Spatial and temporal variations of satellite-derived multi-year particulate data of Saudi Arabia : an exploratory analysis

CITATION: Aina, Y.A., Van der Merwe, J.H. & Alshuwaikhat, H.M. 2014. Spatial and temporal variations of satellite-derived multi-year particulate data of Saudi Arabia: An exploratory analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 11(11):11152-11166, doi:10.3390/ijerph111111152.The original publication is available at www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerphThe effects of concentrations of fine particulate matter on urban populations have been gaining attention because fine particulate matter exposes the urban populace to health risks such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Satellite-derived data, using aerosol optical depth (AOD), have been adopted to improve the monitoring of fine particulate matter. One of such data sources is the global multi-year PM2.5 data (2001–2010) released by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN). This paper explores the satellite-derived PM2.5 data of Saudi Arabia to highlight the trend of PM2.5 concentrations. It also examines the changes in PM2.5 concentrations in some urbanized areas of Saudi Arabia. Concentrations in major cities like Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah and the industrial cities of Yanbu and Jubail are analyzed using cluster analysis. The health risks due to exposure of the populace are highlighted by using the World Health Organization (WHO) standard and targets. The results show a trend of increasing concentrations of PM2.5 in urban areas. Significant clusters of high values are found in the eastern and south-western part of the country. There is a need to explore this topic using images with higher spatial resolution and validate the data with ground observations to improve the analysis.http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/11/11/11152Publisher's versio

Fungal Planet description sheets : 320–370

Novel species of fungi described in the present study include the following from Malaysia: Castanediella eucalypti from Eucalyptus pellita, Codinaea acacia from Acacia mangium, Emarcea eucalyptigena from Eucalyptus brassiana, Myrtapenidiella eucalyptorum from Eucalyptus pellita, Pilidiella eucalyptigena from Eucalyptus brassiana and Strelitziana malaysiana from Acacia mangium. Furthermore, Stachybotrys sansevieriicola is described from Sansevieria ehrenbergii (Tanzania), Phacidium grevilleae from Grevillea robusta (Uganda), Graphium jumulu from Adansonia gregorii and Ophiostoma eucalyptigena from Eucalyptus marginata (Australia), Pleurophoma ossicola from bone and Plectosphaerella populi from Populus nigra (Germany), Colletotrichum neosansevieriae from Sansevieria trifasciata, Elsinoë othonnae from Othonna quinquedentata and Zeloasperisporium cliviae (Zeloasperisporiaceae fam. nov.) from Clivia sp. (South Africa), Neodevriesia pakbiae, Phaeophleospora hymenocallidis and Phaeophleospora hymenocallidicola on leaves of a fern (Thailand), Melanconium elaeidicola from Elaeis guineensis (Indonesia), Hormonema viticola from Vitis vinifera (Canary Islands), Chlorophyllum pseudoglobossum from a grassland (India), Triadelphia disseminata from an immunocompromised patient (Saudi Arabia), Colletotrichum abscissum from Citrus (Brazil), Polyschema sclerotigenum and Phialemonium limoniforme from human patients (USA), Cadophora vitícola from Vitis vinifera (Spain), Entoloma flavovelutinum and Bolbitius aurantiorugosus from soil (Vietnam), Rhizopogon granuloflavus from soil (Cape Verde Islands), Tulasnella eremophila from Euphorbia officinarum subsp. echinus (Morocco), Verrucostoma martinicensis from Danaea elliptica (French West Indies), Metschnikowia colchici from Colchicum autumnale (Bulgaria), Thelebolus microcarpus from soil (Argentina) and Ceratocystis adelpha from Theobroma cacao (Ecuador). Myrmecridium iridis (Myrmecridiales ord. nov., Myrmecridiaceae fam. nov.) is also described from Iris sp. (The Netherlands). Novel genera include (Ascomycetes): Budhanggurabania from Cynodon dactylon (Australia), Soloacrosporiella, Xenocamarosporium, Neostrelitziana and Castanediella from Acacia mangium and Sabahriopsis from Eucalyptus brassiana (Malaysia), Readerielliopsis from basidiomata of Fuscoporia wahlbergii (French Guyana), Neoplatysporoides from Aloe ferox (Tanzania), Wojnowiciella, Chrysofolia and Neoeriomycopsis from Eucalyptus (Colombia), Neophaeomoniella from Eucalyptus globulus (USA), Pseudophaeomoniella from Olea europaea (Italy), Paraphaeomoniella from Encephalartos altensteinii, Aequabiliella, Celerioriella and Minutiella from Prunus (South Africa). Tephrocybella (Basidiomycetes) represents a novel genus from wood (Italy). Morphological and culture characteristics along with ITS DNA barcodes are provided for all taxa.Alina V. Alexandrova was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project N 14-50-00029). Ekaterina F. Malysheva, Olga V. Morozova, Alexander E. Kovalenko and Eugene S. Popov acknowledge financial support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project 13-04-00838a and 15-04-04645a). Margarita Dueñas, María P. Martín and M. Teresa Telleria acknowledge financial support from the Plan Nacional I+D+I projects No. CGL2009-07231 and CGL2012-3559. Cony Decock gratefully acknowledges the financial support received from the FNRS / FRFC (convention FRFC 2.4544.10), the CNRS-French Guiana and the Nouragues staff, which enabled fieldwork in French Guiana, and the Belgian State – Belgian Federal Science Policy through the BCCMTM research programme.http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/nhn/pimjam201

