A multi-temporal landsat satellite imagery analysis

The Central Region of Mozambique (Sofala Province) bordering on the active cyclone area of the southwestern Indian Ocean has been particularly affected by climate hazards. The Cyclone Idai, which hit the region in March 2019 with strong winds causing extensive flooding and a massive loss of life, was the strongest recorded tropical cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere. The aim of this study was to use pre-and post-cyclone Idai Landsat satellite images to analyze temporal changes in Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) across the Sofala Province. Specifically, we aimed—(i) to quantify and map the changes in LULC between 2012 and 2019; (ii) to investigate the correlation between the distance to Idai’s trajectory and the degree of vegetation damage, and (iii) to determine the damage caused by Idai on different LULC. We used Landsat 7 and 8 images (with 30 m resolution) taken during the month of April for the 8-year period. The April Average Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) over the aforementioned period (2012–2018, pre-cyclone) was compared with the values of April 2019 (post-cyclone). The results showed a decreasing trend of the productivity (NDVI 0.5 to 0.8) and an abrupt decrease after the cyclone. The most devastated land use classes were dense vegetation (decreased by 59%), followed by wetland vegetation (−57%) and shrub land (−56%). The least damaged areas were barren land (−23%), barren vegetation (−27%), and grassland and dambos (−27%). The Northeastern, Central and Southern regions of Sofala were the most devastated areas. The Pearson Correlation Coefficient between the relative vegetation change activity after Idai (NDVI%) and the distance to Idai’s trajectory was 0.95 (R-square 0.91), suggesting a strong positive linear correlation. Our study also indicated that the LULC type (vegetation physiognomy) might have influenced the degree of LULC damage. This study provides new insights for the management and conservation of natural habitats threatened by climate hazards and human factors and might accelerate ongoing recovery processes in the Sofala Province.publishersversionpublishe

Food security and nutrition in Mozambique: comparative study with bean species commercialised in informal markets

In Mozambique (South-eastern Africa), Phaseolus vulgaris and Vigna spp. are important staple foods and a major source of dietary protein for local populations, particularly for people living in rural areas who lack the financial capacity to include meat in their daily dietary options. This study focuses on the potential for improving diets with locally produced nutritious legumes whilst increasing food security and income generation among smallholder farmers. Using bean species and varieties commercialised as dry legumes in the country, it sets out to characterize and compare the chemical properties of Phaseolus vulgaris and Vigna spp. among the most commercialised dry legume groups in Mozambique. The principal component analysis showed a clear separation between Phaseolus and Vigna species in terms of proximate composition, whereas protein content was quite uniform in both groups. It concludes that the introduction of improved cultivars of Phaseolus vulgaris and Vigna species maize–legume intercropping benefits yield, diets and increases household income with limited and low-cost inputs while enhancing the resilience of smallholder farmers in vulnerable production systems affected by recurrent drought and the supply of legumes to urban informal marketsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A question of standards: adapting carbon and other PES markets to work for community seagrass conservation

Seagrass meadows deliver multiple ecosystem services that are of particular importance to resource-poor coastal communities, yet they are rapidly declining globally. The Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) approach has been used to fund the protection of other ‘Blue Carbon’ Ecosystems (BCE), yet seagrass has been incorporated in just one PES project worldwide. Some of the ecosystem services delivered by seagrass have the potential for inclusion under a PES framework but multiple challenges currently make this difficult, particularly under community-based management. PES programmes typically focus on carbon as the tradable service, but scientific uncertainties regarding seagrass carbon are likely to remain significant barriers to using carbon as the sole commodity under current carbon trading standards and market conditions. It is recommended here that project developers demonstrate the multiple ecosystem services delivered by seagrass meadows, along with their importance to coastal communities, in the planning and marketing of seagrass PES projects. Moreover, they should consider approaches that incorporate seagrass meadows into other blue carbon certified projects. The capacities of the communities that rely most heavily on seagrass are generally very limited. Consequently, demanding high levels of scientific certainty over carbon stocks and flows will exclude most of these communities. Standards, buyers and policy makers should consider building community capacity in the technical and marketing requirements of voluntary carbon standards. The voluntary carbon market has the flexibility to pioneer certified seagrass carbon, potentially leading to the inclusion of seagrass carbon in formal policy instruments, such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

