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1

Emisja zanieczyszczeń w strukturze miejskiej. Model aktualnych wyzwań proekologicznych i energooszczędnych w dostosowaniu miast do zmian klimatycznych

Skiba Marta, Bazan-Krzywoszańska Anna, Stępińska-Kaczmarczyk Agata

PUA Przestrzeń Urbanistyka Architektura

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2023

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Vol. 1

114--125

PL

Na podstawie wyników przeprowadzonych analiz można stwierdzić, że miejsca, do których (z zewnątrz) przepływa najwięcej azotu, wraz z różnymi produktami potrzebnymi do utrzymania funkcji miejskich, są również największymi emiterami zanieczyszczeń azotowych. Oprócz azotu miejsca te emitują również największą ilość gazów cieplarnianych oraz tych ze spalania węglowodorów. Na podstawie przedstawionego w artykule modelu obiegu azotu w mieście Zielona Góra można przygotować politykę zmniejszającą emisję zanieczyszczeń spowodowanych tradycyjnie rozwijającą się gospodarką, która ma wpływ na negatywne zmiany klimatyczne. Proponowane zmiany w polityce miejskiej powinny przeciwdziałać w miejscach największej emisji zanieczyszczeń oraz zmierzać do osiągnięcia gospodarki o obiegu zamkniętym.

EN

Based on the results of the analyzes carried out, it can be concluded that the places to which the most nitrogen flows (from the outside), together with various products needed to maintain urban functions, are also the largest emitters of nitrogen pollutants. In addition to nitrogen, these places also emit the largest amount of greenhouse gases and those from the combustion of hydrocarbons. Based on the model of the nitrogen cycle in the city of Zielona Góra presented in the article, a policy can be prepared to reduce the emission of pollutants caused by the traditionally developing economy, which has an impact on negative climate changes. The proposed changes in urban policy should counteract in places of the greatest emission of pollutants and aim at achieving a circular economy.

2

Spatial distribution prediction for the ground water quality in Mosul City (Iraq) using variogram equations

Al-Tamir Mus'ab A., Ibrahim Abdullah

Przegląd Naukowy Inżynieria i Kształtowanie Środowiska

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2023

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Vol. 32, No. 2

186--197

EN

The GIS-aided spatial interpolation was applied on collected groundwater data to predict selected parameters (i.e., pH, electrical conductivity, and temperature) for the selected water wells distributed over Mosul City in Iraq. A descriptive statistical analysis was conducted on collected samples to explore the statistical indices. The skewness test was also employed to test the distribution of data sets around their mean values. The natural logarithms function achieved least skewness values and thus was applied to transfer data sets in order to adjust normality of the data sets distribution. Among all applied semivariogram models, the J-Bessel semivariogram model was optimal in terms of root mean square error (RMSE) values. The average standard errors were 0.2217, 740.5, and 1.209 for pH, EC, and temperature, respectively.

3

Identification and Database Creation of Selected Historic Irrigation Structures in the Czech Republic

Karásek Petr, Pelíšek Igor, Pochop Michal

Journal of Ecological Engineering

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2023

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Vol. 24, nr 2

256--264

EN

Since the 19th century, the irrigation industry on the territory of the Czech Republic has undergone considerable technological development and an increase in irrigated areas. Irrigation has become an important part of the Czech landscape. Large complex irrigation systems of tens to hundreds of km2 have been built. Towards the end of the 20th century, there was a significant decline due to the change of political regime, abolition of agricultural companies, etc. Irrigation systems and buildings were often destroyed, devastated, left without maintenance. There have also been several changes in the administrative management of the irrigation sector. The consequence was that there was no single database of irrigation systems. At present, a database of these irrigation systems is being compiled by the Research Institute for Soil and Water Conservation using geographical information systems (GIS). In connection with climate change, the threat of drought, and irregular distribution of precipitation during the growing season, and the issue of irrigation are back on trend. In this study the current state of irrigation systems in the Czech Republic was presented. In the Czech Republic, a total of 175115 ha of irrigation area has been recorded so far (of this area, about 41% is currently in functional). Selected historic irrigation structures were documented by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

4

Assessing and Monitoring Sustainable Land Management for Land Degradation Neutrality in Wadi El Farigh

Erian Wadid F., Nasr Yehia A., Yacoub Rafat K., El-Abd Raghda A.

