Characteristics and drivers of forest cover change in the post-socialist era in Croatia: evidence from a mixed-methods approach

© 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.Extensive forests in Croatia represent an important biological and economic resource in Europe. They are characterised by heterogeneity in forest management practices dating back to the socialist planned economy of the pre-1991 era. In this study we investigated the difference in rates of deforestation and reforestation in private- and state-owned forests during the post-socialist period and the causal drivers of change. The selected region of Northern Croatia is characterised by a high percentage of privately owned forests with minimal national monitoring and control. We used a mixed-methods approach which combines remote sensing, statistical modelling and a household-based questionnaire survey to assess the rates of forest cover change and factors influencing those changes. The results show that predominantly privately owned forests in Northern Croatia have recorded a net forest loss of 1.8 % during the 1991–2011 period, while Croatia overall is characterised by a 10 % forest cover increase in predominantly state-owned forests. Main factors influencing forest cover changes in private forests are slope, altitude, education structure, population age and population density. The results also show that the deforestation in private forests is weakening overall, mostly due to the continuation of the de-agrarisation and de-ruralisation processes which began during socialism

Signals in the Soil: An Introduction to Wireless Underground Communications

In this chapter, wireless underground (UG) communications are introduced. A detailed overview of WUC is given. A comprehensive review of research challenges in WUC is presented. The evolution of underground wireless is also discussed. Moreover, different component of UG communications is wireless. The WUC system architecture is explained with a detailed discussion of the anatomy of an underground mote. The examples of UG wireless communication systems are explored. Furthermore, the differences of UG wireless and over-the-air wireless are debated. Different types of wireless underground channel (e.g., In-Soil, Soil-to-Air, and Air-to-Soil) are reported as well

The influence of demogeographic development on spatial contents and models of primary education in Istria

This work explores the influence of demographic processes, especially birth rate’s movements, on the changes in the features and organisation of primary education in Istria between years 2001 and 2017. The analyses were implemented on the level of municipalities and cities, and greater spatial units of Istria – coastal area, the inland and the city of Pula. We analysed the changes in population and student contingent, fluctuations of birth rate, net migration and the changes in primary education (number of students and classes, number of teachers and schools). The results have pointed out to the existence of a positive connection between birth rate’s change and number of students in primary schools, but also that birth rate has a postponed effect on the size of the student contingent. Spatial disparities between the Istria’s inland and coast are determined also in the features of primary education that generally adapts to demographic processes more slowl