Application of new science tools in integrated watershed management for enhancing impacts.

Not AvailableApplication of new science tools in rainfed agriculture opens up new vistas for development through IWMPs. These tools can help in improving the rural livelihoods and contributing substantially to meet the millennium development goals of halving the number of hungry people by 2015 and achieving food security through enhanced use efficiency of scarce natural resources such as land and water in the tropical countries. Till now rainfed areas of the SAT did not get much benefit of new science tools but the recent research using these tools such as simulation modeling, remote sensing, GIS as well as satellite-based monitoring of the natural resources in the SAT has shown that not only the effectiveness of the research is enhanced substantially but also the cost efficiency and impact are enhanced. The remarkable developments in space technology currently offer satellites which provide better spatial and spectral resolutions, more frequent revisits, stereo viewing, and on-board recording capabilities. Thus, the high spatial and temporal resolution satellite data could be effectively used for watershed management and monitoring activities at land ownership level. By using crop simulation modeling approach, yield gap analyses for the major crops in Asia, Africa, and WANA regions revealed that the yields could be doubled with the existing technologies if the improved crop land, nutrient, and water management options are scaled-out. Similarly, technology application domains could be easily identified for better success and greater adoption of the particular technologies considering the biophysical as well as socioeconomic situations. GIS helped in speedy analysis of voluminous data and more rationale decision in less time to target the investments as well as to monitor the large number of interventions in the SAT. The satellite-based techniques along with GIS helped in identifying the vast fallow areas (2 million ha) in Madhya Pradesh during the rainy season. Similarly, 14 million ha rice-fallows in the Indo-Gangetic Plain offer excellent potential to grow second crop on residual soil moisture by using shortduration chickpea cultivars and simple seed priming technology. These techniques are also successfully used for preparing detailed thematic maps, watershed development plans, and continuous monitoring of the natural resources in the country in rainfed areas. Further, such data could be of immense help in tracking the implementation, applying midcourse corrections, and for assessing long-term effectiveness of the program implemented. The synergy of GIS and Web Technology allows access to dynamic geospatial watershed information without burdening the users with complicated and expensive software. Further, these web-based technologies help the field data collection and analysis in a collaborative way. However the availability of suitable software for watershed studies and their management in open GIS platform is very limited. Hence, there is a requirement to strengthen this area through collaborative efforts between various line organizations. Use of ICT in IWMP can bridge the existing gap to reach millions of small farm holders who have no access to new technologies for enhancing agricultural productivity on their farms. Use of smart sensor network along with GIS, remote sensing, Wani Ch006.tex 8/7/2011 19: 41 Page 201 Application of new science tools in integrated watershed management 201 simulation modeling and ICT opens up new opportunities for developing intelligent watershed management information systems. However, it calls for a new partnership involving corporates, development agencies, researchers from various disciplines and most importantly to reach millions of small farm holders in rainfed areas of the world. Application of new science tools in IWMP have helped to substantially enhance productivity as well as income from rainfed agriculture and improved livelihoods of the rural people.Not Availabl

Assessing water availability in Mediterranean regions affected by water conflicts through MODIS data time series analysis

Water scarcity is a widespread problem in arid and semi-arid regions such as the western Mediterranean coastal areas. The irregularity of the precipitation generates frequent droughts that exacerbate the conflicts among agriculture, water supply and water demands for ecosystems maintenance. Besides, global climate models predict that climate change will cause Mediterranean arid and semi-arid regions to shift towards lower rainfall scenarios that may exacerbate water conflicts. The purpose of this study is to find a feasible methodology to assess current and monitor future water demands in order to better allocate limited water resources. The interdependency between a vegetation index (NDVI), land surface temperature (LST), precipitation (current and future), and surface water resources availability in two watersheds in southeastern Spain with serious difficulties in meeting water demands was investigated. MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) NDVI and LST products (as proxy of drought), precipitation maps (generated from climate station records) and reservoir storage gauging information were used to compute times series anomalies from 2001 to 2014 and generate regression images and spatial regression models. The temporal relationship between reservoir storage and time series of satellite images allowed the detection of different and contrasting water management practices in the two watersheds. In addition, a comparison of current precipitation rates and future precipitation conditions obtained from global climate models suggests high precipitation reductions, especially in areas that have the potential to contribute significantly to groundwater storage and surface runoff, and are thus critical to reservoir storage. Finally, spatial regression models minimized spatial autocorrelation effects, and their results suggested the great potential of our methodology combining NDVI and LST time series to predict future scenarios of water scarcity.Published versio

