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Perceptual Modelling Of Environmental Indicators To Assess Land Uses Impacts On Water Quality, Nathalie Lalande, Flavie Cernesson, Marie-George Tournoud Jul 2012

Perceptual Modelling Of Environmental Indicators To Assess Land Uses Impacts On Water Quality, Nathalie Lalande, Flavie Cernesson, Marie-George Tournoud

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The stream functioning is closely influenced by land uses, along thestream itself and throughout the catchment. Land uses can be seen as both theexpression of the natural environment and the result of increasing human activities.Land uses generate various (in kind and intensity) pressures (positive or negative)that alter river water quality at different scales of time and space. The objective ofthis research is to conceptualize and quantify the interactions between river waterquality and land use through spatial modelling. Our methodology is based on (i) thedesign of a system of indicators using the DPSIR framework and (ii) thedevelopment of the relevant environmental …

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Ict, Integral Models And New Methods Support Farmer´S And Forester´S Integration Into Environmental Caretaking And Risk-Management, H Mayer Di Walte Jul 2012

Ict, Integral Models And New Methods Support Farmer´S And Forester´S Integration Into Environmental Caretaking And Risk-Management, H Mayer Di Walte

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Farmers and foresters – in total worldwide more than 2 billion people - manage large parts of most of the countries, in some 90% or more. Rich, risk-exposure countries with beautiful nature like Austria or Switzerland due to mountains did a lot of excellent environmental caretaking because of intensive tourism and reduced with the help of government existing risks, supported by legislation, avalanche-, torrent- or river- departments, land consolidation units, Chambers of Agriculture, Ministerial departments etc. and were supported by farmers with a general concept: Managing a farm or forest correctly, manages also the environment well. EC´s GAP (Good Agricultural …

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Developing And Integrating A Simulation Model Of Water Resources Supply And Demand Within An On-Going Governance Building Process : A Case Study In Thau Catchment, South Of France., Geraldine Abrami, Audrey Richard-Ferroudji, Sylvain Barone, Olivier Barreteau, Camille Tessier Jul 2012

Developing And Integrating A Simulation Model Of Water Resources Supply And Demand Within An On-Going Governance Building Process : A Case Study In Thau Catchment, South Of France., Geraldine Abrami, Audrey Richard-Ferroudji, Sylvain Barone, Olivier Barreteau, Camille Tessier

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

A companion modeling process about water resources supply and demand at the scale of a catchment in partnership with the catchment management institution and with intermediary level stakeholders of the different sectors of water use, production and distribution in the territory is being held in the Thau catchment, near Montpellier in South of France. This companion modeling process has been shaped by both a scientific questioning about interactions between land and water dynamics and governance within a catchment and the history of collaborations between the research team and the case study partners. It was initiated by the catchment management institution’s …

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Modelling Trade-Offs Between Ecosystem Services And Agricultural Production In Western Australia, Marit E. Kragt, Michael J. Robertson Jul 2012

Modelling Trade-Offs Between Ecosystem Services And Agricultural Production In Western Australia, Marit E. Kragt, Michael J. Robertson

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The concept of ecosystem services (ES) is widely used to highlight theinterdependencies between agricultural and environmental systems. Many ESprovide direct production benefits to agriculture-even those that are not directlyproducing agricultural commodities, such as pollination, water regulation, and soilretention. Farm management practices may produce ES or ‘disservices’, such asnutrient pollution or greenhouse gas emissions. Few studies have attempted toquantify the potential of agriculture to produce multiple ES, and to estimate thepossibilities for joint production of marketed and non-marketed ES. A quantificationof the trade-offs between ES provision and production of farm commodities canhelp to better target agricultural policies.We use a well-established biophysical …

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Phosphorus Use And Management Strategies: Exploring Scenarios Of Smallholder’S Soil Fertility, Food Production And Livelihood With A Multi-Agent System Model, Quang Bao Le, Roland W. Scholz, Roman Seidl, Quyet Manh Vu, Tien Minh Tran Jul 2012

Phosphorus Use And Management Strategies: Exploring Scenarios Of Smallholder’S Soil Fertility, Food Production And Livelihood With A Multi-Agent System Model, Quang Bao Le, Roland W. Scholz, Roman Seidl, Quyet Manh Vu, Tien Minh Tran

