Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Ecosystems around the globe are enduring wildfires with greater frequency, intensity, and severity and this trend is projected to continue as a result of climate change. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has been proposed as a strategy to prevent wildfires and mitigate climate change impacts; however, it remains poorly understood as a strategy to prevent wildfires. Therefore, the authors propose a multimethod approach that combines mapping of wildfire susceptibility and social surveys to identify priority areas, main factors influencing the adoption of CSA practices, barriers to their implementation, and the best CSA practices that can be implemented to mitigate wildfires in Belize's Maya Golden Landscape (MGL). Farmers ranked slash and mulch, crop diversification, and agroforestry as the main CSA practices that can be implemented to address wildfires caused by agriculture in the MGL. In order to reduce wildfire risk, these practices should, be implemented in agricultural areas near wildlands with high wildfire susceptibility and during the fire season (February–May), in the case of slash and mulch. However, socio-demographic and economic characteristics, together with a lack of training and extension services support, inadequate consultation by agencies, and limited financial resources, hinder the broader adoption of CSA practices in the MGL. Our research produced actionable and valuable information that can be used to design policies and programs to mitigate the impacts of climate change and wildfire risk in the MGL. This approach can also be used in other regions where wildfires are caused by agricultural practices to identify priority areas, barriers and suitable CSA practices that can be implemented to mitigate wildfires.

DOI： 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118562

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1071/WF23080

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering  

The proposed method solves the difficulty of unstable sliding rock (USR) adjustment.The study provides a judgment criterion for the quantitative identification of USR.The improved method can provide a practical reference for engineers engaged in rapidly identifying USR.

DOI： 10.1007/s00603-023-03419-8

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Although deemed unsuitable for construction, Peat soils have remarkable applications in MFCs by generating electric power because of the microbial decomposition of rich organic matter. The demerits such as weak skeleton, high water content, acidic nature, and humus contamination of peat soil for civil engineering applications are considered merits in microbial fuel cell applications. Peat soil-based Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs), the first of its kind among MFCs, are explored to generate electric power as high as 6 V when six MFCs connected in a series and lighted up an LED for 288 h. The performance of peat MFCs as a function of bamboo waste, fulvic acid, iron winding and surface area of the BC anode has been discussed in this work. The synergistic effect of organic decomposition by microbes and Fe complexation with humic substances (HS) has been detailed to be responsible for the cause of electric power in Peat MFCs. ATP measurement in peat soils after defined time periods confirmed the growth of microbial population, which successfully degraded the organic matter in MFCs. The characterization of BC anode and GAC cathode using FTIR, Raman, SEM with EDS, BET isotherm studies substantiated the structural modification and porous nature of the fresh and the used electrodes. The EIS study was performed to determine the dynamics of internal resistances due to the degradation kinetics in Peat MFCs. The cost effectiveness and the sustainability of Peat MFCs towards green technology are detailed in this paper.

DOI： 10.1016/j.enconman.2023.116771

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Landslide damage time prediction is the most economical and reasonable means to carry out landslide control. The inverse velocity method (INVM), as the simplest and most practical method, has become the most common technique for landslide prediction nowadays. However, the application of the INVM results in false alarm when applied to step-like landslides. In this paper, we propose the conditions of using the INVM based on the trend speed ratio (TSR) to discriminate stepped landslides, analyse the real-time changes of TSR and discuss the changes of ΔTSR after the uniform deformation phase of the landslide. The results indicate that TSR reaches the extreme value one day earlier than the landslide deformation velocity; thus, TSR can help the INVM to be better applied to engineering sites and reduce the false alarm rate of risk assessment. The application of ΔTSR to eight engineering examples indicate that the new method is more sensitive and can help the traditional method to determine the starting point of landslide acceleration and the future trend of landslides. This method has better applicability and can provide new technical support for better response to landslide warning in engineering.

