scholarly journals Spatial Distribution of Lead (Pb) in Soil: A Case Study in a Contaminated Area of the Czech Republic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Francos ◽  
Asa Gholizadeh ◽  
Eyal Ben Dor
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Kriging Interpolation ◽  
Interpolation Model ◽  
Hotspot Analysis ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Model Soil ◽  
New Perspective

For decades, the Příbram district in the Czech Republic has been affected by industrial and mining activities. These activities are important sources of heavy metal pollutants that are detrimental to soil quality. A recent study examined visible–near-infrared (VNIR), shortwave-infrared (SWIR) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy to model soil lead (Pb) content in a selected area located in the Příbram district. Following that study, and using the same chemical and geographical data, we examined the spatial distribution of Pb content in the soil, with a combination of different traditional spatial analyses (Moran’s I, hotspot analysis, and Kriging) that were significantly validated. One of the novel points of this work is the use of the Getis–Ord hotspot analysis before the execution of a Kriging interpolation model to better emphasize clustering patterns. The results indicated that Pb was a spatially dependent soil property and through extensive in situ sampling, it was possible to generate a very accurate Kriging interpolation model. The high-Pb hotspots coincided with topographic obstacles that were modeled using topographic profiles extracted from the open-source Google Earth platform, indicating that Pb content does not always exhibit a direct relationship with topographic height as a result of runoff, due to the contribution of topographic steps. This observation provides a new perspective on the relationship between Pb content and topographic patterns.

scholarly journals The development of regional differentiation of office construction in the Czech Republic: 1990–2010

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-33
Author(s):  
Pavel Domalewski ◽  
Jan Baxa
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Office Building ◽  
Regional Differentiation ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Dominant Position

Abstract The factors that were crucial for the construction of administrative buildings in the regional capitals of the Czech Republic are subject to examination in this article. One primary question is whether the development of office construction reflects the qualitative importance of the cities, or whether there are some other regularities in the spatial distribution of construction. To identify the key factors, controlled interviews with experts professionally involved in the construction of administrative buildings were carried out, and these data were then extended as part of a large-scale questionnaire survey with other experts on the issue. The results have confirmed the dominant position of the capital city of Prague in terms of its qualitative importance, as the remaining regional capitals have less than one-tenth of the volume of modern office building areas. The greatest differences in the construction of administrative buildings have been noted in Brno and Ostrava, despite the fact that they exhibit similar characteristics when considered in the light of respondent-determined factors.

scholarly journals Evaluation of discrepancies in spatial distribution of rainfall erosivity in the Czech Republic caused by different approaches using GIS and geostatistical tools

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 117-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Brychta ◽  
M. Janeček
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Temporal Resolution ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Interpolation Method ◽  
Rainfall Data ◽  
Rainfall Erosivity ◽  
Yearly Variation ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
R Factor

The study presents all approaches of rainfall erosivity factor (R) computation and estimation used in the Czech Republic (CR). A lot of distortions stem from the difference in erosive rainfall criteria, time period, tipping rain gauges errors, low temporal resolution of rainfall data, the type of interpolation method, and inappropriate covariates. Differences in resulting R values and their spatial distribution caused by the described approaches were analyzed using the geostatistical method of Empirical Bayesian Kriging and the tools of the geographic information system (GIS). Similarity with the highest temporal resolution approach using 1-min rainfall data was analyzed. Different types of covariates were tested for incorporation to the cokriging method. Only longitude exhibits high correlation with R and can be recommended for the CR conditions. By incorporating covariates such as elevation, with no or weak correlation with R, the results can be distorted even by 81%. Because of significant yearly variation of R factor values and not clearly confirmed methodology of R values calculation and their estimation at unmeasured places we recommend the R factor for agricultural land in the Czech Republic R = 40 MJ/ha·cm/h +/– 10% depends on geographic location.

scholarly journals Validation of the PALM model system 6.0 in a real urban environment: a case study in Dejvice, Prague, the Czech Republic

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 4797-4842
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Resler ◽  
Kryštof Eben ◽  
Jan Geletič ◽  
Pavel Krč ◽  
Martin Rosecký ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Wall Surface ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Street Canyons ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Surface Temperatures

