scholarly journals Ecological and Economic Sustainability in Olive Groves with Different Irrigation Management and Levels of Erosion: A Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 4681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Alberto Rodríguez Sousa ◽  
Jesús M. Barandica ◽  
Alejandro Rescia
Keyword(s):  
Labour Force ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Soil Parameters ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Olive Groves ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

In the last 50 years, both the agricultural labour force and irrigated land area have increased almost eightfold in Spain. The main objective of irrigation, in the short term, is to increase agricultural production. However, in the long term, the environmental externalities of irrigation and its direct relationship with soil erosion processes are more uncertain and still poorly studied. In this study, in an olive-growing region of Andalusia, Spain, the variation of several soil parameters related to irrigation and erosion levels was analysed. The results showed that irrigation, while increasing the productive level of the olive groves, entails a progressive alteration of the soil, modifying physical aspects (greater compaction and humidity of the soil together with lower gravel content, porosity and soil weight) and chemical aspects (reduction of the organic matter of the soil and the content of nitrates) that can aggravate the consequences of the erosive processes. In the long term, the productive benefit attributed to irrigation could be unsustainable from an ecological and, consequently, economic point of view. In addition, the lack of sustainability of olive irrigation agroecosystems could be exacerbated by the future restrictive impacts of climate change on water resources in Mediterranean environments. This situation demands spatial planning and alternative management based on soil conservation and rational and efficient forms of irrigation to ensure the sustainability of olive groves and their economic viability.

scholarly journals Estimate of economic impacts of climate change upon Czech forestry

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (No. 11) ◽  
pp. 499-507
Author(s):  
L. Šišák ◽  
K. Pulkrab
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Rotation Period ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Site Quality ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Commercial Species ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

From the economic point of view the issue is comprehensive namely for its long-term character. At present, there is little experience in complexly understood economic calculations concerning the effect of climate change on forest management. Therefore a new methodology had to be proposed to solve the assigned task, i.e. to analyse the results of research on the effect of climate change on forest management. The issue is closely related to changes in production characteristics of commercial species, i.e. site quality and species composition or health conditions and rotation period of each species and stand. In this case it concerns with a higher proportion of deciduous species at the expense of conifers, namely spruce. This issue also includes the question of further afforestation of non-forest agricultural land, that means the question of land delimitation between agriculture and forestry.

Bleak Weather for Sun-Shine AG: A Case Study of Impairment of Assets

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Detzen ◽  
Tobias Stork genannt Wersborg ◽  
Henning Zülch
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Professional Judgment ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Instructional Resource

ABSTRACT This case originates from a real-life business situation and illustrates the application of impairment tests in accordance with IFRS and U.S. GAAP. In the first part of the case study, students examine conceptual questions of impairment tests under IFRS and U.S. GAAP with respect to applicable accounting standards, definitions, value concepts, and frequency of application. In addition, the case encourages students to discuss the impairment regime from an economic point of view. The second part of the instructional resource continues to provide instructors with the flexibility of applying U.S. GAAP and/or IFRS when students are asked to test a long-lived asset for impairment and, if necessary, allocate any potential impairment. This latter part demonstrates that impairment tests require professional judgment that students are to exercise in the case.

scholarly journals The “Zero Miles Product” Concept Applied to Biofuel Production: A Case Study

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 565
Author(s):  
Nikolaj Kaae Kirk ◽  
Clara Navarrete ◽  
Jakob Ellegaard Juhl ◽  
José Luis Martínez ◽  
Alessandra Procentese
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Content ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Transport Costs ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Product Concept ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
Production Platform ◽  
High Sugar Content

To make biofuel production feasible from an economic point of view, several studies have investigated the main associated bottlenecks of the whole production process through approaches such as the “cradle to grave” approach or the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis, being the main constrains the feedstock collection and transport. Whilst several feedstocks are interesting because of their high sugar content, very few of them are available all year around and moreover do not require high transportation’ costs. This work aims to investigate if the “zero miles” concept could bring advantages to biofuel production by decreasing all the associated transport costs on a locally established production platform. In particular, a specific case study applied to the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) campus is used as example to investigate the advantages and feasibility of using the spent coffee grounds generated at the main cafeteria for the production of bioethanol on site, which can be subsequently used to (partially) cover the campus’ energy demands.

scholarly journals Landslide Awareness System (LAwS) to Increase the Resilience and Safety of Transport Infrastructure: The Case Study of Pan-American Highway (Cuenca–Ecuador)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1564
Author(s):  
Pietro Miele ◽  
Mariano Di Di Napoli ◽  
Luigi Guerriero ◽  
Massimo Ramondini ◽  
Chester Sellers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Slope Failures ◽  
Network Systems ◽  
Socioeconomic Impacts ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Infrastructure Monitoring ◽  
Ground Deformations ◽  
Pan American

