Traditional Knowledge used in Soil Taxonomy and Identifying Degradation: A Case Study in Knuckles Range, Sri Lanka

2020 ◽  
Vol 05 (02) ◽  
pp. 106-129
Author(s):  
T. M. S. P. K. Thennakoon ◽  
R. N. Gamachchige
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Soil Classification ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Soil Taxonomy ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Local Soil

Traditional Knowledge is an experiential knowledge built by people within a long duration and this knowledge has been decaying with time. Traditional soil taxonomies or classifications are most important in the process of identifying soil degradation. Therefore, this study was focused to ascertain the traditional knowledge used in identification of soil erosion and classification of soil in the Knuckles range of Sri Lanka. Seven Grama Niladhrari Divisions out of 56 laid in Knuckles range were selected as the study area. Out of 346 families living in the study area, 120 families were selected by employing simple random sampling method. Data was collected through questionnaires, interviews, observations and transect walks while international and local soil classification methods were applied for scientific validation. In this study four (04) traditional methods used to classify the soil was identified. Based on 6 different indigenous criteria, three (03) main soil types and 15 sub soil types were identified. Further, types of components existing in each indigenous soil type were identified using a soil index which comprises of 16 type of materials while nine (09) soil samples and nine (09) soil profiles were scientifically validated through international and local soil classification. The traditional soil taxonomy found in this research can be applied for identifying and minimizing the degradation of soil and securing the quality of the environment. Comparative studies between the scientific and traditional science like this would expose and disseminate more and more possibilities on future studies.

Research on Retrieval System for Soil Taxonomy

2014 ◽  
Vol 519-520 ◽  
pp. 1525-1528
Author(s):  
Yang Zhan
Keyword(s):  
Retrieval System ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Soil Classification ◽  
Soil Science ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Rule Engine ◽  
Soil Taxonomy ◽  
Rule Based ◽  
Automatic Retrieval ◽  
Almost All

Automatic classification retrieval for soil types has become a hot spot in the study of soil science and related fields in recent years. But almost all the studies ignored that the retrieval rules need to made revision continuously. When the retrieval rules have changed, we had to rewrite the reasoning code. It hinders the popularization and application of automatic soil classification retrieval system. This paper attempts to utilize the rule engine technique to solve the problem mentioned above. According to "Keys to Chinese Soil Taxonomy", the rule based on the form of RuleML was established, which can be modified and expanded easily. Finally, the automatic retrieval system for Soil Taxonomy is implemented with NxBRE.

scholarly journals VIABILIDADE DOS MODOS NÃO MOTORIZADOS

2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 303-310
Author(s):  
Verônica de Freitas ◽  
◽  
Luzenira Alves Brasileiro ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Statistical Method ◽  
Random Sampling ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Main Mode ◽  
To Come ◽  
Motorized Vehicles ◽  
The City

Traffic is getting increasingly chaotic and the jams are getting more and more frequent in such way that people's lives in cities are being affected with reduced quality of life due to the time spent to come and go for everyday tasks, therefore the importance of studying traffic demands for installation of cycle routes in order to contribute to the reduce the usage of motorized vehicles. This case study was held in the city of Presidente Epitácio-SP, applying 1763 questionnaires which were applied in a total of 41.511 inhabitants. The number of questionnaires that were applied were defined by the statistical method Simple Random Sampling (AAS). These data from the questionnaires resulted in matrices source destination, S/D, via Google Maps software, which allowed the research to obtain the main mode used, and the greater flow routes. Non-motorized modes predominated in results in 50%, thus clearly showing the necessity for cycle lanes in the aforementioned town.

scholarly journals The Rapid Method of Soil Identification Based on Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (Case Study of Moramo Watershed)

Land Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. p12
Author(s):  
Jufri Karim ◽  
Totok Gunawan ◽  
Tukidal Yunianto ◽  
Hasbullah Syaf ◽  
Syamsu Alam
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Analysis ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Image Data ◽  
Soil Classification ◽  
Histogram Equalization ◽  
Geographic Information ◽  
Soil Taxonomy ◽  
Composite Image

