@misc{Cammerer2009, type = {Master Thesis}, author = {Cammerer, Holger}, title = {Minderung von Hochwassersch{\"a}den durch Fr{\"u}hwarnung und Eigenvorsorge - Eine statistische Analyse von Befragungen in Privathaushalten in Deutschland und {\"O}sterreich}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-47314}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2009}, abstract = {Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, anhand von aktuellen Hochwasserschadensdaten aus Telefonbefragungen in Privathaushalten in Deutschland und {\"O}sterreich die Minderung von Hochwassersch{\"a}den durch Fr{\"u}hwarnung und privater Eigenvorsorge zu quantifizieren. Im ersten Schritt wurden die Datens{\"a}tze aus den vier zugrunde liegenden Befragungen zu den Hochwasserereignissen der Jahre 2002, 2005 und 2006 zusammengef{\"u}hrt und die Hochwassersch{\"a}den auf das Referenzjahr 2007 angepasst. Um das Schadensminderungspotenzial von Fr{\"u}hwarnung und diversen Vorsorge-/ Notmaßnahmen beurteilen zu k{\"o}nnen, wurde der konsistente Datensatz nach verschiedenen schadensbestimmenden Faktoren (Wasserstand, Hochwassertyp, Kontaminationsart und Hochwassererfahrung) aufgeteilt. Dabei stellte sich heraus, dass eine Hochwasserwarnung z.B. durch Beh{\"o}rden den Schaden am Geb{\"a}ude und Hausrat nur dann reduzieren kann, wenn der Fr{\"u}hwarnungsinhalt klar verst{\"a}ndlich oder das Wissen der Betroffenen ausreichend ist, wie man sich und seinen Haushalt vor dem Hochwasser sch{\"u}tzen kann (durch das Ergreifen von Notmaßnahmen). Der Nutzen einer langfristigen Vorsorge, insbesondere von baulichen Maßnahmen, wurde in dieser Studie sehr deutlich. Vor allem die geringwertige Nutzung der hochwassergef{\"a}hrdeten Stockwerke und die hochwasserangepasste Inneneinrichtung konnten die Sch{\"a}den am Geb{\"a}ude und Inventar erheblich reduzieren.}, subject = {Hochwasser}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Nagm2009, author = {Nagm, Emad Hamdy Mahmoud}, title = {Integrated stratigraphy, palaeontology and facies analysis of the Cenomanian - Turonian (Upper Cretaceous) Galala and Maghra El Hadida formations of the western Wadi Araba, Eastern Desert, Egypt}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-39881}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2009}, abstract = {Four sections of the Galala and Maghra El Hadida formations on the footwalls of the slopes of the northern and southern Galala plateaus in Wadi Araba (Eastern Desert) have been measured and sampled in great detail. The Galala Formation is ranging in thickness from 55 to 95 meters. It unconformably overlies the Malha Formation which forms the base of the studied sections. The upper boundary of the Galala Formation is characterized by a major unconformity which separates it from the overlying the Maghra El Hadida Formation. The Galala Formation can be subdivided into five shallowing-upward cycles, each cycle starting with deep-lagoonal, marly-silty deposits at the base and grading into highly fossiliferous shallow-lagoonal limestones at the top. Only the basal part of the Galala Formation consists of unfossiliferous, greenish sandy siltstones intercalated with thin cross-bedded, bioturbated, fine- to medium-grained sandstones. Despite the lack of biostratigraphic markers in that lower part, its age can be assigned to the late Middle Cenomanian, since the conformably overlying strata contain the ammonite Neolobites vibrayeanus (D'ORBIGNY), the index marker of the early Upper Cenomanian which extends into the top of the formation. The measured thickness of the overlying Maghra El Hadida Formation is ranging from 59 to 118 meters. This formation starts with the Ghonima Member, introduced in this work to distinguish a brown, fine- to medium-grained calcareous sandstone unit in its lower part. The Ghonima Member is erosionally incised into the Galala Formation, explaining its strong lateral variability in thickness, ranging from 3 to 21 meters. It is mostly unfossiliferous except for irregular bioturbation in its upper part. The Ghonima Member is assigned to the middle Upper Cenomanian, based on its stratigraphic position between the lower Upper Cenomanian Neolobites vibrayeanus Zone and the overlying upper Upper Cenomanian Metoicoceras geslinianum and Vascoceras cauvini zones. This means that the lower part of the Maghra El Hadida Formation, about 20 - 30 m thick, accumulated during the latest Cenomanian and that the base of the formation does not coincide with the base of the Turonian as commonly believed. The overlying succession of the Maghra El Hadida Formation is characterized by an increase of carbonate content, represented by yellow, soft marls intercalated with fine-grained wacke- to packstones containing a highly fossiliferous ammonite assemblage of the upper Upper Cenomanian and Lower Turonian (zones of Vascoceras proprium, Choffaticeras spp., and Wrightoceras munieri). The Middle Turonian part of the Maghra El Hadida Formation consists of poorly fossiliferous, thick-bedded yellowish marls with upward-increasing silt content, showing occasional intercalations of medium- to coarse-grained sandstones with hummocky cross-stratification. The topmost part of the Maghra El Hadida Formation consists of brownish, medium-grained sandstones topped by fossiliferous marly limestones yielding the Upper Turonian zonal ammonite Coilopoceras requienianum (D'ORBIGNY). Based on sequence stratigraphic analyses, four complete 3rd order depositional sequences and the lower part of a fifth one, each bounded by major unconformities, can be recognized: depositional sequence DS WA 1 (upper Middle - lower Upper Cenomanian) includes the entire Galala Formation, while the Maghra El Hadida Formation comprises all the overlying depositional sequences: DS WA 2 (upper Upper Cenomanian - Lower Turonian) reaches from the base of the Metoicoceras geslinianum Zone to the top of Wrightoceras munieri Zone, DS WA 3 and DS WA 4 comprise the Middle Turonian, while Upper Turonian sequence DS WA 5 is not complete. The stratigraphic positions of the recognized sequence 2 boundaries SB WA 1 to SB WA 5 match well with contemporaneous sequence boundaries known from Europe and elsewhere. The stacking pattern of the basic cycles and bundles of the Galala Formation (5:1) and the Maghra El Hadida Formation (4:1) strongly suggest an orbital forcing by MILANKOVITCH periodicities. The Galala Formation is composed of five 5th-order bundles which equal to ~500 kyr, each bundle equals to ~100 kyr (short eccentricity). Every bundle has five basic (6th-order) cycles, each one representing ~20 kyr (precession). Based on this precession-short eccentricity syndrome, the accumulation rate of the Galala Formation therefore accounts for about 19 cm/kyr. The rate of sea-level fall at sequence boundary SB WA 2 (equivalent to the quasi-global mid-Late Cenomanian SB Ce V) estimated is with 35 cm/kyr which can be explained only by glacio-eustasy. The Upper Cenomanian and Lower Turonian part of the Maghra El Hadida Formation is considered to equal to ~1200 kyr, based on the existence of three 4th-order bundles with an inferred duration of ~400 kyr for each bundle (long eccentricity of the MILANKOVITCH Band). Every bundle consists of four basic cycles with a duration of ~100 kyr. This means that the upper Cenomanian part of the Maghra El Hadida Formation is equivalent to ~400 kyr, while the Lower Turonian (consisting of the two upper bundles) lasted 800 kyr. This matches well with the recently proposed 785 kyr duration of the Early Turonian (SAGEMAN et al., 2006; VOIGT et al., 2008) and contradicts the 1300 kyr according to the standard time scale of GRADSTEIN et al. (2004). According to this temporal constrains, the accumulation rate of the Maghra El Hadida Formation is about 4.25 cm/kyr. In addition, based on the cyclostratigraphic analysis, the range of the Early Turonian genus Choffaticeras (HYATT) is equivalent to ~325 kyr and morphological changes within its lineage can be quantified. The macrobenthos (bivalves, gastropods, echinoids) and cephalopods of the Galala and Maghra El Hadida formations were identified and illustrated in 24 figures. The ammonite taxonomy and palaeobiogeographic distribution is discussed in detail. Four genera and eight ammonite species are recorded from Egypt for the first time. The microfloral and -faunal assemblage identified in thin sections revealed two species of dasycladalean algae, two species of udoteacean algae, five species of benthic foraminifera, and two species of crustacean microcoprolites. The six facies types of the upper Middle - Upper Cenomanian Galala Formation document largely open-lagoonal, warm water conditions, while the depositional environment of the Upper Cenomanian - Turonian Maghra El Hadida Formation (16 facies types) is suggested to range from a deep-subtidal to intertidal.}, subject = {Oberkreide}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Baumann2009, author = {Baumann, Sabine Christine}, title = {Mapping, analysis, and interpretation of the glacier inventory data from Jotunheimen, South Norway, since the maximum of the 'Little Ice Age'}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-46320}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2009}, abstract = {Glacier outlines during the 'Little Ice Age' maximum in Jotunheimen were mapped by using remote sensing techniques (vertical aerial photos and satellite imagery), glacier outlines from the 1980s and 2003, a digital terrain model (DTM), geomorphological maps of individual glaciers, and field-GPS measurements. The related inventory data (surface area, minimum and maximum altitude) and several other variables (e.g. slope, range) were calculated automatically by using a geographical information system. The length of the glacier flowline was mapped manually based on the glacier outlines at the maximum of the 'Little Ice Age' and the DTM. The glacier data during the maximum of the 'Little Ice Age' were compared with the Norwegian glacier inventory of 2003. Based on the glacier inventories during the maximum of the 'Little Ice Age', the 1980s and 2003, a simple parameterization after HAEBERLI \& HOELZLE (1995) was performed to estimate unmeasured glacier variables, as e.g. surface velocity or mean net mass balance. Input data were composed of surface glacier area, minimum and maximum elevation, and glacier length. The results of the parameterization were compared with the results of previous parameterizations in the European Alps and the Southern Alps of New Zealand (HAEBERLI \& HOELZLE 1995; HOELZLE et al. 2007). A relationship between these results of the inventories and of the parameterization and climate and climate changes was made.}, subject = {Gletscher}, language = {en} } @article{UereyenBachoferKuenzer2022, author = {Uereyen, Soner and Bachofer, Felix and Kuenzer, Claudia}, title = {A framework for multivariate analysis of land surface dynamics and driving variables — a case study for Indo-Gangetic river basins}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {14}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {1}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs14010197}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-255295}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The analysis of the Earth system and interactions among its spheres is increasingly important to improve the understanding of global environmental change. In this regard, Earth observation (EO) is a valuable tool for monitoring of long term changes over the land surface and its features. Although investigations commonly study environmental change by means of a single EO-based land surface variable, a joint exploitation of multivariate land surface variables covering several spheres is still rarely performed. In this regard, we present a novel methodological framework for both, the automated processing of multisource time series to generate a unified multivariate feature space, as well as the application of statistical time series analysis techniques to quantify land surface change and driving variables. In particular, we unify multivariate time series over the last two decades including vegetation greenness, surface water area, snow cover area, and climatic, as well as hydrological variables. Furthermore, the statistical time series analyses include quantification of trends, changes in seasonality, and evaluation of drivers using the recently proposed causal discovery algorithm Peter and Clark Momentary Conditional Independence (PCMCI). We demonstrate the functionality of our methodological framework using Indo-Gangetic river basins in South Asia as a case study. The time series analyses reveal increasing trends in vegetation greenness being largely dependent on water availability, decreasing trends in snow cover area being mostly negatively coupled to temperature, and trends of surface water area to be spatially heterogeneous and linked to various driving variables. Overall, the obtained results highlight the value and suitability of this methodological framework with respect to global climate change research, enabling multivariate time series preparation, derivation of detailed information on significant trends and seasonality, as well as detection of causal links with minimal user intervention. This study is the first to use multivariate time series including several EO-based variables to analyze land surface dynamics over the last two decades using the causal discovery algorithm PCMCI.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Hoeser2022, author = {H{\"o}ser, Thorsten}, title = {Global Dynamics of the Offshore Wind Energy Sector Derived from Earth Observation Data - Deep Learning Based Object Detection Optimised with Synthetic Training Data for Offshore Wind Energy Infrastructure Extraction from Sentinel-1 Imagery}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-29285}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-292857}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The expansion of renewable energies is being driven by the gradual phaseout of fossil fuels in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the steadily increasing demand for energy and, more recently, by geopolitical events. The offshore wind energy sector is on the verge of a massive expansion in Europe, the United Kingdom, China, but also in the USA, South Korea and Vietnam. Accordingly, the largest marine infrastructure projects to date will be carried out in the upcoming decades, with thousands of offshore wind turbines being installed. In order to accompany this process globally and to provide a database for research, development and monitoring, this dissertation presents a deep learning-based approach for object detection that enables the derivation of spatiotemporal developments of offshore wind energy infrastructures from satellite-based radar data of the Sentinel-1 mission. For training the deep learning models for offshore wind energy infrastructure detection, an approach is presented that makes it possible to synthetically generate remote sensing data and the necessary annotation for the supervised deep learning process. In this synthetic data generation process, expert knowledge about image content and sensor acquisition techniques is made machine-readable. Finally, extensive and highly variable training data sets are generated from this knowledge representation, with which deep learning models can learn to detect objects in real-world satellite data. The method for the synthetic generation of training data based on expert knowledge offers great potential for deep learning in Earth observation. Applications of deep learning based methods can be developed and tested faster with this procedure. Furthermore, the synthetically generated and thus controllable training data offer the possibility to interpret the learning process of the optimised deep learning models. The method developed in this dissertation to create synthetic remote sensing training data was finally used to optimise deep learning models for the global detection of offshore wind energy infrastructure. For this purpose, images of the entire global coastline from ESA's Sentinel-1 radar mission were evaluated. The derived data set includes over 9,941 objects, which distinguish offshore wind turbines, transformer stations and offshore wind energy infrastructures under construction from each other. In addition to this spatial detection, a quarterly time series from July 2016 to June 2021 was derived for all objects. This time series reveals the start of construction, the construction phase and the time of completion with subsequent operation for each object. The derived offshore wind energy infrastructure data set provides the basis for an analysis of the development of the offshore wind energy sector from July 2016 to June 2021. For this analysis, further attributes of the detected offshore wind turbines were derived. The most important of these are the height and installed capacity of a turbine. The turbine height was calculated by a radargrammetric analysis of the previously detected Sentinel-1 signal and then used to statistically model the installed capacity. The results show that in June 2021, 8,885 offshore wind turbines with a total capacity of 40.6 GW were installed worldwide. The largest installed capacities are in the EU (15.2 GW), China (14.1 GW) and the United Kingdom (10.7 GW). From July 2016 to June 2021, China has expanded 13 GW of offshore wind energy infrastructure. The EU has installed 8 GW and the UK 5.8 GW of offshore wind energy infrastructure in the same period. This temporal analysis shows that China was the main driver of the expansion of the offshore wind energy sector in the period under investigation. The derived data set for the description of the offshore wind energy sector was made publicly available. It is thus freely accessible to all decision-makers and stakeholders involved in the development of offshore wind energy projects. Especially in the scientific context, it serves as a database that enables a wide range of investigations. Research questions regarding offshore wind turbines themselves as well as the influence of the expansion in the coming decades can be investigated. This supports the imminent and urgently needed expansion of offshore wind energy in order to promote sustainable expansion in addition to the expansion targets that have been set.