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Phosphorus (P) is a key nutrient for food production. However, excess P use, e.g. in form of inorganic fertilizer application, can lead to environmental pollution, biodiversity losses and low profitability. Continuous cultivation with underuse of P fertilizer results in low food productivity and soil degradation due to soil nutrient mining or soil erosion. The concern is most serious for smallholder farmers in developing countries whose food production and livelihood is tied directly to their access to and efficient use of P as key nutrient for plant growth. This paper introduces a multi-agent system modeling framework for assessing long-term impacts of …

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Participatory Land Use Modeling With Bayesian Networks: A Focus On Subjective Validation, Enrico Celio, Sibyl H. Brunner, Adrienne Grêt-Regamey Jul 2012

Participatory Land Use Modeling With Bayesian Networks: A Focus On Subjective Validation, Enrico Celio, Sibyl H. Brunner, Adrienne Grêt-Regamey

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Taking into account land use models in spatial planning processes would be a valuable support for facilitating the development and the acceptance of innovative land use management strategies. But, the utilization of such models in spatial planning processes is rarely done. One condition for implementation is trust and credibility in the model, which can be increased through validation. We argue that subjective validation can be a major contribution to efforts advancing the implementation of models. The presented land use model applies Bayesian networks (BN) and incorporates secondary data as well as local actors’ characteristics. Stakeholders from the study area and …

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End Matter, Religious Educator Jul 2012

End Matter, Religious Educator

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

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New Developments In The Anuclim Bioclimatic Modelling Package, Tingbao Xu, Michael F. Hutchinson Jul 2012

New Developments In The Anuclim Bioclimatic Modelling Package, Tingbao Xu, Michael F. Hutchinson

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

ANUCLIM (Xu and Hutchinson, 2011) is a software package used to support the spatial modelling of environmental and natural resources. It enables users to readily obtain estimates, in point and grid form, of monthly, seasonal and annual mean climate variables from supplied elevation dependent monthly mean climate surfaces and an underlying digital elevation model. The climate surfaces are derived by the ANUSPLIN package (Hutchinson, 2004) and support interrogation at sub-kilometre scale. A key strength of the ANUCLIM package is its ability to generate bioclimatic profiles from known species locations to predict and map species distributions, in both current and projected …

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Dairy Farming And Newt Habitat: How Shocks In Milk Prices Influence The Optimal Design Of Water Retention Policies, Anouk Cormont, Jappe Franke, Tom Kuhlman, Nico Polman, Marleen Schouten, Astrid Van Teeffelen, Tim Verwaart, Eugène Westerhof Jul 2012

Dairy Farming And Newt Habitat: How Shocks In Milk Prices Influence The Optimal Design Of Water Retention Policies, Anouk Cormont, Jappe Franke, Tom Kuhlman, Nico Polman, Marleen Schouten, Astrid Van Teeffelen, Tim Verwaart, Eugène Westerhof

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Floods and droughts are expected to occur more frequently due to climate change. Regional water boards in the Netherlands are anticipating water level variations in streams in rural areas. To moderate adverse effects of those variations, they seek for opportunities to enhance retention of rainfall runoff on agricultural land in the stream valleys. This can be done by contracting farmers to apply agri-environmental measures. We focus on this small-scale and flexible (in space and time) rainfall runoff retention by farmers. Farmers can decide to (temporarily) allocate parts of their land to apply agri-environmental measures, depending on shocks of various nature, …

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Trade-Offs In Land Allocation For Bioenergy Production, Giulia Fiorese, Giorgio Guariso Jul 2012

Trade-Offs In Land Allocation For Bioenergy Production, Giulia Fiorese, Giorgio Guariso

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Biomass as a renewable energy source is scarce and its exploitationmust be accurately planned in order to maximize the energy produced, the GHGemissions avoided, and the sustainability of other ecological services. By-productsand residues are one of the best sources of biomass since they are readilyavailable at no or at a very low cost. Moreover, in some cases, the use of residueshas positive co-benefits. This is the case of manure: typically its disposalconstitutes a cost to the farm, whilst its energy use facilitates the disposal,produces energy and decreases GHG emissions. However, the conversionefficiency of manures alone is very low and, therefore, …

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Automatic Modelling And Continuous Map Generation From Georeferenced Species Census Data In An Interoperable Gis Environment, Lluís Pesquer, Ester Prat, Ricardo Díaz-Delgado, Joan Masó Jul 2012

