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The investigation of reactivated landslides in the alpine-canyon areas suffers the difficult accessibility of precipitous terrain. In particular, when reactivated landslides occur along the major roads, efforts are focused on measuring ground surface displacements during road construction. Nevertheless, the ancient landslide deposits may reactivate after several years of road operation, while they show a stable state during the road construction. The characterization of this type of reactivated landslides is challenging, due to their complex mechanism and the limited monitoring data. Appropriate multi-source data can provide insights into deformation fields and enhance the understanding of landslide mechanisms, ensuring the outperformance of remedial works. This paper reports a recent Tangjiawan reactivated landslide along the Wenchuan-Maerkang Highway in Li County, China. The outcomes, including satellite InSAR, in situ real-time monitoring, and detailed ground and UAV investigation, conducted at this landslide are presented. Early deformation of the reactivated landslide began from 2019, with an InSAR-derived velocity of −11.7 mm/year, furthermore, a significant subsidence of about 21.2 mm, which occurred within a span of only 12 days from 3 June 2020 to 15 June 2020, was observed. The deformation characteristics derived from in situ monitoring during the remedial works were likely firstly associated with the initial unreinforced slope condition and the heavy rainfall. Subsequently, the displacement evolution transformed into deformation induced by time-dependent reduction in slope strength under rainfall conditions. The existing of unconsolidated deposits derived from ancient landslides, along with a fragile geo-structure consisting of rock blocks and gravels interlayered with breccias, exacerbated by large relief created a predisposition for landslide reactivation. Furthermore, 13 days of antecedent cumulative rainfall totaling 224.5 mm directly triggered the occurrence of a landslide event. The significance and implications of integrating multiple monitoring techniques are emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message Evolving societal demands and accelerated ecological dynamics due to global change are rapidly altering forest ecosystems and their services. This has prompted the need for advancing forest inventorying and monitoring initatives to expand their scope, improve data collection, foster scientific understanding, and better inform policy responses. Here, we discuss the collaborative processes followed to develop an Advanced Inventorying and Monitoring (AIM) system for Swiss forests. Further, we provide the key messages that emerged from this process which can be of interest to those involved in similar processes at the national/international level.

The soil degradation processes may cause long-term serious problems in various areas of life on Earth, thus mitigation of these processes by environmental-friendly, innovative soil protection methods is necessary. Biochar produced from organic wastes or by-products by pyrolysis may have several positive properties as additive in soil improvement technologies. In our complex research applying a tiered approach we assessed the main properties of a beech-wood biochar produced from a high volume by-product of a food industry technology. Then we studied in 4-months microcosm experiments the applicability of this biochar as amendment mixed into an acidic, degraded sandy soil. In addition, to forecast the long-term effects of the biochar, artificial physical and biological aging experiments were conducted. Based on the results, the beech-wood biochar was able to shift the acidic pH of the soil to the alkaline range and the electric conductivity of the soil increased with incremental biochar doses. Biochar addition significantly increased the microbial activity, as well. The results had clearly shown that during the mid-term experiment not even the highest biochar dose (15%) had inhibitive effect, but it rather improved several soil parameters. Furthermore, the biochar had positive effect on the soil water holding capacity, and the available soil nutrient and organic matter content. The results of the aging experiments generally showed also favourable effects and demonstrated that the aging-mediated changes differed according to the soil types. Therefore, we have concluded that biochar application requires a char by char and soil by soil testing prior to field application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The investigation of reactivated landslides in the alpine-canyon areas suffers the difficult accessibility of precipitous terrain. In particular, when reactivated landslides occur along the major roads, efforts are focused on measuring ground surface displacements during road construction. Nevertheless, the ancient landslide deposits may reactivate after several years of road operation, while they show a stable state during the road construction. The characterization of this type of reactivated landslides is challenging, due to their complex mechanism and the limited monitoring data. Appropriate multi-source data can provide insights into deformation fields and enhance the understanding of landslide mechanisms, ensuring the outperformance of remedial works. This paper reports a recent Tangjiawan reactivated landslide along the Wenchuan-Maerkang Highway in Li County, China. The outcomes, including satellite InSAR, in situ real-time monitoring, and detailed ground and UAV investigation, conducted at this landslide are presented. Early deformation of the reactivated landslide began from 2019, with an InSAR-derived velocity of −11.7 mm/year, furthermore, a significant subsidence of about 21.2 mm, which occurred within a span of only 12 days from 3 June 2020 to 15 June 2020, was observed. The deformation characteristics derived from in situ monitoring during the remedial works were likely firstly associated with the initial unreinforced slope condition and the heavy rainfall. Subsequently, the displacement evolution transformed into deformation induced by time-dependent reduction in slope strength under rainfall conditions. The existing of unconsolidated deposits derived from ancient landslides, along with a fragile geo-structure consisting of rock blocks and gravels interlayered with breccias, exacerbated by large relief created a predisposition for landslide reactivation. Furthermore, 13 days of antecedent cumulative rainfall totaling 224.5 mm directly triggered the occurrence of a landslide event. The significance and implications of integrating multiple monitoring techniques are emphasized.