DOI： 10.1007/s12665-023-10820-7

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

A large number of engineering case studies have shown that the traditional early warning criteria, which evolved on the basis of displacement as a single piece of information, have many limitations in practical engineering. The displacement speed ratio (DSR) cannot determine the development trend of landslides due to the influence of periodic external environmental factors. Moreover, when landslides occur, the early warning system will have a false alarm due to the stepwise giant rise of landslides. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a new landslide warning criterion, the trend speed ratio (TSR), and also fuses TSR and DSR into a dual speed ratio method (DSRM) for judging landslide risk changes. We assess these methods by applying DSRM and DSR to 10 landslide cases, respectively. The results show that when TSR is greater than 2.0, the probability of landslide damage is high and when TSR tends to decrease, the landslide tends to be stable. For landslides that rise sharply in steps but are not damaged, DSR has a high false alarm rate, while DSRM can effectively reduce the false alarm rate. In terms of warning applicability, DSR can be applied in only half of the ten landslide cases studied, while DSRM is significantly more applicable. In addition, compared with the traditional method, the new method can determine the direction of landslide development and assess the risk of step-up landslides, providing new technical support for engineers engaged in landslide warning and control.

DOI： 10.1007/s11069-022-05687-z

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Plaster board waste generated from industries, usually contains major proportion of calcium as calcium sulfate. In addition, fluoride is remarkably one among the constituents of this waste material which leaches off into the soil and aquatic environments and causes fluoride pollution. In order to simulate how the dumping of PBW causes fluoride contamination in soil and water sources, shaking and stirring based batch-mode leaching studies were conducted. These studies explored the leaching of fluoride as a function of particle size, agitation time, pH of the leaching solvent (distilled water), L/S (water: PBW) ratio, temperature and electrolytes. It was explored that 1 g of plaster board waste contains18.54 mg F per gram of PBP. High leaching of 3.72 mg F per liter was studied at pH 6.02 with Ca2+ and TDS contents of 1050 mg L−1 and1640 mg L−1 respectively. The influence of sodium electrolytes such as chloride, nitrate, hydrogen carbonate, carbonate, sulfate, borate, phosphate and acetate on the leaching of fluoride from PBW was studied. The influence of fluoride leaching by sodium phosphate recorded a high value of 12.75 mg L−1 with no detectable amount of calcium ions. The influence of eight electrolytic mixtures each containing five sodium electrolytes on fluoride leaching corroborated the highest leaching in mixtures containing phosphate followed by hydrogen carbonate/carbonate. Solutions of calcium and aluminium chloride and their mixture were used to measure the rate of leachable fluoride in solution. Furthermore, the fluoride leaching at different temperatures and acids was studied. Naturally occurring soils when blended with PBW were observed to immobilize fluoride and lessened the amount of leaching fluoride in water. Various characterization studies such as FTIR, Raman, FESEM (with EDS), XRD and XPS were carried out for PBW and its treated samples using different electrolytes. Fluoride leaching proportionate to the precipitation of carbonate and phosphate was recorded in the case of appropriate electrolyte and mixtures.

DOI： 10.1016/j.envres.2022.115005

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

In the last decades, natural fire regimes have experienced significant alterations in terms of intensity, frequency and severity in fire prone regions of the world. Modelling forest fire susceptibility has been essential in identifying areas of high risk to minimize threats to natural resources, biodiversity and life. There have been significant improvements in forest fire susceptibility modelling over the past two decades 2001–2021. In this study, we conducted a systematic literature review of literature covering forest fire susceptibility modelling published during this period. The review provides insights on the main themes of forest fire susceptibility modelling research, the main base input factors used in models to map forest fire susceptibility, the main researchers, the areas where this type of research were implemented, technology and models used. It also highlights collaboration opportunities, and regions, such as Central America and Africa, where mapping of forest fire susceptibility is needed. We argue that such knowledge is crucial in order to identify critical factors and opportunities which can aid in improving factor selection and forest fire management.

DOI： 10.1007/s11069-022-05495-5

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.3389/feart.2022.1118991

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Geotechnical anchoring technology is an important tool for disaster prevention and mitigation in slope engineering. Anchor bolts which are commonly used in slope engineering can be divided into prestressed anchors and non-prestressed anchors. Due to the superiority of anchor support technology, research on various aspects of anchor bolts, such as mechanical mechanism, anchorage effect, and the development of new-type anchor bolts, has been a significant research topic for scholars. This mini-review sums up the diverse past and current literature on anchor support technology of slope engineering in China. It focuses on the characteristics, applications, research methods, and practical cases of anchor bolts and briefly describes the history of slope anchor bolt development in China in the past 3 decades. Nowadays, the demand for engineering construction processes is increasing, and engineering geological conditions are becoming more complex, which promotes the development of anchor support technology. At the international level, achieving carbon neutrality is both an international trend and a general objective. Against the background of global commitment to carbon neutrality, the potential future perspectives for the developments of anchor support technology have been prospected in light of actual engineering needs.