Journal of Ecological Engineering

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2023

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Vol. 24, nr 3

55--63

EN

This study aimed to understand the new management challenges related to the impact of climate change on biodiversity, deterioration of agricultural productivity, food security, and increasing rates of desertification. This constitutes an important indicator for studying Land Degradation Neutrality (SDGs Target 15.3), which is considered a significant target in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. The present study is concerned with assessing and monitoring land management and land degradation in Wadi El Farigh from 2000 to 2019. Soil quality is a major part of the chain that leads to understanding sustainable land management of natural resources (land, groundwater, and natural vegetation). A geopedological approach produced the studied area’s physiographic and soil map. The study of changes in land degradation level in Wadi El Farigh over 20 years with a period of every five years shows a very high improvement in the study area from the year 2000 up to 2014. From 2015 to 2019, this class was reduced due to the effects of land degradation reflected by the use of saline water for irrigating crops. Using remote sensing and geostatistical analyses within the GIS environment illustrated that the soils were classified as Entisols, representing 79.45 of the total studied area, and Aridisols representing 20.55% of the total studied area.

5

New technologies in real estate market analysis

Bożek Piotr, Frosik Małgorzata

Geomatics, Landmanagement and Landscape

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2023

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no. 1

65--74

EN

The aim of the study was to present new technologies that are useful for obtaining spatial information on real estate and integrating the data with existing databases maintained by public administration agencies. The technologies presented include the use of GIS tools combined with vector data representing cadastral parcels, and raster data acquired by LiDAR technology. The study also employs descriptive data containing transactional information. The application of these new tools for obtaining spatial information provides real estate market operators with additional data that allows for more reliable market analysis. The methodology of this work has been divided into two parts, the first part related to the creation of a real estate database as a reference for the acquisition of spatial data. The second part was dedicated to the acquisition, processing and analysis of spatial conditions in the study area. The study used the data on transactions to determine the parcels for which data on elevation situation were acquired. LiDAR data was then applied to the determined parcels to generate the DTM. The obtained terrain elevation model was processed by raster tools, which created maps of slope and maps of aspect. Currently the data on the features of properties found in real estate price registers maintained by public administration agencies are becoming more accessible in result of the ongoing digitisation of administrative offices in Poland. However, these data do not contain information on slope and aspect – two real estate features that are crucial for surveying areas with varied relief. The presented analysis draws attention to new ways of acquiring spatial data and integrating it with existing databases. Finding ways to integrate data obtained from public administration agencies with modern geographic information systems (GIS) would improve the work not only of valuers, but also of many other real estate professionals (e.g. brokers, developers, bank analysts).

