Environmental mapping based on spatial variability

Environmental maps show the probable environmental states of different types of land use or development of landscape in a geographic context. Remotely sensed data are particularly efficient for environmental mapping in order to outline major environmental types. Multiple schemes of image classification used in environmental mapping are either traditionally statistical or heuristic. While the former methods do not take account of spatial variability in space and aerial data, the latter ones does not lend themselves to optimal solutions we present. Novel probabilistic models of piecewise-homogeneous images are used in environmental mapping to segment real images. The models consider both an image and a land cover map. Such a pair constitutes an example of a Markov random field specified by a joint Gibbs probability distribution of images and maps. Parameters of the model are estimated by using a stochastic approximation technique. Its convergence to the desired values is studied experimentally. Addition of spatial attributes appears to be necessary in most areas where the differences in spatial data between regions in the image occur. Experiments in generating the pairs of images and environmental maps and in segmenting the simulated as well as real images are discussed.     

The monoculture vs. rotation strategies in forestry: formalization and prediction by means of Markov-chain modelling

The monoculture strategy of forest management, where the same tree species (e.g., Picea abies) is cultivated in a number of successive planting-growing-felling cycles, is generally considered to be economically efficient, yet not sustainable as it reduces biodiversity in the forest. The sound alternative suggests a long-term strategy of forest management in which different forest types rotate either with planting after clear cutting, or by natural forest succession, yet the commercial output remains dubious. We suggest an approach to formalization and modelling forest dynamics in the long-term by means of Markov chains, the monoculture strategy resulting in an absorbing chain and the rotation one in a regular chain. The approach is illustrated with a case study of Russkii Les, a managed forest located in the Moscow Region, Russia, and the nearby forest reserve having been used as a data source for undisturbed forest dynamics. Starting with conceptual schemes of transitions among certain forest types (states of the chain) in the monoculture and rotation cases, we estimated the transition probabilities by an original method based on average duration of the corresponding states and on the likelihood of alternative transitions from a state into the next one. Formal analysis of the regular chain reveals an opportunity to achieve particular management objectives within the rotation strategy, in particular, to get the distribution of forest types in accordance with an adopted hierarchy of their commercial values, i.e. more valuable types have greater shares.     

Impact of mining and refining on the distribution and accumulation of nickel and other heavy metals in sediments of subarctic Lake Kuetsjärvi,Murmansk Region,Russia

Research on the influence of the activities of Pechenganickel Mining and Metallurgical Company on sediment heavy-metal geochemistry of the subarctic Lake Kuetsj?rvi (north-western Russia) are described. It is estimated that during 60 years of mining/refining activity, 310 t of Ni, 120 t of Cu, 14 t of Co, 19 t of Zn, 0.087 t of Cd, 0.78 t of Pb and 0.053 t of Hg have accumulated in the lake sediments. The latter can be a source of secondary pollution and represent a danger for the lake ecosystem. The sedimentation rate in the lake is estimated to be within the range of 1.5-3 mm year(-1). The average concentrations of Ni, Cu, Hg and Co in superficial sediments have increased 25, 14, 11 and 5 times, respectively in the last century.     

A Novel Stochastic Optimization Model for Reverse Logistics Network Design of End-of-Life Vehicles: A Case Study of Istanbul

Environmental Modeling & Assessment - Waste management is gaining crucial importance as recycling aims at transforming produced waste into value for the economy. As the automotive industry is...     

Validation of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis and role of carbon emission policies in the case of Russian Federation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Climate change currently observed and expected in the future is associated with risks to security and sustainable development and natural and...     

Seasonal peculiarities of PCDD/Fs levels in bank voles inhabiting sites in the vicinity of the landfill with municipal wastes (Moscow,Russia)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Differences in PCDD/Fs concentrations were registered among adult bank voles (Myodes glareolus) inhabiting forest in the vicinity of the Landfill...     

Mutagens in raw ewe milk in Orava region,northern Slovakia: metals

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aim of this work was to determine the concentrations of selected mutagenic elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Se) in raw ewe milk...