scholarly journals Multi-Decadal Forest-Cover Dynamics in the Tropical Realm: Past Trends and Policy Insights for Forest Conservation in Dry Zone of Sri Lanka

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 836
Author(s):  
Manjula Ranagalage ◽  
M. H. J. P. Gunarathna ◽  
Thilina D. Surasinghe ◽  
Dmslb Dissanayake ◽  
Matamyo Simwanda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Forest Loss ◽  
Tropical Region ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Dry Zone ◽  
Forest Cover Changes ◽  
Different Parts

Forest-cover change has become an important topic in global biodiversity conservation in recent decades because of the high rates of forest loss in different parts of the world, especially in the tropical region. While human interventions are the major cause, natural disasters also contribute to forest cover changes. During the past decades, several studies have been conducted to address different aspects of forest cover changes (e.g., drivers of deforestation, degradation, interventions) in different parts of the world. In Sri Lanka, increasing rates of forest loss have been recorded during the last 100 years on a regional basis, especially in the dry zone. However, Sri Lanka needs detailed studies that employ contemporary data and robust analytical tools to understand the patterns of forest cover changes and their drivers. The dry zone of Sri Lanka encompasses 59% of the total land area of the country, ergo, the most extensive forest cover. Our study analyzed forest cover dynamics and its drivers between 1992 and 2019. Our specific objectives included (i) producing a forest cover map for 2019, (ii) analyzing the spatiotemporal patterns of forest cover changes from 1992 to 2019, and (iii) determining the main driving forces. Landsat 8 images were used to develop forest-cover maps for 2019, and the rest of the forest cover maps (1992, 1999, and 2010) were obtained from the Forest Department of Sri Lanka. In this study, we found that the dry zone had undergone rapid forest loss (246,958.4 ha) during the past 27 years, which accounts for 8.0% of the net forest cover changes. From 2010 to 2019, the rates of forest loss were high, and this can be associated with the rapid infrastructure development of the country. The findings of this study can be used as a proxy to reform current forest policies and enhance the forest sustainability of the study area.

scholarly journals Contrasting Trends of Forest Coverage between the Inland and Coastal Urban Groups of China over the Past Decades

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 4451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingsong Zhu ◽  
Jiaxin Jin ◽  
Pengxiang Wang ◽  
Yingying Ji ◽  
Yuanyuan Xiao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Cover ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Forest Loss ◽  
Fast Process ◽  
Urban Agglomerations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Forest Coverage ◽  
Forest Cover Changes ◽  
Process Of Urbanization ◽  
Natural And Anthropogenic Factors

China is building forest urban groups through reforestation and afforestation. However, the fast process of urbanization inevitably conflicts with multiple vegetated areas around cities. Hence, it is critical to evaluate the changes in regional vegetation cover and its spatial pattern due to complex natural and anthropogenic factors. Nevertheless, systematic studies to quantify and compare the development of forest urban agglomerations were rarely reported. Based on a remote sensing landcover dataset from 1992 to 2015, this study investigated forest cover changes and the impacts on landscape pattern in several urban groups, and tried to explore their differences between the inland and coastal regions of China. The results showed that over the past 24 years, the forest coverage in the coastal urban agglomerations declined (103 km2/year) while it increased (26 km2/year) in the inland urban agglomerations. There was a certain conflict between forest and cropland for the coastal urban agglomerations where the forest area converted to cropland accounted for 61.9% of the total forest loss. The increase in forests coverage in inland urban agglomerations mainly came from grassland which nearly accounted for 66.47% of the total increase. The landscape diversity has also changed in areas where forests have changed significantly (e.g., Shanghai, Changzhi, and Jincheng).

scholarly journals ALTERAÇÃO NA COBERTURA FLORESTAL DA REGIÃO NOROESTE DA AMAZÔNIA MATOGROSSENSE

Nativa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 520
Author(s):  
Luani Rosa de Oliveira Piva ◽  
Rorai Pereira Martins Neto
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Forest Conversion ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Amazon Forest ◽  
Landsat 8 Oli ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
The Past ◽  
Landsat 5 Tm