Abstract. In recent years, the PALM 6.0 modelling system has been rapidly developing its capability to simulate physical processes within urban environments. Some examples in this regard are energy-balance solvers for building and land surfaces, a radiative transfer model to account for multiple reflections and shading, a plant-canopy model to consider the effects of plants on flow (thermo)dynamics, and a chemistry transport model to enable simulation of air quality. This study provides a thorough evaluation of modelled meteorological, air chemistry, and ground and wall-surface quantities against dedicated in situ measurements taken in an urban environment in Dejvice, Prague, the Czech Republic. Measurements included monitoring of air quality and meteorology in street canyons, surface temperature scanning with infrared cameras, and monitoring of wall heat fluxes. Large-eddy simulations (LES) using the PALM model driven by boundary conditions obtained from a mesoscale model were performed for multiple days within two summer and three winter episodes characterized by different atmospheric conditions. For the simulated episodes, the resulting temperature, wind speed, and chemical compound concentrations within street canyons show a realistic representation of the observed state, except that the LES did not adequately capture night-time cooling near the surface for certain meteorological conditions. In some situations, insufficient turbulent mixing was modelled, resulting in higher near-surface concentrations. At most of the evaluation points, the simulated surface temperature reproduces the observed surface temperature reasonably well for both absolute and daily amplitude values. However, especially for the winter episodes and for modern buildings with multilayer walls, the heat transfer through walls is not well captured in some cases, leading to discrepancies between the modelled and observed wall-surface temperature. Furthermore, the study corroborates model dependency on the accuracy of the input data. In particular, the temperatures of surfaces affected by nearby trees strongly depend on the spatial distribution of the leaf area density, land surface temperatures at grass surfaces strongly depend on the initial soil moisture, wall-surface temperatures depend on the correct setting of wall material parameters, and concentrations depend on detailed information on spatial distribution of emissions, all of which are often unavailable at sufficient accuracy. The study also points out some current model limitations, particularly the implications of representing topography and complex heterogeneous facades on a discrete Cartesian grid, and glass facades that are not fully represented in terms of radiative processes. Our findings are able to validate the representation of physical processes in PALM while also pointing out specific shortcomings. This will help to build a baseline for future developments of the model and improvements of simulations of physical processes in an urban environment.

scholarly journals What Are the Most Important Factors Influencing Springtail Tetrodontophora bielanensis?

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 858
Author(s):  
Strahinja Mladenović ◽  
Jan Materna ◽  
Tereza Brestovanská ◽  
Jakub Horák
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Cold Climate ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Soil Layers ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Landscape Level

The springtail, Tetrodontophora bielanensis, dwells in the litter and upper soil layers. This arthropod mainly inhabits humid litter and soil and prefers a cold climate. We determined the main factors influencing this springtail in forests at the landscape level in Krkonoše and site level in Orlické hory in the Czech Republic. We used passive trunk-tree traps. These traps are highly effective for sampling flightless fauna. We used 128 traps in Krkonoše and 17 traps in Orlické hory. The springtail was significantly positively influenced by the presence of Norway spruce (Picea abies) at the landscape level. Springtails’ abundance was, furthermore, influenced by the spatial distribution of the sampling sites. The negative influence of bark coverage and the presence of fungi, and positive influence of an increasing dimension of trees were significant at the site level. We argue for a more diversified management of mountainous forests with respect to forest history. This appears to be also important for mountainous forests in protected areas.

scholarly journals Problematika „environmentálních hazardů“ v geografickém vzdělávání

Envigogika ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Markéta Pluháčková
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Environmental Hazards ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Final Part ◽  
General Knowledge ◽  
Geographical Education ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Impact

This article deals with the topic of environmental hazards within geographical education. It describes how issues of environmental hazards at the local level can be communicated in education. The suggested method is project teaching divided into three levels. The first level aims at imparting general knowledge about a hazard and its appropriate terminology. The second level is based on protection against the hazard, and the last part deals with appropriate protection against the hazard in future. As an example, floods were chosen as a hazard that is very significant in the Czech Republic. The project presented here was partly performed using the Google Earth application that presents theoretical information applied in practice and includes some field work focused on the impact of previous floods. This project has been undertaken twice. An evaluation of the results can be found in the final part of this article.

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