Suggestion of Measurement Management Criteria for Soil Slope Failure Based on Displacement

This paper describes the Measurement Management Criteria (MMC) of a soil slope failure based on displacement using literature reviews, small-scale experiments, large-scale experiments, and field data. Two types of measurement management criteria were developed, i.e., short-term criteria for slopes under construction or requiring urgent measurements, and long-term criteria for slopes under continuous management. First, the measurement criteria for the short term were determined based on small- and-large scale experiments, and were determined to be “1 mm/min for the watch level,” “4 mm/min for the caution level,” and “21 mm/min for the alert level.” Next, the criteria for the long term were determined through a literature review and field data, and were “2 mm/day for the watch level,” “8 mm/day for the caution level,” and “56 mm/day for the alert level”.

Download Full-text

Population signatures of large-scale, long-term disjunction and small-scale, short-term habitat fragmentation in an Afromontane forest bird

Heredity ◽

10.1038/hdy.2014.15 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 113 (3) ◽

pp. 205-214 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

J C Habel ◽

R K Mulwa ◽

F Gassert ◽

D Rödder ◽

W Ulrich ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Habitat Fragmentation ◽

Large Scale ◽

Small Scale ◽

Short Term ◽

Forest Bird ◽

Afromontane Forest

Download Full-text

From Small Scale, Short Term to Large Scale, Long Term: Integrating ‘Sustainability’ into Engineering Education

European Journal of Engineering Education ◽

10.1080/03043799608923423 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 353-386 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

S. M LEMKOWITZ ◽

B. H BIBO ◽

G. H LAMERIS ◽

J. A. B. A. F. BONNET

Keyword(s):

Engineering Education ◽

Large Scale ◽

Small Scale ◽

Short Term

Download Full-text

A systematic assessment of uncertainties in large scale soil loss estimation from different representations of USLE input factors – A case study for Kenya and Uganda

10.5194/hess-2019-602 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Christoph Schürz ◽

Bano Mehdi ◽

Jens Kiesel ◽

Karsten Schulz ◽

Mathew Herrnegger

Keyword(s):

Sensitivity Analysis ◽

Spatial Patterns ◽

Soil Loss ◽

Field Data ◽

Large Scale ◽

Small Scale ◽

Model Input ◽

Study Results ◽

Soil Losses

Abstract. The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is the most commonly used model to assess soil erosion by water. The model equation quantifies long-term average annual soil loss as a product of the rainfall erosivity R, soil erodibility K, slope length and steepness LS, soil cover C and support measures P. A large variety of methods exist to derive these model inputs from readily available data. However, the estimated values of a respective model input can strongly differ when employing different methods and can eventually introduce large uncertainties in the estimated soil loss. The potential to evaluate soil loss estimates at a large scale are very limited, due to scarce in-field observations and their comparability to long-term soil estimates. In this work we addressed (i) the uncertainties in the soil loss estimates that can potentially be introduced by different representations of the USLE input factors and (ii) challanges that can arise in the evaluation of uncertain soil loss estimates with observed data. In a systematic analysis we developed different representations of USLE inputs for the study domain of Kenya and Uganda. All combinations of the generated USLE inputs resulted in 756 USLE model setups. We assessed the resulting distributions in soil loss, both spatially distributed and on district level for Kenya and Uganda. In a sensitivity analysis we analyzed the contributions of the USLE model inputs to the ranges in soil loss and analyzed their spatial patterns. We compared the calculated USLE ensemble soil estimates to available in-field data and other study results and addressed possibilities and limitations of the USLE model evaluation. The USLE model ensemble resulted in wide ranges of estimated soil loss, exceeding the mean soil loss by over an order of magnitude particularly in hilly topographies. The study implies that a soil loss assessment with the USLE is highly uncertain and strongly depends on the realizations of the model input factors. The employed sensitivity analysis enabled us to identify spatial patterns in the importance of the USLE input factors. The C and K factors showed large scale patterns of importance in the densely vegetated part of Uganda and the dry north of Kenya, respectively, while LS was relevant in small scale heterogeneous patterns. Major challenges for the evaluation of the estimated soil losses with in-field data were due to spatial and temporal limitations of the observation data, but also due to measured soil losses describing processes that are different to the ones that are represented by the USLE.

Download Full-text

Reproductive performance and natural antagonists of univoltine population of Ips typographus (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae) at epidemic level: a study from Šumava Mountains, Central Europe

Beskydy ◽

10.11118/beskyd201205020153 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 153-162 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

K. Lukášová ◽

J. Holuša ◽

Š. Grucmanová

Keyword(s):

Bark Beetle ◽

Large Scale ◽

Developmental Stages ◽

Female Offspring ◽

Small Scale ◽

Short Term ◽

Spruce Bark Beetle ◽

Outbreak Area ◽

Spruce Bark

Population ofI. typographuswas studied in one locality with small-scale and short-term outbreak distant from large-scale and long-term outbreak area by several hundred meters. In total, ten spruce trees infested by the spruce bark beetle were examined. Always four stripes of bark (sample area) with the length equal to half the circumference of the trunk and the width of approximately 0.5 m were analyzed. The local spruce bark beetle population was characterized by high population density (1.5±1.2 entry holes per dm2), low number of eggs per female, and short maternal galleries. Relatively low reproductive success (0.8 female offspring per one mother beetle, percentage of surviving individuals varies between 1and 18 % was documented. The parasitism rate of living developmental stages of spruce bark beetle by larval parasitoids averaged 14 %. The level of infestation by pathogens and endoparasitoids in maternal beetles from their galleries was low. Highly likely, it is a result of short-term outbreak during which response of parasitoids was delayed in time.

