scholarly journals Remote monitoring of land in western Kazakhstan

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-34
Author(s):  
Есмагулова ◽  
Bayan Esmagulova ◽  
Кошелева ◽  
Olga Kosheleva ◽  
Мушаева ◽  
...  

The article presents the results of the environmental assessment of land in Western Ka-zakhstan, held by decoding high resolution satellite images. The object of investigation is Bokey Orda District of West Kazakhstan region. Decryption is performed by space images QuickBird 2013 1:50 000. Application of space images helped to define the boundaries of the main categories of agricultural land (arable land, grassland, sandy tracts, etc.), set the location of settlements, trans-port infrastructure, as well as to identify the main elements of the hydrographic network (rivers, lakes, estuaries, sors) and mesorelief (sandy hillocks, hill reduction, etc.). It was found that 48.4 % of the Bokey Orda District territory is occupied by agricultural land, 40.7 % - sandy massifs, 10.8 % of the land area are various negative mesorelief – saline depression, estuaries, bitter-salty lakes. The data on land grounds allowed assessing the ecological status of the territory at a rate of anthropo-genic stress that for lands of Bokey Orda District is 3.3 points, which corresponds to the ecological crisis. The current crisis situation is caused by overgrazing and plowing of virgin lands and is cha-racterized by strong decrease in productivity and loss of stability. Selective economic use and plan-ning of deep land improvement is suggeted. An acute need to implement large-scale sand-control works, restoration of degraded pastures and unproductive lands transfer in adaptive forest agricul-tural landscapes is established. The data on volumes of forest reclamation works to secure the shift-ing sands, held in Bokey Orda District in the period from 2011 to 2013, are presented. It is recom-mended to organize of environmental monitoring using remote sensing data, which will allow timely identification of areas, subjected to degradation processes, and to take appropriate measures to eliminate pockets of desertification in the initial stage.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Adams ◽  
Donnacha Doody

<p>Northern Ireland has been somewhat overlooked in terms of water quality modelling in the past. Many of its catchments have consistently failed to meet Water Framework Directive targets especially due to high levels of dissolved nutrients and poor ecological status. A catchment based modelling study to address this issue has not been undertaken here previously and the approach described here uses two water quality models to achieve this aim. The objectives of the modelling were firstly to identify the total load reductions (in terms of Phosphorus (P)) required to reduce in-stream loadings sufficiently for concentrations of soluble reactive P (SRP) to be reduced to achieve the WFD “Good” status levels, and secondly to split these loadings into diffuse and point components. The third objective was to identify the most likely flow pathways for the transport of the diffuse component of P to the watercourses particularly for the agricultural (mostly intensive grassland farming) land use which dominates in almost all NI catchments.</p><p>The first model applied is the Source Load Apportionment Model (SLAM) developed by the Irish EPA. This model provides a large-scale assessment of the point and diffuse load components across catchments where multiple pressures are occurring. The second model us the Catchment Runoff Flux Assessment Tool (CRAFT) which is able to back-calculate nutrient loads associated with three major flow pathways. SLAM is a static model which uses averaged loadings from diffuse agriculture and non-agricultural land uses, and point sources (where information can be obtained from various sources) to calculate N and P exports. For P, the agricultural diffuse load component uses an enhanced version of the export coefficient approach based on combining the sources of P from applied nutrients (slurry and fertiliser) and soil P. A modelling tool allows the user to evaluate load reduction scenarios where one or several components of P (both point and diffuse) are adjusted downwards to achieve the catchment’s required load reduction. The CRAFT model works on a dynamic (daily) modelling scale and has simulated sub-catchments where the SLAM model has identified the need for significant load reductions. It identifies the different reductions (P export) that are required for each flow pathway, which will then inform on the type of additional measures (e.g. sediment traps, riparian buffer strips and wetlands) that may also be required.</p><p>The initial aim of this study is to complete a pilot application to the trans-border (UK and ROI) Blackwater catchment (1360 km<sup>2</sup>). Through a review of alternative modelling options for the whole area of NI, an assessment of whether this approach is suitable for application to the entire territory can be made.</p>