}, language = {en} } @book{Brauneck2010, author = {Brauneck, Jens}, title = {Late Quaternary climate changes in the Central Sahara : new evidence from palaeoenvironmental research in NE-Niger}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-235146}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, pages = {XI, 158}, year = {2010}, abstract = {Surveys by the Universities of Wuerzburg and Berlin, starting in the 1970´s have revealed the existence of palaeolakes in remote areas in Niger. Initial research has shown that the sediments found are suitable for reconstructing its late quaternary palaeoenvironment. Although a high number of investigations focused on the succession of climatological conditions in the Central Sahara, some uncertainties still exist as the results show discontinuities and mostly are of low temporal and spatial resolution. Two expeditions in 2005 and 2006 headed to the northeastern parts of Niger to investigate the known remains of palaeolakes and search some new and undetected ones. Samples were taken at several study sites in order to receive a complete picture of the Late Quaternary environmental settings and to produce high-resolution proxies for palaeoclimate modelling. The most valuable and best-investigated study site is the sebkha of Seggedim, where a core of 15 meters length could be extracted which revealed a composition of high-resolution sections. Stratigraphical, structural and geochemical investigations as well as the analysis of thin sections allow the characterization of different environmental conditions from Early to Mid Holocene. Driven by climate and hydrogeological influence, the water body developed from a water pond of several metres depth within a stable, grass and shrub vegetated landscape, to an alternating freshwater lake in a more dynamic environmental setting. Radiocarbon dates set the beginning of the stage at about 10.6 ka cal BP, with an exceptionally stable regime to 6.6 ka cal BP (at 12.6 metres' depth), when a major change in the sedimentation regime of the basin is recorded in the core. Increased erosion, likely due to decreased vegetation cover within the basin, led to the siltation/filling of the lake within a few hundred years and the subsequent development of a sebkha/salt pan due to massive evaporation. Due to the lack of dateable material in the upper core section, the termination of the lake stage and the onset of the subsequent sebkha stage cannot be determined precisely but can be narrowed to a period around 6 ka BP. The results obtained from the core are compared with those from terrestrial and lacustrine sediments from outside the depression, situated a few hundred kilometres further to the north. These supplementary study sites are required to validate the information obtained from the coring. Within the plateau landscape of Djado, Mangueni and Tchigai, two depressions and a valley containing lacustrine deposits, were investigated for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Depending on modifying local factors, these sediment archives were of shorter existence than IX the lake, but reveal additional information about the landscape dynamics from Early to Mid Holocene. A damming situation within a small tributary at Enneri Achelouma led to lacustrine sedimentation conditions at Early Holocene in the upper reaches of the valley. The remnants of the lacustrine accumulations show distinct changes in the environmental conditions within the small catchment, as the archive immediately responded to local climate-induced changes of precipitation. Radiocarbon dating of the deposited sediments revealed ages from 8780 ± 260 cal a BP to 9480 ± 80 cal a BP. The sites of Yoo Ango and Fab{\´e}rg{\´e} show a completely different sedimentation milieu as they consist of basins within the foothills of the Tchigai. The study sites show increased catchment sizes, probably extending towards the Tchigai massif and are most likely influenced by groundwater charge. The widespread occurrence of wind shaped relicts and the limited amount of lacustrine remnants indicate a generally high aeolian activity in both areas. Only in wind sheltered spots, parts of the lacustrine sequences were preserved, that show ages spanning from Early to Mid Holocene (9440 ± 140 cal a BP - 6810 ±140 cal a BP) and give additional evidence of fires from pre-LGM periods. Although intensively weathered, all profiles indicate distinct changes in the sedimentation conditions by alternating geochemical values and the mineralogical composition. The information obtained from the records investigated in this work confirms the heterogeneity of reconstructed environmental succession in the Central Sahara. The Mid Holocene rapid (within decades) and uniform development from more humid to extremely arid environmental conditions cannot be confirmed for the Central Sahara. In addition, a division of Early and Mid Holocene wet periods cannot be confirmed, either. Actually, the evidences obtained from the palaeoenvironmental reconstructions revealed major variations in the timing and extend of lacustrine and aeolian periods. Evidently, a transitional time has existed between 7 to 5 ka BP where alternating influences prevailed. This is indicated by the varying sedimentation conditions in the Seggedim depression as well as the evidence of soil properties on a fossil dune, with a time of deposition dated to 6200 ± 400 cal a BP and the removal of lacustrine Sediments at the Seeterrassental at Mid Holocene. In respect to provide a complete picture of landscape succession and to avoid misinterpretation, the investigation of several dissimilar spots within a designated study area is prerequisite for further investigations.}, subject = {Pal{\"a}oklimatologie}, language = {en} } @book{OPUS4-24885, title = {Innenst{\"a}dte, Einzelhandel und Corona in Deutschland}, editor = {Appel, Alexandra and Hardaker, Sina}, isbn = {978-3-95826-176-1}, issn = {2196-5811}, doi = {10.25972/WUP-978-3-95826-177-8}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-248851}, publisher = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press}, pages = {238}, year = {2022}, abstract = {"Die Innenstadt braucht den Handel, der Handel aber nicht die Innenstadt", lautet eine oft formulierte These bez{\"u}glich des Verh{\"a}ltnisses von Handel und Innenstadt - nicht erst seit der Covid-19-Pandemie. Die Krise hat die Herausforderungen des Strukturwandels im Einzelhandel erneut offengelegt und teils Entwicklungen beschleunigt. Besonders hervorzuheben sind zum einen Handlungsbedarfe im Bereich der Digitalisierung sowie die dringende Notwendigkeit einer {\"u}berdachten Auseinandersetzung {\"u}ber das Verh{\"a}ltnis von Innenstadt und Einzelhandel. Neben Fragen zur zuk{\"u}nftigen Gestaltung des Einzelhandels und seiner Bedeutung f{\"u}r Innenst{\"a}dte, sind auch Fragen zur Bedeutung anderer Branchen/Einrichtungen/Angebote (z.B. Gastronomie, Handwerk, Kultureinrichtungen, Kitas, Sport- und Bildungseinrichtungen, aber auch Freir{\"a}ume, Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen, verkehrsberuhigte Bereiche oder lokale Kurierdienste) f{\"u}r den Einzelhandel vermehrt aus Perspektive der geographischen Handelsforschung zu beantworten. Mit der Krise wurden Defizite und Handlungsfelder in den Blick ger{\"u}ckt, deren Bearbeitung schon lange ansteht. Die Chance liegt darin, diesen Aufmerksamkeitsschub konstruktiv zu nutzen und realistische fall- und standortspezifische Perspektiven f{\"u}r Innenst{\"a}dte und ihre Akteur*innen jetzt zu verhandeln und nicht weiter auf die lange Bank zu schieben. Der vorliegende Band vereint neun handelsgeographische Beitr{\"a}ge von Wissenschaftler*innen und Praktiker*innen, die die Auswirkungen der Covid-19-Pandemie er{\"o}rtern und damit einen wichtigen Beitrag f{\"u}r die notwendige Diskussion der Zukunft von Innenst{\"a}dten und Handel leisten.}, subject = {Einzelhandel}, language = {de} } @article{Rauch2022, author = {Rauch, Sebastian}, title = {Analysing Long Term Spatial Mobility Patterns of Individuals and Large Groups Using 3D-GIS: A Sport Geographic Approach}, series = {Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie}, volume = {113}, journal = {Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie}, number = {3}, issn = {0040-747X}, doi = {10.1111/tesg.12513}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-318551}, pages = {257 -- 272}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Individual mobility and human patterns analyses is receiving increasing attention in numerous interdisciplinary studies and publications using the concept of time-geography but is largely unknown to the subdiscipline of sports geography. Meanwhile the visualization and evaluation of large data of individual patterns are still a major challenge. While a qualitative, microscale view on spatial-temporal topics is more common in today's pattern research using mostly 24h time intervals, this work examines a quantitative approach focusing on an extended period of life. This paper presents a combination of time-geographic approaches with 3D-geoinformation systems and demonstrates their value for analysing individual mobility by implementing a path-homogeneity factor (HPA). Using the example of professional athletes, it is shown which groups display greater similarities in their career paths. While a high homogeneity suggests that groups make similar decisions through socially influenced processes, low values allow the assumption that external processes provide stronger, independent individual structures.}, language = {en} } @article{KumarKhamzinaKnoefeletal.2021, author = {Kumar, Navneet and Khamzina, Asia and Kn{\"o}fel, Patrick and Lamers, John P. A. and Tischbein, Bernhard}, title = {Afforestation of degraded croplands as a water-saving option in irrigated region of the Aral Sea Basin}, series = {Water}, volume = {13}, journal = {Water}, number = {10}, issn = {2073-4441}, doi = {10.3390/w13101433}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-239626}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Climate change is likely to decrease surface water availability in Central Asia, thereby necessitating land use adaptations in irrigated regions. The introduction of trees to marginally productive croplands with shallow groundwater was suggested for irrigation water-saving and improving the land's productivity. Considering the possible trade-offs with water availability in large-scale afforestation, our study predicted the impacts on water balance components in the lower reaches of the Amudarya River to facilitate afforestation planning using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The land-use scenarios used for modeling analysis considered the afforestation of 62\% and 100\% of marginally productive croplands under average and low irrigation water supply identified from historical land-use maps. The results indicate a dramatic decrease in the examined water balance components in all afforestation scenarios based largely on the reduced irrigation demand of trees compared to the main crops. Specifically, replacing current crops (mostly cotton) with trees on all marginal land (approximately 663 km\(^2\)) in the study region with an average water availability would save 1037 mln m\(^3\) of gross irrigation input within the study region and lower the annual drainage discharge by 504 mln m\(^3\). These effects have a considerable potential to support irrigation water management and enhance drainage functions in adapting to future water supply limitations.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Knoefel2018, author = {Kn{\"o}fel, Patrick}, title = {Energiebilanzmodellierung zur Ableitung der Evapotranspiration - Beispielregion Khorezm}, edition = {1. Auflage}, publisher = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press}, address = {W{\"u}rzburg}, isbn = {978-3-95826-042-9 (Print)}, issn = {0510-9833}, doi = {10.25972/WUP-978-3-95826-043-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-135669}, school = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press}, pages = {276}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Zum Verst{\"a}ndnis der komplexen Wechselwirkungen innerhalb des Klimasystems der Erde sind Kenntnisse {\"u}ber den hydrologischen Zyklus und den Energiekreislauf essentiell. Eine besondere Rolle obliegt hierbei der Evapotranspiration (ET), da sie eine wesentliche Teilkomponente beider oben erw{\"a}hnter Kreisl{\"a}ufe ist. Die exakte Quantifizierung der regionalen, tats{\"a}chlichen Evapotranspiration innerhalb der Wasser- und Energiekreisl{\"a}ufe der Erdoberfl{\"a}che auf unterschiedlichen zeitlichen und r{\"a}umlichen Skalen ist f{\"u}r hydrologische, klimatologische und agronomische Fragestellungen von großer Bedeutung. Dabei ist eine realistische Absch{\"a}tzung der regionalen tats{\"a}chlichen Evapotranspiration die wichtigste Herausforderung der hydrologischen Modellierung. Besonders die unterschiedlichen r{\"a}umlichen und zeitlichen Aufl{\"o}sungen von Satelliteninformationen machen die Fernerkundung sowohl f{\"u}r globale als auch regionale hydrologischen Fragestellungen interessant. Zus{\"a}tzlich zur Notwendigkeit des Prozessverst{\"a}ndnisses des Wasserkreislaufs auf globaler Ebene kommt dessen regionale Bedeutung f{\"u}r die Landwirtschaft, insbesondere in Bew{\"a}sserungssystemen arider Regionen. In ariden Klimazonen {\"u}bersteigt die Menge der Verdunstung oft bei weitem die Niederschlagsmengen. Aufgrund der geringen Niederschlagsmenge muss in ariden agrarischen Regionen das zum Pflanzenwachstum ben{\"o}tigte Wasser mit Hilfe k{\"u}nstlicher Bew{\"a}sserung aufgebracht werden. Der jeweilige lokale Bew{\"a}sserungsbedarf h{\"a}ngt von der Feldfrucht und deren Wachstumsphase, den Klimabedingungen, den Bodeneigenschaften und der Ausdehnung der Wurzelzone ab. Die Evapotranspiration ist als Komponente der regionalen Wasserbilanz eine wichtige Steuerungsgr{\"o}ße und Effizienzindikator f{\"u}r das lokale Bew{\"a}sserungsmanagement. Die Bew{\"a}sse-rungslandwirtschaft verbraucht weltweit etwa 70 \% der verf{\"u}gbaren S{\"u}ßwasservorkom-men. Dies wird als einer der Hauptgr{\"u}nde f{\"u}r die weltweit steigende Wasserknappheit identifiziert. Dabei liegt die Wasserentnahme des landwirtschaftlichen Sektors in den OECD Staaten im Mittel bei etwa 44 \%, in den Staaten Mittelasiens bei {\"u}ber 90 \%. Bei der Erstellung der vorliegenden Arbeit kam die Methode der residualen Bestimmung der Energiebilanz zum Einsatz. Eines der weltweit am h{\"a}ufigsten eingesetzten und vali-dierten fernerkundlichen Residualmodelle zur ET Ableitung ist das SEBAL-Modell (Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land, mit {\"u}ber 40 ver{\"o}ffentlichten Studien. SEBAL eignet sich zur Quantifizierung der Verdunstung großfl{\"a}chiger Gebiete und wurde bisher {\"u}ber-wiegend in der Bew{\"a}sserungslandwirtschaft eingesetzt. Aus diesen Gr{\"u}nden wurde es f{\"u}r die Bearbeitung der Fragestellungen in dieser Arbeit ausgew{\"a}hlt. SEBAL verwendet physikalische und empirische Beziehungen zur Berechnung der Energiebilanzkomponenten basierend auf Fernerkundungsdaten, bei gleichzeitig minimalem Einsatz bodengest{\"u}tzter Daten. Als Eingangsdaten werden u.a. Informationen {\"u}ber Strahlung, Bodenoberfl{\"a}chentemperatur, NDVI, LAI und Albedo verwendet. Zus{\"a}tzlich zu SEBAL wurden einige Komponenten der SEBAL Weiterentwicklung METRIC (Mapping Evapotranspiration with Internalized Calibration) verwendet, um die Modellierung der ET vorzunehmen. METRIC {\"u}berwindet einige Limitierungen des SEBAL Verfahrens und kann beispielsweise auch in st{\"a}rker reliefierten Regionen angewendet werden. Außerdem erm{\"o}glicht die Integration einer gebietsspezifischen Referenz-ET sowie einer Landnutzungsklassifikation eine bessere regionale Anpassung des Residualverfahrens. Unter der Annahme der Bedingungen zum Zeitpunkt der Fernerkundungsaufnahme ergibt sich die Energiebilanz an der Erdoberfl{\"a}che RN = LvE + H + G. Demnach teilt sich die verf{\"u}gbare Strahlungsenergie RN in die Komponenten latenter W{\"a}rme (LVE), f{\"u}hlbarer W{\"a}rme (H) und Bodenw{\"a}rme (G) auf. Durch Umstellen der Gleichung kann auf die latente W{\"a}rme geschlossen werden. Das wesentliche Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die Optimierung, Erweiterung und Validierung des ausgew{\"a}hlten SEBAL Verfahrens zur regionalen Modellierung der Energiebilanzkomponenten und der daraus abgeleiteten tats{\"a}chlichen Evapotranspiration. Die validierten Modellergebnisse der Gebietsverdunstung der Jahre 2009-2011 sollen anschließend als Grundlage dienen, das Gesamtverst{\"a}ndnis der regionalen Prozesse des Wasserkreislaufs zu verbessern. Die Arbeit basiert auf der Datengrundlage von MODIS Daten mit 1 km r{\"a}umlicher Aufl{\"o}sung. W{\"a}hrend die Komponenten verf{\"u}gbare Strahlungsenergie und f{\"u}hlbarer W{\"a}rmestrom physikalisch basiert ermittelt werden, beruht die Berechnung des Bodenw{\"a}rmestroms ausschließlich auf empirischen Absch{\"a}tzungen. Ein großer Nachteil des empirischen Ansatzes ist die Vernachl{\"a}ssigung des zeitlichen Versatzes zwischen Strahlungsbilanz und Bodenw{\"a}rmestrom in Abh{\"a}ngigkeit der aktuellen Bodenfeuchtesituation. Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt der vorliegenden Arbeit liegt auf der Bewertung und Verbesserung der Modellg{\"u}te des Bodenw{\"a}rmestroms durch Verwendung eines neuen Ansatzes zur Integration von Bodenfeuchteinformationen. Daher wird in der Arbeit ein physikalischer Ansatz entwickelt der auf dem Ansatz der periodischen Temperaturver{\"a}nderung basiert. Hierbei wurde neben dem ENVISAT ASAR SSM Produkt der TU Wien das operationelle Oberfl{\"a}chenbodenfeuchteprodukt ASCAT SSM als Fernerkundungseingangsdaten ausgew{\"a}hlt. Die mit SEBAL modellierten Energiebilanzkomponenten werden durch eine intensive Validierung mit bodengest{\"u}tzten Messungen bewertet, die Messungen stammen von Bodensensoren und Daten einer Eddy-Kovarianz-Station aus den Jahren 2009 bis 2011. Die Region Khorezm gilt als charakteristisch f{\"u}r die wasserbezogene Problematik der Bew{\"a}sserungslandwirtschaft Mittelasiens und wurde als Untersuchungsgebiet f{\"u}r diese Arbeit ausgew{\"a}hlt. Die wesentlichen Probleme dieser Region entstehen durch die nach wie vor nicht nachhaltige Land- und Wassernutzung, das marode Bew{\"a}sserungsnetz mit einer Verlustrate von bis zu 40 \% und der Bodenversalzung aufgrund hoher Grundwasserspiegel. Im Untersuchungsgebiet wurden in den Jahren 2010 und 2011 umfangreiche Feldarbeiten zur Erhebung lokaler bodengest{\"u}tzter Informationen durchgef{\"u}hrt. Bei der Evaluierung der modellierten Einzelkomponenten ergab sich f{\"u}r die Strahlungsbi-lanz eine hohe Modellg{\"u}te (R² > 0,9; rRMSE < 0,2 und NSE > 0,5). Diese Komponente bildet die Grundlage bei der Bezifferung der f{\"u}r die Prozesse an der Erdoberfl{\"a}che zur Verf{\"u}gung stehenden Energie. F{\"u}r die f{\"u}hlbaren W{\"a}rmestr{\"o}me wurden ebenfalls gute Ergebnisse erzielt, mit NSE von 0,31 und rRMSE von ca. 0,21. F{\"u}r die residual bestimmte Gr{\"o}ße der latenten W{\"a}rmestr{\"o}mung konnte eine insgesamt gute Modellg{\"u}te festgestellt werden (R² > 0,6; rRMSE < 0,2 und NSE > 0,5). Dementsprechend gut wurde die t{\"a}gliche Evapotranspiration modelliert. Hier ergab sich, nach der Interpolation t{\"a}glicher Werte, eine insgesamt ausreichend gute Modellg{\"u}te (R² > 0,5; rRMSE < 0,2 und NSE > 0,4). Dies best{\"a}tigt die Ergebnisse vieler Energiebilanzstudien, die lediglich den f{\"u}r die Ableitung der Evapotranspiration maßgebenden W{\"a}rmestrom untersuchten. Die Modellergebnisse f{\"u}r den Bodenw{\"a}rmestrom konnten durch die Entwicklung und Verwendung des neu entwickelten physikalischen Ansatzes von NSE < 0 und rRMSE von ca. 0,57 auf NSE von 0,19 und rRMSE von 0,35 verbessert werden. Dies f{\"u}hrt zu einer insgesamt positiven Einsch{\"a}tzung des Verbesserungspotenzials des neu entwickelten Bodenw{\"a}rmestromansatzes bei der Berechnung der Energiebilanz mit Hilfe von Fernerkundung.}, subject = {Evapotranspiration}, language = {de} } @incollection{Hirsch2013, author = {Hirsch, Jens}, title = {Die Rolle der Kommunen - das Beispiel der Mittelst{\"a}dte}, series = {Handelsimmobilien - Theoretische Ans{\"a}tze, empirische Ergebnisse}, booktitle = {Handelsimmobilien - Theoretische Ans{\"a}tze, empirische Ergebnisse}, publisher = {Verlag MetaGIS Infosysteme}, address = {Mannheim}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-182602}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, pages = {121-140}, year = {2013}, abstract = {No abstract available.}, subject = {Einzelhandel}, language = {de} } @article{MeisterLangeAthinodorouUllmann2021, author = {Meister, Julia and Lange-Athinodorou, Eva and Ullmann, Tobias}, title = {Preface: Special Issue "Geoarchaeology of the Nile Delta"}, series = {E\&G Quarternary Science Journal}, volume = {70}, journal = {E\&G Quarternary Science Journal}, doi = {10.5194/egqsj-70-187-2021}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-261195}, pages = {187-190}, year = {2021}, abstract = {No abstract available.}, language = {en} } @article{RiyasSyedKumaretal.2021, author = {Riyas, Moidu Jameela and Syed, Tajdarul Hassan and Kumar, Hrishikesh and Kuenzer, Claudia}, title = {Detecting and analyzing the evolution of subsidence due to coal fires in Jharia coalfield, India using Sentinel-1 SAR data}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {13}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {8}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs13081521}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236703}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Public safety and socio-economic development of the Jharia coalfield (JCF) in India is critically dependent on precise monitoring and comprehensive understanding of coal fires, which have been burning underneath for more than a century. This study utilizes New-Small BAseline Subset (N-SBAS) technique to compute surface deformation time series for 2017-2020 to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of coal fires in JCF. The line-of-sight (LOS) surface deformation estimated from ascending and descending Sentinel-1 SAR data are subsequently decomposed to derive precise vertical subsidence estimates. The most prominent subsidence (~22 cm) is observed in Kusunda colliery. The subsidence regions also correspond well with the Landsat-8 based thermal anomaly map and field evidence. Subsequently, the vertical surface deformation time-series is analyzed to characterize temporal variations within the 9.5 km\(^2\) area of coal fires. Results reveal that nearly 10\% of the coal fire area is newly formed, while 73\% persisted throughout the study period. Vulnerability analyses performed in terms of the susceptibility of the population to land surface collapse demonstrate that Tisra, Chhatatanr, and Sijua are the most vulnerable towns. Our results provide critical information for developing early warning systems and remediation strategies.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Mann2017, author = {Mann, Daniel}, title = {"The smell of Ujamaa is still there" - Tanzania's Path of Development between Grassroots Socialism and Central State Control in Ruvuma}, edition = {1. Auflage}, publisher = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press}, address = {W{\"u}rzburg}, isbn = {978-3-95826-066-5 (print)}, issn = {0510-9833}, doi = {10.25972/WUP-978-3-95826-067-2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-154079}, school = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press}, pages = {332}, year = {2017}, abstract = {In the 1960s, when most African nations gained their independence after the age of colonialism, several theories and strategies emerged with the goal of "developing" these apparently "underdeveloped" territories. One of the most influential approaches for this task was represented in Julius K. Nyerere´s idea of Ujamaa, the Tanzanian version of African socialism. Even before the Arusha Declaration established Ujamaa as a national development strategy in 1967, several groups of politicized young farmers took to the empty countryside of Tanzania to implement their own version of cooperative development. From one of these attempts emerged the Ruvuma Development Association (RDA), which organized up to 18 villages in southwestern Tanzania. The RDA became the inspiration for Nyerere´s concretization of Ujamaa and its implementation on national level. Yet, the central state could not replicate the success of the peasants, which was based on voluntariness and intrinsic motivation. In 2015, this exploratory study has revisited the Region of Ruvuma. Through a case study approach, relying mostly on qualitative methods, new insights into the local history of Ujamaa and its perception have been gathered. In particular, narrative interviews with contemporary witnesses and group interviews with the present-day farmers' groups have been conducted. Furthermore, NGOs active within the region, as well as regional and local government institutions were among the key stakeholders identified to concretize the local narrative of Ujamaa development. All interviews were analyzed according to the principles of qualitative content analysis. Additionally, individual villager questionnaires were used to achieve a more holistic picture of the local perception of development, challenges and the Ujamaa era. None of the original Ujamaa groups of the times of the RDA was still operational at the time of research and no case of village-wide organization of collective agriculture could be observed. Nevertheless, in all of the three case study villages, several farmers' groups (vikundi) were active in organizing development activities for their members. Furthermore, the perception of the Ujamaa era was generally positive throughout all of the case study sites. Yet, there have been significant differences in this perception, based on the village, age, gender and field size of the recipients. Overall, the period of Ujamaa was seen as an inspiration for present-day group activities, and the idea of such activities as a remedy for the developmental challenges of these villages was common among all stakeholders. This thesis concludes that the positive perception of group activities as a vehicle for village development and the perception of Ujamaa history as a positive asset for the inception and organization of farmers' groups would be highly beneficial to further attempts to support such development activities. However, the limitations in market access and capital availability for these highly-motivated group members have to be addressed by public and private development institutions. Otherwise, "the smell of Ujamaa" will be of little use for the progress of these villages.}, subject = {Ujamaa-Sozialismus}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Strauch2011, author = {Strauch, Ulrike}, title = {Wassertemperaturbedingte Leistungseinschr{\"a}nkungen konventioneller thermischer Kraftwerke in Deutschland und die Entwicklung rezenter und zuk{\"u}nftiger Flusswassertemperaturen im Kontext des Klimawandels}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-231015}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, pages = {XIX, 223}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Mit der vorliegenden Arbeit werden konventionelle thermische Kraftwerke an deutschen Fl{\"u}ssen identifiziert, bei denen aufgrund hoher Flusswassertemperaturen im Zusammenhang mit wasserrechtlichen Grenzwerten Leistungseinschr{\"a}nkungen auftraten. Weiterhin wird aufgezeigt, wie sich die Wassertemperaturen der Fl{\"u}sse in der Vergangenheit (rezent) entwickelt haben und wie sie sich zuk{\"u}nftig im Kontext des Klimawandels entwickeln k{\"o}nnten. Mittels Literaturrecherche, Medienanalyse und schriftlicher Befragung wurden konventionelle thermische Kraftwerke identifiziert, welche wassertemperaturbedingte Leistungseinschr{\"a}nkungen verzeichneten. Die meisten dieser Leistungseinschr{\"a}nkungen zwischen 1976 und 2007 zeigen sich bei großen Kraftwerken mit einer elektrischen Bruttoleistung {\"u}ber 300 Megawatt, bei Steinkohle- und Kernkraftwerken, bei Kraftwerken mit Durchlaufk{\"u}hlung und bei solchen, die zwischen 1960 und 1990 in Betrieb gingen. Trendanalysen interpolierter und homogenisierter, rezenter Wassertemperaturzeitreihen deutscher Fl{\"u}sse ergeben positive Trends v. a. im Fr{\"u}hjahr und Sommer. Die Z{\"a}hlstatistik zeigt in den Jahren 1994, 2003 und 2006 die meisten Tage mit sehr hohen und extrem hohen Wassertemperaturen in den Sommermonaten. In diesen Jahren traten gleichzeitig 63 \% aller identifizierter wassertemperaturbedingter Leistungseinschr{\"a}nkungen bei Kraftwerken, meist zwischen Juni und August, auf. F{\"u}r die Trendanalysen und den Mittelwertvergleich simulierter zuk{\"u}nftiger Wassertemperaturzeitreihen wurden drei Szenarien - B1, A1B und A2 sowie drei Zukunftsperioden 2011-2040, 2011/2041-2070, 2011/2071-2100 betrachtet. Es ergeben sich f{\"u}r die Zukunftsperiode 2011-2040 des A1B- oder A2-Szenarios in mindestens einem der Sommermonate eine Erw{\"a}rmung und f{\"u}r das B1-Szenario negative oder keine Trends. Die mittleren Wassertemperaturen der Zukunftsperiode 2011-2040 zeigen in allen drei Szenarien gegen{\"u}ber denen der Klimanormalperiode 1961-1990 positive Unterschiede in mindestens einem der Sommermonate. F{\"u}r die beiden sp{\"a}teren Zukunftsperioden bis 2070 bzw. bis 2100 liegen in allen Wassertemperaturzeitreihen der drei Szenarien im Sommer positive Trends bzw. Differenzen gegen{\"u}ber den mittleren Wassertemperaturen der Klimanormalperiode vor. Durch die Synthese der drei Analysen ist erkennbar, dass Isar, Rhein, Neckar, Saar, Elbe und Weser die meisten Kraftwerksstandorte mit wassertemperaturbedingten Leistungseinschr{\"a}nkungen verzeichnen. Es zeigen sich hier positive Trends sowohl in den rezenten als auch zuk{\"u}nftigen Wassertemperaturen f{\"u}r die Zukunftsperiode 2011-2040 des A1B- und A2-Szenarios in jeweils mindestens einem der Sommermonate. Gegen{\"u}ber den mittleren Wassertemperaturen der Klimanormalperiode liegen f{\"u}r alle drei Szenarien positive Unterschiede der Wassertemperaturen vor. Bei einer Kraftwerkslaufzeit von 40-50 Jahren und einem Kernenergieausstieg 2022 bzw. 2034, werden 48-64 \% bzw. 67-91 \% der Kraftwerke mit wassertemperaturbedingten Leistungseinschr{\"a}nkungen bis 2022 bzw. 2034 außer Betrieb gehen. Bei einer Laufzeitverl{\"a}ngerung w{\"u}rden nach 2022 f{\"u}nf der elf betroffenen Kernkraftwerke weiter am Netz bleiben. Somit kann es wieder zu wassertemperaturbedingten Leistungseinschr{\"a}nkungen kommen. In Deutschland sind nach wie vor große Kraftwerke an Fl{\"u}ssen geplant. Deren K{\"u}hlsysteme m{\"u}ssen entsprechend ausgew{\"a}hlt und konstruiert werden, um der zu erwartenden Erh{\"o}hung der Flusstemperaturen Rechnung zu tragen.