In most countries, landslides have caused severe socioeconomic impacts on people, cities, industrial establishments, and lifelines, such as highways, railways, and communication network systems. Socioeconomic losses due to slope failures are very high and they have been growing as the built environment expands into unstable hillside areas under the pressures of growing populations. Human activities as the construction of buildings, transportation routes, dams, and artificial canals have often been a major factor for the increasing damage due to slope failures. When recovery actions are not durable from an economic point of view, increasing the population’s awareness is the key strategy to reduce the effects of natural and anthropogenic events. Starting from the case study of the Pan-American Highway (the Ecuadorian part), this article shows a multi-approach strategy for infrastructure monitoring. The combined use of (i) DInSAR technique for detection of slow ground deformations, (ii) field survey activities, and (iii) the QPROTO tool for analysis of slopes potentially prone to collapse allowed us to obtain a first cognitive map to better characterize 22 km of the highway between the cities of Cuenca and Azogues. This study is the primary step in the development of a landslide awareness perspective to manage risk related to landslides along infrastructure corridors, increasing user safety and providing stakeholders with a management system to plan the most urgent interventions and to ensure the correct functionality of the infrastructure.

Addressing ecology and sustainability in mega-sporting events: The 2006 football World Cup in Germany

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Dolles ◽  
Sten Söderman
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Sporting Event ◽  
History Of ◽  
Waste Energy ◽  
First Time ◽  
Water Waste

AbstractFor the first time in the history of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the football (soccer) World Cup held in Germany 2006 specifically addressed environmental concerns. By doing so, the German Organizing Committee did not have the objective of creating a short-term vision, but rather of making a long-term and lasting contribution to the improvement of environmental protection in hosting a mega-sporting event. By taking the football world cup in Germany as a case study, we will provide insights into the so-called ‘Green Goal’ programme and its four main areas: water, waste, energy, and transportation. From a global point of view, climate protection was added by the Organizing Committee as the fifth area of action and was recognised as a cross-sectorial task. Finally, questions are addressed on how to apply those measurements in the planning and organisation of other mega (-sporting) events.

scholarly journals Application of electrocoagulation for water conditioning

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-70
Author(s):  
Hana Posavčić ◽  
Ivan Halkijević ◽  
Živko Vuković
Keyword(s):  
Water Source ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Pollutant Removal ◽  
Operating Costs ◽  
Mechanical Equipment ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Water Conditioning ◽  
Electrocoagulation Process

Water conditioning is a method of removing altering minerals, chemicals and contaminants from a water source and it is carried out on facilities equipped with the corresponding electro-mechanical equipment. Although efficient, conventional processes typically use several complex devices connected to a single functional unit, which are often expensive to maintain and occupy large areas. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to present the electrocoagulation (EC) method as an alternative to conventional water conditioning processes. The examples of previous studies of the EC process application is presented in this paper. The focus of the paper is to investigate the influence of the certain operational parameters such as pH, temperature, electrode material, etc., on the efficiency of pollutant removal such as Escherichia coli and elevated concentrations of iron, arsenic, manganese, ammonia and others. Further, an economic analysis is made, which, from an economic point of view, shows when it is feasible to use the EC in the conditioning process. Furthermore, a case study of electrocoagulation process for Total Nitrogen (TN) removal is presented. According to results, 69.7 % of TN was removed with aluminum electrodes after 240 minutes. For this case, total operating costs were 7.60 €/m3.

scholarly journals RECONSTRUCTING THE LANDSCAPE OF THE PAST IN THE AGRICULTURAL TERRACES OF THE CITY OF AVDAT

2019 ◽  
Vol XLII-2/W15 ◽  
pp. 117-124
Author(s):  
R. Arav ◽  
S. Filin ◽  
Y. Avni
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Agricultural Terraces ◽  
Change Mechanism ◽  
Erosion Processes ◽  
Anthropogenic Intervention ◽  
The City

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Large areas in the arid Southern Levant are dotted with ancient agricultural terraces and runoff harvesting installations. In the Negev Highlands, Israel, they were constructed in the 3rd&amp;ndash;4th centuries CE, maintained for 6&amp;ndash;7 centuries, and then abandoned after the 10th century. Their design pattern and foundations provide a rare insight to the prevailing environmental conditions during the middle Holocene, while their 600&amp;ndash;700 years cultivation tells the story of their maitainance and desert agriculture in these regions. From their abandonment onwards, they documented more than 1000 years of land degradation and soil erosion till present time. In this paper, we follow a complete cycle of desert agriculture of two sites near the UNESCO world-heritage town of Avdat. We reconstruct the landscape at the period pre-dating the first anthropogenic intervention, through the centuries of cultivation, and into a millennium of abandonment until the present erosion phase. We use high-resolution 3-D data to document the erosion and environmental dynamics during these two millennia, and to compute rates of siltation and erosion. Long-term measures of such kind are unique, as it is rare to find a millennium-scale documentation of soil erosion processes. Their study improves our understanding of the long-term environmental change mechanism acting in arid environments. The detailed analysis of these installations also offers insights into methods for soil conservation, for sustainable desert inhabitation, and for strategies to protect world-heritage installations. As the globe-wide struggle to combat soil erosion becomes urgent, this case study becomes even more relevant.</p>

scholarly journals Changes in Grassland Chemical Soil Parameters Four Years after Cessation of Different Fertilisation with Compost and Slurry

