term transformations of existing infrastructures of water supply, wastewater and energy. The concept of the decision support and optimization tool is described and visualization methods for the presentation of results are illustrated. The model is tested in a rural case study region in the Southwest of Germany. A transformation strategy for a decentralized wastewater treatment concept and its visualization are presented for a model village.

scholarly journals Collaborative Patterns of Long-Term Sustainability in Community Social Enterprises: An International Comparative Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunna Kovanen
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Rural Community ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Transformative Power ◽  
International Comparative ◽  
Community Enterprises

AbstractThe article presents results from a research on the relevance and challenges of collaboration for the long-term sustainability of rural community enterprises. The study relies on Communities of Practice and Degrowth theories. Methods include semi-standardised interviews and focused ethnography in two community enterprises in rural areas in Germany and Portugal. Main results confirm the relevance of collaborative relations with residents, public sector, peer organisations and within the teams for both stability and transformative power of the organisations’ work. Respectful handling of privileges and balance in participation and professionalisation support sustainability, whereas institutional stagnation and involuntary degrowth may risk it.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of reducing seismic hazard by means of group winning blasting - case study from a copper ore mine in Poland

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 01010
Author(s):  
Anna Barbara Gogolewska ◽  
Natalia Czajkowska
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Event ◽  
Seismic Energy ◽  
Underground Mines ◽  
Copper Ore ◽  
Ore Deposit ◽  
South West ◽  
Effective Operation ◽  
Before And After

The copper ore deposit situated in the south-west of Poland is mined by three underground mines owned by KGHM Polish Copper JSC. Exploitation has been accompanied by rock burst hazard since the beginning. Thus, numerous different preventing measures have been developed such as temporary, organizational and long-term ones. However, no one has been able to predict the time, place and energy of a seismic event. The group winning blasting, with maximum number of blasted faces, is the most effective operation to reduce seismic threat. The more faces are blasted the more seismic energy should be reduced. The study aims at assessing the blasting effectiveness in inducing rock bursts and tremors. For this purpose, the seismic activity induced by mining and blasting were investigated. The number of blasting works and blasted faces as well as length of time between subsequent blasting works were analysed and related to provocation effectiveness. The linear correlation and different regressions were calculated to determine these relations. Moreover, the seismic energy reduction in the rock mass was evaluated by means of SRMS Index, which is a factor measured directly before and after blasting. The analyses covered one mine panel in the Polkowice-Sieroszowice copper mine over four-year period.

Ground/drinking water contaminants and cancer incidence: A case study of rural areas of South West Punjab, India

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 205-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gursharan Kaur ◽  
Ravishankar Kumar ◽  
Sunil Mittal ◽  
Prafulla Kumar Sahoo ◽  
Upma Vaid
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Cancer Incidence ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Water Contaminants ◽  
South West

The Noongar of south-western Australia: a case study of long-term biodiversity conservation in a matrix of old and young landscapes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Lullfitz ◽  
Carol Pettersen ◽  
Ron (Doc) Reynolds ◽  
Aden Eades ◽  
Averil Dean ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Biodiversity Hotspots ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
South West ◽  
Granite Outcrops ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Rich Flora ◽  
Ocbil Theory

Abstract Occurring across all southern hemisphere continents except Antarctica, old, climatically buffered, infertile landscapes (OCBILs) are centres of biological richness, often in biodiversity hotspots. Among a matrix of young, often disturbed, fertile landscapes (YODFELs), OCBILs are centres of endemism and diversity in the exceptionally rich flora of the south-west Australian global biodiversity hotspot, home to Noongar peoples for ≥ 48 000 years. We analysed contemporary traditional Noongar knowledge of adjacent OCBILs (e.g. granite outcrops) and YODFELs (e.g. creekline fringes) both at a single site and in two larger areas to test whether patterns of disturbance dictated by Noongar custom align with OCBIL theory. We found that Noongar traditional knowledge reflects a regime of concentrated YODFEL rather than OCBIL disturbance—a pattern which aligns with maximal biodiversity preservation. SIMPER testing found traditional Noongar OCBIL and YODFEL activities are 64–75% dissimilar, whereas Pearson’s chi-square tests revealed camping, burning, travelling through country and hunting as primarily YODFEL rather than OCBIL activities. We found that Noongar activities usually avoid OCBIL disturbance. This combined with high floristic diversity following enduring First Peoples’ presence, suggests that traditional Noongar knowledge is valuable and necessary for south-west Australian biodiversity conservation. Similar cultural investigations in other OCBIL-dominated global biodiversity hotspots may prove profitable.

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