scholarly journals Ecotourism as a Forest Conservation Tool: An NDVI Analysis of the Sitakunda Botanical Garden and Ecopark in Chattogram, Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 12190
Author(s):  
Nazifa Rafa ◽  
Samiha Nuzhat ◽  
Sayed Mohammad Nazim Uddin ◽  
Mukesh Gupta ◽  
Rahul Rakshit
Keyword(s):  
Forest Conservation ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Botanical Garden ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Gis And Remote Sensing ◽  
Sparse Vegetation ◽  
Sensing Technology ◽  
Land Use Policies

Ecotourism, a sustainable form of tourism, is increasingly being viewed as a tool that can promote global biodiversity and forest conservation. This study explored the scope of ecotourism in forest conservation practices in the developing context by taking the Sitakunda Botanical Garden and Ecopark (SBGE), Bangladesh’s first ecopark established in 2000, as a case study. Using GIS and remote sensing technology, NDVI analysis revealed that, unlike the anticipated outcomes of the SBGE project, after a brief increase in vegetation coverage of 84.6% from 1995 to 2000, the vegetation coverage fell drastically from 2000 to 2015, wherein 33.4% of vegetation had been completely removed, and much of the dense and medium vegetation had been converted to sparse vegetation or other land uses. Anthropogenic activities, namely, unplanned urbanization, are suggested as the major contributors to this decline. From the period of 2015 to 2020, however, vegetation was seen to regenerate, potentially due to the decelerating urbanization or the possible manifestation of the ‘U’ shape relationship between the changes in vegetation and rates of urbanization. Sustainable land-use policies may help attain the targets of the project and lead the SBGE to emerge as a success story of the Bangladeshi ecotourism industry.

scholarly journals Desertification Extraction Based on a Microwave Backscattering Contribution Decomposition Model at the Dry Bottom of the Aral Sea

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 4850
Author(s):  
Yubin Song ◽  
Hongwei Zheng ◽  
Xi Chen ◽  
Anming Bao ◽  
Jiaqiang Lei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fine Particles ◽  
Least Squares Method ◽  
Microwave Remote Sensing ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Material Source ◽  
Sparse Vegetation ◽  
Desertification Process ◽  
Sensing Technology ◽  
Rich Material

The fine particles produced during the desertification process provide a rich material source for sand and dust activities. Accurately locating the desertified areas is a prerequisite for human intervention in sand and dust activities. In arid and semi-arid regions, due to very sparse vegetation coverage, the microwave surface scattering model is very suitable for describing the variation of topsoil property during the process of desertification. However, the microwave backscattering coefficient (MBC) trend of the soil during the desertification process is still unclear now. Moreover, the MBC of a resolution unit usually involves the contribution of soil and vegetation. These problems seriously limit the application of microwave remote sensing technology in desertification identification. In this paper, we studied the soil MBC change trend during the desertification process and proposed a microwave backscattering contribution decomposition (MBCD) model to estimate the soil MBC of a resolution unit. Furthermore, a simple microwave backscattering threshold (SMSBT) model was established to describe the severity of desertification. The MBCD and SMSBT models were verified qualitatively through landscape photos of sampling points from a field survey in November 2018. The results showed that the MBC would gradually decline with the deepening degree of desertification. The MBCD model and the corresponding least squares method can be used to estimate the soil MBC accurately, and the SMSBT model can accurately distinguish different degrees of desertification. The results of desertification classification showed that more than 68% of the dry bottom of the Aral Sea is suffering from different degrees of desertification.

Using classification and NDVI differencing methods for monitoring sparse vegetation coverage: a case study of saltcedar in Nevada, USA

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (14) ◽  
pp. 3987-4011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruiliang Pu ◽  
Peng Gong ◽  
Yong Tian ◽  
Xin Miao ◽  
Raymond I. Carruthers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Sparse Vegetation ◽  
Ndvi Differencing

scholarly journals A Geo-Spatial Analysis for Characterising Urban Sprawl Patterns in the Batticaloa Municipal Council, Sri Lanka

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 636
Author(s):  
Mathanraj Seevarethnam ◽  
Noradila Rusli ◽  
Gabriel Hoh Teck Ling ◽  
Ismail Said
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Urban Sprawl ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Sustainable Land Use ◽  
Gis And Remote Sensing ◽  
Municipal Council ◽  
Sensing Technology ◽  
Landsat Satellite ◽  
Classification Tool

