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In the context of cultural routes, in order to achieve overall protection of industrial heritage, the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) was established to organize and promote the entire European industrial heritage. The conservation and utilization of Chinese industrial heritage are currently dominated by individual cases, which limits their potential to contribute to regional sustainable development. There is an urgent need of a conservation system at the regional or national level, to ensure that Chinese industrial heritage conservation effectively contributes to regional sustainable development. This study considers the industrial heritage of China built between 1840 and 1978 to establish the Chinese Industrial Heritage GIS Database (CIHGD). The analysis shows that the distribution of China's industrial heritage is mainly concentrated in the eastern and southern coastal areas, and the industrial heritage has formed three key regions, 14 key cities, and important railway and water systems located in eastern China. The CRIH facilitates the holistic conservation of China's industrial heritage and provides basic data for future research on China's industrial heritage. The objective of this study is to promote the establishment of an information-based management system for industrial heritage in China, and to explore the value evaluation, protection system, and regional tourism of industrial heritage from a national perspective in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystems provide various goods and services to society and their valuation is among the main objectives of the concept of ecosystem services (ES). The mapping of ecosystems is the main building block of the whole process of the Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES). The analyses of the ecosystem data produced during the implementation of the national methodology for mapping ecosystems in Bulgaria (MAES BG) reveal some problems that may cause confusion in cases of integrated assessment of all ecosystem types. In this paper, we present an approach that enables formulation of a uniform spatial dataset based on the mapping of the main ecosystem types, that can be used for mapping of ES at a river basin scale. It has been applied to the upper part of the Ogosta River basin and the result is a topologically correct uniform spatial data layer. The approach gives one possible solution to problems related to the different sources of information and the discrepancies between ecosystem types in the national mapping of ecosystems in Bulgaria. It is based on the use of a uniform spatial framework that outlines the ecosystem types and sets the initial database for further mapping. This ensures a topologically correct spatial dataset for the ecosystems and a background for further updates for each ecosystem at the different levels of MAES typology. The most appropriate spatial basis for the territory of Bulgaria is the database for the physical blocks of the Ministry of Interior. Its application to the studied river basin gives encouraging results and can be used as an example for similar areas. Further development of the approach will ensure the mapping of the forest ecosystems at level 3 of the MAES BG typology and more precise delineation of the grassland, heathland, freshwater, and sparsely vegetated ecosystems.

This paper constructs a GIS database from the aspects of data input, storage and processing. Then, it applies a BP neural network learning algorithm to categorize rural ecotourism resources and evaluate their development potential. Finally, it presents four aspects of the challenges of AI technology in rural ecotourism resource development. The rate of discrimination when rural types are divided into two types is overall higher than that when they are divided into three types, and their correct rates are all more than 86%. The best-developed villages among the rural ecotourism resources in %%A are villages J, C, and E, with total development values of 6.5647, 6.5225, and 6.4919, respectively. Villages A (5.5384), G (5.3031), and I (5.5586) are the next best-developed areas, with total development potentials ranging between 5 and 6. The rest of the 4 villages with total development value