Nos últimos anos, a intensificação das atividades antrópicas modificadoras da cobertura vegetal do solo em território brasileiro vem ocorrendo em larga escala. Para fins de monitoramento das alterações da cobertura florestal, as técnicas de Sensoriamento Remoto da vegetação são ferramentas imprescindíveis, principalmente em áreas extensas e de difícil acesso, como é o caso da Amazônia brasileira. Neste sentido, objetivou-se com este trabalho identificar as mudanças no uso e cobertura do solo no período de 20 anos nos municípios de Aripuanã e Rondolândia, Noroeste do Mato Grosso, visando quantificar as áreas efetivas que sofreram alterações. Para tal, foram utilizadas técnicas de classificação digital de imagens Landsat 5 TM e Landsat 8 OLI em três diferentes datas (1995, 2005 e 2015) e, posteriormente, realizada a detecção de mudanças para o uso e cobertura do solo. A classificação digital apresentou resultados excelentes, com índice Kappa acima de 0,80 para os mapas gerados, indicando ser uma ferramenta potencial para o uso e cobertura do solo. Os resultados denotaram uma conversão de áreas florestais principalmente para atividades antrópicas agrícolas, na ordem de 472 km², o que representa uma perda de 1,3% de superfície de floresta amazônica na região de estudo.Palavras-chave: conversão de áreas florestais; uso e cobertura do solo; classificação digital; análise multitemporal. CHANGE IN FOREST COVER OF THE NORTHWEST REGION OF AMAZON IN MATO GROSSO STATE ABSTRACT: In the past few years, the intensification of anthropic activities that modify the soil-vegetation cover in Brazil’s land has been occurring on a large scale. To monitor the forest cover changes, the techniques of Remote Sensing of vegetation are essential tools, especially in large areas and with difficult access, as is the case of the Brazilian Amazon. The aim of this work was to identify the changes in land use and land cover, over the past 20 years, in the municipalities of Aripuanã and Rondolândia, Northwest of Mato Grosso State, in order to quantify the effective altered areas. Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI digital classification images techniques were used in three different dates (1995, 2005 and 2015) and, later, the detection to the land use and land cover changes. The digital classification showed excellent results, with kappa index above 0.80 for the generated maps, indicating the digital classification as a potential tool for land use and land cover. Results reflect the conversion of forest areas mainly for agricultural activities, in the order of 472 km², representing a loss of 1.3% of Amazon forest surface in the study region.Keywords: forest conversion; land use and land cover; digital classification; multitemporal analysis.

Ralph Lansky in Conversation

1998 ◽  
Vol 26 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 160-183
Author(s):  
Igor I. Kavass ◽  
Arno Liivak
Keyword(s):  
International Association ◽  
Professional Work ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Different Parts

Perhaps the greatest reward for many of us who have participated in the activities of the International Association of Law Libraries over the past decades has been the opportunity to meet colleagues in our profession who work in so many different parts of the world. Unfortunately, there are so many of our members who have not been able to attend our meetings for one reason or another and have not had the opportunity to exchange thoughts on our often surprisingly shared common concerns in our professional work or to develop the friendships which transcend the distances which separate our daily lives.

A Forum for Researchers: What Is Research in Mathematics Education, and What Are Its Results?

1993 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-278
Author(s):  
Anna Sierpinska ◽  
Jeremy Kilpatrick ◽  
Nicolas Balacheff ◽  
A. Geoffrey Howson ◽  
Anna Sfard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Scientific Quality ◽  
Mathematical Education ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Mathematics Educators ◽  
General Feeling ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
Research In Mathematics Education

As mathematics education has become better established as a domain of scienti fic research (if not as a scientific discipline), exactly what this research is and what its results are have become less clear. The hi story of the past three International Congresses on Mathematical Education demonstrates the need for greater clarity. At the Budapest congress in 1988, in particular, there was a general feeling that mathematics educators from different parts of the world. countries, or even areas of the same country often talk past one another. There seems to be a lack of consensus on what it means to be a mathematics educator. Standards of scientific quality and the criteria for accepting a paper vary considerably among the more than 250 journals on mathematics education published throughout the world.