2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 72-87
Author(s):  
Rick Rowden

Indian agricultural companies have been involved in the recent trend in large-scale overseas acquisitions of farmland, criticized as “land grabbing”. India has joined China, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and South Korea among other nations heavily investing in large-scale agricultural projects in Africa and elsewhere. Several factors are driving India's effort to “outsource its food production,” including the Government's growing strategic concerns about ensuring long-term food security and concerns about falling ground water tables. Eager developing country governments have also courted Indian agricultural investors, offering special incentives, including offers to lease massive tracts of arable land on very generous terms at much cheaper rates than land and water in India. The Indian Government has supported this trend through high-level trade diplomacy, foreign aid, and subsidized credit for its agricultural companies investing overseas. Critics call the trend “land grabbing” and claim there have been negative impacts on local peoples, who are often displaced in the process. The public disclosure of lease contracts between the Ethiopian Government and five Indian investors sheds light on the negative ethical, political, human rights and environmental consequences for local people in host countries. New and ongoing advocacy strategies are discussed, including the idea to establish international advocacy linkages between Indian activists fighting for small farmers rights and addressing “land grabbing” actions within India, and small farmers in Africa and elsewhere facing similar problems. One idea is for such linkages to inform Indian citizens who can take action to address the problem of land-grabbing by Indian companies operating overseas. International land rights advocates see a common struggle in which land deals must involve transparent and participatory relations between governments, companies and local democratic communities.


Geografie ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zbyněk Janoušek

The use of Czechia’s landscape was repeatedly changed, especially by political factors. After 1989, there were large-scale processes of property return, privatization and transformation of the economy and society. In 2003, before entry into EU, approximately 300,000 hectares of agricultural land were not used economically. This was evidently an impact of a tremendous fragmentation of the holdings in the early 1990s as well as large differences between the structure of owners of land and its real users (tenants). A mere 62% of arable land (and 78% of agricultural land in all), registered in the Cadastre of Real Estate (register of owners) is also included in the Land Parcel Identification System (register of users). This disharmony between the cadastral data and the state in the terrain prompted us to focus our attention on this state. We analyze the driving forces which brought it about as well as the size and regional structure of such differences.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luděk Strouhal ◽  
Petr Kavka ◽  
Hana Beitlerová ◽  
Daniel Žížala

<p>Czech soil data is a mess. Modelling infiltration, or its probably most watched companion - runoff, has been quite a painful process for any researcher or practitioner studying any site larger or more heterogeneous than a few parcels of arable land. There are at least three main national soil databases in the Czech Republic, each of different age, scope, classification system and - most unfortunately - different administrator. So far Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation has taken good care of data for agricultural land, while The Forest Management Institute did his job considering forest soils. A few other research institutes manage their own specific databases. There has been no service available providing consistent data for the whole country, nor methodology giving some guidelines on how to cope with differences in existing datasets, though a few large-scale applications and studies do exist. This contribution presents preliminary results of a running project TJ02000234 - Physical and hydropedological soil properties of the Czech Republic. It aims at harmonizing and combining available datasets and deriving layers of soil texture and hydropedological properties. Next the project aims at gathering available measurements of hydraulic properties of Czech soil types and their partial validation and extending with field measurements in the scope limited by the 2-years of project duration. The derived database and data products will be published in the form of a certified map as well as offered to professionals through an online GIS portal. Design planners in the Land consolidation, flood and soil erosion mitigation projects as well as professionals in public administration and researchers in environmental disciplines will benefit from the publication of this consistent data.</p>


Soil Research ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 41 (7) ◽  
pp. 1243 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. M. Howari