PL

Celem pracy było przedstawienie nowych technologii przydatnych w pozyskiwaniu informacji przestrzennej o nieruchomościach oraz zintegrowanie pozyskanych w ten sposób danych z istniejącymi bazami danych prowadzonymi przez jednostki administracji publicznej. Zaprezentowane technologie obejmują wykorzystanie narzędzi GIS w połączeniu z danymi wektorowymi reprezentowanymi przez działki ewidencyjne oraz dane rastrowe pozyskane przy wykorzystaniu technologii LiDAR. W pracy wykorzystano również dane opisowe zawierające informacje o transakcjach. Wykorzystanie tych nowych narzędzi do pozyskiwania informacji przestrzennej dostarcza osobom obsługującym rynek nieruchomości dodatkowych danych, dzięki którym mogą rzetelniej przeprowadzać analizy rynku. Przedstawiona w pracy metodyka została podzielona na dwie części, pierwsza związana była z stworzeniem bazy nieruchomości, stanowiących odniesienie dla pozyskania danych przestrzennych. Druga część związana była z pozyskaniem, przetworzeniem oraz analizą warunków przestrzennych na obszarze badań. W pracy wykorzystano dane o transakcjach, aby wyznaczyć działki dla których pozyskano dane o sytuacji wysokościowej. Następnie dla wyznaczonych działek wykorzystano dane LiDAR, aby pozyskać DTM. Pozyskany model wysokościowy terenu przetworzony został z wykorzystaniem narzędzi rastrowych, w wyniku czego pozyskano map of slope oraz map of aspect. Obecnie dane o cenach i cechach nieruchomości znajdujące się w rejestrach cen i wartości nieruchomości prowadzonych przez jednostki administracji publicznej, dzięki postępującej cyfryzacji urzędów w Polsce, są coraz łatwiej i szerzej dostępne. Dane te nie zawierają jednak informacji o slope and aspekt – cechach nieruchomości bardzo istotnych w przypadku badania obszarów o zróżnicowanej rzeźbie terenu. Przedstawiona analiza zwraca uwagę na nowe sposoby pozyskiwania danych przestrzennych i ich integrację z istniejącymi bazami danych. Znalezienie sposobu integracji danych pozyskiwanych z jednostek administracji publicznej z nowoczesnymi systemami informacji geograficznej (GIS) usprawniłoby pracę nie tylko rzeczoznawców majątkowych, ale także wielu innych specjalistów z branży nieruchomości (np. pośredników, deweloperów, analityków bankowych).

6

SFMToolbox: an ArcGIS Python Toolbox for Automatic Production of Maps of Soil Fertility

Velamala Ranga Rao, Pant Pawan Kumar

Geomatics and Environmental Engineering

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2023

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Vol. 17, no. 2

105--145

EN

SFMToolbox is an ArcGIS Python toolbox developed in ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap) to perform preprocessing tasks for the automatic creation of maps of soil fertility parameters. Through SFMToolbox, users can automatically produce 12 soil fertility parameter maps as a batch at one time. It is easy to use, where users can only provide input; the output files are automatically created from the name of the sample point and saved in the defined workspace. During the execution of the tools, various processes, such as Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) – a technique of interpolation, reclassification, adding color, merging, projection, area calculation, and legend are done automatically for all 12 parameters at the same time. The SFMToolbox was validated as part of the following case study: village – Kashipur, tehsil – Balrampur, district – Balrampur, state – Uttar Pradesh, Country – India. The results show that the user can quickly generate maps and save time, improve accuracy, and reduce human intervention and ensure uniformity among maps. This toolbox also applied to Cycle II data from the Government of India’s Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme and timely produced 12-parameters soil nutrient maps for 630 districts in a uniform format. The toolbox may be used by public and private organizations to make timely decisions on agricultural and environmental issues.

7

Identification of Groundwater Potential Zones (GWPZ) Using Geospatial Techniques and AHP Method: a Case Study of the Boudinar Basin, Rif Belt (Morocco)

Taher Morad, Mourabit Touafik, Etebaai Issam, Dekkaki Hinde Cherkaoui, Amarjouf Najat, Amine Afaf, Abdelhak Bourjila, Errahmouni Ali, Azzouzi Sadik

Geomatics and Environmental Engineering

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2023

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Vol. 17, no. 3

83--105

EN

The present study aims to delineate the groundwater potential zones (GWPZ) in the Boudinar Basin using geospatial techniques and through an analytical hierarchal process (AHP) method. For multi criteria decision analysis, fifteen thematic layers were integrated into a geographic information system (GIS) environment. In this analysis, each thematic layer is calculated for normalized weights. Furthermore, the consistency index and consistency ratio were calculated to ensure that the result was significant and reliable. The GWPZ map has been categorized into three classes: poor (50.82%), moderate (49.06%), and good (<1.00%). To compare the result, we used four other scenarios of the GWPZ. Two of them are the most similar to our result. Finally, predictive groundwater production and management strategies that ensure long-term sustainability are highly needed.