The periodic collection of parasitologic and morbidity indicators is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to monitor schistosomiasis (SCH) and soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) control programs. In 2017, the DOH-CHD VIII (Department of Health-Center for Health Development Region 8 Office) - in collaboration with UP-NTDSG (the University of the Philippines Neglected Tropical Diseases Study Group) - conducted a monitoring activity aimed at determining [1] the prevalence and intensity of SCH and STH; [2] seroprevalence of SCH; and [3] prevalence of stunting, underweight, wasting, and anemia in pre-school-age children (PSAC) and school-age children (SAC) in selected municipalities in the province of northern Leyte, the Philippines as part of monitoring the local implementation of SCH and STH control programs. Stool samples were collected, processed using the Kato-Katz technique, and examined through microscopy. Blood specimens collected from SAC were tested for the presence of Schistosoma japonicum antibody using the IgG ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) kit. Data on anthropometric measurements and hemoglobin levels were collected with adherence to WHO guidelines. Secondary analysis of the gathered data showed that SCH prevalence in SAC was 3.1%, but SCH seroprevalence was 83.1%. Although STH prevalence met the national target of < 50%, heavy-intensity STH prevalence remained higher than the global target of < 2%. The overall prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting were 19.2, 38.0, and 10.6%, respectively. STH was significantly associated with stunting in PSAC (p = 0.030) and anemia in SAC (p = 0.033). The monitoring activity demonstrated the utility of an integrated monitoring scheme for SCH and STH control programs and nutrition programs at the local level. This model can be adopted for optimization and utilization by national programs for monitoring and may likewise benefit local government units for purposes of policy and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex interactions from anthropogenic activities, climate change, sedimentation and the input of wastewater has significantly affected the aquatic environment and entire ecosystem. Over the years, the researchers have investigated water monitoring approaches in terms of traditional monitoring or even integrated systems to handle such an environmental assessment and predictions based on warning systems. However, research into the selection and optimization of water monitoring systems by the combination of parallel approach in terms of sampling techniques, process analysis and results is limited. The research objectives of the present study are to evaluate the existing water monitoring systems based on the latest approach and then provide insights into factors affecting sensor implementation at sampling locations. Here we summarize the advancement and trends of various water monitoring systems as well as the suitability of sensor placement in the area by reviewing more than 300 papers published between 2011 and 2022. The research highlights the urgency of an integrative approach with regard to water monitoring systems including water quality model and water quantity model. A framework is proposed to incorporate all water monitoring approaches, sampling techniques, and predictive models to provide comprehensive information about environmental assessment. It was observed that the urgency of model-based approaches as verification and fusion of data assemble has the ability to improve the performances of the systems. Furthermore, integrated systems with the inclusion of a separate modeling approach through integrated, semi-mechanistic models, data science and artificial intelligence are recommended in the future. Overall, this study provides guidelines for achieving standardized water management by implementing integrated water monitoring systems.