DOI： 10.3389/fenvs.2022.928064

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

The present investigation in the Tiruvannamalai region is about high fluoride contamination of groundwater samples from bore wells and open wells. About 75% of groundwater samples were found predominantly containing the fluoride content greater than the acceptable limit of 1.5 mg/L in the ranges 1.51 – 2.00 mg/L (23%), 2.01 – 3.00 mg/L (36%) and greater than or equal to 3.01 mg/L (16%) as per WHO. The other water quality parameters were found within the permissible limit of WHO. Taking the groundwater sources into consideration, the non – carcinogenic risk due to high fluoride concentration in groundwater sources revealed that teen – aged (98%), Children (92%) and Infant (98%) categories were at greater risk than those under Men (50%) and Women (69%) categories. The mapping was done on the spatial distribution of fluoride concentration in groundwater and the associated health risk by Ordinary Kriging. The correlation coefficients among the parameters witnessed that the hydro-chemical facies are interdependent. Box – Whisker plots illustrated the dispersion of various water quality parameters. The WQI data represented the quality of groundwater in view of potable nature due to dissolved ions. The Gibbs, bivariate mixing and the scatter plots ascribed the dissolution of carbonate and silicate minerals which dominate the groundwater chemistry. The factor analysis detailed the extracted loadings of different parameters of groundwater sources and differentiated the percentage variance values between bore well and open well sources.

DOI： 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113335

Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Geocarto International  

Wildfires are serious threats to Belize’s protected areas and ecosystems. In Belize the spatial variability of wildfire susceptibility and influencing factors at a national scale are poorly understood which hinders wildfire management interventions. Hence, in this research we conducted a joint application and performance comparison of AHP (Analytical Hierarchical Process), RF (Random Forest) and FAHP (Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process). The analysis revealed that RF (AUC = 83.1%) is the model with better predictive accuracy followed by FAHP (AUC = 71.2) and AHP (AUC = 66.8). The RF, AHP and FAHP models classified 22%, 32% and 37% of the country as having high and very high wildfire susceptibility, respectively. These susceptible areas are located mainly in lowland savanna and lowland broad-leaved moist forest; especially, in areas that are unprotected, the outer boundaries of protected areas and small and isolated protected areas. The main factors that are influencing wildfire susceptibility in Belize are distance to agriculture, landcover and temperature. The comparison of these methods provides a better understanding of the implementation and performance of knowledge-based methods (AHP and FAHP) in comparison with a well-established machine learning method (RF) in a country where local data availability, accessibility and reliability are an issue. Our study also provides new wildfire susceptibility information to Belize’s wildfire managers and demonstrates the need to improve wildfire management.

DOI： 10.1080/10106049.2022.2102231

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DOI： 10.1007/978-3-030-72441-2_4

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The present research deals with the development of Solid Phase Microbial Fuel Cell (SMFC) using the organic wastes and their admixture in the presence of 0.01% fulvic acid. The organic wastes such as fallen leaves (FL), bamboo waste (BW), leaf mould (LM), rice bran (RB) and fulvic acid (FA) were used during the operation of SMFC. The anode and cathode materials were bamboo carbon (with iron winding) and granular activated carbon respectively. The study explored the possibilities of generating power due to the microbial degradation of chosen organic wastes and their admixtures. The polarization curves were plotted with the current – voltage and current – power characteristics for the influence of organic wastes and the admixtures in the presence of fulvic acid. The maximum electrical power of 1071 mWm−2 was generated using the organic admixture containing BW, LM and RB in the presence of FA. The SMFC with different admixtures corroborated the microbial degradation of organic compounds and the subsequent power generation with respect to days. The admixture used in the SMFC was proved very effective as compost in growing Komatsuna seeds with a scope for recycling and zero disposal. The Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy study corroborated the influence of admixture compositions in the variation of resistance values. The characterization studies such as SEM (with EDS), FTIR, Raman and BET studies corroborated the changes caused to the surface of the bamboo carbon anode. The cost analysis confirmed that the fabrication of SMFC unit is inexpensive thanks to the consumables from sustainable sources.