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-218
Author(s):  
Marie Štýbnarová ◽  
Oldřich Látal ◽  
Jan Hladký ◽  
Monika Hradilová ◽  
Jiří Skládanka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Soil Parameters ◽  
Chemical Soil ◽  
Organic Fertilisers ◽  
Small Plot ◽  
Stocking Rates

The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in chemical soil properties of permanent grasslands after the cessation of their regular utilisation and organic fertilisation. A long‑term small plot trial was established in 2004 in locality Rapotín. During 2004 – 2012 the experiment was fertilised with compost and slurry, both with the range of stocking rates 0.9, 1.4, and 2.0 livestock units (LU).ha−1 (corresponding to 54, 84, and 120 kg N.ha−1). It was further observed the unfertilised grassland as control. The plots were cut 2 – 4 times per year depending on given dose of fertiliser. During 2013 –2016 the regular management was ceased and the grasslands were completely abandoned. It was found statistically significant influence of the year and the type of fertiliser almost for all evaluated parameters. The dose of nitrogen was not significant. On the basis of our results we can conclude, that the both types of the organic fertilisers had a positive influence on the chemical soil properties, however, the compost manifested itself as the better fertiliser than the slurry from this point of view. In 2016, four years after the last application of the organic fertilisers, there were found the better chemical soil conditions in the treatments previously fertilised with compost.

scholarly journals La planificación como impulsora de la evolución socioeconómica y el desarrollo local de Torre Pacheco (Murcia) = Planning as a Driver of Socio-Economic Evolution and Local Development of Torre Pacheco (Murcia)

2020 ◽  
pp. 215
Author(s):  
Mercedes Millán Escriche
Keyword(s):  
Water Availability ◽  
Time Horizon ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Economic Evolution ◽  
Planning Strategies ◽  
Estudio De Caso

El municipio de Torre Pacheco ha conocido una significativa evolución en las últimas décadas, tanto desde el punto de vista territorial como socioeconómico. El principal objetivo de esta aportación es comprobar qué tipo de actuaciones han contribuido a modificar la tendencia de declive que compartía con otros espacios rurales. Junto al estudio de caso, se ha recurrido a una metodología no experimental, exploratoria y descriptiva de tipo cualitativo, sin renunciar al soporte de las estadísticas necesarias que cuantifiquen y apoyen determinados aspectos. Los resultados obtenidos ponen de relieve los beneficios alcanzados en Torre Pacheco mediante el incremento de su disponibilidad hídrica, a partir de la aplicación de estrategias de planificación llevadas a cabo con un horizonte temporal de largo plazo.Abstract The municipality of Torre Pacheco has undergone a significant evolution in recent decades, both from the territorial and socioeconomic point of view. The main objective of this contribution is to verify what type of actions has contributed to modifying the trend of decline that it shared with other rural areas.Along with the case study, a non-experimental, exploratory and descriptive methodology of a qualitative type has been used, without renouncing the support of the necessary statistics that quantify and support certain aspects. The results obtained highlight the benefits achieved in Torre Pacheco by increasing its water availability, through the application of planning strategies carried out with a long-term time horizon.

scholarly journals Evaluación comparativa multifuncional de sistemas agrarios mediante AHP: Aplicación al olivar ecológico, integrado y convencional de Andalucía

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Parra López ◽  
Javier Calatrava Requena ◽  
Tomás De Haro Giménez
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Complex Decision Making ◽  
Olive Groves ◽  
Complex Decision ◽  
Hierarchy Process

Even though multifunctionality concept is reflected, implicit or explicitly, in the design of actual agrarian policies, its consideration when analysing and assessing farming systems is relatively limited in the scientific literature. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is proposed with this aim. AHP is a multicriteria discrete decision support technique that is used in complex decision making. This methodology is stated jointly with a proposed procedure to measure relative agreement among decision makers and uniformity of alternatives’ performances in group decision making. Finally AHP is implemented in the assessment of organic, integrated and conventional olive groves in Andalusia considering criteria of a different nature – economic, technical, sociocultural and environmental –. The final purpose is determining the more interesting growing techniques from a holistic point of view for all the society in the medium/long-term on the basis of knowledge of experts on olive.

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