The rapid growth of information technologies has provided exciting new sources of data, interpretation tools, and modelling techniques to soil research and education communities at all levels. This paper presents some examples of the capability of remote sensing data such as Landsat ETM+, airborne visible/infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS), colour infrared aerial photos (CIR), and high-resolution field spectroradiometer (GER 3700) to extract surface information about soil salinity. The study used image processing techniques such as supervised classification, spectral extraction, and matching techniques to investigate types and occurrences of salts in the Rio Grande Valley on the United States–Mexico border. Soil salinity groups were established using soil physico-chemical properties and image elements (absorption-reflectivity profiles, band combinations, grey tones of the investigated images, and textures of soil and vegetation covers as they appear in images). The lack of vegetation or scattered vegetation on salt-affected soil (SAS) surfaces makes it possible to detect salt in several locations of the investigated area. The presented remote sensing datasets reveal the presence of gypsum and halite as the dominant salt crusts in the Rio Grande Valley. This information can help agricultural scientists and engineers to produce large-scale maps of salt-affected lands, which will help improve salinity management in watersheds and ecosystems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-76
Author(s):  
Dang Thi Thanh Thuy ◽  
Nguyen Van Hieu

Maize is the primary food resource for livestock, mainly cultivated in the northern mountains, the central provinces, and the central highlands in Vietnam. By studying reliable reports and policies related to maize-based agricultural production in combination with interviews and focus group discussion methods conducted in Son La province, this study specifically analyzes the situation of maize production in Vietnam and impacts of policies for the specific case in Son La province. The research results show that, though the sharp decrease, maize has still been the main crop with an annual cultivation area of ​​over 30% of the country's agricultural land recently. However, maize is only modestly mentioned in some central policies, and no policy at the local level is reserved for maize production. In addition, maize is no longer a crop to attract local farmers’ and authority’ interest, especially since 2015, the transition in maize cultivation area on sloping land to arable land of fruit trees and many other crops has been carried out on a large scale due to some policies by the province, resulting in a sharp decrease in maize cultivated area and production. This might lead to limited results of substantial government policies on maize acreage expansion, maize cultivated area planning, or maize development strategy. Accordingly, some recommendations to improve the situation are provided.


Geosciences ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 404
Author(s):  
Adilet Valeyev ◽  
Marat Karatayev ◽  
Ainagul Abitbayeva ◽  
Saule Uxukbayeva ◽  
Aruzhan Bektursynova ◽  
...  

Alakol Lake is one of the largest hydrologically closed lake located in Balkash-Alakol River Basin in southeast Kazakhstan. Having a coastline approximately at 490 km, Alakol Lake has faced multiple threats due to both natural and anthropogenic factors as a result of tectonic movements, geology, wind-wave conditions, growing tourism activities, fishing, and transport, etc. The present study aims to investigate the historical trends in coastline changes along Alakol Lake in Kazakhstan and estimate its change rate by using remote sensing data in particular scale-space images Landsat-5 TM, 7 ETM+, 8 OLI, and Sentinel-2A. Based on Landsat and Sentinel data, the modified normalized difference water index was calculated to demonstrate the coastline changes along Alakol Lake between 1990 and 2018. Moreover, the monitoring and analysis of coastline dynamics is based on the main morphometric characteristics of Alakol Lake including water surface area, coastline length, geomorphology of the coast, etc. Our results reveal that there is a continuous coastline retreat, depending on the coast types. For example, in the case of the denudation coasts, a land inundation was from 120 to 270 m between 1990 and 2018. In the case of the accumulative coast (mainly northeast, north, and northwest coasts) a land inundation was from 200 to 900 m. A vast area of agricultural land around Alakol Lake become flooded and lost. This study demonstrates the importance of monitoring coastline dynamics because it provides essential information for understanding the coastal response to contemporary nature and anthropogenic impacts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 116-124
Author(s):  
Petra Bíla ◽  
Bořivoj Šarapatka ◽  
Ondřej Horňák ◽  
Jaroslava Novotná ◽  
Martin Brtnický