}, subject = {Deutschland}, language = {de} } @article{AlavipanahWegmannQureshietal.2015, author = {Alavipanah, Sadroddin and Wegmann, Martin and Qureshi, Salman and Weng, Qihao and Koellner, Thomas}, title = {The role of vegetation in mitigating urban land surface temperatures: a case study of Munich, Germany during the warm season}, series = {Sustainability}, volume = {7}, journal = {Sustainability}, doi = {10.3390/su7044689}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-143447}, pages = {4689-4706}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The Urban Heat Island (UHI) is the phenomenon of altered increased temperatures in urban areas compared to their rural surroundings. UHIs grow and intensify under extreme hot periods, such as during heat waves, which can affect human health and also increase the demand for energy for cooling. This study applies remote sensing and land use/land cover (LULC) data to assess the cooling effect of varying urban vegetation cover, especially during extreme warm periods, in the city of Munich, Germany. To compute the relationship between Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Land Use Land Cover (LULC), MODIS eight-day interval LST data for the months of June, July and August from 2002 to 2012 and the Corine Land Cover (CLC) database were used. Due to similarities in the behavior of surface temperature of different CLCs, some classes were reclassified and combined to form two major, rather simplified, homogenized classes: one of built-up area and one of urban vegetation. The homogenized map was merged with the MODIS eight-day interval LST data to compute the relationship between them. The results revealed that (i) the cooling effect accrued from urban vegetation tended to be non-linear; and (ii) a remarkable and stronger cooling effect in terms of LST was identified in regions where the proportion of vegetation cover was between seventy and almost eighty percent per square kilometer. The results also demonstrated that LST within urban vegetation was affected by the temperature of the surrounding built-up and that during the well-known European 2003 heat wave, suburb areas were cooler from the core of the urbanized region. This study concluded that the optimum green space for obtaining the lowest temperature is a non-linear trend. This could support urban planning strategies to facilitate appropriate applications to mitigate heat-stress in urban area.}, language = {en} } @article{LauschBorgBumbergeretal.2018, author = {Lausch, Angela and Borg, Erik and Bumberger, Jan and Dietrich, Peter and Heurich, Marco and Huth, Andreas and Jung, Andr{\´a}s and Klenke, Reinhard and Knapp, Sonja and Mollenhauer, Hannes and Paasche, Hendrik and Paulheim, Heiko and Pause, Marion and Schweitzer, Christian and Schmulius, Christiane and Settele, Josef and Skidmore, Andrew K. and Wegmann, Martin and Zacharias, Steffen and Kirsten, Toralf and Schaepman, Michael E.}, title = {Understanding forest health with remote sensing, part III: requirements for a scalable multi-source forest health monitoring network based on data science approaches}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {10}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {7}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs10071120}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-197691}, pages = {1120}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Forest ecosystems fulfill a whole host of ecosystem functions that are essential for life on our planet. However, an unprecedented level of anthropogenic influences is reducing the resilience and stability of our forest ecosystems as well as their ecosystem functions. The relationships between drivers, stress, and ecosystem functions in forest ecosystems are complex, multi-faceted, and often non-linear, and yet forest managers, decision makers, and politicians need to be able to make rapid decisions that are data-driven and based on short and long-term monitoring information, complex modeling, and analysis approaches. A huge number of long-standing and standardized forest health inventory approaches already exist, and are increasingly integrating remote-sensing based monitoring approaches. Unfortunately, these approaches in monitoring, data storage, analysis, prognosis, and assessment still do not satisfy the future requirements of information and digital knowledge processing of the 21st century. Therefore, this paper discusses and presents in detail five sets of requirements, including their relevance, necessity, and the possible solutions that would be necessary for establishing a feasible multi-source forest health monitoring network for the 21st century. Namely, these requirements are: (1) understanding the effects of multiple stressors on forest health; (2) using remote sensing (RS) approaches to monitor forest health; (3) coupling different monitoring approaches; (4) using data science as a bridge between complex and multidimensional big forest health (FH) data; and (5) a future multi-source forest health monitoring network. It became apparent that no existing monitoring approach, technique, model, or platform is sufficient on its own to monitor, model, forecast, or assess forest health and its resilience. In order to advance the development of a multi-source forest health monitoring network, we argue that in order to gain a better understanding of forest health in our complex world, it would be conducive to implement the concepts of data science with the components: (i) digitalization; (ii) standardization with metadata management after the FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) principles; (iii) Semantic Web; (iv) proof, trust, and uncertainties; (v) tools for data science analysis; and (vi) easy tools for scientists, data managers, and stakeholders for decision-making support.}, language = {en} } @article{FaOliveroRealetal.2015, author = {Fa, John E. and Olivero, Jes{\´u}s and Real, Raimundo and Farf{\´a}n, Miguel A. and M{\´a}rquez, Ana L. and Vargas, J. Mario and Ziegler, Stefan and Wegmann, Martin and Brown, David and Margetts, Barrie and Nasi, Robert}, title = {Disentangling the relative effects of bushmeat availability on human nutrition in central Africa}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {5}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, number = {8168}, doi = {10.1038/srep08168}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-144110}, year = {2015}, abstract = {We studied links between human malnutrition and wild meat availability within the Rainforest Biotic Zone in central Africa. We distinguished two distinct hunted mammalian diversity distributions, one in the rainforest areas (Deep Rainforest Diversity, DRD) containing taxa of lower hunting sustainability, the other in the northern rainforest-savanna mosaic, with species of greater hunting potential (Marginal Rainforest Diversity, MRD). Wild meat availability, assessed by standing crop mammalian biomass, was greater in MRD than in DRD areas. Predicted bushmeat extraction was also higher in MRD areas. Despite this, stunting of children, a measure of human malnutrition, was greater in MRD areas. Structural equation modeling identified that, in MRD areas, mammal diversity fell away from urban areas, but proximity to these positively influenced higher stunting incidence. In DRD areas, remoteness and distance from dense human settlements and infrastructures explained lower stunting levels. Moreover, stunting was higher away from protected areas. Our results suggest that in MRD areas, forest wildlife rational use for better human nutrition is possible. By contrast, the relatively low human populations in DRD areas currently offer abundant opportunities for the continued protection of more vulnerable mammals and allow dietary needs of local populations to be met.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Kawohl2022, author = {Kawohl, Alexander}, title = {The Petrology and Geochemistry of Igneous Dykes above the Temagami Anomaly (Ontario, Canada) and their Relationship to the 1.85 Ga Sudbury Impact}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-27961}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-279617}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The area northeast of Sudbury, Ontario, is known for one of the largest unexplained geophysical anomalies on the Canadian Shield, the 1,200 km2 Temagami Anomaly. The geological cause of this regional magnetic, conductive and gravity feature has previously been modelled to be a mafic-ultramafic body at relatively great depth (2-15 km) of unknown age and origin, which may or may not be related to the meteorite impact-generated Sudbury Igneous Complex in its immediate vicinity. However, with a profound lack of outcrops and drill holes, the geological cause of the anomaly remains elusive, a genetic link to the 1.85 Ga Sudbury impact event purely speculative. In search for any potential surface expression of the deep-seated cause of the Temagami Anomaly, this study provides a first, yet comprehensive petrological and geochemical assessment of exotic igneous dykes recently discovered in outcrops above, and drill cores into, the Temagami Anomaly. Based on cross-cutting field relations, petrographic studies, lithogeochemistry, whole-rock Nd-Sr-Pb isotope systematics, and U-Pb geochronology, it was possible to identify, and distinguish between, at least six different groups of igneous dykes: (i) Calc-alkaline quartz diorite dykes related to the 1.85 Ga Sudbury Igneous Complex (locally termed Offset Dykes); (ii) tholeiitic quartz diabase of the regional 2.22 Ga Nipissing Suite/Senneterre Dyke Swarm; (iii) calc-alkaline quartz diabase of the regional 2.17 Ga Biscotasing Dyke Swarm; (iv) alkaline ultrabasic dykes correlated with the 1.88-1.86 Ga Circum-Superior Large Igneous Province (LIP); and (v) aplitic dykes as well as (vi) a hornblende syenite, the latter two of more ambiguous age and stratigraphic position. The findings presented in this study - the discovery of three new Offset Dykes in particular - offer some unexpected insights into the geology and economic potential of one of the least explored areas of the world-class Sudbury Mining Camp as well as into the nature and distribution of both allochthonous and autochthonous impactites within one of the oldest and largest impact structures known on Earth. Not only do the geometric patterns of dyke (and breccia) distribution reaffirm previous notions of the existence of discrete ring structures in the sense of a ~200-km multi-ring basin, but they provide critical constraints as to the pre-erosional thickness and extent of the impact melt sheet, thus helping to identity new areas for Ni-Cu-PGE exploration. Furthermore, this study provides important insights into the pre-impact stratigraphy and the magmatic evolution of the region in general, which reveals to be much more complex, compositionally divers, and protracted than initially assumed. Of note is the discovery of rocks related to the 2.17 Ga Biscotasing and the 1.88-1.86 Ga Circum-Superior magmatic events, as these were not previously known to occur on the southeast margin of the Superior Craton. Shortly predating the Sudbury impact and being contemporaneous with ore-forming events at Thompson (Manitoba) and Raglan (Cape Smith), these magmatic rocks could provide the missing link between unusual mafic, pre-enriched, crustal target rocks, and the unique metal endowment of the Sudbury Impact Structure. The actual geological cause of the Temagami Anomaly remains open to debate and requires the downward extension of existing bore holes as well as more detailed geophysical investigations. The hypothesis of a genetic relationship between Sudbury impact event and Temagami Anomaly is neither borne out by any evidence nor particularly realistic, even in case of an oblique impact, and should thus be abandoned. It is instead proposed, based on circumstantial evidence, that the anomaly might be explained by an ultramafic complex of the 1.88-1.86 Ga Circum-Superior LIP.}, subject = {Impaktstruktur}, language = {en} } @book{Fuelling2022, author = {F{\"u}lling, Julia}, title = {Wonach schmeckt Herkunft? - {\"U}ber (Nicht-)Wissen beim Lebensmittelkonsum und die Bedeutung der Geographien und Biographien von frischem Obst und Gem{\"u}se}, publisher = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press}, address = {W{\"u}rzburg}, isbn = {978-3-95826-182-2}, issn = {2196-5811}, doi = {10.25972/WUP-978-3-95826-183-9}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-268869}, publisher = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press}, pages = {x, 240}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Durch die globale Organisation von Lebensmittelwarenketten steht Konsument*innen heute ein vielf{\"a}ltiges, ganzj{\"a}hrig nahezu gleichbleibendes Angebot an frischem Obst und Gem{\"u}se im Lebensmitteleinzelhandel zur Verf{\"u}gung. Damit einher geht eine erh{\"o}hte Komplexit{\"a}t beim Lebensmitteleinkauf und ein ver{\"a}ndertes Wissen von Konsument*innen, {\"u}ber die Waren: Das eigene Erfahren der Lebensmittelproduktion ist im Alltag heute nicht mehr m{\"o}glich. Statt praktischem Wissen gewinnt damit explizites und objektiviertes Wissen {\"u}ber die Waren, z.B. in Form von Siegeln an Bedeutung. Viele Produkt- und Produktionseigenschaften entziehen sich zudem der Kenntnis der Konsument*innen, w{\"a}hrend gleichzeitig das Bewusstsein f{\"u}r Fragen sozialer und {\"o}kologischer Nachhaltigkeit steigt. Die vorliegende Studie geht vor diesem Hintergrund am Beispiel des Einkaufs von frischem Obst und Gem{\"u}se der Frage nach, welche Bedeutung die Herkunftsangabe als Hinweis auf die Geographien der Waren f{\"u}r die Bewertung von frischem Obst und Gem{\"u}se hat und welches Wissen Konsument*innen {\"u}ber Waren und deren Biographien haben. Es wird zudem aufgezeigt, welche Rolle Nichtwissen beim Lebensmittelkonsum spielt. Die Studie liefert Erkenntnisse f{\"u}r die bislang im deutschsprachigen Raum noch vergleichsweise wenig repr{\"a}sentierte Konsumgeographie und macht Konzepte aus der Wissens- und Organisationssoziologie f{\"u}r die wirtschaftsgeographische Forschung fruchtbar. Aus einer Praxisperspektive bietet sie Anschlusspunkte f{\"u}r Fragen des nachhaltigen Konsums sowie des Verbraucherschutzes.}, subject = {Konsum}, language = {de} } @techreport{MuellerSchererLorenzenAmmeretal.2022, author = {M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael and Ammer, Christian and Eisenhauer, Nico and Seidel, Dominik and Schuldt, Bernhard and Biedermann, Peter and Schmitt, Thomas and K{\"u}nzer, Claudia and Wegmann, Martin and Cesarz, Simone and Peters, Marcell and Feldhaar, Heike and Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf and Claßen, Alice and B{\"a}ssler, Claus and von Oheimb, Goddert and Fichtner, Andreas and Thorn, Simon and Weisser, Wolfgang}, title = {BETA-FOR: Erh{\"o}hung der strukturellen Diversit{\"a}t zwischen Waldbest{\"a}nden zur Erh{\"o}hung der Multidiversit{\"a}t und Multifunktionalit{\"a}t in Produktionsw{\"a}ldern. Antragstext f{\"u}r die DFG Forschungsgruppe FOR 5375}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-29084}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-290849}, pages = {210}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Der in j{\"u}ngster Zeit beobachtete kontinuierliche Verlust der β-Diversit{\"a}t in {\"O}kosystemen deutet auf homogene Gemeinschaften auf Landschaftsebene hin, was haupts{\"a}chlich auf die steigende Landnutzungsintensit{\"a}t zur{\"u}ckgef{\"u}hrt wird. Biologische Vielfalt ist mit zahlreichen Funktionen und der Stabilit{\"a}t von {\"O}kosystemen verkn{\"u}pft. Es ist daher zu erwarten, dass eine abnehmende β-Diversit{\"a}t auch die Multifunktionalit{\"a}t verringert. Wir kombinieren hier Fachwissen aus der Forstwissenschaft, der {\"O}kologie, der Fernerkundung, der chemischen {\"O}kologie und der Statistik in einem gemeinschaftlichen und experimentellen β-Diversit{\"a}tsdesign, um einerseits die Auswirkungen der Homogenisierung zu bewerten und andererseits Konzepte zu entwickeln, um negative Auswirkungen durch Homogenisierung in W{\"a}ldern r{\"u}ckg{\"a}ngig zu machen. Konkret werden wir uns mit der Frage besch{\"a}ftigen, ob die Verbesserung der strukturellen β-Komplexit{\"a}t (ESBC) in W{\"a}ldern durch Waldbau oder nat{\"u}rliche St{\"o}rungen die Biodiversit{\"a}t und Multifunktionalit{\"a}t in ehemals homogenen Produktionsw{\"a}ldern erh{\"o}hen kann. Unser Ansatz wird m{\"o}gliche Mechanismen hinter den beobachteten Homogenisierungs-Diversit{\"a}ts-Beziehungen identifizieren und zeigen, wie sich diese auf die Multifunktionalit{\"a}t auswirken. An elf Standorten in ganz Deutschland haben wir dazu zwei Waldbest{\"a}nde als zwei kleine "Waldlandschaften" ausgew{\"a}hlt. In einem dieser beiden Best{\"a}nde haben wir ESBC (Enhancement of Structural Beta Complexity)-Behandlungen durchgef{\"u}hrt. Im zweiten, dem Kontrollbestand, werden wir die gleich Anzahl 50x50m Parzellen ohne ESBC einrichten. Auf allen Parzellen werden wir 18 taxonomische Artengruppen aller trophischer Ebenen und 21 {\"O}kosystemfunktionen, einschließlich der wichtigsten Funktionen in W{\"a}ldern der gem{\"a}ßigten Zonen, messen. Der statistische Rahmen wird eine umfassende Analyse der Biodiversit{\"a}t erm{\"o}glichen, indem verschiedenen Aspekte (taxonomische, funktionelle und phylogenetische Vielfalt) auf verschiedenen Skalenebenen (α-, β-, γ-Diversit{\"a}t) quantifiziert werden. Um die Gesamtdiversit{\"a}t zu kombinieren, werden wir das Konzept der Multidiversit{\"a}t auf die 18 Taxa anwenden. Wir werden neue Ans{\"a}tze zur Quantifizierung und Aufteilung der Multifunktionalit{\"a}t auf α- und β-Skalen verwenden und entwickeln. Durch die experimentelle Beschreibung des Zusammenhangs zwischen β-Diversit{\"a}t und Multifunktionalit{\"a}t in einer Reallandschaft wird unsere Forschung einen neuen Weg einschlagen. Dar{\"u}ber hinaus werden wir dazu beitragen, verbesserte Leitlinien f{\"u}r waldbauliche Konzepte und f{\"u}r das Management nat{\"u}rlicher St{\"o}rungen zu entwickeln, um Homogenisierungseffekte der Vergangenheit umzukehren.