8

A GIS Procedure to Assess Shoreline Changes over Time Using Multi-temporal Maps: An Analysis of a Sandy Shoreline in Southern Italy over the Last 100 Years

Pepe Massimiliano, Costantino Domenica, Alfio Vincenzo Saverio

Geomatics and Environmental Engineering

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2023

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Vol. 17, no. 3

107--134

EN

The aim of the paper is to identify a methodology capable of assessing shoreline changes through a geomatic approach based on the use of GIS (Geographic Information System) software. The paper describes a case study that reports the evolution of a coastline over a period of more than 100 years using medium and large-scale metric maps available in different periods. In fact, the coastlines were obtained from the source maps of the Italian Cadastre (dated 1890), from numerical cartography available on the coastline and acquired in different period at scales 1:5000 and 1:2000 and, more recently, from the Google Earth Pro platform. To analyse the evolution of the coastline a new procedure has been performed which is based on the use of GIS software, in particular a plugin called DSAS that allows the evaluation of the changes in the coastline and also obtains a statistical analysis of its evolution. The results showed the ease and applicability of the method in determining the evolution of the coastline and the strong erosion of a stretch of coastline with important socio-economic consequences and repercussions was highlighted in the analysed case study.

9

A Case Study on Building Information (BIM) and Land Information (LIM) Models Including Geospatial Data

Borkowski Andrzej Szymon, Kochański Łukasz, Wyszomirski Michał

Geomatics and Environmental Engineering

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2023

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Vol. 17, no. 1

19--34

EN

Landscape information modeling (LIM) is a new trend in spatial projects made using BIM technology. Elements of land development are, not only in the opinion of the authors, just as essential as the element of a building object. In turn, GIS data can be used to model larger areas based on combined data from GIS and BIM models. The lack of the strict integration of BIM and GIS (ISO/TR 23262:2021 covers GIS/BIM interoperability, ISO 19166 is in preparation) prevents the modeling of land development objects, both existing and planned, in many cases. The modeling process using the current and known BIM tools and processes were presented to efficiently develop a model of a building object with its surroundings. Modeling took place using best practices that are collected and used in the Polish reality. The work presents an object-oriented approach to modeling elements of spatial development with the preservation of the so-called occupational hygiene. By applying the above principles, it is possible to develop a “good” LIM model that fits the current trends and developments in BIM.

10

Assessment of the possibility of locating electric car charging stations using Fuzzy AHP and GIS – the case of Łódź, Poland

Kucharski Adam, Szterlik-Grzybek Paulina

Ekonomia i Środowisko

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2023

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nr 1

134--148

EN

This paper examines the possibility of locating electric vehicle charging stations using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and GIS. The study presents an integrated approach, which can be helpful in spatial planning. Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in using alternative power sources for motor vehicles. It is stimulated by top-down factors, such as regulations introduced by the European Commission or the introduction of the so-called “clean transport zones” by some local governments, as well as the bottom-up ones, including the increase in the cost of maintaining fossil fuel-powered cars. Local governments can employ the analysis presented in the paper to find a coherent development strategy for using electric vehicles (EVs) in cities. Based on the verified hypothesis, the Łódź city area has diverse suitability for EV charging stations, with predominant unfavourable regions for such investments. The research aims to find the methodology for performing the suitability analysis to locate new infrastructure elements in an urban space.

