Sustainable Use of Soils and Water


Book Description

This book on the sustainable use of soils and water addressed a variety of issues related to the utopian desire for environmental sustainability and the deviations from this scene observed in the real world. Competing interests for land are frequently a factor in land degradation, especially where the adopted land uses do not conform with the land capability (the natural use of soil). The concerns of researchers about these matters are presented in the articles comprising this Special Issue book. Various approaches were used to assess the (im)balance between economic profit and environmental conservation in various regions, in addition to potential routes to bring landscapes back to a sustainable status being disclosed.




Sustainable Use of Soils and Water: The Role of Environmental Land Use Conflicts


Book Description

This book on the sustainable use of soils and water addressed a variety of issues related to the utopian desire for environmental sustainability and the deviations from this scene observed in the real world. Competing interests for land are frequently a factor in land degradation, especially where the adopted land uses do not conform with the land capability (the natural use of soil). The concerns of researchers about these matters are presented in the articles comprising this Special Issue book. Various approaches were used to assess the (im)balance between economic profit and environmental conservation in various regions, in addition to potential routes to bring landscapes back to a sustainable status being disclosed.




Land Use and Spatial Planning


Book Description

This book reconciles competing and sometimes contradictory forms of land use, while also promoting sustainable land use options. It highlights land use planning, spatial planning, territorial (or regional) planning, and ecosystem-based or environmental land use planning as tools that strengthen land governance. Further, it demonstrates how to use these types of land-use planning to improve economic opportunities based on sustainable management of land resources, and to develop land use options that strike a balance between conservation and development objectives. Competition for land is increasing as demand for multiple land uses and ecosystem services rises. Food security issues, renewable energy and emerging carbon markets are creating pressures for the conversion of agricultural land to other uses such as reforestation and biofuels. At the same time, there is a growing demand for land in connection with urbanization and recreation, mining, food production, and biodiversity conservation. Managing the increasing competition between these services, and balancing different stakeholders’ interests, requires efficient allocation of land resources.




Landscape as a Geosystem


Book Description

The book analyses the landscape as a geosystem in all its complexity (from the abiotic environment, and land use to socio-economic character) as an integrated natural resource, as society’s life space, as well as an object of planning and decision making on sustainable land use. It presents the landscape properties in the form of databases that comply with the INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC (INSPIRE – Infrastructure for Spatial InfoRmation in Europe) requirements, which can be used for a variety of purposes and can serve as a national spatial information database for the needs of applied landscape-ecological research and real-world spatial planning processes. The book also provides overview legends with complete domain values of selected attributes of all three landscape structures (primary, secondary and tertiary) routinely used in Slovakia. Lastly, the book offers an example of the construction and mapping of geocomplexes as well as the database creation on the model territory at the regional level.




Environment and Sustainable Development


Book Description

This book collects the latest advances, innovations, and applications in the field of environmental science and sustainable development, which were presented by scholars and researchers at the 2021 6th Asia Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development, held in Phuket, Thailand, November 6–8, 2021. The book covers highly diverse topics, including environmental dynamics, global environmental change and ecosystems management, environmental restoration and ecological engineering, water treatment and reclamation, environmental sustainability, health and the environment, wastewater and sludge treatment, solid waste management, air pollution and control. The contributions, which were selected in a rigorous international peer-review process, highlight numerous exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaborations.




Handbook of Irrigation Hydrology and Management


Book Description

Ever-increasing population growth has caused a proportional increased demand for water, and existing water sources are depleting day by day. Moreover, with the impact of climate change, the rates of rainfall in many regions have experienced a higher degree of variability. In many cities, government utilities have been struggling to maintain sufficient water for the residents and other users. The Handbook of Irrigation Hydrology and Management: Irrigation Methods examines and analyzes irrigated ecosystems in which water storage, applications, or drainage volumes are artificially controlled in the landscape and the spatial domain of processes varies from micrometers to tens of kilometers, while the temporal domain spans from seconds to centuries. The continuum science of irrigation hydrology includes the surface, subsurface (unsaturated and groundwater systems), atmospheric, and plant subsystems. Further, the book addresses the best practices for various types of irrigation methods including pressure, smart, surface, and subsurface, and presents solutions for water scarcity and soil salinity in irrigation. Features: Offers water-saving strategies to increase the judicious use of scarce water resources Presents strategies to maximize agricultural yield per unit of water used for different regions Compares irrigation methods to offset changing weather patterns and impacts of climate change




Encyclopedia of Sustainable Management


Book Description

This encyclopedia is the most comprehensive and up-to-date source of reference for sustainability in business and management. It covers both traditional and emerging concepts and terms and is fully international in its scope. More than 700 contributions of internationally renowned experts provide a definitive access to the knowledge in the area of sustainable and responsible management. All actors in the field will find reliable and up to date definitions and explanations of the key terms and concepts of management in this reference work. The Encyclopedia of Sustainable Management represents all aspects of management and business conduct. It takes sustainability as a management concept that gives due credit to the complexity and diverging constraints in which businesses and corporations act today, and it emphasizes and focuses approaches that help ensure that today's management decisions and actions will be the basis for tomorrow's prosperity.




Land Use Problems and Conflicts


Book Description

The causes, consequences and control of land use change have become topics of enormous importance in contemporary society. Not only is urban land use and sprawl a hot-button issue, but issues of rural land use have also been in the headlines. Policy makers and citizens are starting to realize that many environmental and economic issues have the question of land use at their very core. Comprising papers from a conference sponsored by the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, Land Use Problems and Conflicts draws together some of the most up-to-date research in this area. Sections are devoted to problems in the United States and Europe, the consequences of such problems, land use-related data and alternative solutions to conflict. With a lineup including some of the best scholarship on this subject to date, this volume will be of use to those studying environmental and land use issues in addition to policy makers and economists.




Geopedology


Book Description

This updated and revised second edition brings geopedology issues into the current context. This new edition extends the work on popular topics such as digital soil mapping, GIS and landscape mapping, and it also gives valuable insight with up-to-date theoretical discussions and new application with relevant case studies. This textbook offers a proven approach for reliable mapping of soil-landscape relationships to derive information for policy, planning and management at scales ranging from local to regional. Filled with didactic elements such as case studies, visual aids (maps, charts and figures), questions and answers, the book is of interest to geohazard studies, land use conflict analysis, land use planning, land degradation assessment, and land suitability analysis. Soil is a vital resource for society at large and an important determinant of the economic status of nations. The intensification of natural disasters and the increased land use competition for food and energy have raised awareness of the relevant role the pedosphere plays in natural and anthropogenic environments. Recent papers and global initiatives show a renewed interest in soil research and its applications for improved planning and management of this fragile and finite resource.




Impacts of Anthropogenic Activities on Watersheds in a Changing Climate


Book Description

The immediate goal of this Special Issue was the characterization of land uses and occupations (LULC) in watersheds and the assessment of impacts caused by anthropogenic activities. The goal was immediate because the ultimate purpose was to help bring disturbed watersheds to a better condition or a utopian sustainable status. The steps followed to attain this objective included publishing studies on the understanding of factors and variables that control hydrology and water quality changes in response to human activities. Following this first step, the Special Issue selected work that described adaption measures capable of improving the watershed condition (water availability and quality), namely LULC conversions (e.g., monocultures into agro-forestry systems). Concerning the LULC measures, however, efficacy was questioned unless supported by public programs that force consumers to participate in concomitant costs, because conversions may be viewed as an environmental service.