Automatic Modelling And Continuous Map Generation From Georeferenced Species Census Data In An Interoperable Gis Environment, Lluís Pesquer, Ester Prat, Ricardo Díaz-Delgado, Joan Masó

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The Natural Processes Monitoring Team from the Doñana Biological Station (EBD), systematically acquires data on more than 100 indicators of ecological processes and the status of many fauna and flora species in Doñana National Park, one of the most important protected wetlands in Europe, covering 54000 Ha. This information is available on a website as tabular data and trend charts. A detailed analysis is necessary in order to interpret this information and provide decision-making criteria for the management of the natural area. The purpose of this paper is to improve public access to the information collected in the monitoring program …

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Water Quality Assessment In The Venice Lagoon Watershed With Multiple Modelling Approaches, Carlo Giupponi, Arianna Azzellino, Roberta Salvetti, Paolo Parati, Marta Carpani Jul 2012

Water Quality Assessment In The Venice Lagoon Watershed With Multiple Modelling Approaches, Carlo Giupponi, Arianna Azzellino, Roberta Salvetti, Paolo Parati, Marta Carpani

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Over the last 20 years a series of research projects analysed water quality issuesof the Venice Lagoon and its watershed (VLW). The policy framework was relatedto the implementation of the Italian special law for the safeguarding of Venice anda series of European regulations, including the Nitrate and the Water Frameworkdirectives and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The main focus was ondiffuse pollution from agricultural sources - nitrogen and phosphorous in particular -with the aim of assessing the impacts of current and alternative cultivation andlivestock practices. Many different modelling approaches were adopted, rangingfrom cognitive mapping for expert knowledge elicitation, to deterministicmechanistic …

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Geoinformation Technologies In The Identification Of Meandering Section Of The River, Beata Wieczorek, Katarzyna Glińska-Lewczuk, Anna Sobieraj Jul 2012

Geoinformation Technologies In The Identification Of Meandering Section Of The River, Beata Wieczorek, Katarzyna Glińska-Lewczuk, Anna Sobieraj

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The aim of this study was to present the capabilities of using geoinformation technologies in the process of outlining meandering section of the river.Development of valley plain rivers landscape is connected with occurrence of old river beds, which came into existence because of natural changing of river-bed (meandering) or man interference in water system (Glińska-Lewczuk et al. 2010). Survey results from terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) combined with hydrologic data can be successfully used to determine area, borders and duration of overflow of the old river beds. It is a complex problem which requires operations with large data sets. These actions …

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The Impact Of Production And Price Risk On Ecosystem Goods And Services Provision From Agriculture And Forestry In Mountainous Regions, S. Briner, P. Bebi, C. Elkin, Natalie Zurbriggen, R. Finger Jul 2012

The Impact Of Production And Price Risk On Ecosystem Goods And Services Provision From Agriculture And Forestry In Mountainous Regions, S. Briner, P. Bebi, C. Elkin, Natalie Zurbriggen, R. Finger

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Assessing the impact of climate change on Ecosystem Services (ES) requires an understanding of the dynamic link between land cover, ES and economically driven land use decisions. Land use decisions taken by farmers and foresters depend on the yield levels as well as on the prices for outputs and inputs the decision maker expect. However, the variability of yields and prices, i.e. income risk, is also highly relevant for the decision maker. Increasing volatility of climate and more volatile markets for commodities will enhance the relevance of risk for land use decisions in the future. To assess the impact of …

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Model Components For Evaluating Climate Change Impact On Wetlands, Nikolay Zavalishin Jul 2012

Model Components For Evaluating Climate Change Impact On Wetlands, Nikolay Zavalishin

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Reaction of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change and human perturbations can be complex and uncertain. It is reflected in changes of ecosystem biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nitrogen. For wetland and spruce forest ecosystems of boreal forest area in European territory of Russia and Western Siberia the series of compartment models for combined carbon-nitrogen cycle dynamics is developed and analyzed. The models are realized in several software modules allowing make estimates of stability boundaries for equilibria, trajectories of ecosystem dynamics under climate change and perturbations initiated by human activities.