scholarly journals The Influence of Habitat Changes on Elephant Mortality Associated with Human–Elephant Conflict: Identifying Areas of Concern in the North Central Dry Zone of Sri Lanka

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 13707
Author(s):  
Chase A. LaDue ◽  
Sarah M. Farinelli ◽  
Imira Eranda ◽  
Chandana Jayasinghe ◽  
Rajnish P. G. Vandercone
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North ◽  
Dry Zone ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Forest Cover Loss

Human–wildlife conflict (HWC) is becoming increasingly prevalent as human activity expands, and monitoring the impact of habitat quality on wildlife mortality related to HWC is critical for the well-being of wildlife and people. Using ten years of necropsies from free-ranging Asian elephants in the Northwestern Wildlife Region (NWR) of Sri Lanka, we quantified the effect of habitat quality on human–elephant conflict (HEC) (i.e., human-caused elephant mortality), hypothesizing that both artificial (e.g., forest cover loss) and natural (e.g., water availability, temperature) changes would be associated with elephant mortality. We collated necropsies from 348 elephants that died due to human activity from 2009 to 2018, comparing the results with data on forest cover loss, perennial water, rainfall, temperature, and human population sizes. Over the study period, we found that forest cover loss was significantly correlated with human-caused mortality in a district-specific manner. Similarly, access to perennial water and precipitation levels appeared to influence mortality, but not temperature, human population density, or percent land cover used for agriculture. We conducted emerging hot spot analyses to identify areas within the NWR that should be prioritized for protection, which included landscapes that are not currently protected (approximately 43% of the hot spots we identified). Similarly, areas that we identified as cold spots included many areas with minimal forest cover loss. Together, our results emphasize the impact that human activity can have on the measurable outcomes of HEC. We suggest that adaptive HWC management strategies that use retrospective analyses should inform any potential changes to the protection of vital wildlife habitats, such as the north central dry zone of Sri Lanka.

scholarly journals Equality of Access? Chinese Women Practicing Chan and Transnational Meditation in Contemporary China

Religions ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Ngar-Sze Lau
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Chinese Women ◽  
Contemporary China ◽  
Buddhist Meditation ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Contemporary Chinese ◽  
Different Parts

This paper examines how the Buddhist revival, the Chan revival, and recent popularity of transnational meditation practices have facilitated Chinese women practicing Buddhist meditation in contemporary China. With the influence of the opening of China and growing transnational networks, there has been an increasing number of Han Chinese monastics and lay people practicing transnational meditation, such as samādhi, vipassanā and mindfulness, in the past two decades. Despite the restriction of accessing Chan halls at monasteries, some Chinese nuns and laywomen have traveled to learn meditation in different parts of China, and international meditation centers in Southeast Asia to study with yogis from all over the world. Surprisingly some returned female travelers have taken significant roles in organizing meditation retreats, and establishing meditation centers and meditation halls. Through examining some ethnographic cases of Chinese nuns and laywomen, this paper argues that the transnational meditation movement has an impact not only on gender equality, especially concerning Chinese women practicing meditation, but also on the development of contemporary Chinese Buddhism. The significant role of Chinese female meditators in promoting Buddhist meditation can reflect a trend of re-positioning the Chan School in contemporary China.

scholarly journals Nutraceuticals’ Novel Formulations: The Good, the Bad, the Unknown and Patents Involved

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nada A. Helal ◽  
Heba A. Eassa ◽  
Ahmed M. Amer ◽  
Mohamed A. Eltokhy ◽  
Ivan Edafiogho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Polymeric Micelles ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Development Research ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Online Retail ◽  
The Past ◽  
Regulatory Processes ◽  
The World ◽  
Different Parts