}, subject = {Wald{\"o}kosystem}, language = {en} } @article{BucheltSkovRasmussenetal.2022, author = {Buchelt, Sebastian and Skov, Kirstine and Rasmussen, Kerstin Kr{\o}ier and Ullmann, Tobias}, title = {Sentinel-1 time series for mapping snow cover depletion and timing of snowmelt in Arctic periglacial environments: case study from Zackenberg and Kobbefjord, Greenland}, series = {The Cryosphere}, volume = {16}, journal = {The Cryosphere}, number = {2}, doi = {10.5194/tc-16-625-2022}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300139}, pages = {625 -- 646}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Snow cover (SC) and timing of snowmelt are key regulators of a wide range of Arctic ecosystem functions. Both are strongly influenced by the amplified Arctic warming and essential variables to understand environmental changes and their dynamics. This study evaluates the potential of Sentinel-1 (S-1) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) time series for monitoring SC depletion and snowmelt with high spatiotemporal resolution to capture their understudied small-scale heterogeneity. We use 97 dual-polarized S-1 SAR images acquired over northeastern Greenland and 94 over southwestern Greenland in the interferometric wide swath mode from the years 2017 and 2018. Comparison of S-1 intensity against SC fraction maps derived from orthorectified terrestrial time-lapse imagery indicates that SAR backscatter can increase before a decrease in SC fraction is observed. Hence, the increase in backscatter is related to changing snowpack properties during the runoff phase as well as decreasing SC fraction. We here present a novel empirical approach based on the temporal evolution of the SAR signal to identify start of runoff (SOR), end of snow cover (EOS) and SC extent for each S-1 observation date during melt using backscatter thresholds as well as the derivative. Comparison of SC with orthorectified time-lapse imagery indicates that HV polarization outperforms HH when using a global threshold. The derivative avoids manual selection of thresholds and adapts to different environmental settings and seasonal conditions. With a global configuration (threshold: 4 dB; polarization: HV) as well as with the derivative, the overall accuracy of SC maps was in all cases above 75 \% and in more than half of cases above 90 \%. Based on the physical principle of SAR backscatter during snowmelt, our approach is expected to work well in other low-vegetation areas and, hence, could support large-scale SC monitoring at high spatiotemporal resolution (20 m, 6 d) with high accuracy.}, language = {en} } @article{RauchArnoldStuerneretal.2022, author = {Rauch, Sebastian and Arnold, Louisa and Stuerner, Zelda and Rauh, Juergen and Rost, Michael}, title = {A true choice of place of birth? Swiss women's access to birth hospitals and birth centers}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {17}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {7}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0270834}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300159}, year = {2022}, abstract = {While the place of birth plays a crucial role for women's birth experiences, the interest in out-of-hospital births has increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. Related to this, various international policies recommend enabling women to choose where to give birth. We aimed to analyze Swiss women's choice between birth hospitals and birth centers. Employing spatial accessibility analysis, we incorporated four data types: highly disaggregated population data, administrative data, street network data, addresses of birth hospitals and birth centers. 99.8\% of Swiss women of childbearing age were included in the analysis (N = 1.896.669). We modelled car travel times from a woman's residence to the nearest birth hospital and birth center. If both birth settings were available within 30 minutes, a woman was considered to have a true choice. Only 58.2\% of women had a true choice. This proportion varied considerably across Swiss federal states. The main barrier to a true choice was limited accessibility of birth centers. Median travel time to birth hospitals was 9.8 (M = 12.5), to birth centers 23.9 minutes (M = 28.5). Swiss women are insufficiently empowered to exercise their reproductive autonomy as their choice of place of birth is significantly limited by geographical constraints. It is an ethical and medical imperative to provide women with a true choice. We provide high-resolution insights into the accessibility of birth settings and strong arguments to (re-)examine the need for further birth centers (and birth hospitals) in specific geographical areas. Policy-makers are obligated to improve the accessibility of birth centers to advance women's autonomy and enhance maternal health outcomes after childbirth. The Covid-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to shift policy.}, language = {en} } @techreport{MeyerJobLaneretal.2022, author = {Meyer, Constantin and Job, Hubert and Laner, Peter and Omizzolo, Andrea and Kollmann, Nadia and Clare, Jasmin and Vesely, Philipp and Riedler, Walter and Plassmann, Guido and Coronado, Oriana and Praper Gulič, Sergeja and Gulič, Andrej and Koblar, Simon and Teofili, Corrado and Rohringer, Verena and Schoßleitner, Richard and Ainz, Gerhard}, title = {OpenSpaceAlps Planungshandbuch: Perspektiven f{\"u}r eine konsistente Freiraumsicherung im Alpenraum}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-27307}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-273070}, pages = {114}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Im Alpenraum l{\"a}sst sich nach wie vor die kontinuierliche Inanspruchnahme von Freir{\"a}umen f{\"u}r Siedlungsfl{\"a}chen und technische Infrastrukturen und die damit verbundene Bodenversiegelung beobachten. Dies f{\"u}hrt in erster Linie zum Verlust von landwirtschaftlichen Fl{\"a}chen. Je nach Ausmaß der Bebauung kommt es auch zu einer verst{\"a}rkten Landschaftszerschneidung, die zur Isolierung nat{\"u}rlicher Lebensr{\"a}ume und zur Einschr{\"a}nkung des {\"o}kologischen Verbundes sowie zu weiteren negativen Folgewirkungen f{\"u}hrt. Das OpenSpaceAlps Projekt hat sich dieser Thematik angenommen und, basierend auf kooperativen Verfahren in mehreren Pilotregionen, Handlungsans{\"a}tze und Strategien f{\"u}r eine nachhaltige Sicherung von Freir{\"a}umen entwickelt. Dieses Handbuch stellt eine Handlungs- und Entscheidungshilfe f{\"u}r verschiedene Akteure/Akteurinnen dar, allen voran Planer*innen in {\"o}ffentlichen Planungsbeh{\"o}rden. Ausgehend von einer Analyse der Herausforderungen und Rahmenbedingungen im Alpenraum, werden in diesem Handbuch zentrale „Prinzipien" der Freiraumplanung vorgestellt und verglichen. Außerdem werden integrierte Planungsstrategien f{\"u}r verschiedene Raumkategorien diskutiert.}, subject = {Raumordnung}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{Wilde2022, author = {Wilde, Martina}, title = {Landslide susceptibility assessment in the Chiconquiaco Mountain Range area, Veracruz (Mexico)}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-27608}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-276085}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2022}, abstract = {In Mexico, numerous landslides occur each year and Veracruz represents the state with the third highest number of events. Especially the Chiconquiaco Mountain Range, located in the central part of Veracruz, is highly affected by landslides and no detailed information on the spatial distribution of existing landslides or future occurrences is available. This leaves the local population exposed to an unknown threat and unable to react appropriately to this hazard or to consider the potential landslide occurrence in future planning processes. Thus, the overall objective of the present study is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the landslide situation in the Chiconquiaco Mountain Range area. Here, the combination of a site-specific and a regional approach enables to investigate the causes, triggers, and process types as well as to model the landslide susceptibility for the entire study area. For the site-specific approach, the focus lies on characterizing the Capul{\´i}n landslide, which represents one of the largest mass movements in the area. In this context, the task is to develop a multi-methodological concept, which concentrates on cost-effective, flexible and non-invasive methods. This approach shows that the applied methods complement each other very well and their combination allows for a detailed characterization of the landslide. The analyses revealed that the Capul{\´i}n landslide is a complex mass movement type. It comprises rotational movement in the upper parts and translational movement in the lower areas, as well as flow processes at the flank and foot area and therefore, is classified as a compound slide-flow according to Cruden and Varnes (1996). Furthermore, the investigations show that the Capul{\´i}n landslide represents a reactivation of a former process. This is an important new information, especially with regard to the other landslides identified in the study area. Both the road reconstructed after the landslide, which runs through the landslide mass, and the stream causing erosion processes at the foot of the landslide severely affect the stability of the landslide, making it highly susceptible to future reactivation processes. This is particularly important as the landslide is located only few hundred meters from the village El Capul{\´i}n and an extension of the landslide area could cause severe damage. The next step in the landslide assessment consists of integrating the data obtained in the site-specific approach into the regional analysis. Here, the focus lies on transferring the generated data to the entire study area. The developed methodological concept yields applicable results, which is supported by different validation approaches. The susceptibility modeling as well as the landslide inventory reveal that the highest probability of landslides occurrence is related to the areas with moderate slopes covered by slope deposits. These slope deposits comprise material from old mass movements and erosion processes and are highly susceptible to landslides. The results give new insights into the landslide situation in the Chiconquiaco Mountain Range area, since previously landslide occurrence was related to steep slopes of basalt and andesite. The susceptibility map is a contribution to a better assessment of the landslide situation in the study area and simultaneously proves that it is crucial to include specific characteristics of the respective area into the modeling process, otherwise it is possible that the local conditions will not be represented correctly.}, subject = {Naturgefahren}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Ibebuchi2023, author = {Ibebuchi, Chibuike Chiedozie}, title = {Bias correction of climate model output for Germany}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-31264}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-312647}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Regional climate models (RCMs) are tools used to project future climate change at a regional scale. Despite their high horizontal resolution, RCMs are characterized by systematic biases relative to observations, which can result in unrealistic interpretations of future climate change signals. On the other hand, bias correction (BC) is a popular statistical post-processing technique applied to improve the usability of output from climate models. Like every other statistical technique, BC has its strengths and weaknesses. Hence, within the regional context of Germany, and for temperature and precipitation, this study is dedicated to the assessment of the impact of different BC techniques on the RCM output. The focuses are on the impact of BC on the RCM's statistical characterization, and physical consistency defined as the spatiotemporal consistency between the bias-corrected variable and the simulated physical mechanisms governing the variable, as well as the correlations between the bias-corrected variable and other (simulated) climate variables. Five BC techniques were applied in adjusting the systematic biases in temperature and precipitation RCM outputs. The BC techniques are linear scaling, empirical quantile mapping, univariate quantile delta mapping, multivariate quantile delta mapping that considers inter-site dependencies, and multivariate quantile delta mapping that considers inter-variable dependencies (MBCn). The results show that each BC technique adds value in reducing the biases in the statistics of the RCM output, though the added value depends on several factors such as the temporal resolution of the data, choice of RCM, climate variable, region, and the metric used in evaluating the BC technique. Further, the raw RCMs reproduced portions of the observed modes of atmospheric circulation in Western Europe, and the observed temperature, and precipitation meteorological patterns in Germany. After the BC, generally, the spatiotemporal configurations of the simulated meteorological patterns as well as the governing large-scale mechanisms were reproduced. However, at a more localized spatial scale for the individual meteorological patterns, the BC changed the simulated co-variability of some grids, especially for precipitation. Concerning the co-variability among the variables, a physically interpretable positive correlation was found between temperature and precipitation during boreal winter in both models and observations. For most grid boxes in the study domain and on average, the BC techniques that do not adjust inter-variable dependency did not notably change the simulated correlations between the climate variables. However, depending on the grid box, the (univariate) BC techniques tend to degrade the simulated temporal correlations between temperature and precipitation. Further, MBCn which adjusts biases in inter-variable dependency has the skill to improve the correlations between the simulated variables towards observations.}, language = {en} } @article{IbebuchiSchoenbeinAdakudluetal.2022, author = {Ibebuchi, Chibuike Chiedozie and Sch{\"o}nbein, Daniel and Adakudlu, Muralidhar and Xoplaki, Elena and Paeth, Heiko}, title = {Comparison of three techniques to adjust daily precipitation biases from regional climate models over Germany}, series = {Water}, volume = {14}, journal = {Water}, number = {4}, issn = {2073-4441}, doi = {10.3390/w14040600}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-262064}, year = {2022}, abstract = {This study compares the performance of three bias correction (BC) techniques in adjusting simulated precipitation estimates over Germany. The BC techniques are the multivariate quantile delta mapping (MQDM) where the grids are used as variables to incorporate the spatial dependency structure of precipitation in the bias correction; empirical quantile mapping (EQM) and, the linear scaling (LS) approach. Several metrics that include first to fourth moments and extremes characterized by the frequency of heavy wet days and return periods during boreal summer were applied to score the performance of the BC techniques. Our results indicate a strong dependency of the relative performances of the BC techniques on the choice of the regional climate model (RCM), the region, the season, and the metrics of interest. Hence, each BC technique has relative strengths and weaknesses. The LS approach performs well in adjusting the first moment but tends to fall short for higher moments and extreme precipitation during boreal summer. Depending on the season, the region and the RCM considered, there is a trade-off between the relative performances of the EQM and the MQDM in adjusting the simulated precipitation biases. However, the MQDM performs well across all considered metrics. Overall, the MQDM outperforms the EQM in improving the higher moments and in capturing the observed return level of extreme summer precipitation, averaged over Germany.}, language = {en} } @article{NyamekyeThielSchoenbrodtStittetal.2018, author = {Nyamekye, Clement and Thiel, Michael and Sch{\"o}nbrodt-Stitt, Sarah and Zoungrana, Benewinde J.-B. and Amekudzi, Leonard K.