PL

W artykule zbadano możliwość lokalizacji stacji ładowania pojazdów elektrycznych pod kątem wykorzystania wielokryterialnej analizy decyzyjnej (ang. Multicriteria Decision Analysis - MCDA) oraz GIS (ang. Geographic Information Systems–systemy informacji geograficznej). W ostatnich latach obserwuje się wzrost zainteresowania wykorzystaniem alternatywnych źródeł napędu pojazdów mechanicznych. Stymulują go zarówno czynniki odgórne jak przepisy wprowadzane przez Komisję Europejską czy wprowadzanie tzw. stref czystego transportu przez niektóre samorządy, ale i oddolne. Te ostatnie obejmują wzrost kosztów utrzymania samochodów napędzanych paliwami ropopochodnymi, co skłania właścicieli samochodów do poszukiwania sposobów ich ograniczenia. Tego typu badania mogą być dalej wykorzystywane przez samorządy w celu znalezienia spójnej strategii rozwoju wykorzystania aut elektrycznych w miastach. W pracy weryfikowana jest hipoteza mówiąca, że obszar miasta Łodzi jest zróżnicowany pod względem przydatności do lokalizacji stacji ładowania samochodów elektrycznych, z przewagą obszarów niekorzystnych dla tego typu inwestycji. Ponadto badania mają na celu znalezienie metodyki umożliwiającej przeprowadzenie analizy przydatności pod kątem lokalizacji nowych elementów infrastruktury w przestrzeni miejskiej.

11

Using GPS and Run-Off Rates Data to Study the Close Monitoring Networks for Dams – Al-Kut Barrages as a Case Study

Saiwan Malik Khalaf, Hamdoon Rana Mozahim, Al-Zuhairy Mudhaffar Sadiq

Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology

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2023

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Vol. 24, iss. 2

87--93

EN

The dams and barrages are among the most important engineering structures for water supply, flood control, agriculture, and electric power generation. Monitoring the horizontal and vertical deformation of the barrage’s body and identifying the risk it’s so important to maintain the dam and also to reduce costs. Where in this research the case of the Al-Kut barrage is studied by observing the body of the barrage using surveying devices through (GPS) by taking spatial observations of the two networks of stations, the horizontal and vertical networks. Then compare them with the observations of previous years to determine the magnitude of the deformation through the differences between the observations. By calculating the differences and finding the displacement of surveying observations from 2014 to 2021, It was found that the highest and least displacements in the horizontal stations is 50 and 11 mm, respectively. Also, for the vertical network observations, the highest and lowest differences in elevation were 11and 3 mm, respectively. Where, the results showed a slight deformation within the acceptable limits. In addition, the annual and monthly discharge rates for a number of years were evaluated to observe the extent of the impact of run-off rates on increasing sedimentation at the upstream of Al-Kut barrage. It was found that the accumulation of sediment on the river’s left bank affected the gates’ efficiency and put pressure on the other gates, which led to some operational issues in the barrage gates.

12

Monitoring Land Use and Land Cover Changes Using Remote Sensing Techniques and the Precipitation-Vegetation Indexes in Morocco

Ait El Haj Fatiha, Ouadif Latifa, Akhssas Ahmed

Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology

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2023

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Vol. 24, iss. 1

272--286

EN

The study of land use and land cover change (LULC) is essential for the development of strategies, monitoring and control of the ecosystem. The present study aims to describe the dynamics of land cover and land use, and specially the impact of certain climatic parameters on the distribution of vegetation and land cover. For this study, multi-temporal remote sensing data are used to monitor land cover changes in Morocco, using a set of Landsat images, including Landsat 7 (ETM+), Landsat 5 (TM), and Landsat 8 (OLI), captured during the period 2000–2020, those changes were determined by adopting the maximum likelihood (ML) classification method. The classification results show good accuracy values in the range of 90% (2000), 80% (2007), 82% (2010), 93% (2020). The LU/LC change detection showed a decrease of agricultural and forest areas in the order of 5% between the year 2000 and 2020, and an increase of bare soil of 5% to 6%, and a notable change in urban area from 97.31 ha (0.03%) in 2000 to 2988.2637 ha (0.82%) in 2020. The overall results obtained from LULC show that the vegetation cover of the study area has undergone major changes during the study period. In order to monitor the vegetation status, an analysis of the precipitation-vegetation interaction is essential. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was determined from 2000 to 2020, to identify vegetation categories and quantify the vegetation density in the Lakhdar sub-basin. The obtained NDVI was analyzed using climatic index SPI (Normalized Precipitation Index) based on rainfall data from five stations. The correlation study between NDVI and SPI indices shows a strong linear relation between these two indicators especially while using an annual index SPI12 however, the use of NDVI index based on remote sensing provides a significant result while assessing vegetation. The results of our study can be used for vegetation monitoring and sustainable management of the area, since it is one of the largest basins in the country.