Ecosystems provide various goods and services to society and their valuation is among the main objectives of the concept of ecosystem services (ES). The mapping of ecosystems is the main building block of the whole process of the Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES). The analyses of the ecosystem data produced during the implementation of the national methodology for mapping ecosystems in Bulgaria (MAES BG) reveal some problems that may cause confusion in cases of integrated assessment of all ecosystem types. In this paper, we present an approach that enables formulation of a uniform spatial dataset based on the mapping of the main ecosystem types, that can be used for mapping of ES at a river basin scale. It has been applied to the upper part of the Ogosta River basin and the result is a topologically correct uniform spatial data layer. The approach gives one possible solution to problems related to the different sources of information and the discrepancies between ecosystem types in the national mapping of ecosystems in Bulgaria. It is based on the use of a uniform spatial framework that outlines the ecosystem types and sets the initial database for further mapping. This ensures a topologically correct spatial dataset for the ecosystems and a background for further updates for each ecosystem at the different levels of MAES typology. The most appropriate spatial basis for the territory of Bulgaria is the database for the physical blocks of the Ministry of Interior. Its application to the studied river basin gives encouraging results and can be used as an example for similar areas. Further development of the approach will ensure the mapping of the forest ecosystems at level 3 of the MAES BG typology and more precise delineation of the grassland, heathland, freshwater, and sparsely vegetated ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of cultural routes, in order to achieve overall protection of industrial heritage, the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) was established to organize and promote the entire European industrial heritage. The conservation and utilization of Chinese industrial heritage are currently dominated by individual cases, which limits their potential to contribute to regional sustainable development. There is an urgent need of a conservation system at the regional or national level, to ensure that Chinese industrial heritage conservation effectively contributes to regional sustainable development. This study considers the industrial heritage of China built between 1840 and 1978 to establish the Chinese Industrial Heritage GIS Database (CIHGD). The analysis shows that the distribution of China’s industrial heritage is mainly concentrated in the eastern and southern coastal areas, and the industrial heritage has formed three key regions, 14 key cities, and important railway and water systems located in eastern China. The CRIH facilitates the holistic conservation of China’s industrial heritage and provides basic data for future research on China’s industrial heritage. The objective of this study is to promote the establishment of an information-based management system for industrial heritage in China, and to explore the value evaluation, protection system, and regional tourism of industrial heritage from a national perspective in China.

In the Republic of Serbia, the assessment of losses and damages after a natural disaster is based on a document adopted in 1987 during the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Although of exceptional quality in its structure and purpose, the Instruction on a Uniform Methodology for Assessing Damage from Natural Disasters has outlived its time and it is necessary to align the document with today's needs. The Government of the Republic of Serbia has formed a working group with the task of drafting a unique methodology for assessing damage from natural and other disasters, which is also in line with international standards and practice. In parallel with this activity, engineering associations and groups of experts are working on technical instructions for each of the natural hazards, which will be compatible with the unique methodology to be adopted by the Government of Serbia. The earthquake that hit the Republic of Croatia in 2020 pointed out a number of shortcomings in national documents, and then the international methodology "Post Disaster Need Assessment" was used to assess the damage. The paper presents the experiences of a team of experts from Serbia who paid an official visit to the Republic of Croatia after the earthquakes in Petrinja and Zagreb and gained significant experience from the field in damage assessment, as well as through cooperation with crisis headquarters formed after the earthquake.

Ensuring high quantity and quality of water for humans is becoming more important because of the water supply risks in extreme climates. With increasing urbanization, urban water resource management is becoming increasingly important. The hydrologic analysis of water supply pipelines can help decision-makers understand water pressure, flow rate, water quality, and possible leakages, extending feasible strategies for sustainable development and smart cities. In this study, an improved urban hydrologic analysis model was built by integrating the connectivity of graph theory and the geographic information system (GIS) database. The Neihu Division of the Taipei Water Department in Taiwan was taken as an example to explain the proposed process and method, and 15,131 confluence data items were used to analyze the differences between the proposed method and WaterGEMS. The results show that of the total head parameters, 72% had zero differences, 28% had a difference of less than 1 m, and about 99% of the confluences had a water pressure difference of less than 1 m. The comparison of 120 on-site water pressure measurements showed that about 85% of the confluences had an error of less than 20%. The above results demonstrated the applicability of the proposed method for water resource management on similar scales and its benefit for the development of smart cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The LEADER Transnational Cooperation Project „Cisterscapes -- Cistercian landscapes connecting Europe" takes places from 2019-2022. The article gives an overview of the project, the project partners, aims and results and where to follow them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Giardino Inglese of the Reggia di Caserta is among the most important and ancient gardens in Italy. A survey of vegetation was carried out, and a collection catalogue was produced using updated nomenclature and Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) IV criteria classification. The data from survey were georeferenced in a GIS environment. For each species, the conservation status at world level as per International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), the phytosanitary status, and the number of individuals were evaluated. Two synthetic indices were created that allow the evaluation of collection's erosion risk (ER). In the analysis, each species is placed in a specific quadrant indicating its level of erosion risk, and a priority score (PS) allows the evaluation of the priorities of any conservations interventions. The collection consists of 235 species, and approximately 65% of these are reported in IUCN Red List. 1671 individuals were registered. The database and the ER assessment allows the future development of tools for the management of the site. The Giardino Inglese is a garden of collections and a conservation basin for historical and monumental specimens of many species, some of which are subject to protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring high quantity and quality of water for humans is becoming more important because of the water supply risks in extreme climates. With increasing urbanization, urban water resource management is becoming increasingly important. The hydrologic analysis of water supply pipelines can help decision-makers understand water pressure, flow rate, water quality, and possible leakages, extending feasible strategies for sustainable development and smart cities. In this study, an improved urban hydrologic analysis model was built by integrating the connectivity of graph theory and the geographic information system (GIS) database. The Neihu Division of the Taipei Water Department in Taiwan was taken as an example to explain the proposed process and method, and 15,131 confluence data items were used to analyze the differences between the proposed method and WaterGEMS. The results show that of the total head parameters, 72% had zero differences, 28% had a difference of less than 1 m, and about 99% of the confluences had a water pressure difference of less than 1 m. The comparison of 120 on-site water pressure measurements showed that about 85% of the confluences had an error of less than 20%. The above results demonstrated the applicability of the proposed method for water resource management on similar scales and its benefit for the development of smart cities.