}, title = {Soil and water conservation in Burkina Faso, West Africa}, series = {Sustainability}, volume = {10}, journal = {Sustainability}, number = {9}, issn = {2071-1050}, doi = {10.3390/su10093182}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-197653}, pages = {3182}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Inadequate land management and agricultural activities have largely resulted in land degradation in Burkina Faso. The nationwide governmental and institutional driven implementation and adoption of soil and water conservation measures (SWCM) since the early 1960s, however, is expected to successively slow down the degradation process and to increase the agricultural output. Even though relevant measures have been taken, only a few studies have been conducted to quantify their effect, for instance, on soil erosion and environmental restoration. In addition, a comprehensive summary of initiatives, implementation strategies, and eventually region-specific requirements for adopting different SWCM is missing. The present study therefore aims to review the different SWCM in Burkina Faso and implementation programs, as well as to provide information on their effects on environmental restoration and agricultural productivity. This was achieved by considering over 143 studies focusing on Burkina Faso's experience and research progress in areas of SWCM and soil erosion. SWCM in Burkina Faso have largely resulted in an increase in agricultural productivity and improvement in food security. Finally, this study aims at supporting the country's informed decision-making for extending already existing SWCM and for deriving further implementation strategies.}, language = {en} } @article{SteiningerAbelZiegleretal.2023, author = {Steininger, Michael and Abel, Daniel and Ziegler, Katrin and Krause, Anna and Paeth, Heiko and Hotho, Andreas}, title = {ConvMOS: climate model output statistics with deep learning}, series = {Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery}, volume = {37}, journal = {Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery}, number = {1}, issn = {1384-5810}, doi = {10.1007/s10618-022-00877-6}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324213}, pages = {136-166}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Climate models are the tool of choice for scientists researching climate change. Like all models they suffer from errors, particularly systematic and location-specific representation errors. One way to reduce these errors is model output statistics (MOS) where the model output is fitted to observational data with machine learning. In this work, we assess the use of convolutional Deep Learning climate MOS approaches and present the ConvMOS architecture which is specifically designed based on the observation that there are systematic and location-specific errors in the precipitation estimates of climate models. We apply ConvMOS models to the simulated precipitation of the regional climate model REMO, showing that a combination of per-location model parameters for reducing location-specific errors and global model parameters for reducing systematic errors is indeed beneficial for MOS performance. We find that ConvMOS models can reduce errors considerably and perform significantly better than three commonly used MOS approaches and plain ResNet and U-Net models in most cases. Our results show that non-linear MOS models underestimate the number of extreme precipitation events, which we alleviate by training models specialized towards extreme precipitation events with the imbalanced regression method DenseLoss. While we consider climate MOS, we argue that aspects of ConvMOS may also be beneficial in other domains with geospatial data, such as air pollution modeling or weather forecasts.}, subject = {Klima}, language = {en} } @article{IbebuchiSchoenbeinPaeth2022, author = {Ibebuchi, Chibuike Chiedozie and Sch{\"o}nbein, Daniel and Paeth, Heiko}, title = {On the added value of statistical post-processing of regional climate models to identify homogeneous patterns of summer rainfall anomalies in Germany}, series = {Climate Dynamics}, volume = {59}, journal = {Climate Dynamics}, number = {9-10}, issn = {0930-7575}, doi = {10.1007/s00382-022-06258-5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324122}, pages = {2769-2783}, year = {2022}, abstract = {A fuzzy classification scheme that results in physically interpretable meteorological patterns associated with rainfall generation is applied to classify homogeneous regions of boreal summer rainfall anomalies in Germany. Four leading homogeneous regions are classified, representing the western, southeastern, eastern, and northern/northwestern parts of Germany with some overlap in the central parts of Germany. Variations of the sea level pressure gradient across Europe, e.g., between the continental and maritime regions, is the major phenomenon that triggers the time development of the rainfall regions by modulating wind patterns and moisture advection. Two regional climate models (REMO and CCLM4) were used to investigate the capability of climate models to reproduce the observed summer rainfall regions. Both regional climate models (RCMs) were once driven by the ERA-Interim reanalysis and once by the MPI-ESM general circulation model (GCM). Overall, the RCMs exhibit good performance in terms of the regionalization of summer rainfall in Germany; though the goodness-of-match with the rainfall regions/patterns from observational data is low in some cases and the REMO model driven by MPI-ESM fails to reproduce the western homogeneous rainfall region. Under future climate change, virtually the same leading modes of summer rainfall occur, suggesting that the basic synoptic processes associated with the regional patterns remain the same over Germany. We have also assessed the added value of bias-correcting the MPI-ESM driven RCMs using a simple linear scaling approach. The bias correction does not significantly alter the identification of homogeneous rainfall regions and, hence, does not improve their goodness-of-match compared to the observed patterns, except for the one case where the original RCM output completely fails to reproduce the observed pattern. While the linear scaling method improves the basic statistics of precipitation, it does not improve the simulated meteorological patterns represented by the precipitation regimes.}, language = {en} } @article{GeyerLandingMeieretal.2023, author = {Geyer, Gerd and Landing, Ed and Meier, Stefan and H{\"o}hn, Stefan}, title = {Oldest known West Gondwanan graptolite: Ovetograptus? sp. (lower Agdzian/lowest Wuliuan; basal Middle Cambrian) of the Franconian Forest, Germany, and review of pre-Furongian graptolithoids}, series = {Pal{\"a}ontologische Zeitschrift}, volume = {97}, journal = {Pal{\"a}ontologische Zeitschrift}, number = {4}, issn = {0031-0220}, doi = {10.1007/s12542-022-00627-5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324099}, pages = {677-686}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The occurrence of a likely graptolite in lowest Wuliuan strata of the Franconian Forest almost certainly records the oldest known graptolithoid hemichordate in West Gondwana and possibly the oldest graptolite presently known. The fossil is a delicate, erect, apparently unbranched rhabdosome with narrow thecae tentatively assigned to the poorly known genus Ovetograptus of the Dithecodendridae. This report includes an overview of pre-Furongian graptolithoids with slight corrections on the stratigraphic position of earlier reported species.}, language = {en} } @article{RaiZieglerAbeletal.2022, author = {Rai, P. and Ziegler, K. and Abel, D. and Pollinger, F. and Paeth, H.}, title = {Performance of a regional climate model with interactive vegetation (REMO-iMOVE) over Central Asia}, series = {Theoretical and Applied Climatology}, volume = {150}, journal = {Theoretical and Applied Climatology}, number = {3-4}, issn = {0177-798X}, doi = {10.1007/s00704-022-04233-y}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324155}, pages = {1385-1405}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The current study evaluates the regional climate model REMO (v2015) and its new version REMO-iMOVE, including interactive vegetation and plant functional types (PFTs), over two Central Asian domains for the period of 2000-2015 at two different horizontal resolutions (0.44° and 0.11°). Various statistical metrices along with mean bias patterns for precipitation, temperature, and leaf area index have been used for the model evaluation. A better representation of the spatial pattern of precipitation is found at 0.11° resolution over most of Central Asia. Regarding the mean temperature, both model versions show a high level of agreement with the validation data, especially at the higher resolution. This also reduces the biases in maximum and minimum temperature. Generally, REMO-iMOVE shows an improvement regarding the temperature bias but produces a larger precipitation bias compared to the REMO conventional version with interannually static vegetation. Since the coupled version is capable to simulate the mean climate of Central Asia like its parent version, both can be used for impact studies and future projections. However, regarding the new vegetation scheme and its spatiotemporal representation exemplified by the leaf area index, REMO-iMOVE shows a clear advantage over REMO. This better simulation is caused by the implementation of more realistic and interactive vegetation and related atmospheric processes which consequently add value to the regional climate model.}, language = {en} } @article{Libanda2023, author = {Libanda, Brigadier}, title = {Performance assessment of CORDEX regional climate models in wind speed simulations over Zambia}, series = {Modeling Earth Systems and Environment}, volume = {9}, journal = {Modeling Earth Systems and Environment}, number = {1}, issn = {2363-6203}, doi = {10.1007/s40808-022-01504-5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324147}, pages = {253-262}, year = {2023}, abstract = {There is no single solution to cutting emissions, however, renewable energy projects that are backed by rigorous ex-ante assessments play an important role in these efforts. An inspection of literature reveals critical knowledge gaps in the understanding of future wind speed variability across Zambia, thus leading to major uncertainties in the understanding of renewable wind energy potential over the country. Several model performance metrics, both statistical and graphical were used in this study to examine the performance of CORDEX Africa Regional Climate Models (RCMs) in simulating wind speed across Zambia. Results indicate that wind speed is increasing at the rate of 0.006 m s\(^{-1}\) per year. RCA4-GFDL-ESM2M, RCA4-HadGEM2-ES, RCA4-IPSL-CM5A-MR, and RCA4-CSIRO-MK3.6.0 were found to correctly simulate wind speed increase with varying magnitudes on the Sen's estimator of slope. All the models sufficiently reproduce the annual cycle of wind speed with a steady increase being observed from April reaching its peak around August/September and beginning to drop in October. Apart from RegCM4-MPI-ESM and RegCM4-HadGEM2, the performance of RCMs in simulating spatial wind speed patterns is generally good although they overestimate it by ~ 1 m s\(^{-1}\) in the western and southern provinces of the country. Model performance metrics indicate that with a correlation coefficient of 0.5, a root mean square error of 0.4 m s\(^{-1}\), an RSR value of 7.7 and a bias of 19.9\%, RCA4-GFDL-ESM2M outperforms all other models followed by RCA4-HadGEM2, and RCA4-CM5A-MR respectively. These results, therefore, suggest that studies that use an ensemble of RCA4-GFDL-ESM2M, RCA4-HadGEM2, and RCA4-CM5A-MR would yield useful results for informing future renewable wind energy potential in Zambia.}, language = {en} } @article{KanmegneTamgaLatifiUllmannetal.2023, author = {Kanmegne Tamga, Dan and Latifi, Hooman and Ullmann, Tobias and Baumhauer, Roland and Thiel, Michael and Bayala, Jules}, title = {Modelling the spatial distribution of the classification error of remote sensing data in cocoa agroforestry systems}, series = {Agroforestry Systems}, volume = {97}, journal = {Agroforestry Systems}, number = {1}, issn = {0167-4366}, doi = {10.1007/s10457-022-00791-2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324139}, pages = {109-119}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Cocoa growing is one of the main activities in humid West Africa, which is mainly grown in pure stands. It is the main driver of deforestation and encroachment in protected areas. Cocoa agroforestry systems which have been promoted to mitigate deforestation, needs to be accurately delineated to support a valid monitoring system. Therefore, the aim of this research is to model the spatial distribution of uncertainties in the classification cocoa agroforestry. The study was carried out in C{\^o}te d'Ivoire, close to the Ta{\"i} National Park. The analysis followed three steps (i) image classification based on texture parameters and vegetation indices from Sentinel-1 and -2 data respectively, to train a random forest algorithm. A classified map with the associated probability maps was generated. (ii) Shannon entropy was calculated from the probability maps, to get the error maps at different thresholds (0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5). Then, (iii) the generated error maps were analysed using a Geographically Weighted Regression model to check for spatial autocorrelation. From the results, a producer accuracy (0.88) and a user's accuracy (0.91) were obtained. A small threshold value overestimates the classification error, while a larger threshold will underestimate it. The optimal value was found to be between 0.3 and 0.4. There was no evidence of spatial autocorrelation except for a smaller threshold (0.2). The approach differentiated cocoa from other landcover and detected encroachment in forest. Even though some information was lost in the process, the method is effective for mapping cocoa plantations in C{\^o}te d'Ivoire.}, language = {en} } @article{FrimmelChakravartiBasei2022, author = {Frimmel, Hartwig E. and Chakravarti, Rajarshi and Basei, Miguel A. S.}, title = {Detrital zircon ages from Archaean conglomerates in the Singhbhum Craton, eastern India: implications on economic Au-U potential}, series = {Mineralium Deposita}, volume = {57}, journal = {Mineralium Deposita}, number = {8}, issn = {0026-4598}, doi = {10.1007/s00126-022-01121-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324084}, pages = {1499-1514}, year = {2022}, abstract = {New U-Pb age and Hf isotope data obtained on detrital zircon grains from Au- and U-bearing Archaean quartz-pebble conglomerates in the Singhbhum Craton, eastern India, specifically the Upper Iron Ore Group in the Badampahar Greenstone Belt and the Phuljhari Formation below the Dhanjori Group provide insights into the zircon provenance and maximum age of sediment deposition. The most concordant, least disturbed \(^{207}\)Pb/\(^{206}\)Pb ages cover the entire range of known magmatic and higher grade metamorphic events in the craton from 3.48 to 3.06 Ga and show a broad maximum between 3.38 and 3.18 Ga. This overlap is also mimicked by Lu-Hf isotope analyses, which returned a wide range in \(_{εHf}\)(t) values from + 6 to - 5, in agreement with the range known from zircon grains in igneous and metamorphic rocks in the Singhbhum Craton. A smaller but distinct age peak centred at 3.06 Ga corresponds to the age of the last major magmatic intrusive event, the emplacement of the Mayurbhanj Granite and associated gabbro, picrite and anorthosite. Thus, these intrusive rocks must form a basement rather than being intrusive into the studied conglomerates as previously interpreted. The corresponding detrital zircon grains all have a subchondritic Hf isotopic composition. The youngest reliable zircon ages of 3.03 Ga in the case of the basal Upper Iron Ore Group in the east of the craton and 3.00 Ga for the Phuljhari Formation set an upper limit on the age of conglomerate sedimentation. Previously published detrital zircon age data from similarly Au-bearing conglomerates in the Mahagiri Quartzite in the Upper Iron Ore Group in the south of the craton gave a somewhat younger maximum age of sedimentation of 2.91 Ga. There, the lower limit on sedimentation is given by an intrusive relationship with a c. 2.8 Ga granite. The time window thus defined for conglomerate deposition on the Singhbhum Craton is almost identical to the age span established for the, in places, Au- and U-rich conglomerates in the Kaapvaal Craton of South Africa: the 2.98-2.78 Ga Dominion Group and Witwatersrand Supergroup in South Africa. Since the recognition of first major concentration of gold on Earth's surface by microbial activity having taken place at around 2.9 Ga, independent of the nature of the hinterland, the above similarity in age substantially increases the potential for discovering Witwatersrand-type gold and/or uranium deposits on the Singhbhum Craton. Further age constraints are needed there, however, to distinguish between supposedly less fertile (with respect to Au) > 2.9 Ga and more fertile < 2.9 Ga successions.