Based on the ecological interpretation of the results of the Lake Baikal ecosystem monitoring in 2014–2021 and in view of the optimization of the observation system on the lake, the directions of a further development of integrated monitoring in the areas of strong anthropogenic impact are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The world constantly monitors various environmental objects. The relevance of the formation of a system of integrated monitoring of the state of the territorial technosphere is associated with the general trends in ensuring the country's security. Integrated monitoring of the territorial technosphere is considered as one of the types of management activities, which is the collection of information about the objects of the territorial technosphere in order to assess the state and predict the dynamics of their development. The task of intellectual analysis of information is to establish patterns that characterize the analyzed object. To ensure the safe functioning of the territorial technosphere, the concept of integrated monitoring is needed, purposed at predicting the identification, analysis and assessment of technogenic threats to society. Materials and methods. When developing the concept of integrated monitoring of the territorial technosphere, the research methods were the study of existing approaches to environmental monitoring, analysis, synthesis and generalization of data from scientific, legal and methodological materials. Results. The article proposes the concept of integrated monitoring of the state of the territorial technosphere based on a quantitative assessment of the state of a multi-parameter object, including the problem, tasks, methods and algorithms that ensure its implementation. The author substantiates the need for its development, taking into account the significance of man-made threats to society. An algorithm for carrying out complex monitoring of the state of the territorial technosphere has been developed. Within the framework of this concept, a method of folding information about the state of a multi-parameter object is justified and proposed. The introduction of the final index of convolution of multiparametric information is substantiated and a method for its evaluation is proposed. An approach is proposed to assess the state of objects of the territorial technosphere by a set of parameters, taking into account weight coefficients. Conclusions. The proposed concept of integrated monitoring of the state of the territorial technosphere can be widely used in monitoring studies to solve the problems of sustainable development of regions, as it allows you to evaluate any number of objects, setting for each its own set of parameters and criteria for their evaluation. The use of information-measuring systems simplifies the form of presentation of the final information and allows the decision maker to quickly make decisions in an emergency.

Integration and monitoring are pressing conceptual and methodological challenges in social-ecological systems (SES) research. This paper follows a social learning process, called participatory self-observation, piloted by a group of action-researchers to improve SES integration and monitoring, using the Tsitsa River Catchment in South Africa as a case study. The participatory self-observation process reflected on lessons to enhance integration and integrated monitoring of biophysical, social, and social-ecological data in SES projects; for adaptive planning and management. Three focal points emerged for improving the challenges of SES integration: the need for participatory people-based processes, the importance of applied praxis tasks to catalyze meaningful integration, and the need for transdisciplinary teams to value non-biophysical research. Five focal areas emerged as major challenges for SES monitoring: the integration of qualitative and quantitative data, data overload, the scale of SES monitoring, the need to center SES monitoring around learning, and good working relationships to enable data flow. Recommendations to further develop integrated monitoring and management of SESs include (i) using people-based approaches that focus on applied work which includes rigorous collection of quantitative, biophysical data, (ii) identifying essential data needs through an essential variable approach, and (iii) combining quantitative monitoring with participatory people-based processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mountain environments, slope and fluvial dynamics often interact, and their relationship can be investigated through an integrated methodological approach. Landslides are a source of supplying sediments into riverbeds and can interact or interrupt the water course. Water courses can trigger or re-activate slope movements. The complexity of investigating the interaction between the two dynamics needs a complementarity of methods and techniques, combining remote and proximal sensing, geotechnical in situ surveys, and repositories and catalogue datasets. This leads to a synergistic use of all the heterogeneous data from different fields and formats. The present paper provides a literature review on the approaches and surveying procedures adopted in the investigation of slope and fluvial dynamics and highlights the need to improve the integrated management of geospatial information complemented by quality information. In this regard, we outline a geodatabase structure capable of handling the variety of geoscientific data available at different spatial and temporal scales, with derived products that are useful in integrated monitoring tasks. Indeed, the future adoption of a shared physical structure would allow the merging and synergistic use of data provided by different surveyors as well as the effective storing and sharing of datasets from a monitoring perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Central South University is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Integration and monitoring are pressing conceptual and methodological challenges in social-ecological systems (SES) research. This paper follows a social learning process, called participatory self-observation, piloted by a group of action-researchers to improve SES integration and monitoring, using the Tsitsa River Catchment in South Africa as a case study. The participatory self-observation process reflected on lessons to enhance integration and integrated monitoring of biophysical, social, and social-ecological data in SES projects; for adaptive planning and management. Three focal points emerged for improving the challenges of SES integration: the need for participatory people-based processes, the importance of applied praxis tasks to catalyze meaningful integration, and the need for transdisciplinary teams to value non-biophysical research. Five focal areas emerged as major challenges for SES monitoring: the integration of qualitative and quantitative data, data overload, the scale of SES monitoring, the need to center SES monitoring around learning, and good working relationships to enable data flow. Recommendations to further develop integrated monitoring and management of SESs include (i) using people-based approaches that focus on applied work which includes rigorous collection of quantitative, biophysical data, (ii) identifying essential data needs through an essential variable approach, and (iii) combining quantitative monitoring with participatory people-based processes.