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region’s major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/ taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region’s major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems

Locating opportunities for outdoor action and adventure recreation and tourism in the Western Cape: GIS application

This paper indicates how modern spatial computing technology can be used for developing spatial policy for, and planning of outdoor action and adventure recreation and tourism (OAART). An application was performed in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The research overviews spatial recreation and tourism development policy, marketing and express outdoor recreationist and tourist preferences that translate into spatial suitability indicators or attraction features captured in a spatial resource database. Special attention was given to the conceptual foundations of attraction and what can be captured in spatial format as mapped variables. The methodological approach of spatial multiple criteria evaluation (MCE) by weighted linear combination of spatial factor layers as images in a geographical information system (GIS) are explained. The outcome in map format demonstrates the execution of the technique for the Western Cape. The fine-scale spatial result was compared with the coarser regional indicators of the marketing-based spatial development framework proposed to guide official recreation and tourism planning. The results are useful for entrepreneurial and regulatory planning and may be replicated in different spatial locations provided a supporting database exists.Keywords: Geographical Information System (GIS); Multiple Criteria Evaluation (MCE); Action and adventure recreation; Nature tourism; Spatial planning; Western Cape ProvinceSouth African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation, 2012, 34(2): 197-21

Application of geospatial technology for gap analysis in tourism planning for the Western Cape

We report on the use of modern spatial computing technology in the development of spatial tourism policy and planning in the context of a bounded resource base. We refer briefly to provincial tourism development policy, expand on the tourism marketing framework and use the express tourist preferences to determine suitability indicators or attraction features for a spatial tourism resource base, paying special attention to the conceptual foundations of attraction and the mapping of tourism potential variables. We applied the methodology to a combination of tourism products in the Western Cape Province of South Africa in an approach that involved applying the spatial multiple criteria evaluation through the weighted linear combination of spatial factor layers as images in a geographical information system. We performed an analysis of the gap between tourism potential and tourism resource provision at a spatial resolution of individual towns’ spheres of influence, as represented by Thiessen polygons. The outcome in map format demonstrates the applicability of the technique to the Western Cape. The fine-scale spatial result was analysed for its strategic planning implications. Our results are useful for entrepreneurial and regulatory planning and can be replicated in different spatial locations if the appropriate database can be constructed

A landscape-scale assessment of the long-term integrated control of an invasive shrub in South Africa

The original publication is available at http://link.springer.com/journal/10530The control of invasive alien plants often involves the integration two or more approaches, including mechanical clearing, the application of herbicides, burning, and biological control. More than one species of invasive plant can threaten the same area, which necessitates prioritization in the allocation of scarce resources to support the control of different species. This paper describes the integrated control of the invasive shrub Hakea sericea over four decades in South Africa. The species is widespread across an area of approximately 800 × 200 km, and occurs mainly in rugged, inaccessible and fire-prone mountain areas. The species is serotinous, and produces copious amounts of seed that are wind dispersed after fires. We present a brief history of the control measures which included a combination of felling and burning, augmented by biological control. We used data from two surveys, 22 years apart, to assess changes in distribution and density of the species. The assessment suggested that the overall distribution of the species was reduced by 64%, from ~530,000 to ~190,000 ha between 1979 and 2001. The species either decreased in density, or was eliminated from 492,113 ha, while it increased in density, or colonised 107,192 ha. We conclude that initial programs of mechanical clearing were responsible for reducing the density and extent of infestations, and biological control was largely responsible for the failure of the species to re-colonize cleared sites, or to spread to new areas following unplanned wildfires. We propose that a significant portion of the resources used for clearing Hakea in the past can be reallocated to mechanical control efforts against other invasive species (such as alien pines) for which effective biological control options are not available, provided that sufficient resources are allocated to ensure the widespread and effective implementation of all biological control agents to maintain the advances reported on here. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.Post-prin

Application of geospatial technology for gap analysis in tourism planning for the Western Cape

CITATION: Van der Merwe, J. H. & Van Niekerk, A. 2013. Application of geospatial technology for gap analysis in tourism planning for the Western Cape. South African Journal of Science, 109(3/4), Art. #1226, doi:10.1590/sajs.2013/1226.The original publication is available at http://sajs.co.zaENGLISH ABSTRACT: We report on the use of modern spatial computing technology in the development of spatial tourism policy and planning in the context of a bounded resource base. We refer briefly to provincial tourism development policy, expand on the tourism marketing framework and use the express tourist preferences to determine suitability indicators or attraction features for a spatial tourism resource base, paying special attention to the conceptual foundations of attraction and the mapping of tourism potential variables. We applied the methodology to a combination of tourism products in the Western Cape Province of South Africa in an approach that involved applying the spatial multiple criteria evaluation through the weighted linear combination of spatial factor layers as images in a geographical information system. We performed an analysis of the gap between tourism potential and tourism resource provision at a spatial resolution of individual towns’ spheres of influence, as represented by Thiessen polygons. The outcome in map format demonstrates the applicability of the technique to the Western Cape. The fine-scale spatial result was analysed for its strategic planning implications. Our results are useful for entrepreneurial and regulatory planning and can be replicated in different spatial locations if the appropriate database can be constructed.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaarhttp://sajs.co.za/application-geospatial-technology-gap-analysis-tourism-planning-western-cape/johannes-h-van-der-merwe-adriaan-van-niekerkPublisher's versio