Download Full-text

Law and the Exclusionary Essence of Large-Scale Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa Land

African Journal of Legal Studies ◽

10.1163/17087384-12342024 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (2-3) ◽

pp. 315-335 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tomaso Ferrando

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Large Scale ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Small Scale ◽

Land Grabbing ◽

Short Term ◽

Global Land ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Small Scale Farmers

Abstract ‘Global land grabbing’ represents one of the hottest topics of debate within the areas of developmental and agricultural studies. However, this article claims that a narrow focus on the illegality and consequences of the ‘grabbing’, rather than on large scale investments in land (LaSIL) as a form of economic development which is inherently exclusionary, can be detrimental to the future of small-scale farmers. A short-term perspective overlooks the indirect consequences of industrialization, and legitimizes long-term exclusions and marginalization. Through past and present evidence, this paper demonstrates that LaSIL as competing projects will inevitably produce the abandonment of rural areas, the proletarianization of peasants, and the increase in social inequality, against any possibility for coexistence and harmonious cooperation.

Download Full-text

Differences in composition of territories in relation to behaviour, stage, and depth of the three-spot damselfish, Stegastes planifrons, in Caribbean coral reefs

SURG Journal ◽

10.21083/surg.v6i1.2057 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 52-57

Author(s):

Maria J. Arroyo Gerez

Keyword(s):

Coral Reef ◽

Coral Reefs ◽

Large Scale ◽

Life Stage ◽

Small Scale ◽

Fish Behaviour ◽

Short Term ◽

Algal Diversity ◽

Stegastes Planifrons

Coral reef diversity is correlated with the depth at which the reefs are found, the energy available for biological processes, and the species’ roles and presence throughout the food chain. Can a specific species activity alter the whole ecosystem? Can a small-scale, short-term activity such as fish behaviour have a long-term effect on a larger scale, that of the reef? Can the life stage of a species mediate substrate competition? The three-spot damselfish (Stegastes planifrons) is hypothesized to regulate competition between substrate coverage by actively farming – protecting from herbivores and weeding – in order to regulate the algal species composition and percent coverage of the reef. This behaviour is observed in both juvenile and adult fish. Deeper patches are predicted to have less coral diversity and higher algal diversity; juvenile fish are predicted to have less diversity in their patches than adults. Coral and algal diversity are hypothesized to be negatively correlated. In this study, behaviour of the S. planifrons was classified into one of four categories (active patrolling, passing patrolling, farming, and hiding) and palatable algae surface area coverage was digitized from photographs; life stage was either juvenile or adult. Coral and algal genus diversity were measured along a depth gradient of 0-16 m where the diversity of the reef was thought to be the highest. A three-way ANCOVA was performed to test whether fish behaviour (a small-scale, short-term process), depth, or fish development stage (juvenile or adult) had a significant effect on coral or algal diversity (a large-scale, long-term process). Results showed a significant effect of fish behaviour category on algal genera diversity, and a significant effect of depth on both algal and coral genera diversity. Farming yielded significantly more algal coverage than hiding. This study shows that small-scale, short-term behaviours by S. planifrons can have an effect on algal genera diversity on coral reefs in Utila, Honduras. Keywords: Stegastes planifrons (three-spotted damselfish); behaviours (short-term, small-scale); stage of development (juvenile, adult); depth; coral reef and algal diversity (long-term, large-scale); damselfish territories

Download Full-text

A systematic assessment of uncertainties in large-scale soil loss estimation from different representations of USLE input factors – a case study for Kenya and Uganda

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-24-4463-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 (9) ◽

pp. 4463-4489

Author(s):

Christoph Schürz ◽

Bano Mehdi ◽

Jens Kiesel ◽

Karsten Schulz ◽

Mathew Herrnegger

Keyword(s):