Earth Observations in Social Science Research for Management of Natural Resources and the Environment: Identifying the Contribution of the U.S. Land Remote Sensing (Landsat) Program

This paper surveys and describes the peer-reviewed social science literature in which data from the U.S. land remote sensing program, Landsat, inform public policy in managing natural resources and the environment. The Landsat program has provided the longest collection of observations of Earth from the vantage point of space. The paper differentiates two classes of research: methodology exploring how to use the data (for example, designing and testing algorithms or verifying the accuracy of the data) and applications of data to decisionmaking or policy implementation in managing land, air quality, water, and other natural and environmental resources. Selection of the studies uses social science-oriented bibliographic search indices and expands results of previous surveys that target only researchers specializing in remote sensing or photogrammetry. The usefulness of Landsat as a basis for informing public investment in the Landsat program will be underestimated if this body of research goes unrecognized.natural resources policy, environmental policy, Landsat, social science, environmental management

Remote Sensing And Geospatial Applications For Water Catchment Mapping And Assessment.

Identifying and mapping water catchment features that occur in mostly forest areas from aerial photography is a challenging task, but the use of remotely sensed data and data processing techniques can improve the process of providing preliminary data for modeling land use and land cover changes and assessment their impact on the catchemnt

Legal Challenges and Market Rewards to the Use and Acceptance of Remote Sensing and Digital Information as Evidence

Bakgrund I den nutida forskningen är det essentiellt att företag tar hänsyn till medarbetarnas motivation så att de gynnas av det arbetssätt som tillämpas. En arbetsmetod som blivit allt vanligare är konceptet Lean som ursprungligen kommer från den japanska bilindustrin. Lean har idag utvecklats till ett allmängiltigt koncept som tillämpas i flertalet branscher världen över. Trots att konceptet innebär flertalet positiva aspekter har det fått utstå stark kritik när det kommer till de mänskliga aspekterna och forskare har ställt sig frågan om Lean är "Mean". Kritiken härleds främst till medarbetares arbetsmiljö i form av stress och brist på variation, självbestämmande, hälsa och välmående. Få empiriska studier har däremot genomförts som undersöker konsekvenserna som Lean får på medarbetares upplevda motivation. Syfte Vårt syfte är att undersöka och öka förståelsen för medarbetares upplevelser av motivationen i företag som tillämpar Lean. Vidare har studien för avsikt att utreda om det föreligger en paradox mellan Lean och vad som motiverar medarbetare på en arbetsplats. Metod Studien har utgått från en kvalitativ metod via intervjuer. För att göra en djupare undersökning och analysera hur vårt fenomen, motivation, upplevs i en kontext med Lean tillämpade vi Små-N-studier. Vi har även haft en iterativ forskningsansats som förenat den deduktiva och induktiva ansatsen där studien pendlat mellan teorier och empiriska observationer fram tills det slutgiltiga resultatet. Slutsatser Utefter medarbetarnas upplevelser har vi identifierat att det inte föreligger någon paradox mellan Lean och motivation eftersom övervägande antal medarbetare upplevde att de är motiverade även om företaget tillämpar Lean. Dock har studien kunnat urskilja både stödjande och motverkande faktorer när det kommer till medarbetarnas upplevda arbetsförhållanden som i sin tur inverkar på motivationen. De motverkande faktorerna menar vi främst beror på att arbetsförhållandena i somliga fall innehåller höga prestationskrav, målstyrning samt standardiseringar. Vidare upplevs motivationen överlag som mer positiv när företagen använder en mjukare form av Lean där samtliga medlemmars intressen beaktas.Background In modern research, it is essential that companies consider employees’ motivation so that they benefit from the applied practices. A working method that has become increasingly common is the concept Lean, which has its origin in the Japanese automotive industry. Today, Lean has evolved into a universal concept that is applied in many industries worldwide. Although the concept involves numerous positive aspects it has endured strong criticism when it comes to the human aspects and researchers have raised the question if Lean is "Mean". Criticism is derived primarily to employees’ working conditions in terms of stress and lack, variation, autonomy, health and wellbeing. However, few empirical studies have been carried out that examines the impact that Lean has on employees’ experienced motivation. Aim The aim is to increase the understanding of employees’ experienced motivation in companies that practice Lean. Further on the study has the intention to investigate if there is a paradox between Lean and what motivates employees on work. Methodology The study has been conducted through a qualitative method by interviews and to be able to do a deeper examination and analyze how our phenomenon, motivation, is experienced in a Lean context we applied small-N-studies. Our strategy has been iterative, combining both a deductive and inductive approach, where the study has varied between theories and empirical observations until the final result. Conclusions We have identified that there is no paradox between Lean and motivation since the majority of employees’ experienced that they are motivated even though the company practice Lean. Nevertheless the study shows that there are both supportive and counteractive factors when it comes to the employees’ experienced working conditions. The counteractive factors consists foremost of high performance standards, goal steering and standardizations, and have in some cases a negative influence on the working conditions. Furthermore the experienced motivation is more positive overall when the companies use a softer form of Lean where all the members’ interests are taken into account