Although challenging to develop and operate, some degree of integrated monitoring is often necessary, especially at regional scales, to address the complex questions of environmental management and regulation. The concept of integration is well-understood, but its practice across programs and studies can be diverse suggesting a broader examination of the existing general approaches is needed. From the literature, we suggest integration of monitoring can occur across three study components: interpretation, analysis, and design. Design can be further subdivided into partial and full integration. Respectively combining information, data, and designs, we further define these types of integration and describe their general benefits and challenges, such as strength of inference. We further use the Oil Sands Monitoring program in northern Alberta as an example to clarify the practices common among integrated monitoring programs. The goal of the discussion paper is to familiarize readers with the diverse practices of integrated monitoring to further clarify the various configurations used to achieve the wider goals of a program.

This paper presents an integrated environmental management plan for soil quality control in the city of Novi Sad in the Republic of Serbia. Considering the very favorable geographical position, Novi Sad is a city that interweaves important main roads, has population increase, as well as the rapid development of industry and agriculture. Due to these facts there is also increased pollution of air, water and soil, as well as generation of large waste amount. In addition to parks and devastated areas around the industrial zones, widespread agricultural activity in suburban areas is particularly sensitive to the soil quality and vice versa. In this study, the geographical position and geomorphological characteristics of the city area, as well as the leading ecological problems, were analyzed. Based on the given facts, an integrated monitoring of one of the environmental quality indicators, the soil quality was proposed. There was suggest the network of 15 sensors for measuring of pH value, humidity and soil temperature in the city area. Soil quality data obtained in this way in real time is very important for elimination or mitigation of potential undesirable consequences. Thanks to the rapid development of technology, the utilization of sensors network is increasingly being used in modern monitoring systems and is available for efficient and cost-effective solution of environmental problems.

In mountain environments, slope and fluvial dynamics often interact, and their relationship can be investigated through an integrated methodological approach. Landslides are a source of supplying sediments into riverbeds and can interact or interrupt the water course. Water courses can trigger or re-activate slope movements. The complexity of investigating the interaction between the two dynamics needs a complementarity of methods and techniques, combining remote and proximal sensing, geotechnical in situ surveys, and repositories and catalogue datasets. This leads to a synergistic use of all the heterogeneous data from different fields and formats. The present paper provides a literature review on the approaches and surveying procedures adopted in the investigation of slope and fluvial dynamics and highlights the need to improve the integrated management of geospatial information complemented by quality information. In this regard, we outline a geodatabase structure capable of handling the variety of geoscientific data available at different spatial and temporal scales, with derived products that are useful in integrated monitoring tasks. Indeed, the future adoption of a shared physical structure would allow the merging and synergistic use of data provided by different surveyors as well as the effective storing and sharing of datasets from a monitoring perspective.

Ludian Ms6.5 earthquake induced a super large-scale collapse on the right bank of Hongshiyan, and formed a rare 634 m extra-high collapse slope, which seriously affected the safety of the subsequent weir body treatment project. Based on the disposal of extra high slope, the comprehensive monitoring method and technology based on GNSS, multi-point displacement meter and anchor cable dynamometer are proposed. The field monitoring results show that the surface and deep deformation of the slope is slow and small during the monitoring period, and there is no obvious stress increase in the slope body, and the slope is basically stable-stable. Since there are many cracks in the rock mass and the surface cracks in the back edge of the mountain after the earthquake damage, the on-line monitoring and early warning work should be strengthened. The research results are of great significance for the lower weir body regulation project and the safety of the later weir plug body as a permanent water retaining structure, and provide reference for similar projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To resolve the problems of the operating environment of a 110 kV and 220 kV high voltage transformer substation and the failure characteristics of devices in a substation, a method of combining the transformable track mobile platform and robot arm is applied, and a mobile robot is designed that can adapt to the operating environment of high voltage substation, achieve comprehensive monitoring and determine. The robot can monitor and detect various parameters of environmental variables parameter in the substation, such as temperature, humidity, SF6 gas, etc. The control system of comprehensive robot operation and detection is developed, the application experiments are conducted, and the mobility and the validity of the monitoring data are verified. The research results show that the mobile robot can automatically work and meet the comprehensive monitoring requirements. The results has a wide application prospect in the power substation monitoring field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the organization of comprehensive monitoring of the Caspian Sea. We discuss the goals and objectives of the environmental monitoring, as well as the functions of federal services and agencies in the organization and implementation of the monitoring. The basic characteristics of the marine observation network in the seas of Russia are shown. We discuss modern satellite environmental monitoring methods, as well as specific applications of satellite data for the study and monitoring of the Caspian Sea region. Particular attention is given to satellite monitoring of oil pollution of the sea.

