Influence of land use changes on water chemistry in streams in the State of S��o Paulo, southeast Brazil

Streamwater is affected by several processes in the watershed including anthropogenic activities that result in changes in water quality as well as in the functioning of these stream ecosystems. Therefore, this work aims to evaluate the concentration of major ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, NH4+, NO3-, NO2-, Cl-, SO4(2-), PO4(3-), HCO3-) in streams in the state of S��o Paulo (southeast Brazil). The sampling sites are located at undisturbed (ombrophilus dense forest, semideciduous forest and savanna - cerrado) and disturbed areas (pasture, urbanization and sugar cane crops). Streamwater chemistry varied according to land use change and, in general, was higher in disturbed sites. Streams located in undisturbed sites at Ribeira de Iguape/Alto Paranapanema watershed (streams 1, 2 and 3) seem to be regulated by soil characteristics, as the disturbed streams located at the same watershed covered by pasture (stream 7) showed high concentration for the most of the variables. Exception to streams located at Pontal do Paranapanema watershed where both disturbed (stream 8) and undisturbed streams (stream 4 and 5) presented similar patterns for almost all variables measured.

The aplication of land use and nighttime lights on the development of high-resolution emission inventories for South America

In this paper, nighttime light data are suggested as a proxy for spatial distribution of vehicles running in urban and nearby areas. Nighttime lights focus on human activities, in contrast to traditional Earth observing systems that focus on natural systems. It is the human activity being visible in the form of brightness of nocturnal lights. Two available nighttime lights dataset were used in this work. The first one was provided by the U.S. Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS), henceforth, DMSO-OLS. The second one is the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite, henceforth, Suomi-NPP. To validate the new proposed methodology, hundreds of urban areas of South America were analyzed in a high degree of resolution. The results of this study showed that night-time lights are very well correlated with vehicle fleet, population, and impervious surfaces but with strong spatial variability. The results of this study suggest a better understanding of the human activities in the context of a vehicular-based city conception.

LCA-GIS Integrated approach for a Sustainable Land Use Under Energy Crops

In genere, negli studi di vocazionalit�� delle colture, vengono presi in considerazione solo variabili ambientali pedo-climatiche. La coltivazione di una coltura comporta anche un impatto ambientale derivante dalle pratiche agronomiche ed il territorio pu�� essere pi�� o meno sensibile a questi impatti in base alla sua vulnerabilit��. In questo studio si vuole sviluppare una metodologia per relazionare spazialmente l���impatto delle colture con le caratteristiche sito specifiche del territorio in modo da considerare anche questo aspetto nell���allocazione negli studi di vocazionalit��. LCA �� stato utilizzato per quantificare diversi impatti di alcune colture erbacee alimentari e da energia, relazionati a mappe di vulnerabilit�� costruite con l���utilizzo di GIS, attraverso il calcolo di coefficienti di rischio di allocazione per ogni combinazione coltura-area vulnerabile. Le colture energetiche sono state considerate come un uso alternativo del suolo per diminuire l���impatto ambientale. Il caso studio ha mostrato che l���allocazione delle colture pu�� essere diversa in base al tipo e al numero di impatti considerati. Il risultato sono delle mappe in cui sono riportate le distribuzioni ottimali delle colture al fine di minimizzare gli impatti, rispetto a mais e grano, due colture alimentari importanti nell���area di studio. Le colture con l���impatto pi�� alto dovrebbero essere coltivate nelle aree a vulnerabilit�� bassa, e viceversa. Se il rischio ambientale �� la priorit��, mais, colza, grano, girasole, e sorgo da fibra dovrebbero essere coltivate solo nelle aree a vulnerabilit�� bassa o moderata, mentre, le colture energetiche erbacee perenni, come il panico, potrebbero essere coltivate anche nelle aree a vulnerabilit�� alta, rappresentando cosi una opportunit�� per aumentare la sostenibilit�� di uso del suolo rurale. Lo strumento LCA-GIS inoltre, integrato con mappe di uso attuale del suolo, pu�� aiutare a valutarne il suo grado di sostenibilit�� ambientale.

Quality assessment of a landslide inventory map and its application to land���use planning. A case study in the Northern Apennines (Emilia���Romagna region, Italy)

Landslide hazard and risk are growing as a consequence of climate change and demographic pressure. Land���use planning represents a powerful tool to manage this socio���economic problem and build sustainable and landslide resilient communities. Landslide inventory maps are a cornerstone of land���use planning and, consequently, their quality assessment represents a burning issue. This work aimed to define the quality parameters of a landslide inventory and assess its spatial and temporal accuracy with regard to its possible applications to land���use planning. In this sense, I proceeded according to a two���steps approach. An overall assessment of the accuracy of data geographic positioning was performed on four case study sites located in the Italian Northern Apennines. The quantification of the overall spatial and temporal accuracy, instead, focused on the Dorgola Valley (Province of Reggio Emilia). The assessment of spatial accuracy involved a comparison between remotely sensed and field survey data, as well as an innovative fuzzylike analysis of a multi���temporal landslide inventory map. Conversely, long��� and short���term landslide temporal persistence was appraised over a period of 60 years with the aid of 18 remotely sensed image sets. These results were eventually compared with the current Territorial Plan for Provincial Coordination (PTCP) of the Province of Reggio Emilia. The outcome of this work suggested that geomorphologically detected and mapped landslides are a significant approximation of a more complex reality. In order to convey to the end���users this intrinsic uncertainty, a new form of cartographic representation is needed. In this sense, a fuzzy raster landslide map may be an option. With regard to land���use planning, landslide inventory maps, if appropriately updated, confirmed to be essential decision���support tools. This research, however, proved that their spatial and temporal uncertainty discourages any direct use as zoning maps, especially when zoning itself is associated to statutory or advisory regulations.

A new information fusion method for land-use classification using high resolution satellite imagery

Satellite image classification involves designing and developing efficient image classifiers. With satellite image data and image analysis methods multiplying rapidly, selecting the right mix of data sources and data analysis approaches has become critical to the generation of quality land-use maps. In this study, a new postprocessing information fusion algorithm for the extraction and representation of land-use information based on high-resolution satellite imagery is presented. This approach can produce land-use maps with sharp interregional boundaries and homogeneous regions. The proposed approach is conducted in five steps. First, a GIS layer - ATKIS data - was used to generate two coarse homogeneous regions, i.e. urban and rural areas. Second, a thematic (class) map was generated by use of a hybrid spectral classifier combining Gaussian Maximum Likelihood algorithm (GML) and ISODATA classifier. Third, a probabilistic relaxation algorithm was performed on the thematic map, resulting in a smoothed thematic map. Fourth, edge detection and edge thinning techniques were used to generate a contour map with pixel-width interclass boundaries. Fifth, the contour map was superimposed on the thematic map by use of a region-growing algorithm with the contour map and the smoothed thematic map as two constraints. For the operation of the proposed method, a software package is developed using programming language C. This software package comprises the GML algorithm, a probabilistic relaxation algorithm, TBL edge detector, an edge thresholding algorithm, a fast parallel thinning algorithm, and a region-growing information fusion algorithm. The county of Landau of the State Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany was selected as a test site. The high-resolution IRS-1C imagery was used as the principal input data.

Typical 3-D localization of tumor remnants of WHO grade II hemispheric gliomas--lessons learned from the use of intraoperative high-field MRI control

Complete resection of grade II gliomas might prolong survival but is not always possible. The goal of the study was to evaluate the location of unexpected grade II gliomas remnants after assumed complete removal with intraoperative (iop) MRI and to assess the reason for their non-detection.