}, language = {en} } @article{Ibebuchi2023, author = {Ibebuchi, Chibuike Chiedozie}, title = {Circulation patterns linked to the positive sub-tropical Indian Ocean dipole}, series = {Advances in Atmospheric Sciences}, volume = {40}, journal = {Advances in Atmospheric Sciences}, number = {1}, issn = {0256-1530}, doi = {10.1007/s00376-022-2017-2}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324119}, pages = {110-128}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The positive phase of the subtropical Indian Ocean dipole (SIOD) is one of the climatic modes in the subtropical southern Indian Ocean that influences the austral summer inter-annual rainfall variability in parts of southern Africa. This paper examines austral summer rain-bearing circulation types (CTs) in Africa south of the equator that are related to the positive SIOD and the dynamics through which specific rainfall regions in southern Africa can be influenced by this relationship. Four austral summer rain-bearing CTs were obtained. Among the four CTs, the CT that featured (i) enhanced cyclonic activity in the southwest Indian Ocean; (ii) positive widespread rainfall anomaly in the southwest Indian Ocean; and (iii) low-level convergence of moisture fluxes from the tropical South Atlantic Ocean, tropical Indian Ocean, and the southwest Indian Ocean, over the south-central landmass of Africa, was found to be related to the positive SIOD climatic mode. The relationship also implies that positive SIOD can be expected to increase the amplitude and frequency of occurrence of the aforementioned CT. The linkage between the CT related to the positive SIOD and austral summer homogeneous regions of rainfall anomalies in Africa south of the equator showed that it is the principal CT that is related to the inter-annual rainfall variability of the south-central regions of Africa, where the SIOD is already known to significantly influence its rainfall variability. Hence, through the large-scale patterns of atmospheric circulation associated with the CT, the SIOD can influence the spatial distribution and intensity of rainfall over the preferred landmass through enhanced moisture convergence.}, language = {en} } @article{FaethKunzKneisel2022, author = {F{\"a}th, Julian and Kunz, Julius and Kneisel, Christof}, title = {Monitoring spatiotemporal soil moisture changes in the subsurface of forest sites using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT)}, series = {Journal of Forestry Research}, volume = {33}, journal = {Journal of Forestry Research}, number = {5}, issn = {1007-662X}, doi = {10.1007/s11676-022-01498-x}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324073}, pages = {1649-1662}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The effects of drought on tree mortality at forest stands are not completely understood. For assessing their water supply, knowledge of the small-scale distribution of soil moisture as well as its temporal changes is a key issue in an era of climate change. However, traditional methods like taking soil samples or installing data loggers solely collect parameters of a single point or of a small soil volume. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is a suitable method for monitoring soil moisture changes and has rarely been used in forests. This method was applied at two forest sites in Bavaria, Germany to obtain high-resolution data of temporal soil moisture variations. Geoelectrical measurements (2D and 3D) were conducted at both sites over several years (2015-2018/2020) and compared with soil moisture data (matric potential or volumetric water content) for the monitoring plots. The greatest variations in resistivity values that highly correlate with soil moisture data were found in the main rooting zone. Using the ERT data, temporal trends could be tracked in several dimensions, such as the interannual increase in the depth of influence from drought events and their duration, as well as rising resistivity values going along with decreasing soil moisture. The results reveal that resistivity changes are a good proxy for seasonal and interannual soil moisture variations. Therefore, 2D- and 3D-ERT are recommended as comparatively non-laborious methods for small-spatial scale monitoring of soil moisture changes in the main rooting zone and the underlying subsurface of forested sites. Higher spatial and temporal resolution allows a better understanding of the water supply for trees, especially in times of drought.}, language = {en} } @article{Ibebuchi2022, author = {Ibebuchi, Chibuike Chiedozie}, title = {Patterns of atmospheric circulation in Western Europe linked to heavy rainfall in Germany: preliminary analysis into the 2021 heavy rainfall episode}, series = {Theoretical and Applied Climatology}, volume = {148}, journal = {Theoretical and Applied Climatology}, number = {1-2}, issn = {0177-798X}, doi = {10.1007/s00704-022-03945-5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-324100}, pages = {269-283}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The July 2021 heavy rainfall episode in parts of Western Europe caused devastating floods, specifically in Germany. This study examines circulation types (CTs) linked to extreme precipitation in Germany. It was investigated if the classified CTs can highlight the anomaly in synoptic patterns that contributed to the unusual July 2021 heavy rainfall in Germany. The North Atlantic Oscillation was found to be the major climatic mode related to the seasonal and inter-annual variations of most of the classified CTs. On average, wet (dry) conditions in large parts of Germany can be linked to westerly (northerly) moisture fluxes. During spring and summer seasons, the mid-latitude cyclone when located over the North Sea disrupts onshore moisture transport from the North Atlantic Ocean by westerlies driven by the North Atlantic subtropical anticyclone. The CT found to have the highest probability of being associated with above-average rainfall in large part of Germany features (i) enhancement and northward track of the cyclonic system over the Mediterranean; (ii) northward track of the North Atlantic anticyclone, further displacing poleward, the mid-latitude cyclone over the North Sea, enabling band of westerly moisture fluxes to penetrate Germany; (iii) cyclonic system over the Baltic Sea coupled with northeast fluxes of moisture to Germany; (iv) and unstable atmospheric conditions over Germany. In 2021, a spike was detected in the amplitude and frequency of occurrence of the aforementioned wet CT suggesting that in addition to the nearly stationary cut-off low over central Europe, during the July flood episode, anomalies in the CT contributed to the heavy rainfall event.}, language = {en} } @article{PhilippDietzUllmannetal.2023, author = {Philipp, Marius and Dietz, Andreas and Ullmann, Tobias and Kuenzer, Claudia}, title = {A circum-Arctic monitoring framework for quantifying annual erosion rates of permafrost coasts}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {15}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {3}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs15030818}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-304447}, year = {2023}, abstract = {This study demonstrates a circum-Arctic monitoring framework for quantifying annual change of permafrost-affected coasts at a spatial resolution of 10 m. Frequent cloud coverage and challenging lighting conditions, including polar night, limit the usability of optical data in Arctic regions. For this reason, Synthetic Aperture RADAR (SAR) data in the form of annual median and standard deviation (sd) Sentinel-1 (S1) backscatter images covering the months June-September for the years 2017-2021 were computed. Annual composites for the year 2020 were hereby utilized as input for the generation of a high-quality coastline product via a Deep Learning (DL) workflow, covering 161,600 km of the Arctic coastline. The previously computed annual S1 composites for the years 2017 and 2021 were employed as input data for the Change Vector Analysis (CVA)-based coastal change investigation. The generated DL coastline product served hereby as a reference. Maximum erosion rates of up to 67 m per year could be observed based on 400 m coastline segments. Overall highest average annual erosion can be reported for the United States (Alaska) with 0.75 m per year, followed by Russia with 0.62 m per year. Out of all seas covered in this study, the Beaufort Sea featured the overall strongest average annual coastal erosion of 1.12 m. Several quality layers are provided for both the DL coastline product and the CVA-based coastal change analysis to assess the applicability and accuracy of the output products. The predicted coastal change rates show good agreement with findings published in previous literature. The proposed methods and data may act as a valuable tool for future analysis of permafrost loss and carbon emissions in Arctic coastal environments.}, language = {en} } @article{KacicThonfeldGessneretal.2023, author = {Kacic, Patrick and Thonfeld, Frank and Gessner, Ursula and Kuenzer, Claudia}, title = {Forest structure characterization in Germany: novel products and analysis based on GEDI, Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {15}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {8}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs15081969}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-313727}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Monitoring forest conditions is an essential task in the context of global climate change to preserve biodiversity, protect carbon sinks and foster future forest resilience. Severe impacts of heatwaves and droughts triggering cascading effects such as insect infestation are challenging the semi-natural forests in Germany. As a consequence of repeated drought years since 2018, large-scale canopy cover loss has occurred calling for an improved disturbance monitoring and assessment of forest structure conditions. The present study demonstrates the potential of complementary remote sensing sensors to generate wall-to-wall products of forest structure for Germany. The combination of high spatial and temporal resolution imagery from Sentinel-1 (Synthetic Aperture Radar, SAR) and Sentinel-2 (multispectral) with novel samples on forest structure from the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI, LiDAR, Light detection and ranging) enables the analysis of forest structure dynamics. Modeling the three-dimensional structure of forests from GEDI samples in machine learning models reveals the recent changes in German forests due to disturbances (e.g., canopy cover degradation, salvage logging). This first consistent data set on forest structure for Germany from 2017 to 2022 provides information of forest canopy height, forest canopy cover and forest biomass and allows estimating recent forest conditions at 10 m spatial resolution. The wall-to-wall maps of the forest structure support a better understanding of post-disturbance forest structure and forest resilience.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Philipp2023, author = {Philipp, Marius Balthasar}, title = {Quantifying the Effects of Permafrost Degradation in Arctic Coastal Environments via Satellite Earth Observation}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-34563}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-345634}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Permafrost degradation is observed all over the world as a consequence of climate change and the associated Arctic amplification, which has severe implications for the environment. Landslides, increased rates of surface deformation, rising likelihood of infrastructure damage, amplified coastal erosion rates, and the potential turnover of permafrost from a carbon sink to a carbon source are thereby exemplary implications linked to the thawing of frozen ground material. In this context, satellite earth observation is a potent tool for the identification and continuous monitoring of relevant processes and features on a cheap, long-term, spatially explicit, and operational basis as well as up to a circumpolar scale. A total of 325 articles published in 30 different international journals during the past two decades were investigated on the basis of studied environmental foci, remote sensing platforms, sensor combinations, applied spatio-temporal resolutions, and study locations in an extensive review on past achievements, current trends, as well as future potentials and challenges of satellite earth observation for permafrost related analyses. The development of analysed environmental subjects, utilized sensors and platforms, and the number of annually published articles over time are addressed in detail. Studies linked to atmospheric features and processes, such as the release of greenhouse gas emissions, appear to be strongly under-represented. Investigations on the spatial distribution of study locations revealed distinct study clusters across the Arctic. At the same time, large sections of the continuous permafrost domain are only poorly covered and remain to be investigated in detail. A general trend towards increasing attention in satellite earth observation of permafrost and related processes and features was observed. The overall amount of published articles hereby more than doubled since the year 2015. New sources of satellite data, such as the Sentinel satellites and the Methane Remote Sensing LiDAR Mission (Merlin), as well as novel methodological approaches, such as data fusion and deep learning, will thereby likely improve our understanding of the thermal state and distribution of permafrost, and the effects of its degradation. Furthermore, cloud-based big data processing platforms (e.g. Google Earth Engine (GEE)) will further enable sophisticated and long-term analyses on increasingly larger scales and at high spatial resolutions. In this thesis, a specific focus was put on Arctic permafrost coasts, which feature increasing vulnerability to environmental parameters, such as the thawing of frozen ground, and are therefore associated with amplified erosion rates. In particular, a novel monitoring framework for quantifying Arctic coastal erosion rates within the permafrost domain at high spatial resolution and on a circum-Arctic scale is presented within this thesis. Challenging illumination conditions and frequent cloud cover restrict the applicability of optical satellite imagery in Arctic regions. In order to overcome these limitations, Synthetic Aperture RADAR (SAR) data derived from Sentinel-1 (S1), which is largely independent from sun illumination and weather conditions, was utilized. Annual SAR composites covering the months June-September were combined with a Deep Learning (DL) framework and a Change Vector Analysis (CVA) approach to generate both a high-quality and circum-Arctic coastline product as well as a coastal change product that highlights areas of erosion and build-up. Annual composites in the form of standard deviation (sd) and median backscatter were computed and used as inputs for both the DL framework and the CVA coastal change quantification. The final DL-based coastline product covered a total of 161,600 km of Arctic coastline and featured a median accuracy of ±6.3 m to the manually digitized reference data. Annual coastal change quantification between 2017-2021 indicated erosion rates of up to 67 m per year for some areas based on 400 m coastal segments. In total, 12.24\% of the investigated coastline featured an average erosion rate of 3.8 m per year, which corresponds to 17.83 km2 of annually eroded land area. Multiple quality layers associated to both products, the generated DL-coastline and the coastal change rates, are provided on a pixel basis to further assess the accuracy and applicability of the proposed data, methods, and products. Lastly, the extracted circum-Arctic erosion rates were utilized as a basis in an experimental framework for estimating the amount of permafrost and carbon loss as a result of eroding permafrost coastlines. Information on permafrost fraction, Active Layer Thickness (ALT), soil carbon content, and surface elevation were thereby combined with the aforementioned erosion rates. While the proposed experimental framework provides a valuable outline for quantifying the volume loss of frozen ground and carbon release, extensive validation of the utilized environmental products and resulting volume loss numbers based on 200 m segments are necessary. Furthermore, data of higher spatial resolution and information of carbon content for deeper soil depths are required for more accurate estimates.