: Traditional nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals hold pragmatic nature with respect to their definitions, claims, purposes and marketing strategies. Their definitions are not well established worldwide. They also have different regulatory definitions and registration regulatory processes in different parts of the world. Global prevalence of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals is noticeably high with large market share with minimal regulation compared to traditional drugs. The global market is flooded with nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals claiming to be of natural origin and sold with a therapeutic claim by major online retail stores such as Amazon and eBay. Apart from the traditional formulations, many manufacturers and researchers use novel formulation technologies in nutraceutical and cosmeceutical formulations for different reasons and objectives. Manufacturers tend to differentiate their products with novel formulations to increase market appeal and sales. On the other hand, researchers use novel strategies to enhance nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals activity and safety. : The objective of this review is to assess the current patents and research adopting novel formulation strategies in nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. Patents and research papers investigating nutraceutical and cosmeceutical novel formulations were surveyed for the past 15 years. Various nanosystems and advanced biotechnology systems have been introduced to improve the therapeutic efficacy, safety and market appeal of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals, including liposomes, polymeric micelles, quantum dots, nanoparticles, and dendrimers. This review provides an overview of nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals current technologies, highlighting their pros, cons, misconceptions, regulatory definitions and market. This review also aims in separating the science from fiction in the nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals development, research and marketing.

How to Tackle a Nue (aka Anime)

2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-436
Author(s):  
Shiro Yoshioka
Keyword(s):  
Content Distribution ◽  
Research Subject ◽  
Action Films ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Japanese Animation ◽  
Live Action ◽  
Different Parts

As a research subject, Japanese animation or anime is like a nue, an imaginary Japanese bird that has the head of an ape, the torso of a raccoon, the tail of a snake, and the limbs of a tiger. Depending on the perspective from which you are looking at it, and what you want to see in it, you can academically approach anime from numerous angles. Furthermore, contemporary anime is increasingly and inextricably entangled with other media, such as manga, videogames, novels, and live-action films in terms of content, distribution, and consumption. As such, it is very difficult to single out anime as a research subject. The global popularity of anime in the past twenty years adds a further twist by introducing numerous voices from fans and scholars from different parts of the world as well as Japan.

scholarly journals How to Face the Advent of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in IBD Patients: Another Task for Gastroenterologists

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 248
Author(s):  
Alfredo Papa ◽  
Franco Scaldaferri ◽  
Lorenzo Maria Vetrone ◽  
Matteo Neri ◽  
Antonio Gasbarrini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Safety And Efficacy ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Inflammatory Bowel ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Parts

The severity of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented effort to develop vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection since this seems to be the most effective strategy to counter the pandemic. In the past weeks, the administration of vaccines has started in different parts of the world sustaining the hype of significantly containing the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the rapid time lapse from vaccine development to distribution has raised several concerns on its safety and efficacy. This topic is particularly felt by patients with chronic conditions and immumodulating therapies that could compromise their immune system such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Here, we explore the potential future implications of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines introduction in the IBD field, touching upon the clinical experience coming from available data on vaccinations against other infections. We also dissect the factors associated with the acceptability of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, describing the possible strategies that gastroenterologist should adopt to reach the highest rate of vaccinations in IBD patients.

scholarly journals Editorial: Behind the Scenes

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-105
Author(s):  
PAUL RAE
Keyword(s):  
Developing Economies ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
University Rankings ◽  
Direct Experience ◽  
The Past ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
The World ◽  
Global University ◽  
Different Parts

One of the pleasures of editing Theatre Research International is the opportunity to engage with scholars from different parts of the world about their research. In the past year or so, I have visited several universities in South East Asia, finding out about the practices and ideas people are investigating, and how they are doing it. In the process, I have been struck by the alacrity with which ambitious universities in the fast-developing economies of the region – and, I suspect, elsewhere in the world – are embracing the metrics and other criteria required for success in global university rankings exercises. The legitimation, prestige and increased attractiveness to talented staff and students that a good showing in such exercises can bring is presumably an important reason why governments and university administrations see participation as an efficient use of limited resources. However, as anyone with direct experience of rankings-motivated institutional change will be aware, the practical results can be highly disruptive, and their cost can fall disproportionately upon arts and humanities researchers, so much of whose activity remains resistant to easy quantification.

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