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Implementing Biodiversity Risks In The Classroom - The Educational Software Pronas, Karin Ulbrich, Oliver Schweiger, Josef Settele Jul 2012

Implementing Biodiversity Risks In The Classroom - The Educational Software Pronas, Karin Ulbrich, Oliver Schweiger, Josef Settele

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Climate change and dramatic loss of biodiversity are essential subjects for EU research. However, little of current knowledge is reaching the young generation. In order to implement biodiversity research into the reality of school education we brought members of the scientific and educational communities together. Educational software has been developed which combines desk (or rather lap-)top work with field experiences by combining virtual excursions with real ones.The software PRONAS shows how scientists handle questions about the impact of climate change on species’ habitats. It makes core results of research projects available for students from 12 to 19 and is freely …

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Application Of A Metapopulation Approach For Analysis Of Space-Time Population Dynamics (Case Study Using Ungulates), Matvey Kulakov, Oksana Revutskaya, Efim Frisman Jul 2012

Application Of A Metapopulation Approach For Analysis Of Space-Time Population Dynamics (Case Study Using Ungulates), Matvey Kulakov, Oksana Revutskaya, Efim Frisman

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This paper is devoted to the analysis of basic regularities in spatialdynamics of the wild boar (Sus scrofa ussuricus Heude, 1888) and the red deer(Cervus elaphus xanthopigus Milne-Edwards, 1867) numbers in the Russian MiddleAmur area, on the example of the Jewish Autonomous Region. We research amodel of space-time metapopulation dynamics based on a coupled map lattice. Weuse the metapopulation approach for quantitative analysis of migration activity forthe wild boar and the red deer populations. Using the model estimates of migrationand reproductive parameters we described the main migration routes of thesepopulations. It is shown that individuals of wild boar population migrate …

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Approaching Uncertainties In Land-Use Change Modeling In The Amazon Rainforest With Bayesian Belief Networks, Carsten Krüger, Dennis Funke, Tobia Lakes Jul 2012

Approaching Uncertainties In Land-Use Change Modeling In The Amazon Rainforest With Bayesian Belief Networks, Carsten Krüger, Dennis Funke, Tobia Lakes

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In recent years, modeling techniques to study land-use change and to develop scenarios for highlighting possible future pathways of land-use change have been increasingly applied and studied. While modeling results always incorporate uncertainties in terms of input data, model parameters, model boundaries, and model structure, up to now, only few land-use change modeling approaches have explicitly focused on uncertainties using e.g. Monte-Carlo simulation or Fuzzy logic. Decision makers, however, are not only interested in understanding possible consequences, but also in evaluating the reliability of these. Since land-use change is spatially dependent on its neighborhood, we especially address uncertainties associated with …

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Determinator – A Generic Dss For Hazard Identification Of Species Or Other Physical Subjects, Michel Uiterwijk, Leo W. D. Van Raamsdonk, Sander Janssen Jul 2012

Determinator – A Generic Dss For Hazard Identification Of Species Or Other Physical Subjects, Michel Uiterwijk, Leo W. D. Van Raamsdonk, Sander Janssen

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Our living environment poses all kinds of obvious and perhaps less obvious hazards. As an example, Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) and related species of the genus Senecio are the main source of toxic pyrollizidine alkaloids. The plants commonly grow in road verges, meadows and production fields and are equally toxic for humans and animals. Therefore, proper identification of such a hazardous object is vital. This paper describes Determinator DSS, a Decision Support System, that aims to cover problems of proper identification of a hazardous object, either in the field or in a lab, and in diverse domains. Determinator DSS is used …

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Visual Integration Of Diverse Environmental Data: A Case Study In Central Germany, C. Helbig, Karsten Rink, A. Marx, Joerg A. Priess, M. Frank, Olaf Kolditz Jul 2012

Visual Integration Of Diverse Environmental Data: A Case Study In Central Germany, C. Helbig, Karsten Rink, A. Marx, Joerg A. Priess, M. Frank, Olaf Kolditz

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Land use and climate changes are some of the most important phenomena which will influence our life in the coming decades. To analyze these phenomena and the projections of their impact, diverse and dynamic data are collected and complex projects for observation and measurement are being developed (e.g. GLUES and TERENO projects). The goal is to find an appropriate way to visualize measured data in combination with simulation results. We propose to develop a generic methodology that can be used beyond the envisaged case study region ’Central Germany’ (Thuringia / Saxony / Saxony-Anhalt). The basis of the visualization consists of …

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Which Household Tolerates Droughts? – Strategies To Secure Pastoral Livelihoods, Romina Drees, A. Linstadter, Karin Frank, Birgit Müller Jul 2012