The field-tested samples are done by stratified random sampling. Soil classification was obtained through observation of field profile morphology and soil analysis in the laboratory followed by supporting data such as temperature and rainfall. The Moramo River Basin (DAS) was used as the location of the case study in this experiment by observing 13 soil profiles. Soil properties and characteristics were observed for soil texture, clay mineral, soil pH (H2O and KCl), soil cation, saturation bases, and C-organic.  The soil naming was done to subgroup category based on Soil Taxonomy System in 2010 and paired with the land classification system of Soil Research Center in 1983, and WRB-FAO in 2006. The result showed that the accuracy of landform interpretation 89.6%, rocks 92.19%, accuracy of land use interpretation 90.63%, and accuracy of soil mapping 90.00%, so that the image ALOS AVNIR-2 can be utilized well to obtain parameter of the land unit for land mapping. The result of image data processing through RGB 341 composite image showed a high unidirectional frequency filter, histogram equalization, and analyzed with Geographic Information System, 15 units of landform, five-rock units. nine land-use units and 11 sub-soil sub-groups were obtained. The results of the soil classification in the Moramo Watershed (DAS) region in the subgroup category obtained 11 subgroups of land consisting of Lithic Udorthents, Typic Udifluvents, Aeric Endoaquents, Typic Fluvaquents, Typic Dystrudepts, Typic Eutrudepts, Ruptic-Alfic Eutrudepts, Lithic Dystrudepts, Oxyaquic Eutrudepts, Fluvaquentic Epiaquepts, Typic Endoaquepts.

Investigation of the Quality of Footwear produced by SMEs: Case study of Kariokor market, Nairobi

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-26
Author(s):  
Mesa W. Janet ◽  
Onyancha O. Douglas ◽  
Sang Magut K Paul
Keyword(s):  
Random Sampling ◽  
Sampling Method ◽  
Quality Management System ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Middle Income Country ◽  
Middle Income

The increasing economic growth in Kenya has encouraged the growth of the leather sector. Kenya in its long-term vision to become an industrialized middle-income country by 2030, has identified the key role that the leather sector will play. There is a growing number of SMEs engaged in leather goods and footwear manufacturing around the country. A large number is involved in footwear manufacturing especially school shoes. This has been encouraged by local demand for affordable footwear. Even though production of leather footwear in the informal industry has increased over the years, the country’s local footwear has low market position both locally and internationally. The market share of the SME produced footwear has been attributed to low quality and poor workmanship of the products A survey was carried out to assess the quality of leather shoes produced by SMEs in Kariokor market, Nairobi. Data was collected from 20 respondents who constituted owners and managers of footwear workshops to ascertain if they have adopted the use of quality standards in their footwear fabrication and if their products conform to any laid down quality standards. The survey was carried out using simple random sampling method. The findings showed that none of the SMEs had adopted the use of quality standards and none of them had adopted Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBs) standards. As a consequence, there was no mechanism of ensuring and maintaining conformity to footwear quality. This study recommends increased sensitization of SMEs on the importance of quality standards and quality management system in shoe fabrication.

IVORY IN EARLY MODERN CEYLON: A CASE STUDY IN WHAT DOCUMENTS DON’T REVEAL

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha Chaiklin
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Physical Evidence ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
Ivory Trade

In Sri Lanka elephants are endangered and ivory carving, as an art, is dead. Sri Lanka was once famous for the number and quality of its elephants, whose tusks were carved and exported since ancient times. Although Sri Lanka became, successively, a pivotal outpost for the Portuguese, Dutch and English, details about the Ceylonese ivory trade appear in trade documents only rarely. And yet, if information is not to be found there, does that mean ivory trade did not occur? Trade documents, after all, do not tell the whole story. Smugglers, illegal traders, big game hunters and plantation owners all played a part in the disappearance of elephants and its corollary, the ivory trade. When archival evidence is viewed in combination with physical evidence and the anecdotes of visitors and residents, it becomes evident that ivory remained an integral part of trade and crafts in Ceylon well into the last century.

scholarly journals The Pedogenesis of Soil Derived from Carbonate Rocks along a Climosequence in a Subtropical Mountain, China

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1044
Author(s):  
Jin Hu ◽  
En Ci ◽  
Song Li ◽  
Maoshan Lian ◽  
Shouqin Zhong
Keyword(s):  
Carbonate Rocks ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Soil Classification ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Soil Taxonomy ◽  
Reference Base ◽  
World Reference Base