Soil erosion, especially water erosion, is one of the most widespread types of soil degradation, not only worldwide, but also within the Czech Republic, where it endangers more than a half of the agricultural land. In addition to farming, the landscape structure has a significant impact on soil erosion in the conditions under study, where, especially in the post-war period, the collectivisation of large-scale arable land was accompanied by the abolition of the associated landscape elements. The agricultural production area of South Moravia is one of the most endangered areas in the Czech Republic, therefore, it was selected for our research, whose main objective was to verify the sensitivity of the selected physical, chemical and biochemical characteristics to identify the changes in the soil properties in the erosion processes at the identified erosion areas. The testing was carried out within a period of 5 years in 60 locations with Chernozems with cultivated corn. To assess the quality of the soil properties, indicators of soil quality from the physical, chemical and biological – biochemical groups were selected. The results of the analyses and the subsequent statistical evaluation showed that the chemical characteristics, especially those related to the quantity and quality of the organic matter, were the most sensitive to the changes in the soil properties. From the biochemical indicators, some enzymes, particularly dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase, reacted sensitively. The physical characteristics were not significantly affected by the erosion processes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 227 ◽  
pp. 03002
Author(s):  
Gayrat Yakubov ◽  
Khamid Mubarakov ◽  
Ilkhomjon Abdullaev ◽  
Azizjon Ruziyev

Reliable information on the real state of agricultural lands will be required to the development of appropriate measures for the rational use of agricultural lands. To obtain such information, it is necessary to keep permanent and systematic records and inventories of land resources. Large-scale special plans and maps will be required for accounting, inventory and classification of agricultural land. Currently in Uzbekistan such cartographic materials are being created on the scale 1: 10 000 and 1: 25 000 by administrative and territorial units, farms or individual land plots. The article considers the issues of creation of special maps of agricultural land in scale 1:10000 on the example of Sharof Rashidov district of Jizzakh region using remote sensing data with very high spatial resolution KOMPSAT-3.


Author(s):  
Anastasiya Narozhnyaya ◽  
Yurii Chendev

Digitization of maps of land-use (scale 1 : 10 000) 1955–1956, 1980–1981s years of surveying, visual interpretation of satellite images of the modern period of high resolution (2017), as well as extrapolation of these data, allowed us to establish that on the territory of the Belgorod oblast the length of shelterbelts from the 1950s to 2017 increased 2 times — from 14 600 km to 29 600 km. At the same time, in comparison with the 1950s, in the 1980s, the length of anti-erosion shelterbelts increased more than 3 times and the length of protective shelterbelts decreased by 9 %. On average, on the territory of the Belgorod region, about 0.96 km per 1000 km of shelterbelts before 1955, annually retires from circulation. The rate of loss of shelterbelts in the period 1950–1980s — 0.23 km/year×1000 km. About 0.13 km/year×1000 km of shelterbelts loses the integrity of the stand and shelterbelts become fragmented. The reasons for the reduction of shelterbelts is their aging, lack of systematic care, destruction with an increase in the area of settlements. Visual interpretation of space images allowed identifying the disturbed sites of shelterbelts in which the rarefaction (fragmentation) of forest stand is marked. 693 800 ha of arable land of the region belongs to slopes over 2°. On them in the 1950–1980s the 10 300 km of protective shelterbelts were created, out of which about 50 % deviate from the horizontal direction by more than 30°, which leads to soil erosion and the formation of scours, and then — gullies. Only 8.7 % of the contour shelterbelts on arable land from the total length of protective shelterbelts were determined. According to additional calculations, for 35 % of protective shelterbelts located relative to the horizontal lines correctly, the potential amount of soil flushing exceeds the permissible values by an average of 41 %, i.e. it is necessary to create additional shelterbelts higher up the slope on arable land. The inverse relationship between the length of disturbed and abandoned shelterbelts and the values of the hydrothermal coefficient (НTC) (r = -0.44) is revealed: in more arid climatic conditions of the Belgorod oblast the viability of shelterbelts decreases. On southern slopes above 4° reduction of length of shelterbelts at change of НTC occurs faster, than on slopes of other aspect.


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