Exploring physicochemical and cytogenomic diversity of African cowpea and common bean

In sub-Saharan Africa, grain legumes (pulses) are essential food sources and play an important role in sustainable agriculture. Among the major pulse crops, the native cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and introduced common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) stand out. This paper has two main goals. First, we provide a comprehensive view of the available genetic resources of these genera in Africa, including data on germplasm collections and mapping biodiversity-rich areas. Second, we investigate patterns of physicochemical and cytogenomic variation across Africa to explore the geographical structuring of variation between native and introduced beans. Our results revealed that 73 Vigna and 5 Phaseolus species occur in tropical regions of Africa, with 8 countries accounting for more than 20 native species. Conversely, germplasm collections are poorly represented when compared to the worldwide collections. Regarding the nuclear DNA content, on average, V. unguiculata presents significantly higher values than P. vulgaris. Also, V. unguiculata is enriched in B, Mg, S, and Zn, while P. vulgaris has more Fe, Ca, and Cu. Overall, our study suggests that the physicochemical and cytogenomic diversity of native Vigna species is higher than previously thought, representing valuable food resources to reduce food insecurity and hunger, particularly of people living in African developing countriesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Stories in social-ecological knowledge cocreation

Transformations in social-ecological systems to overturn poverty and ecosystem degradation require approaches to knowledge synthesis that are inclusive and open to creative innovation. We draw on interviews with participants and in-depth process observation of an iterative knowledge cocreation process in Kenya and Mozambique that brought together scientists, community representatives, government representatives, and practitioners who had expertise or experience in poverty and/or coastal natural resource use and management. We analyze the communicative spaces opened by techniques of system diagrams and future scenarios, and provide a rich account of the emergent process of developing a "shared conceptual repertoire" as a basis for effective communication and knowledge synthesis. Our results highlight the difficulties of challenging dominant narratives and the creative potential that exists in reflecting on their underpinning assumptions. In our analysis, stories and lived experiences emerged as key means shaping the construction of shared concepts and ideas. We conclude by outlining the implications of designing knowledge cocreation processes that support the task of devising systemic interventions that are robust for a range of future scenarios. This includes embracing the role of stories in generating shared meanings and opening up spaces for exploration of knowledge assumptions that are embedded in intervention narratives

The living infinite: Envisioning futures for transformed human-nature relationships on the high seas

We find ourselves at a critical crossroads for the future governance of the high seas, but the perceived remoteness of the global ocean creates a psychological barrier for people to engage with it. Given challenges of overexploitation, inequitable access and other sustainability and equity concerns, current ocean governance mechanisms are not fit-for-purpose. This decade offers opportunities for direct impact on ocean governance, however, triggering a global transformation on how we use and protect the half of our planet requires a concerted effort that is guided by shared values and principles across regions and sectors. The aim of the series of workshops outlined in this paper, was to undertake a futures thinking process that could use the Nature Futures Framework as a mechanism to bring more transformative energy into how humans conceptualise the high seas and therefore how we aim to govern the ocean. We found that engaging with the future through science fiction narratives allowed a more radical appreciation of what could be and infusing science with artistic elements can inspire audiences beyond academia. Thus, creative endeavours of co-production that promote and encourage imagination to address current challenges should be considered as important tools in the science-policy interface, also as a way to elicit empathetic responses. This workshop series was a first, and hopefully promising, step towards generating a more creative praxis in how we imagine and then act for a better future for the high seas

O urbanismo conveniente luso-brasileiro na formação de povoações em Minas Gerais no século XVIII

