Valutare per progettare. Il caso di studio del progetto "Senza scarti"

Il libro è il risultato della valutazione ex-post di un progetto della Regione Puglia: "Senza scarti". Esamina la portata sociale degli interventi realizzati, nella convinzine che il problema di fondo sia quello di assicurare continuità all'azione di sostegno comunitario, affinché i soggetti più deboli trovino non solo un minimo di protezione sociale, ma partecipino ad un movimento di reale integrazione delle loro istanze e dei loro bisogni. Il progetto di ricerca valutativa ha inteso vagliare punti di forza e criticità del progetto, già emersi in fase di attuazione dello stesso. Viene approfondito l'intero percorso progettuale e viene individuata una criteriologia a uso degli operatori e dei decisori interessati a progettare interventi nel sociale maggiormente efficaci e di successo

Dynamic Response of Grass Cover to Rainfall Variability: Implications the Function and Persistence of Savanna Ecosystems

Savanna grass cover is dynamic and its annual extent resonates with wet season rainfall, as shown by satellite observations of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) time series for the Kalahari Transect (KT) in southern Africa. We explore the hydrological significance of the dynamic grass cover by applying a soil moisture model to the water-limited portion of the KT, which spans a north-south gradient in mean wet season rainfall, r̄, from approximately 700 to 300 mm. Satellite-derived tree fractional cover, xt, is shown to be highly correlated with ground meteorological measurements of r̄ (R2 = 0.94) in this region. By implementing a simple expression for grass growth and decay in the model that factored in only xt and near-surface soil moisture, we were able to effectively reproduce the satellite-derived fractional grass cover, xg, along the transect over a 16-year period (1983-1998). We compared the results from dynamic grass model with those yielded by a static grass cover model in which xg was set to its 16-year average for each simulation. The dynamic quality of the grass was found to be important for reducing tree stress during dry years and for reducing the amount of water that is lost from the overall root zone during the wet years, relative to the static grass case. We find that the dynamic grass cover acts as a buffer against variability in wet season precipitation, and in doing so helps to maximize ecosystem water use. The model results indicate that mixed tree/grass savanna ecosystems are ideally suited to reach a dynamic equilibrium with respect to the use of a fluctuating limiting resource (water) by having functional components that respond to variability in rainfall over long timescales (trees) and short timescales (grasses)

Investigation on the Use of Geomorphic Approaches for the Delineation of Flood Prone Areas

Three different geomorphic approaches to the identification of flood prone areas are investigated by means of a comparative analysis of the input parameters, the performances and the range of applicability. The selected algorithms are: the method proposed by Manfreda et al. (2011) based on a modified version of the Topographic Index (. TIm); the linear binary classifier proposed by Degiorgis et al. (2012), which uses different geomorphic features related to the location of the site under exam with respect to the nearest hazard source; the hydro-geomorphic method by Nardi et al. (2006) simulating inundation flow depths along the river valley with the associated extent of surrounding inundated areas. Comparison has been carried out on two sub-catchments of the Tiber River in Central Italy. The simulated flooded areas, obtained using the selected three methods, are evaluated using as a reference the Tiber River Basin Authority standard flood maps. The aim of the research is to deepen our understanding on the potential of geomorphic algorithms and to define new strategies for prompt hydraulic risk mapping and preliminary flood hazard graduation. This is of foremost importance when detailed hydrologic and hydraulic studies are not available, e.g., over large regions and for ungauged basins

Data on the harmonization of image velocimetry techniques, from six different countries

Here, we present a range of datasets that have been compiled from across six countries in order to facilitate image velocimetry inter-comparison studies. These data have been independently produced for the primarily purposes of: (i) enhancing our understanding of open-channel flows in diverse flow regimes; and (ii) testing specific image velocimetry techniques. These datasets have been acquired across a range of hydro-geomorphic settings, using a diverse range of cameras, encoding software, controller units, and with river velocity measurements generated as a result of differing image pre-processing and image processing software

Data on the harmonization of image velocimetry techniques, from seven different countries

Here, we present a range of datasets that have been compiled from across seven countries in order to facilitate image velocimetry inter-comparison studies. These data have been independently produced for the primarily purposes of: (i) enhancing our understanding of open-channel flows in diverse flow regimes; and (ii) testing specific image velocimetry techniques. These datasets have been acquired across a range of hydro-geomorphic settings, using a diverse range of cameras, encoding software, controller units, and with river velocity measurements generated as a result of differing image pre-processing and image processing software

Measurements and Observations in the XXI century (MOXXI): innovation and multidisciplinarity to sense the hydrological cycle

30s