Major ion chemistry and weathering processes in the Midyan Basin, northwestern Saudi Arabia

Chemical characteristics of 72 groundwater samples collected from Midyan Basin have been studied to evaluate major ion chemistry together with the geochemical and weathering processes controlling the water composition. Water chemistry of the study area is mainly dominated by Na, Ca, SO₄, and Cl. The molar ratios of (Ca?+?Mg)/total cations, (Na?+?K)/total cations, (Ca?+?Mg)/(Na?+?K), (Ca?+?Mg)/(HCO₃?+?SO₄), (Ca?+?Mg)/HCO₃, and Na/Cl reveal that water chemistry of the Midyan Basin is controlled by evaporite dissolution (gypsum and/or anhydrite, and halite), silicate weathering, and minor contribution of carbonate weathering. The studied groundwater samples are largely undersaturated with respect to dolomite, gypsum, and anhydrite. These waters are capable of dissolving more of these minerals under suitable physicochemical conditions.     

Performance assessment of geospatial simulation models of land-use change—a landscape metric-based approach

Performance evaluation is a critical step when developing land-use and cover change (LUCC) models. The present study proposes a spatially explicit model performance evaluation method, adopting a landscape metric-based approach. To quantify GEOMOD model performance, a set of composition- and configuration-based landscape metrics including number of patches, edge density, mean Euclidean nearest neighbor distance, largest patch index, class area, landscape shape index, and splitting index were employed. The model takes advantage of three decision rules including neighborhood effect, persistence of change direction, and urbanization suitability values. According to the results, while class area, largest patch index, and splitting indices demonstrated insignificant differences between spatial pattern of ground truth and simulated layers, there was a considerable inconsistency between simulation results and real dataset in terms of the remaining metrics. Specifically, simulation outputs were simplistic and the model tended to underestimate number of developed patches by producing a more compact landscape. Landscape-metric-based performance evaluation produces more detailed information (compared to conventional indices such as the Kappa index and overall accuracy) on the model’s behavior in replicating spatial heterogeneity features of a landscape such as frequency, fragmentation, isolation, and density. Finally, as the main characteristic of the proposed method, landscape metrics employ the maximum potential of observed and simulated layers for a performance evaluation procedure, provide a basis for more robust interpretation of a calibration process, and also deepen modeler insight into the main strengths and pitfalls of a specific land-use change model when simulating a spatiotemporal phenomenon.     

Environmental planning and management for the Assarawat highland region of south-western Saudi Arabia: the traditional versus the professional approach

The environmental planning and management of the Assarawat highlands of south-western Saudi Arabia are currently confronted by difficult problems. Deforestation is caused either by natural or intentional forces. Natural factors are limited to lightning fire and drought, while intentional forces include vandalism caused by the burning or cutting of preserved forests. Such vandalism continues despite the tremendous efforts of afforestation and preservation by several government agencies, especially the Ministry of Agriculture and Water, the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development and by the municipalities of the cities and towns in the region. For centuries, local inhabitants of the Assarawat highlands have successfully established environmental planning and management strategies which balanced the settlements' growth and natural resource uses according to Islamic laws, and the tribal self-government of each settlement and tribal region. Following the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, the land management system started to change from tribal-based, where every tribe used to manage its local territory, to State authority. The creation of the State witnessed the unification of various fragmented tribes of Saudi Arabia into one government. This meant that environmental planning and management moved from local/regional towards a national control. This investigation proposes that the local/regional planning and management practised by the tribes could be viably utilized today. As in the past, the implementation of these practices could protect the natural environment of the locality and region and regularize their exploitation rationally, as long as vernacular people implement them. Today environmental planning and management need to be based on strategies of local requirements that enable the indigenous people to plan and manage the use of the resources.     

Phylogenetic Reanalysis of the Saudi Gazelle and Its Implications for Conservation

Abstract: The identification of taxonomically appropriate populations of endangered species for captive breeding and reintroduction programs is fundamental to the success of those programs. The Saudi gazelle (   Gazella saudiya ) was endemic to the Arabian peninsula but is now considered extinct in the wild and is potentially a candidate for captive breeding and reintroduction. Using 375 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome b gene derived from museum samples collected from the wild prior to the presumed extinction of this species, we show that G. saudiya is the sister taxon of the African dorcas gazelle (  G. dorcas ). Reciprocal monophyly of G. saudiya mtDNA haplotypes with G. dorcas , coupled with morphological distinctiveness, suggests that it is an evolutionarily significant unit. These data indicate that captive populations identified previously as potential sources of G. saudiya for captive breeding appear incorrectly designated and are irrelevant to the conservation of G. saudiya. The polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism ( PCR-RFLP) analysis of several private collections of living gazelles in Saudi Arabia provides no evidence for the survival of G. saudiya. We recommend that field surveys be undertaken to establish whether G. saudiya is indeed extinct in the wild and that other private collections within the Arabian peninsula be screened genetically. We urge caution when captive animals of unknown provenance are used to investigate the phylogenetics of cryptic species groups.     