Revealing the pedogenesis of soil on carbonate rocks is a key step in determining the boundaries of soil types along a climosequence. However, related research is lacking for a subtropical mountain. In this study, eight pedons were sampled across an elevation gradient (789–2322 m) having large variation in mean annual precipitation (MAP) (1189–1764 mm) and mean annual temperature (MAT) (5.7–14.9 °C). General processes were performed, including physical, chemical, and morphological characterizations, X-ray diffraction (XRD), total elements’ content, and soil classification of the carbonate rock. In the climo-toposequence, the illite had been transformed into illite-smectite below 1300–1500 m of elevation, 1300–1370 mm of MAP, and above 10.5–11.5 °C of MAT, and into vermiculite above this climate. These findings indicated that the effects of temperature on soil mineral transformation had weakened with the gradual increases in elevation. The pedon at 861 m of elevation, 1206 mm of MAP, and 14.5 °C of MAT, which accounted for the argic horizons, was divided into Argosols after human activities. The finding revealed that changes from forest to cultivated land could potentially accelerate the formation of argic horizons, and it provided a theoretical basis for global carbonate rocks’ weathering conditions and ecological problems in subtropical mountains. When the soils reached approximately 1100–1200 m of elevation, 1250–1300 mm of MAP, and 11.5–13.5 °C of MAT, the argic horizons of the soil could be accounted for, as evolved from the Cambosols in Chinese Soil Taxonomy (CST) (Inceptisols in Soil Taxonomy (ST), Cambisols in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB)) to the Argosols in CST (Alfisols in ST, Luvisols or Alisols in WRB) under natural vegetation. Therefore, it was indicated that the soil types changed significantly in the CST, ST, and WRB with increases of MAP and decreases of MAT, which provides a reference for determining the boundaries of the soil types along a climosequence in subtropical mountains.

scholarly journals Quality of extension advice: a gendered case study from Ghana and Sri Lanka

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Lamontagne-Godwin ◽  
Frances Williams ◽  
Willoru Mudiyansele Palitha Thilaka Bandara ◽  
Ziporah Appiah-Kubi
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka

scholarly journals Use of Traditional Knowledge for Identification of Forest Degradation: A Case of Knuckles Range of Sri Lanka

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
Ecological Restoration ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Sampling Method ◽  
Forest Degradation ◽  
Plant Distribution ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Wide Range

Traditional Knowledge (TK) is an experiential knowledge built by people within a long duration and it extends in a wide range. This knowledge has been decaying with time and environmental degradation has become rapid. Finding the decaying traditional knowledge, analyzing its utility and using it for ecological restoration can be considered as heading towards a gap filling pertaining to researches. Even though, identification of forest degradation by applying TK in traditional societies is important in conservation of degraded forests, limited research have been undertaken relating to this research in Sri Lanka. With this limitation, the current study was focused to compile and classify the hidden traditional knowledge on forest conservation which has high level of utility in ecological restoration in Knuckles Range. Seven Grama Niladhrari Divisions out of 56 divisions laid in Knuckles range were selected as the study area using the multi-functional optimization equation and judgmental sampling method. Out of 346 families living in the study area, 120 families were selected by employing simple random sampling method. Data was collected through questionnaires, interviews, transect walks and observations while 11 group discussions have been made to verify and validate the TK of traditional farmers. Mainly qualitative data analysis methods were used and TK of forest degradation has been compared with the formal forest classifications. The study ascertained that the degradation of the forest cover has been covered by focusing to four main criteria as; a). Qualitative degradation (value of the plant, service done by the plant species to the environment and man.); b) Quantitative degradation (according to the size of the land where the degradation occurs and the number of trees that are being cut.); c). Physical condition of the plant (distribution of the tree and height, connection with the sunlight.) and d). Function of the plant system (interconnection between plants, interdependence between plants). Further, it was revealed that the traditional farmers in the study area had applied six different indigenous criteria to identify the forest degradation, namely; plant species, extent of the land use, location of the plant, change of the composition of the plant, decrease of the harvest and quality of the plants. Under each of criterion, different indigenous methods have been adopted for identifying degradation of plants and conservation of the plant species and rural agricultural systems. As an important finding of this research, it can be highlighted that the traditional methods used to find forests degradation in this research can be applied for identifying and minimizing the degradation of forests which cannot be seen in other areas in Sri Lanka. It was also identified that there is a high potential in those traditional methods with regard to securing the quality of the environment.

scholarly journals Factors that Influence Undergraduate Students’ Choice of a University: A Case of Botho University in Botswana

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman Rudhumbu ◽  
Avinash Tirumalai ◽  
Babli Kumari
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Sampling Procedure ◽  
Descriptive Survey ◽  
Very High ◽  
High Influence ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

The purpose of this study was to determine factors that influenced decisions of undergraduate students’ choice of a university to study at. Botho University was used as a case study. Studies show that universities are currently confronted with both the decrease in student enrolments and high competition for those students between institutions. As a result of these twin challenges, it is of critical importance that factors that influence students’ choices of universities are investigated to enable effective planning of student recruitment strategies. The study employed a descriptive survey design that employed a structured questionnaire for data collection. Simple random sampling procedure was used to select a sample of 300 participants from a population of 1240 Botho University undergraduate students. Collected data was analysed using SPSS version 22. Results of the study showed that factors that include academic programmes offered, image and reputation of the institution, advertising, career fairs, quality of staff, employment prospects of graduates from the institution had a very high influence on the decision by students to choose Botho University as an institution to study at. Factors such as tuition fees, chance of getting scholarships and campus visits did not have a very high influence.

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