The settlement of villages in the old colonial province of Minas Gerais obeyed certain principles of what was considered decent, convenient and adequate. Such principles were based on rules, doctrines and habits inherent to the Luso-Brazilian architecture of that time. The historical analysis of these aspects leads to a critical review of some consolidated assumptions in historiography, such as the one for which the settlements aforementioned would have appeared in a spontaneous, irregular and disordered fashion. Because they are evident in the remaining settlements and period art treatises and documents, these aspects lead to the consideration of a true art of populating, based on certain values and habits, which we call convenient Luso-Brazilian urbanism.A formação de povoações na capitania de Minas Gerais no século XVIII estava condicionada a preceitos de decoro, conveniência e adequação. Esses preceitos constituíam regras, doutrinas e costumes muito relevantes à arte luso-brasileira de edificar arquiteturas e cidades naquele tempo. A consideração histórica desses aspectos nos conduz à revisão crítica de uma série de compreensões consolidadas na historiografia, como, por exemplo, a de que essas povoações seriam espontâneas, irregulares e desordenadas. Pela importância com que se evidenciam nas povoações remanescentes, nos tratados artísticos e nos documentos coevos, tais aspectos nos levam a cogitar em uma verdadeira arte de povoar fundamentada nesses valores e costumes, arte a que denominamos urbanismo conveniente luso-brasileiro

Comfort in wind-induced tall buildings : the meta-analysis in human-structure interaction

Estruturas verticais estão ficando cada vez mais altas devido ao aumento da urbanização e adensamento das cidades. De acordo com a sua esbeltez inerente, resultando em baixos valores de frequência natural, esses prédios estão suscetíveis a vibrações induzidas pelo vento podendo causar desconforto para os ocupantes. Já pequenos e perceptíveis níveis de aceleração com gamas de frequências baixas relevantes para vibrações de corpo inteiro podem causar náuseas e desconforto, enquanto altos níveis de aceleração podem ser alarmantes e causar medos aos ocupantes. Esse trabalho propõe uma revisão literária sistemática em termos de metanálise com os estudos empíricos da área de conforto em edifícios altos. A metanálise foi segmentada na verificação do viés de publicação, sensibilidade das metodologias e verificação dos estimadores de aceleração. Além disso, uma comparação dos resultados dos critérios de limite de aceleração obtidos a partir da metanálise com as principais normas de conforto vigentes é realizada. Por fim, uma recomendação para a atualização da norma NBR 6123:1988 é feita. A metanálise utilizou dois modelos de efeitos, o de efeitos fixos sendo o método da máxima verossimilhança (MLE) e o de DerSimonian & Laird/Método dos momentos (MOM) para o modelo de efeitos aleatórios, no qual os resultados foram os mesmos para ambos. O critério final proposto tem limites inferiores e próximos à norma ISO 10137(2007) e similar à curva H-70 do critério da AIJ-GEH. Com relação à norma NBR 6123:1988, os limites de percepção de aceleração são maiores a uma frequência de aproximadamente 0,3 Hz e inferiores a partir disso.Vertical structures are getting higher due to increased urbanization and densification of cities. According to their inherent slenderness, resulting in low natural frequency values, these buildings are susceptible to wind-induced vibrations in which can cause discomfort to the occupants. Already small and noticeable levels of acceleration with low frequency ranges relevant to whole body vibrations can cause nausea and discomfort, while high levels of acceleration can be alarming and cause fear among occupants. This research proposes a systematic literary review in terms of meta-analysis about empirical studies of comfort field in high-rise buildings. This research proposes a systematic literary review in terms of meta-analysis with the empirical studies of the comfort in high-rise buildings field. The meta-analysis was segmented in the verification of the publication bias, sensitivity of the methodologies and verification of the acceleration estimators. In addition, a comparison of the acceleration limit results criteria obtained from the meta-analysis with the main current comfort standards is performed. Finally, a recommendation for updating the NBR 6123: 1988 standard is made. The meta-analysis used two effects models, the fixed effects being the maximum likelihood (MLE) and the DerSimonian & Laird / Method of moments (MOM) for the random effects model, in which the results were the same for both. The proposed final criterion has lower and approximate limits to ISO 10137 (2007) and similar to the H-70 curve of the AIJ-GEH criterion. With respect to standard NBR 6123: 1988, the limits of perception of acceleration are greater at a frequency of approximately 0.3 Hz and lower therefrom