Modeling of road traffic noise and estimated human exposure in Fulton County, Georgia, USA

Environmental noise is a major source of public complaints. Noise in the community causes physical and socio-economic effects and has been shown to be related to adverse health impacts. Noise, however, has not been actively researched in the United States compared with the European Union countries in recent years. In this research, we aimed at modeling road traffic noise and analyzing human exposure in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. We modeled road traffic noise levels using the United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Traffic Noise Model implemented in SoundPLAN?. After analyzing noise levels with raster, vector and fa?ade maps, we estimated human exposure to high noise levels. Accurate digital elevation models and building heights were derived from Light Detection And Ranging survey datasets and building footprint boundaries. Traffic datasets were collected from the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Atlanta Regional Commission. Noise level simulation was performed with 62 computers in a distributed computing environment. Finally, the noise-exposed population was calculated using geographic information system techniques. Results show that 48% of the total county population [N=870,166 residents] is potentially exposed to 55 dB(A) or higher noise levels during daytime. About 9% of the population is potentially exposed to 67 dB(A) or higher noises. At nighttime, 32% of the population is expected to be exposed to noise levels higher than 50 dB(A). This research shows that large-scale traffic noise estimation is possible with the help of various organizations. We believe that this research is a significant stepping stone for analyzing community health associated with noise exposures in the United States.     

Expert System for Terrestrial Vegetation Distribution, Potential Impact and Mitigation Abatement Measures

The tropical rainforest of Malaysia holds one of the richest flora in the world. The favourable climate has produced flora of amazing richness and variety. Terrestrial vegetation of tropical rainforests is an important feature of the environment. Plants play a major role in the environment and conservation of a particular environment depends fundamentally on the maintenance of existing plants and their communities and hierarchies. Interference in the balance of the ecosystem may produce radical changes that lead to progressive deviations from the original situation. Therefore, the application of a computer technology in the form of an expert system (ES) will be able to help in the analysis and management of the EIA information. The ES is named VEGEVIC. Application of the system will lead to greater consistency in the application of EIA through implementation of a standard approach.     

Source apportionment of primary and secondary organic aerosols using positive matrix factorization (PMF) of molecular markers

Monthly average ambient concentrations of more than eighty particle-phase organic compounds, as well as total organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC), were measured from March 2004 through February 2005 in five cities in the Midwestern United States. A multi-variant source apportionment receptor model, positive matrix factorization (PMF), was applied to explore the average source contributions to the five sampling sites using molecular markers for primary and secondary organic aerosols (POA, SOA). Using the molecular makers in the model, POA and SOA were estimated for each month at each site. Three POA factors were derived, which were dominated by primary molecular markers such as EC, hopanes, steranes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and which represented the following POA sources: urban primary sources, mobile sources, and other combustion sources. The three POA sources accounted for 57% of total average ambient OC. Three factors, characterized by the presence of reaction products of isoprene, α-pinene and β-caryophyllene, and displaying distinct seasonal trends, were consistent with the characteristics of SOA. The SOA factors made up 43% of the total average measured OC. The PMF-derived results are in good agreement with estimated SOA concentrations obtained from SOA to tracer yield estimates obtained from smog chamber experiments. A linear regression comparing the smog chamber yield estimates and the PMF SOA contributions had a regression slope of 1.01 ± 0.07 and an intercept of 0.19 ± 0.10 μg OC m^?3 (adjusted R² of 0.763, n = 58).     

Community attitudes toward forest conservation programs through collaborative protected area management in Bangladesh

The formulation of conservation policies with options for creating protected areas is significantly influenced by the social factors of the surrounding communities. Therefore, indigenous knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of the local communities need to be explored during the planning and implementation stages of conservation projects. A government-initiated experiment in co-management was conducted in the Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh. This paper analyzes the attitudes toward conservation by members of local communities living in and around the wildlife sanctuary. Training incentives on alternative income-generating (AIG) activities and allotment of agricultural lands were distributed among the Forest User Groups. It is of interest to policy makers and resource managers whether this technique leads to improved attitudes on the part of local people. Although there were different attitudes toward protected areas and conservation, overall, a favorable attitude of the respondents was observed. The opinions of respondents also varied based on factors such as village position, village dependency level on forest resources, ethnicity and gender. Increase in annual income resulting from the augmented skills by trainings on AIG activities and getting agricultural lands leased from the Forest Department contributed significantly to the variation in respondents’ conservation attitudes. It is suggested that eliminating inequity and inequality in incentive distribution, discovering and launching training on more need-based livelihood activities, and liberalizing the restriction of resource extraction from the protected area by fixing the harvesting limit would encourage the community to be more cordially and actively involved in the conservation efforts of the sanctuary.