13

Information Supply of Hydrotechnical Reconstruction Concept of Stebnyk Tailings Storage (Ukraine)

Mokryi Volodymyr, Petrushka Ihor, Dyakiv Vasyl, Dzhumelia Elvira, Salamon Ivan

Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology

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2023

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Vol. 24, iss. 2

120--130

EN

The ecological condition of the Stebnyk tailings storage during the period of its operation and the development of the processes of filling it with brines to a critical level are analyzed. It is shown that the main reason for the current state of crisis of this object is its incorrect operation and the lack of an effective system for collecting and removing atmospheric water. The concept of hydro-technical reclamation of the tailings storage through the creation of the Stebnyk hydropark has been developed. The proposed technical solutions for the hydro-technical reclamation of the tailings storage include proposals for the design of a network of direct distribution and outlet channels on the territory of the already dry section No. 1, for the unloading of section No. 2. The design of the hydro-technical system “tailing storage – direct distribution and outlet channels channels” is based on a mathematical model of the water balance in conditions of continuous replenishment of ground and surface water and an increase in their level. The proposed hydro-technical network will provide control over the level of brines and discharge of water from the tailings storage facility. Geoinformation technologies were used to visualize the proposed technical solutions for the hydro-technical reclamation of the tailings storage. The implementation of the developed project proposals will ensure an environmentally safe hydrodynamic state of the “tailings storage – direct distribution and outlet channels” system, which will eliminate the threat of brine overflow through the protective dam, as well as the threat of dam breach and brine flow into water objects. Hydro-technical reclamation will ensure the environmental safety of human activities and water ecosystems of the water network of the Dniester river basin.

14

Identifying Landslides Prone-Areas Using GIS-based Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process Model in Ziz Upper Watershed (Morocco)

Sadiki Mohamed, Manaouch Mohamed, Aghad Mohamed, Batchi Mouhcine, Al Karkouri Jamal

Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology

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2023

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Vol. 24, iss. 1

67--83

EN

Landslides cause massive damage to human lives, infrastructure, and property in many regions of the world. These disasters arise on unstable slopes in mountainous regions. The recent increase in these incidents in many regions, including Morocco, has attracted more attention to their study. In this paper, a combination of GIS techniques, fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) were integrated to model landslide susceptibility in the upper Ziz catchment, south-eastern Morocco. The data used for this purpose included several geo-environmental and climatic factors affecting susceptibility to landslides. The results of this modeling showed that 16.7% of the studied area has a high susceptibility to landslides, and that the upstream western part is considered the most susceptible. Evaluation of the resulting map’s accuracy using the inventory of 148 landslide events showed that the FAHP model has an important performance, as the value of the area under the curve was about 0.885.