Urban sprawl related to rapid urbanisation in developed and developing nations affects sustainable land use. In Sri Lanka, urban areas have mostly expanded in a rather spontaneous, unplanned manner (based on the current settlers’ subjective movement) rather than conforming to the local government’s development plan. This growth inevitably leads to uncontrolled urban sprawl in many Sri Lankan cities, including Batticaloa. So far, Sri Lanka’s planners or researchers have not yet tackled the sprawling developments in this city. Understanding the different forms and patterns of urban sprawl is the key to address sprawling growth. This study aims to identify the characteristics of urban sprawl in the Batticaloa municipal council using Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing technology. Landsat satellite images for the years 2000, 2010, and 2020 as well as 2002, 2011, and 2019 population data were used and analysed using ArcGIS’ maximum likelihood classification tool and the density function, respectively, to delineate the characteristics of urban sprawl. The results revealed that low-density development, leapfrog development, commercial ribbon development, and scattered growth are the influencing characteristics of urban sprawl in the Batticaloa municipality. These characteristics were found mainly in the urban edge of the city and have led to urban sprawl. The finding provides knowledge into recognising the characteristics of urban sprawl with empirical evidence. It affords a clear direction for future studies of urban sprawl in rapidly growing cities that are numerous in Sri Lanka, and the identified characteristics of urban sprawl can be useful in minimising future sprawl. This result can be a tool for future urban planning and management in the Batticaloa municipality.

scholarly journals Clinical Use of Surface Electromyography to Track Acute Upper Extremity Muscle Recovery after Stroke: A Descriptive Case Study of a Single Patient

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Heather A. Feldner ◽  
Christina Papazian ◽  
Keshia M. Peters ◽  
Claire J. Creutzfeldt ◽  
Katherine M. Steele
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Surface Electromyography ◽  
Inpatient Rehabilitation ◽  
Stroke Survivor ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Routine Care ◽  
Stroke Recovery ◽  
Descriptive Case Study ◽  
Sensing Technology

Arm recovery varies greatly among stroke survivors. Wearable surface electromyography (sEMG) sensors have been used to track recovery in research; however, sEMG is rarely used within acute and subacute clinical settings. The purpose of this case study was to describe the use of wireless sEMG sensors to examine changes in muscle activity during acute and subacute phases of stroke recovery, and understand the participant’s perceptions of sEMG monitoring. Beginning three days post-stroke, one stroke survivor wore five wireless sEMG sensors on his involved arm for three to four hours, every one to three days. Muscle activity was tracked during routine care in the acute setting through discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. Three- and eight-month follow-up sessions were completed in the community. Activity logs were completed each session, and a semi-structured interview occurred at the final session. The longitudinal monitoring of muscle and movement recovery in the clinic and community was feasible using sEMG sensors. The participant and medical team felt monitoring was unobtrusive, interesting, and motivating for recovery, but desired greater in-session feedback to inform rehabilitation. While barriers in equipment and signal quality still exist, capitalizing on wearable sensing technology in the clinic holds promise for enabling personalized stroke recovery.

scholarly journals A Dieldrin Case Study: Another Evidence of an Obsolete Substance in the European Soil Environment

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 314
Author(s):  
Petros Tsiantas ◽  
Evangelia N. Tzanetou ◽  
Helen Karasali ◽  
Konstantinos M. Kasiotis
Keyword(s):  
Active Substance ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Carcinogenic Risk ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Soil Environment ◽  
Single Application ◽  
Environmental Concentration ◽  
Tandem Mass Spectrometric ◽  
Potential Use

Soil constitutes a central environmental compartment that, due to natural and anthropogenic activities, is a recipient of several contaminants. Among them, organochlorine pesticides are of major concern, even though they have been banned decades ago in the European Union, due to their persistence and the health effects they can elicit. In the presented work, a gas chromatographic tandem mass spectrometric (GC-MS/MS) developed method was applied to soil samples after the suspected and potential use of formulations containing organochlorine active substance. One soil sample was positive to dieldrin at 0.018 mg kg−1. Predicted environmental concentration in soil (PECsoil) considering a single application of this active substance potentially attributed the finding in its past use. The subsequent health risk assessment showed negligible non-carcinogenic risk and tolerable carcinogenic risk. The latter signifies that repetitive and prolonged sampling can unveil the pragmatic projection of persistent chemicals’ residues in the soil.

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