The aim of this study is to find a suitable methodology for planning the locations of intermodal terminals in an urban transit context. The location planning approach, which has been developed and makes this possible, consists of three phases. The first phase is the making of the geographic information system (GIS) database which enables determining the potential locations of intermodal terminals. For every potential location of the terminal, the number of citizens gravitating to a certain terminal is calculated, which at the same time represents the output from the first phase of the model. The second phase uses an optimization algorithm in order to determine the locations of the intermodal terminals. The optimization algorithm provides several solutions for a different number of terminals, and such solutions need to be evaluated. The main contribution of this research is in upgrading the location planning approach by introducing an additional step in assessing the solutions obtained by the optimization algorithm.

The five-year Upper Greater Zab Archaeological Reconnaissance (UGZAR) project was initiated in 2012 as one of a number of survey projects in the Iraqi Kurdistan aimed at, among others, damage assessment of archaeological sites and new threats to the preservation of these sites, resulting from Iraqi Kurdistan’s recent rapid development. The database produced within the frame of the UGZAR project can be used in heritage management. The paper presents the project’s interim results and discusses the main factors endangering archaeological sites in Iraqi Kurdistan today.

Many studies highlight the benefic influence of forests on the quality of environment. There is an interest for identifying the pretability of a certain territory for representative forest tree species according to their pedological, hydro-climatic and geomorphological characteristics. The main purpose of this endeavour is the enhancement of a territory's economic quality as well as the highlighting of the forest's stabilizing role which is determined by new forest plantations with well-defined purposes. This study aims at proposing a quantitative model based on correlation equations between forest favourability classes and ecological factors/determiners for the main forest species from the hill bioclimatic zone. By using geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis and integrating a specific digital database, forest favourability classes were identified for eight of the most common forest species from Someşul Mare Hills: pedunculate oak, Turkey oak, Hungarian oak, hornbeam, linden, sycamore tree, cherry tree and beech. The main focus was laid on developing and obtaining the necessary digital database for the GIS spatial analysis model and on the work stages of creating a GIS model which could be implemented in areas with similar characteristics.