15

Contribution of Geomatics and Remote Sensing to Environmental Study in the Cretaceous Basin of Errachidia-Boudenib (Morocco)

Mehdaoui Radouan, Mili El-Mostafa, Ousmana Habiba, Said Brahim Ait, El Khamal Youssef, Aziz Hachem, El Fakir Rabia

Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology

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2023

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Vol. 24, iss. 1

196--206

EN

The present study aims at mapping areas vulnerable to water erosion based on the Priority Activity Program/Regional Activity Center (PAP/CAR) model guidelines, geomatics, remote sensing, and GIS in the Errachidia-Boudenib Cretaceous basin. This basin is located in south-eastern Morocco and covers an area of 13 000 km2, the basin is 320 km long and 75 km wide. The method of estimating water erosion is composed of three phases; a predictive phase consisting of a mapping of predisposing factors such as slope, substrate, and/or soils and vegetation cover, a descriptive phase based on the mapping of actual erosion, and an integration phase to arrive at the identification and evaluation of the erosion risk. The mapping of areas vulnerable to water erosion indicates that 70% of the studied basin has low erodibility and 22% is notable, while only 8% has high to very high erodibility. The areas most affected by degradation are located at the end of the basin and correspond to lands with steep slopes (>35%). Consequently, this study has allowed us to locate certain sectors and roads that may be affected by this type of erosion, namely the mountainous areas of the High Atlas and roads numbered R13, R601, R 703, and P7106.

16

Assessment of Water Erosion by Integrating RUSLE Model, GIS and Remote Sensing – Case of Tamdrost Watershed (Morocco)

El Assaoui Naïma, Bouiss Charaf Eddine, Sadok Abdelaziz

Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology

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2023

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Vol. 24, iss. 3

43--53

EN

Water erosion caused by rainfall and runoff, in the Morocco is the main threat of fertile agricultural soil losses causing important silting-up of dams. Most watersheds are characterized by excessive values of Soil Specific Degradation (Average annual soil loss per year and per km2), exceeding in many regions 2000 T/km2 /year. The main objective of this study is to investigate this phenomenon in the Tamdrost watershed located in northwestern Morocco. The methodology is based on integrating water erosion RUSLE model to Geographic Information System and satellite image processing. The aim of the study is to develop digital mapping for the main factors involved in the erosion processes as well as the variation of the average annual quantity of soil losses. The results outcome are: (i) the average value of the specific degradation is about 80 (T/ha/year), reaching a maximum value of 800 T/ha/year and a minimum value of 3 T/ha/year; (ii) The main factors that control water erosion by order of importance are successively: R, LS, K, and C factors. Finally, different maps representing erosion and the main factors involved, are be very helpful for decision makers to better assess this phenomenon and to implement antierosion measures in the threatened areas to support and control the water erosion.

17

Evaluation of soil rocky desertification in Karst region based on deep belief network

Lu Guan-Yao, Xu Dan, Meng Yue

Ecological Chemistry and Engineering. S

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2023

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Vol. 30, nr 2

167--173

EN

Dynamic features from remote sensing photos may be successfully extracted using deep learning and symmetric network structure, which can then be used to direct them to carry out accurate classification. The DBN model can more effectively extract features from photos since it uses unsupervised learning. It can be reduced to the many symmetric Restricted Boltmann Machines (RBM) training problem. In this paper, a soil rocky desertification (RD) assessment model based on a deep belief network (DBN) is created in light of the complicated influencing aspects of Karst RD risk assessment encompassing several geographical elements. The model builds upon the conventional RBM framework and incorporates the influence layer of related elements as an auxiliary requirement for retrieving Geographic Information System (GIS) score data. Then, in order to forecast the level of soil rocky desertification, it learns the features of many elements. The experimental results show that the proposed model proposed in this paper has better prediction performance and faster convergence speed, and its classification results for different degrees of RD are more consistent with the actual risk assessment results.

18

Assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pollution in an Arid environment

Slimani Rabia, Charikh Messaouda, Aljaradin Mohammad

Archives of Environmental Protection

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2023

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Vol. 49, no. 2

50--58

EN

This study focuses on mapping the groundwater’s vulnerability to pollution in the region of Ouargla, located in the North-East of the northern Sahara, exposed to potential risks of alteration. By applying the methods (GOD, DRASTIC, and SINTACS), coupled with a Geographic Information System (GIS), we were able to identify a medium to high vulnerability trend. In light of the results recorded, the DRASTIC and SINTACS methods prove to be more suitable for our study region. This makes it possible to highlight the recharge zones and land use as being the most vulnerable in the territory studied. The GOD method presents a strong vulnerability trend over 77.02% of the study area. Such a result is directly related to the depth of the water table. It can therefore be argued that this method is far from being representative of the reality on the ground because of these very heterogeneous characteristics.