DOI： 10.1016/j.biombioe.2021.106266

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DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-92904-0_7

Language：Others  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-92904-0_3

Language：Others  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-92904-0_6

Language：Others  

DOI： 10.1007/978-3-319-92904-0_4

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

The experiment conducted in this study was called the frozen–thawing test (FTT). In this test, two toughened glass blocks are used, such as the lower glass represents the bedrock and the upper glass the sliding body. A shallow tank was carved on the upper surface of the lower block. Water was injected to fill this tank, and then the upper block was positioned on top of the lower block. Both blocks were placed in a freezer at -20 °C for 48 hours. After several attempts, it was found that for a constant amount of water, the upper block started to slide at almost the same point of the thawing process.

DOI： 10.1007/s00603-016-1138-2

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Understanding the trans-boundary deforestation history and patterns in protected areas along the Belize-Guatemala border is of regional and global importance. To assess deforestation history and patterns in our study area along a section of the Belize-Guatemala border, we incorporated multi-temporal deforestation rate analysis and spatial metrics with survey results. This multi-faceted approach provides spatial analysis with relevant insights from local stakeholders to better understand historic deforestation dynamics, spatial characteristics and human perspectives regarding the underlying causes thereof. During the study period 1991–2014, forest cover declined in Belize's protected areas: Vaca Forest Reserve 97.88%–87.62%, Chiquibul National Park 99.36%–92.12%, Caracol Archeological Reserve 99.47%–78.10% and Colombia River Forest Reserve 89.22%–78.38% respectively. A comparison of deforestation rates and spatial metrics indices indicated that between time periods 1991–1995 and 2012–2014 deforestation and fragmentation increased in protected areas. The major underlying causes, drivers, impacts, and barriers to bi-national collaboration and solutions of deforestation along the Belize-Guatemala border were identified by community leaders and stakeholders. The Mann-Whitney U test identified significant differences between leaders and stakeholders regarding the ranking of challenges faced by management organizations in the Maya Mountain Massif, except for the lack of assessment and quantification of deforestation (LD, SH: 18.67, 23.25, U = 148, p > 0.05). The survey results indicated that failure to integrate buffer communities, coordinate among managing organizations and establish strong bi-national collaboration has resulted in continued ecological and environmental degradation. The information provided by this research should aid managing organizations in their continued aim to implement effective deforestation mitigation strategies.

DOI： 10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.11.063

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

In Belize, the lack of forest degradation and socioeconomic data results in the inability of forest management organizations to make timely assessments and decisions for sustainable forest resource management. This study uses CLASlite algorithms and social surveys to identify drivers, measure, analyze and map deforestation, and forest degradation that occurred in Toledo's ecosystems and Protected Areas as a result of the increased anthropogenic activity reported in 2010–2012. The social surveys indicated that land and institutional policy, distance to markets and lack of alternative livelihoods are the main drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. Of importance are the strong significant differences that exist between communities that were less than 2 km from a protected area (CL2K) and communities that were more than 2 km from a protected area (CM2K) regarding property rights (Cramer's V = 0.562, p < 0.001), selective logging (Cramer's V = 0.499, p < 0.001) and soil quality (Cramer's V = 0.434, p < 0.001). The results of the deforestation and forest degradation analysis indicate that in 2009–2011 and 2011–2012 the annual rates of deforestation were 0.75&#37; (2480 ha) and 1.17&#37; (3834 ha) respectively and the annual rates of forest degradation in 2009–2011 and 2011–2012 were 0.09&#37; (307 ha) and 0.33&#37; (1110 ha) respectively. In 2009–2011 only 9.34&#37; of forest loss occurred inside protected areas in comparison to 2011–2012 where 23.97&#37; of forest loss occurred inside protected areas. In 2011–2012 out of the 1110 ha of degradation 30.38&#37; occurred in Lowland broad-leaved wet forest and 19.39&#37; occurred in Sub-montane broad-leaved wet forest. The maps and statistics generated in this study pinpoint in which ecosystem types and protected areas major forest change and forest disturbance occurred. By utilizing the data generated by this study, Belize's forest management organizations will be able to efficiently allocate resources to forested areas that are being threatened; thus, more effectively mitigate deforestation and forest degradation of important forest ecosystems.