There is a great need for an efficient geographic information system (GIS) implementation in interdisciplinary domains for providing useful information for scientific and managerial processes of further improving land-use planning and decision making in horticulture. The main goal of this study was the creation of a digital map and GIS application for the Fruit Research Station in Cluj-Napoca, North-Western Romania. The benefit of this implementation is a fully integrated land information system, where information is accessed omnipresent for processing, value adding and further analysis. The created model is as a modern solution for obsolete analogue maps, sketches, inventory and land records that are usually unreliable and poorly represented in agricultural productive units. Using the created GIS database and spatial analysis there were obtained a very useful orchard mappings that incorporate management and economical attributes essential in land planning. Future focus and development will be mainly on system maintenance, including system enhancement and upgrading rather than to create a new systems. Under the constant pressures of urban sprawl and land degradation in this area, the paper conducts towards a guideline and model for an effective use of land resources to the best advantage and capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Karstified dolomitic formations situated in the Far West Rand goldfield of the Witwatersrand Basin constitute a significant groundwater resource in semi-arid South Africa and would be of strategic importance for alleviating the increasing water stress in nearby metropolitan areas. The deep-level gold mines operating below the dolomites have suffered from large volumes of dolomitic groundwater flowing into the mine voids, rendering mining both expensive and hazardous. In order to secure safe and economical mining, the overlying dolomites were dewatered. Here we review research over 60 years, conducted in three of the four major dolomitic compartments affected by dewatering. After more than six decades of research, these aquifers are arguably the most investigated karst systems in South Africa, and possibly worldwide. The data generated are, in many respects, unique, as many measurements can never be repeated, covering stochastic events such as a major water inrush into mine workings and some of the most catastrophic sinkhole developments ever recorded. Given the potential value for improving the understanding of general and local karst hydrogeology, our main goal for this paper is to alert the scientific community to the existence of this resource of mostly unpublished data and research. A no less important aim is to support a systematic collation of these studies which are in danger of being irretrievably lost as mines increasingly close down. Ecological and economic impacts of the flooding of mines in and around Johannesburg emphasise the lack of reliable historical mine data to optimally address the matter. We provide the first comprehensive, yet not exhaustive, overview on the existing studies, briefly discussing scientific content as well as obstacles for utilising the scattered, and often non-peer reviewed, information sources.

Many studies highlight the benefic influence of forests on the quality of environment. There is an interest for identifying the pretability of a certain territory for representative forest tree species according to their pedological, hydro-climatic and geomorphological characteristics. The main purpose of this endeavour is the enhancement of a territory's economic quality as well as the highlighting of the forest's stabilizing role which is determined by new forest plantations with well-defined purposes. This study aims at proposing a quantitative model based on correlation equations between forest favourability classes and ecological factors/determiners for the main forest species from the hill bioclimatic zone. By using geographic information system (GIS) spatial analysis and integrating a specific digital database, forest favourability classes were identified for eight of the most common forest species from Someşul Mare Hills: pedunculate oak, Turkey oak, Hungarian oak, hornbeam, linden, sycamore tree, cherry tree and beech. The main focus was laid on developing and obtaining the necessary digital database for the GIS spatial analysis model and on the work stages of creating a GIS model which could be implemented in areas with similar characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mociar forest is a site of interest for community, because of the occurrence of Quercus robur specie, on extended areas. The trees have over 300 years of age, and there, a series of problems are identified. They are connected to the drying of some individuals belonging to the mentioned species, but also to drying of younger sessile individuals (aged about 40 years). In this way, of great importance is the identification of the environmental factors, which lead to the degradation of the present forestry species, and development of a study that recommends the foundation of plantations with species resistant against environmental conditions, which characterize the Mociar Forest. Our study aims to perform a classification by classes of forestry favorability, function of limitative environmental factors: annual mean temperature, annual mean precipitations, number of days with temperatures >10° C, excess of precipitations, useful edaphic volume, etc. In this way, our study also aims to obtain a global image of the classes of favorability for twelve forestry species, Quercus Robur (common oak), Quercus peduncuiflora (grayish oak), Robinia pseudoacacia (acacia), Quercus cerris (Turkey oak), Quercus frainetto (Italian oak), Fraxinus excelsior (common ash), Carpinus betulus (common hornbeam), Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore), Tillia codata (small leaved linden), Prunus avium (wild cherry), Quercus petraea (sessile oak), Fagus sylvatica (common beech), Abies (fir), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper study an automatic monitoring method for land change based on high resolution remote sensing images and GIS data, and we use three classification methods to classify and fuse the research area. Secondly, the paper calculates the corresponding map class components and compares them with their historical attributes; it can automatically monitor land use change. The experimental results show that the fuzzy decision fusion classification can significantly improve the classification effect, and it can accurately determine the change area accurately and automatically. However, there are some partial errors in the region.