Which Household Tolerates Droughts? – Strategies To Secure Pastoral Livelihoods, Romina Drees, A. Linstadter, Karin Frank, Birgit Müller

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Increasing frequencies of droughts pose a threat to pastoral livelihoods in drylands. Using a rangeland model, we analyze the effects of droughts and mobility strategies on herd size dynamics. Since the herd provides the basic income for mobile pastoralists, we evaluate herd dynamics as income to estimate the risk of endangered livelihoods due to droughts. This methodology enables us to identify critical changes in natural resource use systems which are prone to shocks. Model results show that the socio-economic type of the household and therewith its adaptive capacity to be mobile rather than the obvious ecological effects of droughts determine …

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Weight-Of-Evidence-Based Assessment Of Sediment Quality Of The São Francisco River (Brazil) With The Help Of Software Tool Sqa, Alla Khosrovyan, Maria Jose Salamanca Marin, André Moldenhauer Peret, Débora Fernandes De Almeida, T. Angel Delvalls, Inmaculada Riba Jul 2012

Weight-Of-Evidence-Based Assessment Of Sediment Quality Of The São Francisco River (Brazil) With The Help Of Software Tool Sqa, Alla Khosrovyan, Maria Jose Salamanca Marin, André Moldenhauer Peret, Débora Fernandes De Almeida, T. Angel Delvalls, Inmaculada Riba

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Weight-of-evidence (WOE) approach is a requirement for comprehensive integrated sediment quality assessment and management worldwide. WOE is a system approach based on collection of several lines of evidences that are able to derive multi-aspect characterization of availability and adverse effects of contaminants for living organisms in water environments. A software tool addressing this approach is already available and based on the statistical package STATISTICA 6.0. The tool provided user-friendly and user-assisting interface for entering and analyzing of data, as well as presented a summary of the results of the conducted analysis. It was designed for environmental scientists and managers, academia …

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Combining Socio-Economic And Ecological Modelling To Inform Natural Resource Management Strategies, Johannes P. M. Heinonen, Justin M. J. Travis, Steve M. Redpath, Michelle A. Pinard Jul 2012

Combining Socio-Economic And Ecological Modelling To Inform Natural Resource Management Strategies, Johannes P. M. Heinonen, Justin M. J. Travis, Steve M. Redpath, Michelle A. Pinard

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Effective management of natural resources requires understanding both the dynamics of the natural systems being subjected to management and the decision-making behaviour of stakeholders who are involved in the management process. We suggest that simulation modelling techniques can provide a powerful method platform for the transdisciplinary integration of ecological, economic and sociological aspects that is needed for exploring the likely outcomes of different management approaches and options. A concise review of existing literature on ecological and socio-economic modelling and approaches at the interface of these fields is presented followed by a framework coupling an individual-based ecological model with an agent-based …

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Model Lifecycle Management: Options For A Rural Watershed Practitioners In Ontario, Thorsten Arnold Jul 2012

Model Lifecycle Management: Options For A Rural Watershed Practitioners In Ontario, Thorsten Arnold

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This paper makes the argument that the lifecycles of numerical models changesdramatically if the paradigm of watershed management (WM) organizations shifts towardadaptive management practices. However, model lifecycle management has not receivedsufficient attention. As a result, WM organizations are struggling to apply numericalmodeling efficiently and cost-effectively under their obligation to promote cyclic learning. Inthis paper, Model Lifecycle Management (MLM) is defined as the process of organizingmodel building and maintenance within organizations. It includes procedural guidelines,standards on commissioning consultant work and deliverables, knowledge managementsuch that relevant knowledge is available to watershed practitioners, and embeddedsoftware solutions that minimize technical knowledge requirements. As a …

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Land Systems Modelling: An Atomistic Approach To Improve Handling Of Complexity In Land-Use And Land-Cover Change Modelling, Daniel T. Rutledge, Robbie Price, Alexander Herzig Jul 2012

Land Systems Modelling: An Atomistic Approach To Improve Handling Of Complexity In Land-Use And Land-Cover Change Modelling, Daniel T. Rutledge, Robbie Price, Alexander Herzig

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Improved understanding of land-use/land-cover change will be essential to help identify and follow more sustainable development pathways in a resource constrained world. While land-use/land-cover change models have advanced to address different domains, questions, processes, themes, scales and levels of complexity, they continue to have several inherent limitations. The limitations stem mainly from conceptualisation of landscapes as “scanned paper maps” that represent land use/cover as simple, non-overlapping categorical objects and include: 1) confounding of cover and use, 2) inability to depict more than one cover/use, 3) simplification of highly complex systems, 4) one process for many different types of change, and …