The Po River Delta (PRD, Northern Italy) has been historically affected by land subsidence due to natural processes and human activities, with strong impacts on the stability of the natural ecosystems and significant socio-economic consequences. This paper is aimed to highlight the spatial and temporal evolution of the land subsidence in the PRD area analyzing the geodetic observations acquired in the last decade. The analysis performed using a moving window approach on Continuous Global Navigation Satellite System (CGNSS) time-series indicates that the velocities, in the order of 6 mm/year, are not affected by significant changes in the analyzed period. Furthermore, the use of non-permanent sites belonging to a new GNSS network (measured in 2016 and 2018) integrated with InSAR data (from 2014 to 2017) allowed us to improve the spatial coverage of data points in the PRD area. The results suggest that the land subsidence velocities in the easternmost part of the area of interest are characterized by values greater than the ones located in the western sectors. In particular, the sites located on the sandy beach ridge in the western sector of the study area are characterized by values greater than −5 mm/year, while rates of about −10 mm/year or lower have been observed at the eastern sites located in the Po river mouths. The morphological analysis indicates that the land subsidence observed in the PRD area is mainly due to the compaction of the shallow layers characterized by organic-rich clay and fresh-water peat.

Keywords: coastal management; ecosystem services; ecosystem-based management; Guam; human well-being; integrated monitoring; interdisciplinary research; social-ecological systems In 2014, the MGHFA status was established with the goals: (a) improved coral reef ecosystem health; (b) improved community resilience to climate change impacts; and (c) enhanced community capacity to manage coastal resources. For example, a national-level effort has monitored Guam's coral reefs since 2003 (NOAA Coral Program, [19]), but at an island ecosystem scale, rendering the data unsuitable for assessing localized trends at the scale of the MGHFA. Coastal management, ecosystem services, ecosystem-based management, Guam, human well-being, integrated monitoring, interdisciplinary research, social-ecological systems. [Extracted from the article]