The Loch Lomond Stadial (LLS) was an abrupt period of renewed cooling between 12.9 and 11.7 ka and has long been associated with the regrowth of glaciers in much of upland Britain. Mapping the glacial landforms associated with this period has been undertaken for over a century, but in a non-systematic nature and at specific locations. In this paper, glacial geomorphology associated with the LLS in Britain has been compiled from the published literature into a glacial map and accompanying geographical information system database that is available electronically as supplementary information. A variety of scales have been used to best represent the evidence in the database. Map A is at 1:310 000; B, C, D, E, F, J, L, M and O are at 1:175 000; K, N, P are at 1:100 000 and G, H and I are at 1:50,000. The database contains over 95,000 individual features, which are organised into thematic layers and each attributed to its original citation. The evidence includes moraines, drift and boulder limits, drift benches, periglacial trimlines, meltwater channels, eskers, striations and roches moutonneés, protalus ramparts and ice-dammed lakes. Creation of this database overcomes the drawbacks posed by the non-systematic nature of previous mapping output from studies of LLS glaciation. It is intended to be a catalyst for future research in this area, with especial significance for regional palaeoglaciological and palaeoclimatic reconstructions of the Younger Dryas and numerical modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Athenian Basin is a very interesting area from an archaeological point of view, since it is inhabited from Neolithic time. The human impact on the landscape is shown by the ancient constructions such as the Long Walls and the canalization of the rivers in the area of the Athenian Basin and Piraeus. The aim of the study is to detect the paleogeographical evolution of this area. In order to manipulate all the available information obtained from literature review (topographic maps, geological maps, ancient maps and references) and the stratigraphic data from 227 boreholes from the Athenian Basin, a GIS database was established. After the interpretation of the stratigraphy from the boreholes, six lithostratigraphic units were defined. Maps and 3D models were designed to represent the succession of the lithostratigraphy of each period. Paleogeographic maps were created in order to represent the landscape for each lithostratigraphic unit of the Athenian basin, and extract results for the temporal and spatial changes of the paleo-landscape and the involvement of the human impact on the depositional process in the Athenian Basin during Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a big karst sinkhole happened in Jili Village of Guangxi, China, the local government was eager to quantitatively analyze and map susceptible areas of the potential second-time karst sinkholes in order to make timely decisions whether the residents living in the first-time sinkhole areas should move. For this reason, karst sinkholes susceptibility geospatial analysis is investigated using multivariate spatial data, logistic regression model (LRM) and Geographical Information System (GIS). Ten major karst sinkholes related factors, including (1) formation lithology, (2) soil structure, (3) profile curvature, (4) groundwater depth, (5) fluctuation of groundwater level, (6) percolation rate of soil, (7) degree of karst development, (8) distance from fault, (9) distance from the traffic route, and (10) overburden thickness were selected, and then each of factors was classified and quantitated with the three or four levels. The LRM was applied to evaluate which factor makes significant contributions to sinkhole. The results demonstrated that formation lithology, soil structure, profile curvature, groundwater depth, ground water level, percolation rate of soil, and degree of karst development, the distance from fault, and overburden thickness are positive, while one factor, the distance from traffic routes is negative, which is deleted from LRM model. The susceptibility of the potential sinkholes in the study area is estimated and mapped using the solved impact factors. The susceptible degrees of the study area are classified into five levels, very high, high, moderate, low, and ignore susceptibility. It has been found that that both very high and high susceptibility areas are along Datou Hill and the foothills of the study area. This finding is verified by field observations. With the investigations conducted in this paper, it can be concluded that the susceptibility maps produced in this paper are reliable and accurate, and useful as a reference for local governments to make decisions regarding whether or not residents living within sinkhole areas should move. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]