SWPT: An automated GIS-based tool for prioritization of sub-watersheds based on morphometric and topo-hydrological factors

© 2019 China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University The sub-watershed prioritization is the ranking of different areas of a river basin according to their need to proper planning and management of soil and water resources. Decision makers should optimally allocate the investments to critical sub-watersheds in an economically effective and technically efficient manner. Hence, this study aimed at developing a user-friendly geographic information system (GIS) tool, Sub-Watershed Prioritization Tool (SWPT), using the Python programming language to decrease any possible uncertainty. It used geospatial–statistical techniques for analyzing morphometric and topo-hydrological factors and automatically identifying critical and priority sub-watersheds. In order to assess the capability and reliability of the SWPT tool, it was successfully applied in a watershed in the Golestan Province, Northern Iran. Historical records of flood and landslide events indicated that the SWPT correctly recognized critical sub-watersheds. It provided a cost-effective approach for prioritization of sub-watersheds. Therefore, the SWPT is practically applicable and replicable to other regions where gauge data is not available for each sub-watershed

Use of High Science Tools in Integrated Watershed Management

Not AvailableSemi-Arid Tropics (SAT) are characterized by highly variable rainfall, poor soils, low yields and poor developmental infrastructure. Watershed management is now an accepted strategy for development of rainfed agriculture in these areas. New science tools like remote sensing, geographical information systems (GIS), water balance, simulation modeling, information and communication technology (ICT) are currently being used very widely in irrigated and well-endowed areas. Importance of these tools in the SAT areas is now well understood and recognized. Application of new science tools in rain-fed agriculture opens up new vistas for development through integrated watershed management programs (IWMP). ICRISAT in partnership with national agricultural research systems and advanced research institutes in Asia has applied new science tools for enhancing the productivity of rain-fed systems in the SAT through science-led development. The remarkable developments in space technology currently offers satellites, which provide better spatial and spectral resolutions, more frequent revisits, stereo viewing and on board recording capabilities. High spatial and temporal resolution satellite data could be effectively used for watershed management and monitoring activities at land ownership level. Techniques are also successfully used for preparing detailed thematic maps, watershed development plans and continuous monitoring of the natural resources in rain-fed areas. Synergy of GIS and Web Technology allows access to dynamic geospatial watershed information without burdening the users with complicated and expensive software. Use of smart sensor network along with GIS, RS, simulation modeling and ICT opens up new opportunities for developing intelligent watershed management information systems. These tools can help in improving the rural livelihoods and contribute substantially to meet the millennium development goals of halving the number of hungry people by 2015 and achieving food security through enhanced use efficiency of scarce natural resorces such as land and water in the tropical countries.Not Availabl

Model of position-dynamic structure of river basins

In this work, we have presented semi automated means of modeling of position-dynamic structure (PDS) of river basins’ landscapes with application of geo-informational systems (GIS). Results of modeling were tested on the basin of one of headwaters. The structure of the model includes landscape lines, layers, sub-regions and regions. The model takes into account conditions of formation of landscape’s PDS in mountain and plain parts of river basinsyesБелгородский государственный университе