DOI： 10.1016/j.apgeog.2016.08.012

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Erosion in the Rio Grande watershed of Belize, Central America results in widespread ecological impacts and significant economic costs. In this study, quantitative soil loss analysis and qualitative social surveys were integrated to identify erosion vulnerable areas or hotspots, and to analyze varying perspectives between communities near and far from erosion hotspots regarding the causes of erosion. The results of the quantitative analysis suggest that erosion hotspots are located in the upper-mid reaches of the watershed near the communities of Crique Jute, Naluum Ca, San Pedro Columbia and San Miguel. The Mann-Whitney U test identified significant difference in the ranking of erosion drivers (cattle ranching, logging, and clearing of slopes) between communities. Communities far from erosion hotspots (FEH) ranked cattle ranching and logging higher than communities near erosion hotspots as the main drivers of soil erosion (NEH and FEH, mean = 79.02, 105.92, (U) = 3055, p < 0.001 and mean = 84.9, 100.90, (U) = 3560.5 p < 0.05) respectively. On the other hand, communities near erosion hotspots (NEH) ranked clearing and planting on slopes higher than communities far from erosion hotspots as the main driver of soil erosion (NEH and FEH, mean = 107.03, 81.86, (U) = 3136.5, p < 0.001). The logistic regression model depicted that ethnicity, distance, gender, and employment were significant in explaining the data variability on the perceived implementation of erosion prevention techniques in the watershed (2LL = 208.585, X2 = 49, df = 8, p < .001). This research provides significant information on the drivers, underlying causes and erosion vulnerable areas that will aid stakeholders to garner community support, develop and implement sustainable soil management practices. Moreover, the study highlights the need to implement cost-effective soil erosion prevention programs and to assess the loss of soil nutrients and agriculture productivity in the study site.

DOI： 10.1016/j.apgeog.2015.11.010

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

The Chiquibul Forest Reserve and National Park in Belize is a priority conservation area within the 'Maya Forest' in Central America. Although taxonomic data are essential for the development of conservation plans in the region, there is limited knowledge of the existing species in the area. Here we present a botanical species list of mostly woody taxa based on voucher specimens, with particular focus on the Raspaculo watershed in the eastern part of the National Park. Within the Raspaculo watershed, a comparison is made between 0.1 ha of valley floor and 0.1 ha of hilltop vegetation, sampling trees, shrubs, palms and lianas ≥2.5 cm diameter at breast height. Additionally, a 1 ha plot was established in the Upper Raspaculo watershed. Our study shows 38 new species records for the region, and important additions to the flora of Belize. New records were recorded from forests on both metamorphic and karstic substrate, including previously overlooked hilltop forest elements. Quantitative assessment of vegetation across elevation zones shows distinct elements dominating on valley floors and hilltops. Our results show that the Chiquibul contains at least 58&#37; of Belize's threatened plant species, and represent a source of information for the management and conservation of the area.

DOI： 10.1017/S0960428615000256

Language：Others   Publishing type：Research paper (other academic)  

Toledo, the southernmost district, is the hub of Belize's Mayan population, descendants of the ancient Mayan civilization. The Toledo District is primarily inhibited by Kekchi and Mopan Mayans whose subsistence needs are met by the Milpa slash-and-burn agricultural system and the extraction of forest resources. The poverty assessment in the country indicates that Toledo is the district with the highest percentage of household an individual indigence of 37.5 % and 49.7 % respectively. Forest cover change in the area can be attributed to rapid population growth among the Maya, together with increase in immigration from neighboring countries, logging, oil exploration and improvement and construction of roads. The forest cover change analysis show that from 2001 to 2011 there was a decrease of Lowland broad-leaved wet forest of 7.53 km sq, Shrubland of 4.66 km sq, and Wetland of 0.08 km sq. Forest cover change has resulted in soil erosion which is causing the deterioration of soils. The land cover types that are contributing the most to total erosion in the Rio Grande watershed are no-forest, lowland broad-leaved wet forest and submontane broad-leaved wet forest. In this study the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was employed in a GIS platform to quantify and assess forest cover change and soil erosion. Soil erosion vulnerability maps in Toledo's Rio Grande watershed were also created. This study provides scientifically sound information in order to understand and respond effectively to the impacts of soil erosion in the study site.

DOI： 10.5194/isprsarchives-XL-7-W3-353-2015