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The Impact Of Uncertain Ecological Knowledge On A Water Suitability Model Of Riverine Vegetation, Baihua Fu, Wendy S. Merritt Jul 2012

The Impact Of Uncertain Ecological Knowledge On A Water Suitability Model Of Riverine Vegetation, Baihua Fu, Wendy S. Merritt

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Freshwater aquatic ecosystems are increasingly under threat due to climate change and river regulation. Water management is considered important for maintaining and restoring freshwater aquatic ecosystems in Australia. A habitat model based on the water requirements of four riverine vegetation species was developed to assess the suitability of water regimes for the maintenance and regeneration of these species in the Namoi Catchment, Australia. This model identifies characteristics of flooding events (e.g. duration, timing and inter-flood dry period) from hydrological data or models, and generates suitability indices based on the species’ water requirement preference curves. These preference curves are central to …

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Instability Of The Exploited Population With A Simple Age Structure, Oksana Revutskaya, Efim Frisman Jul 2012

Instability Of The Exploited Population With A Simple Age Structure, Oksana Revutskaya, Efim Frisman

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In this paper, we investigated an optimal harvesting problem in a simpleage structure population. We assume that by the end of each reproduction seasonthe population consists of two age groups: juveniles and adults. The increase in thepopulation number is regulated by density-dependent limitation of a younger classsurvival. We consider the strategy with a stationary character of exploitation notleading to the population extinction. The optimization problem is to determine theoptimal catch quotas and equilibrium population size to provide a sustainable yieldand maximum sales return taking price fluctuations into account. It is shown that asingle age class harvesting is the optimal one, …

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How To Make Environmental Models Better In Supporting Social Learning? A Critical Review Of Promising Tools, Joop De Kraker, Merel Van Der Wal Jul 2012

How To Make Environmental Models Better In Supporting Social Learning? A Critical Review Of Promising Tools, Joop De Kraker, Merel Van Der Wal

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Social learning, defined as a convergence in the perspectives of stakeholders on a complex (environmental) problem and its possible solutions, is considered an important mechanism in developing integrated solutions requiring broad societal support and concerted action. Quantitative environmental models can support social learning of stakeholders by providing a platform for communication and integration and by allowing exploration of the consequences of different choices. However, in many integrated assessment projects that combine quantitative modelling with stakeholder participation, the models fail to play a significant supporting role in social learning. Two major reasons for this failure are: (1) stakeholder perspectives are inadequately …

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Comparison Of Outputs Based On Three Different Modelling Approaches For The Response Of An Intertidal Ecosystem To Climate Change., Thomas Murphy Jul 2012

Comparison Of Outputs Based On Three Different Modelling Approaches For The Response Of An Intertidal Ecosystem To Climate Change., Thomas Murphy

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Three simple ecosystem models were developed to provide an understanding of how the choice of ecosystem modelling approach influences conclusions. The first ecosystem model is based on functional (biomass-flux) interactions, the second ecosystem model is based on Lotka-Volterra interactions and the third ecosystem model is based on a goal-orientated approach. All modelled the response of a rocky intertidal ecosystem to climate change. Each type of model has been shown to lead to different conclusions when considering change in the abiotic environment. This highlights the importance of using models based on different perspectives to gain a more complete insight in to …

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Automatic Population Counts For Improved Wildlife Management Using Aerial Photography, B. Sirmacek, M. Wegmann, A. D. P. Cross, J. G. C. Hopcraft, P. Reinartz, Stefan Dech Jul 2012

Automatic Population Counts For Improved Wildlife Management Using Aerial Photography, B. Sirmacek, M. Wegmann, A. D. P. Cross, J. G. C. Hopcraft, P. Reinartz, Stefan Dech

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

For effective conservation management, it is very important to provide accurate estimates of animal populations with certain time intervals. So far many studies are performed visually/manually which requires much time and is prone to errors. Besides, only a limited area can be considered for counting because of the effort required. In order to bring a new solution to this problem, herein we propose a novel approach for counting animals from aerial images by using computer vision techniques. To do so, we apply a probabilistic framework on local features in the image whose pectral reflectance differs from the surrounding region. We …

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