Sensitivity Analysis ◽

Spatial Patterns ◽

Soil Loss ◽

Field Data ◽

Large Scale ◽

Small Scale ◽

Model Input ◽

Study Results ◽

Soil Losses

Abstract. The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is the most commonly used model to assess soil erosion by water. The model equation quantifies long-term average annual soil loss as a product of the rainfall erosivity R, soil erodibility K, slope length and steepness LS, soil cover C, and support measures P. A large variety of methods exist to derive these model inputs from readily available data. However, the estimated values of a respective model input can strongly differ when employing different methods and can eventually introduce large uncertainties in the estimated soil loss. The potential to evaluate soil loss estimates at a large scale is very limited due to scarce in-field observations and their comparability to long-term soil estimates. In this work we addressed (i) the uncertainties in the soil loss estimates that can potentially be introduced by different representations of the USLE input factors and (ii) challenges that can arise in the evaluation of uncertain soil loss estimates with observed data. In a systematic analysis we developed different representations of USLE inputs for the study domain of Kenya and Uganda. All combinations of the generated USLE inputs resulted in 972 USLE model setups. We assessed the resulting distributions in soil loss, both spatially distributed and on the administrative level for Kenya and Uganda. In a sensitivity analysis we analyzed the contributions of the USLE model inputs to the ranges in soil loss and analyzed their spatial patterns. We compared the calculated USLE ensemble soil estimates to available in-field data and other study results and addressed possibilities and limitations of the USLE model evaluation. The USLE model ensemble resulted in wide ranges of estimated soil loss, exceeding the mean soil loss by over an order of magnitude, particularly in hilly topographies. The study implies that a soil loss assessment with the USLE is highly uncertain and strongly depends on the realizations of the model input factors. The employed sensitivity analysis enabled us to identify spatial patterns in the importance of the USLE input factors. The C and K factors showed large-scale patterns of importance in the densely vegetated part of Uganda and the dry north of Kenya, respectively, while LS was relevant in small-scale heterogeneous patterns. Major challenges for the evaluation of the estimated soil losses with in-field data were due to spatial and temporal limitations of the observation data but also due to measured soil losses describing processes that are different to the ones that are represented by the USLE.

Download Full-text

Two Stage Continuous Gesture Recognition Based on Deep Learning

Electronics ◽

10.3390/electronics10050534 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 534

Author(s):

Huogen Wang

Keyword(s):

Gesture Recognition ◽

Large Scale ◽

Short Term Memory ◽

Short Term ◽

Hand Motion ◽

Spatiotemporal Features ◽

Spatiotemporal Information ◽

Video Frames ◽

Depth Sequences

The paper proposes an effective continuous gesture recognition method, which includes two modules: segmentation and recognition. In the segmentation module, the video frames are divided into gesture frames and transitional frames by using the information of hand motion and appearance, and continuous gesture sequences are segmented into isolated sequences. In the recognition module, our method exploits the spatiotemporal information embedded in RGB and depth sequences. For the RGB modality, our method adopts Convolutional Long Short-Term Memory Networks to learn long-term spatiotemporal features from short-term spatiotemporal features obtained from a 3D convolutional neural network. For the depth modality, our method converts a sequence into Dynamic Images and Motion Dynamic Images through weighted rank pooling and feed them into Convolutional Neural Networks, respectively. Our method has been evaluated on both ChaLearn LAP Large-scale Continuous Gesture Dataset and Montalbano Gesture Dataset and achieved state-of-the-art performance.

Download Full-text

Species Responses to Grazing and Environmental-Factors in an Arid Halophytic Shrubland Community

Australian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1071/bt9870135 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 135 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

RB Hacker

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Soil Salinity ◽

Large Scale ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Grazing Pressure ◽

Aerial Photographs ◽

Small Scale ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Species Responses

Species responses to grazing and environmental factors were studied in an arid halophytic shrubland community in Western Australia. The grazing responses of major shrub species were defined by using reciprocal averaging ordination of botanical data, interpreted in conjunction with a similar ordination of soil chemical properties and measures of soil erosion derived from large-scale aerial photographs. An apparent small-scale interaction between grazing and soil salinity was also defined. Long-term grazing pressure is apparently reduced on localised areas of high salinity. Environmental factors affecting species distribution are complex and appear to include soil salinity, soil cationic balance, geomorphological variation and the influence of cryptogamic crusts on seedling establishment.

Download Full-text

Hydrogeological Characterization Based on Long Term Groundwater Pressure Monitoring

ASME 2010 13th International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management, Volume 2 ◽

10.1115/icem2010-40064 ◽

2010 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shuji Daimaru ◽

Ryuji Takeuchi ◽

Masaki Takeda ◽

Masayuki Ishibashi

Keyword(s):

Phase I ◽

Phase Ii ◽

Large Scale ◽

Pumping Test ◽

Phase Iii ◽

Pressure Monitoring ◽

Energy Agency ◽

Hydrogeological Characteristics ◽

Under Construction

The Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory (MIU) is now under construction by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency in the Tono area of central Japan. The MIU project is being implemented in three overlapping Phases: Surface-based Investigation (Phase I), Construction (Phase II) and Operation (Phase III). The changes of groundwater pressure due to shaft excavation can be considered analogous to a large-scale pumping test. Therefore, there is the possibility that the site scale groundwater field (several km square) can be approximated by the long-term groundwater pressure monitoring data from Phase II. Based on the monitoring observations, hydrogeological characteristics were estimated using the s-log(t/r2) plot based on the Cooper-Jacob straight line method. Results of the s-log(t/r2) plots are as follows. The groundwater flow field around the MIU construction site is separated into domains by an impermeable fault. In other words, the fault is a hydraulic barrier. Hydraulic conductivity calculated from s-log(t/r2) plots are in the order of 1.0E−7(m/s). The above results from the long term monitoring during Phase II are a verification of the hydrogeological characteristics determined in the Phase I investigations.

Download Full-text