Indices based on community structure provide a global ecological status of the biological communities but they are of limited value as early-warning indicators of contamination. Almost two decades after the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) was adopted, we reviewed publications that measured biomarkers in benthic macroinvertebrates in biomonitoring programmes of fluvial systems. The focus was on studies that attempted to incorporate both biomarkers and community-based approaches in the evaluation of the ecological status of rivers and streams. Overall, the data showed that biomarker measurements in benthic macroinvertebrate species can offer complementary information on the factors threatening these communities. This information is particularly useful for water authorities, in order to take actions before a system collapses into a state from which recovery is difficult or impossible. Gaps in need to be addressed for rapid and efficient implementation of biomarkers in benthic macroinvertebrates in routine wide-scale monitoring are discussed. In particular, site-specific baselines have to be defined, taking into account the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on these biochemical responses. Further studies, including different biomarkers, environmental stressors, macroinvertebrate taxa and river types, will provide crucial information on how to establish adequate biomarker strategies to indicate future ecological damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Highlights • VTCI is a near real-time indicator for drought monitoring and highly related to crop growth conditions. • BP ANN model as useful tool to integrate maize growing information of indicators at different stages. • VTCI and LAI values as input variables improves BP ANNs' simulating accuracy. • The developed IMGMI is very reliable for estimating the regional maize growth conditions. Abstract Crop water stress and vegetation status are critical parameters and should be proposed as input variables of an integrated model for crop productivity and yield estimation. In this study, to improve the monitoring of the regional maize growth conditions in the North China Plain, PR China, the remotely sensed vegetation temperature condition index (VTCI) and leaf area index (LAI) at five growth stages of maize (the seeding, jointing, heading, milk and mature stages) during 2010–2015 were generated as inputs of three-layer back propagation (BP) artificial neural networks (ANNs) with different numbers of nodes in the hidden layer to estimate the crop growth. Among these BP ANN models, an architecture with 12 nodes in the hidden layer provided the best training (RMSE = 755.7 kg/ha, MSE = 0.023) and testing (RMSE = 644.3 kg/ha, MSE = 0.037) performance and was selected to simulate values of the integrated growth monitoring index of maize (IGMIM) and to map the regional maize growth conditions pixel by pixel in the North China Plain during 2010–2018. The spatiotemporal characteristics displayed by the maize growth maps based on the IGMIM showed that the best year was 2016, the worst year was 2015, and maize growth in different parts of the plain varied accordingly with variations in the meteorological conditions. Thus, the information reflected by the IGMIM was in good agreement with the actual results. To further validate the accuracy of the integrated index, the correlations between the values of the IGMIM and several growth-related variables, including the measured yield, planting density, plant height and relative soil humidity at the 0–10 cm layer, at thirteen meteorological stations from 2010 to 2012 were analyzed, and the results were meaningful and presented a significant linear relationship. Thus, the BP ANN-based model has the ability to integrate information reflected by multiple maize growth-related factors at each growth stage and provides a better quantification of the monitoring results of regional maize growth conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape processes fluctuate over time, influencing the intra-annual dynamics of ecosystem services. However, current ecosystem service assessments generally do not account for such changes. This study argues that information on the dynamics of ecosystem services is essential for understanding and monitoring the impact of land management. We studied two regulating ecosystem services (i. erosion prevention, ii. regulation of water flows) and two provisioning services (iii. provision of forage, iv. biomass for essential oil production) in thicket vegetation and agricultural fields in the Baviaanskloof, South Africa. Using models based on Sentinel-2 data, calibrated with field measurements, we estimated the monthly supply of ecosystem services and assessed their intra-annual variability within vegetation cover types. We illustrated how the dynamic supply of ecosystem services related to temporal variations in their demand. We also found large spatial variability of the ecosystem service supply within a single vegetation cover type. In contrast to thicket vegetation, agricultural land showed larger temporal and spatial variability in the ecosystem service supply due to the effect of more intensive management. Knowledge of intra-annual dynamics is essential to jointly assess the temporal variation of supply and demand throughout the year to evaluate if the provision of ecosystem services occurs when most needed.

Three plankton collection methods were used to gather plankton samples in the Celtic Sea in October 2016. The Plankton Image Analysis (PIA) system is a high-speed color line scan-based imaging instrument, which continuously pumps water, takes images of the passing particles, and identifies the zooplankton organisms present. We compared and evaluated the performance of the PIA against the Continuous Automatic Litter and Plankton Sampler (CALPS) and the traditional ring net vertical haul. The PIA underestimated species abundance compared to the CALPS and ring net and gave an image of the zooplankton community structure that was different from the other two devices. There was, however, good agreement in the spatial distribution of abundances across the three systems. Our study suggests that the image capture and analysis step rather than the sampling method was responsible for the discrepancies noted between the PIA and the other two datasets. The two most important issues appeared to be differences in sub-sampling between the PIA system and the other two devices, and blurring of specimen features due to limited PIA optical depth of field. A particular advantage of the CALPS over more traditional vertical sampling methods is that it can be integrated within existing multidisciplinary surveys at little extra cost without requiring additional survey time. Additionally, PIA performs automatic image acquisition and it does remove the need to collect physical preserved samples for subsequent analysis in the laboratory. With the help of an expert taxonomist the system in its current form can also integrate the sampling and analysis steps, thus increasing the speed, and reducing the costs for zooplankton sampling in near real-time. Although the system shows some limitation we believe that a revised PIA system will have the potential to become an important element of an integrated zooplankton monitoring program.