19

Suitable sites identifcation for potential rainwater harvesting (PRWH) using a multi criteria decision support system (MCDSS)

Radwan Farid, Alazba Abdulrahman Ali

Acta Geophysica

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2023

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Vol. 71, no 1

449--468

EN

The world today faces water scarcity issues, especially in developing countries. This situation is further aggravated under arid and semiarid climates with the water demand increasing and limited rainfall events. The study was conducted in the Riyadh metropolitan area of Saudi Arabia. The study area has a hot arid desert climate. Therefore, there is an urgent need for harvesting rainwater to confront the increasing water demand. This research aims to identify the potential rainwater harvesting (PRWH) suitable sites based on the multi-criteria decision support system by the spatial analytic hierarchy process, with the aid of the integration of geographic information systems and remote sensing techniques. Mapping PRWH was carried out using the thematic layers of the slope, soil texture, land use and land cover (LULC), precipitation, and potential runoff coefficient (PRC). The study findings revealed that Riyadh has four hydrologic soil groups (HSGs), namely A, B, C, and D groups, and the percentage area is 2%, 26%, 3%, and 71%, respectively. The slope classes are fat (8–15%), moderately steep (>15–30%), and mountainous (>30%). The LULC layers are barren lands, agricultural lands, urban, and roads. The precipitation has been distributed into five classes namely very low (5.9%), low (10.1%), medium (13.2%), high (13.5%), and very high (57.3%) of the total investigated area. The PRC values were distributed in five levels namely very low (0.3–0.5), high (>0.5–0.7), and very high (>0.7–1), where about 83% of the capital faces high and very high PRC values. The percentage area of PRWH suitability sites is unsuitable (0.4%), poor (0.8%), moderate (13.3%), good (47.5%), and excellent (38%) of the total entire area. More than 85% of Riyadh has good and excellent suitability for PRWH. This study is tantamount to a powerful tool for identifying the PRWH suitability sites in arid and semiarid regions to confront the water demand increase.

20

Geospatial indices as an alternative for environmental impact assessment of dumped waste

Mahmood Khalid, Iftikhar Wajiha, Faizi Fiza

Acta Geophysica

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2023

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Vol. 71, no 1

309--322

EN

Urban municipalities throughout the world are facing grave challenge on the environmental front due to generation and mismanagement of massive amounts of municipal solid waste. This study focuses on the ecological damage caused by Municipal Solid Waste Open Dumps (MSWOD) in their vicinity. To study the adverse ecological impacts, satellite-based vegetation health indices and thermal measurements have been used as bio-thermal indicators to assess the deterioration of vegetation health and thermal heterogeneity around Mehmood Booti Municipal Solid Waste Open Dump in Lahore, Pakistan. Freely available satellite data and appropriate GIS techniques have been utilized to form basis of geospatial proximity analysis, making the approach efficient and economical. Zonal statistics and curve smoothing functions have been combined to prepare distance-dependent profiles that were subject to curve flattening technique for determination of impact range and severity in different seasonal conditions. Varying trends of high and low ranges for both indicators provide insight into factors other than main source of hazardous emissions, controlling bio-thermal conditions in the area as minor influencers. Similarly, role of meteorological variables in influencing waste decomposition and supporting vegetation health has also been distinguished. It has been discovered that the hazardous bio- and thermal influence zones around the study site have undergone expansion up to 761 m and 694 m, respectively, as compared to 650 m reported previously. Overall, the study supports the use of geospatial indicators to monitor and study environmental variables with a particular focus on emissions from MSWOD resulting from waste decomposition.