Biochar is produced from organic materials by pyrolysis specifically for soil improvement. Interactions with beneficial outcomes between biochar and soil can arise within a short time but it is uncertain whether the effects are similar in all soil types and at different time-scale. The objective of this study was to evaluate the short-term and mid-term effects of biochars from different feedstocks (grain husks and paper fibre sludge, post-treated grain husks and paper fibre sludge, woodscreenings) on the soil physico-chemical, biological and ecotoxicological properties. As part of a complete scale-up technology, aiming improvement of an acidic sandy soil, a 12-month microcosm experiment was conducted with combined application of biochars, compost and fertilizer. The applied multiparameter approach made possible the selection of the most optimal treatment. All the three biochars had favourable influence on the soil, but the effects were different in terms of extent and time. Although the biochar from woodscreenings had not the most promising short-term effects, but combined with fertilizer at 0.5 w/w% biochar rate it was the most favourable treatment after 12 months. The grain husk and the paper fibre sludge biochar at 1 w/w% rate could also efficiently improve soil parameters and functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early and accurate assessment of maize growth is important for national food security. To improve the accuracy of maize growth monitoring in the central plain of Hebei Province, PR China, multiple growth-related factors, including water stress and vegetation coverage, should be comprehensively considered. This study derived the ten-day vegetation temperature condition index (VTCI) and leaf area index (LAI) from the first ten days of July to the third ten-day of September during 2010–2017 from MODIS data. Then, the grey relational analysis (GRA) method and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) were used to determine the weight coefficients of the VTCI and LAI at four maize growth stages (the emergence-jointing, jointing-booting, booting-filling and filling-mature stages). Thus, an integrated maize growth monitoring index ( G ) was formulated for maize growth estimation at the main growth stage. Linear regression models between maize yields and G values for counties in five cities of the Hebei Plain from 2010 to 2015 were constructed to verify and analyze the precision of maize growth monitoring. The weight coefficients of the VTCI and LAI varied at the four growth stages. In Cangzhou City, the LAI weight coefficient at the jointing-booting stage was the highest, followed by the VTCI at the booting-filling stage, indicating that maize growth conditions and yields were highly correlated with vegetation coverage at the jointing-booting stage and that maize growth was most sensitive to water stress at the booting-filling stage. Linear regression models between G values and maize yields for the counties in the five cities all passed the significance test at the 0.01 level. Moreover, the correlation between G values and maize yields was closer than that between maize yields and VTCI or LAI alone and illustrated a high accuracy of the integrated maize monitoring results derived from the synthetic approach combining the two indices. According to the maize growth monitoring results, from 2010 to 2017, the best year regarding maize growth conditions was 2011, and the worst year was 2014. Growth in the northwestern plain was better than that in the other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Marine monitoring in the northeast Atlantic is delivered within identifiable monitoring themes, established through time and defined by the geographical area and policy drivers they serve, the sampling methodologies they use, their assessment methodologies, their funding and governance structures and the people or organisations involved in their implementation. Within a monitoring theme, essential components for effective monitoring are governance, strategy and work plan, sampling protocols, quality assurance, and data and assessment structures. This simple framework is used to analyse two monitoring theme case studies; national ecosystem health monitoring, and regional fish stock monitoring. Such essential component analyses, within marine monitoring themes, can help improve monitoring implementation by identifying gaps and overlaps. Once monitoring themes are recognised, explicitly defined and streamlined, travel towards integrated monitoring may be made easier as the current lack of clarity in thematic marine monitoring implementation is one barrier to integration at both national and regional scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable CCS monitoring is vital in order to confirm that injected CO 2 stays in the reservoir as intended, and that any occurring leakage is promptly detected allowing corrective actions to be initiated. Motivations for implementing monitoring strategies beyond the legal minimum required by government regulations, can be divided into economic, environmental and reputational factors, where the latter is significant; adequate monitoring is important for attaining public acceptance. CCS monitoring methods can be divided into deep focused (reservoir, overburden) and shallow focused (seabed, water column) methods. Shallow monitoring methods include acoustic and chemical sensors placed in the water column. For the CCS application, these sensor technologies are complementary; acoustic sensors are sensitive to CO 2 in gas phase and chemical sensors can detect water-dissolved CO 2 or formation fluids. We discuss the motivations for CCS monitoring, and offer a structured overview of acoustic and chemical technologies for CCS monitoring at the seabed and in the water column. Each technology is evaluated in terms of its applicability to CCS monitoring, highlighting its strengths and limitations for detection, quantification and characterization of CCS related leakage. We conclude that while state of the art sensor technology is sufficient to meet government requirements, there is potential for improved integrated monitoring through optimal use and combination of technologies. The concept of integrated monitoring where different sensor types measure different parameters is emerging as a promising monitoring strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]