}, subject = {Dauerfrostboden}, language = {en} } @article{ReinersSobrinoKuenzer2023, author = {Reiners, Philipp and Sobrino, Jos{\´e} and Kuenzer, Claudia}, title = {Satellite-derived land surface temperature dynamics in the context of global change — a review}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {15}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {7}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs15071857}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-311120}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Satellite-derived Land Surface Temperature (LST) dynamics have been increasingly used to study various geophysical processes. This review provides an extensive overview of the applications of LST in the context of global change. By filtering a selection of relevant keywords, a total of 164 articles from 14 international journals published during the last two decades were analyzed based on study location, research topic, applied sensor, spatio-temporal resolution and scale and employed analysis methods. It was revealed that China and the USA were the most studied countries and those that had the most first author affiliations. The most prominent research topic was the Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI), while the research topics related to climate change were underrepresented. MODIS was by far the most used sensor system, followed by Landsat. A relatively small number of studies analyzed LST dynamics on a global or continental scale. The extensive use of MODIS highly determined the study periods: A majority of the studies started around the year 2000 and thus had a study period shorter than 25 years. The following suggestions were made to increase the utilization of LST time series in climate research: The prolongation of the time series by, e.g., using AVHRR LST, the better representation of LST under clouds, the comparison of LST to traditional climate change measures, such as air temperature and reanalysis variables, and the extension of the validation to heterogenous sites.}, language = {en} } @article{DhillonKuebertFlockDahmsetal.2023, author = {Dhillon, Maninder Singh and K{\"u}bert-Flock, Carina and Dahms, Thorsten and Rummler, Thomas and Arnault, Joel and Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf and Ullmann, Tobias}, title = {Evaluation of MODIS, Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 data for accurate crop yield predictions: a case study using STARFM NDVI in Bavaria, Germany}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {15}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {7}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs15071830}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-311132}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The increasing availability and variety of global satellite products and the rapid development of new algorithms has provided great potential to generate a new level of data with different spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions. However, the ability of these synthetic spatiotemporal datasets to accurately map and monitor our planet on a field or regional scale remains underexplored. This study aimed to support future research efforts in estimating crop yields by identifying the optimal spatial (10 m, 30 m, or 250 m) and temporal (8 or 16 days) resolutions on a regional scale. The current study explored and discussed the suitability of four different synthetic (Landsat (L)-MOD13Q1 (30 m, 8 and 16 days) and Sentinel-2 (S)-MOD13Q1 (10 m, 8 and 16 days)) and two real (MOD13Q1 (250 m, 8 and 16 days)) NDVI products combined separately to two widely used crop growth models (CGMs) (World Food Studies (WOFOST), and the semi-empiric Light Use Efficiency approach (LUE)) for winter wheat (WW) and oil seed rape (OSR) yield forecasts in Bavaria (70,550 km\(^2\)) for the year 2019. For WW and OSR, the synthetic products' high spatial and temporal resolution resulted in higher yield accuracies using LUE and WOFOST. The observations of high temporal resolution (8-day) products of both S-MOD13Q1 and L-MOD13Q1 played a significant role in accurately measuring the yield of WW and OSR. For example, L- and S-MOD13Q1 resulted in an R\(^2\) = 0.82 and 0.85, RMSE = 5.46 and 5.01 dt/ha for WW, R\(^2\) = 0.89 and 0.82, and RMSE = 2.23 and 2.11 dt/ha for OSR using the LUE model, respectively. Similarly, for the 8- and 16-day products, the simple LUE model (R\(^2\) = 0.77 and relative RMSE (RRMSE) = 8.17\%) required fewer input parameters to simulate crop yield and was highly accurate, reliable, and more precise than the complex WOFOST model (R\(^2\) = 0.66 and RRMSE = 11.35\%) with higher input parameters. Conclusively, both S-MOD13Q1 and L-MOD13Q1, in combination with LUE, were more prominent for predicting crop yields on a regional scale than the 16-day products; however, L-MOD13Q1 was advantageous for generating and exploring the long-term yield time series due to the availability of Landsat data since 1982, with a maximum resolution of 30 m. In addition, this study recommended the further use of its findings for implementing and validating the long-term crop yield time series in different regions of the world.}, language = {en} } @article{BenderRothJob2017, author = {Bender, Oliver and Roth, Charlotte E. and Job, Hubert}, title = {Protected areas and population development in the alps}, series = {eco.mont : Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management}, volume = {9}, journal = {eco.mont : Journal on Protected Mountain Areas Research and Management}, number = {Special issue}, doi = {10.1553/eco.mont-9-sis5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-181901}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Nearly a quarter of the Alpine area is covered by a dense network of large protected areas (LPAs) of the four categories national park(NP), biosphere reserve (BR), nature park and world natural heritage site (WNHS). From the time of early industrialization, the Alpine area has undergone a mixed and increasingly polarized demographic development between the poles of immigration and emigration. This article investigates the possible mutual impact of population development and the existence of LPAs. The research design includes a quantitative survey of all Alpine LPAs in terms of their population development and the structure of immigration in the first decade of the 21st century. This will be linked with qualitative expert interviews in four selected NPs. The overall results allow an interpretation of the statistical correlations between type of LPA and migration.}, language = {en} } @article{SenaratneMuehlbauerKiefletal.2023, author = {Senaratne, Hansi and M{\"u}hlbauer, Martin and Kiefl, Ralph and C{\´a}rdenas, Andrea and Prathapan, Lallu and Riedlinger, Torsten and Biewer, Carolin and Taubenb{\"o}ck, Hannes}, title = {The Unseen — an investigative analysis of thematic and spatial coverage of news on the ongoing refugee crisis in West Africa}, series = {ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information}, volume = {12}, journal = {ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information}, number = {4}, issn = {2220-9964}, doi = {10.3390/ijgi12040175}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-313607}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The fastest growing regional crisis is happening in West Africa today, with over 8 million people considered persons of concern. A culmination of identity politics, climate-driven disasters, and extreme poverty has led to this humanitarian crisis in the region and is exacerbated by a lack of political will and misplaced media attention. The current state of the art does not present sufficient investigations of the thematic and spatial coverage of news media of this crisis in this region. This paper studies the spatial coverage of this crisis as reported in the media, and the themes associated with those locations, based on a curated dataset. For the time frame 12 March to 15 September 2021, 2017 news articles related to the refugee crisis in West Africa were examined and manually coded based on (1) the geographical locations mentioned in each article; (2) the themes found in the articles in reference to a location (e.g., Relocation of people in Abuja). The dataset introduces a thematic dimension, as never achieved before, to the conflict-ridden areas in West Africa. A comparative analysis with UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) data showed that 96.8\% of refugee-related locations in West Africa were not covered by news during the considered time frame. Contrastingly, 80.4\% of locations mentioned in the news do not appear in the UNHCR repository. Most news articles published during this time frame reported on Development aid or Political statements. Linear multiple regression analysis showed GDP per capita and political stability to be among the most influential determinants of news coverage.}, language = {en} } @article{LatifiHolzwarthSkidmoreetal.2021, author = {Latifi, Hooman and Holzwarth, Stefanie and Skidmore, Andrew and Brůna, Josef and Červenka, Jaroslav and Darvishzadeh, Roshanak and Hais, Martin and Heiden, Uta and Homolov{\´a}, Lucie and Krzystek, Peter and Schneider, Thomas and Star{\´y}, Martin and Wang, Tiejun and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Heurich, Marco}, title = {A laboratory for conceiving Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs)—The 'Data pool initiative for the Bohemian Forest Ecosystem'}, series = {Methods in Ecology and Evolution}, volume = {12}, journal = {Methods in Ecology and Evolution}, number = {11}, doi = {10.1111/2041-210X.13695}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-262743}, pages = {2073-2083}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Effects of climate change-induced events on forest ecosystem dynamics of composition, function and structure call for increased long-term, interdisciplinary and integrated research on biodiversity indicators, in particular within strictly protected areas with extensive non-intervention zones. The long-established concept of forest supersites generally relies on long-term funds from national agencies and goes beyond the logistic and financial capabilities of state- or region-wide protected area administrations, universities and research institutes. We introduce the concept of data pools as a smaller-scale, user-driven and reasonable alternative to co-develop remote sensing and forest ecosystem science to validated products, biodiversity indicators and management plans. We demonstrate this concept with the Bohemian Forest Ecosystem Data Pool, which has been established as an interdisciplinary, international data pool within the strictly protected Bavarian Forest and Šumava National Parks and currently comprises 10 active partners. We demonstrate how the structure and impact of the data pool differs from comparable cases. We assessed the international influence and visibility of the data pool with the help of a systematic literature search and a brief analysis of the results. Results primarily suggest an increase in the impact and visibility of published material during the life span of the data pool, with highest visibilities achieved by research conducted on leaf traits, vegetation phenology and 3D-based forest inventory. We conclude that the data pool results in an efficient contribution to the concept of global biodiversity observatory by evolving towards a training platform, functioning as a pool of data and algorithms, directly communicating with management for implementation and providing test fields for feasibility studies on earth observation missions.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Fekete2018, author = {Fekete, Alexander}, title = {Urban Disaster Resilience and Critical Infrastructure}, isbn = {978-3-946573-13-5}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-163251}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, pages = {89}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Urban areas are population, culture and infrastructure concentration points. Electricity blackouts or interruptions of water supply severely affect people when happening unexpected and at large scale. Interruptions of such infrastructure supply services alone have the potential to trigger crises. But when happening in concert with or as a secondary effect of an earthquake, for example, the crisis situation is often aggravated. This is the case for any country, but it has been observed that even highly industrialised countries face severe risks when their degree of acquired dependency on services of what is termed Critical Infrastructure results in even bigger losses when occurring unexpectedly in a setting that usually has high reliability of services.}, subject = {Risikomanagement}, language = {en} } @article{DietrichMeisterDietrichetal.2019, author = {Dietrich, Laura and Meister, Julia and Dietrich, Oliver and Notroff, Jens and Kiep, Janika and Heeb, Julia and Beuger, Andr{\´e} and Sch{\"u}tt, Brigitta}, title = {Cereal processing at Early Neolithic G{\"o}bekli Tepe, southeastern Turkey}, series = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {14}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0215214}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-201504}, pages = {e0215214}, year = {2019}, abstract = {We analyze the processing of cereals and its role at Early Neolithic G{\"o}bekli Tepe, southeastern Anatolia (10th / 9th millennium BC), a site that has aroused much debate in archaeological discourse. To date, only zooarchaeological evidence has been discussed in regard to the subsistence of its builders. G{\"o}bekli Tepe consists of monumental round to oval buildings, erected in an earlier phase, and smaller rectangular buildings, built around them in a partially contemporaneous and later phase. The monumental buildings are best known as they were in the focus of research. They are around 20 m in diameter and have stone pillars that are up to 5.5 m high and often richly decorated. The rectangular buildings are smaller and-in some cases-have up to 2 m high, mostly undecorated, pillars. Especially striking is the number of tools related to food processing, including grinding slabs/bowls, handstones, pestles, and mortars, which have not been studied before. We analyzed more than 7000 artifacts for the present contribution. The high frequency of artifacts is unusual for contemporary sites in the region. Using an integrated approach of formal, experimental, and macro- / microscopical use-wear analyses we show that Neolithic people at G{\"o}bekli Tepe have produced standardized and efficient grinding tools, most of which have been used for the processing of cereals. Additional phytolith analysis confirms the massive presence of cereals at the site, filling the gap left by the weakly preserved charred macro-rests. The organization of work and food supply has always been a central question of research into G{\"o}bekli Tepe, as the construction and maintenance of the monumental architecture would have necessitated a considerable work force. Contextual analyses of the distribution of the elements of the grinding kit on site highlight a clear link between plant food preparation and the rectangular buildings and indicate clear delimitations of working areas for food production on the terraces the structures lie on, surrounding the circular buildings. There is evidence for extensive plant food processing and archaeozoological data hint at large-scale hunting of gazelle between midsummer and autumn. As no large storage facilities have been identified, we argue for a production of food for immediate use and interpret these seasonal peaks in activity at the site as evidence for the organization of large work feasts.}, language = {en} } @article{MeyerPetersThieletal.2021, author = {Meyer, Constantin and Peters, Jan Christoph and Thiel, Michael and Rathmann, Joachim and Job, Hubert}, title = {Monitoring von Freifl{\"a}cheninanspruchnahme und -versiegelung f{\"u}r eine nachhaltige Raumentwicklung in Bayern}, series = {Raumforschung und Raumordnung}, volume = {79}, journal = {Raumforschung und Raumordnung}, number = {2}, doi = {10.14512/rur.40}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-261622}, pages = {172-189}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Im Freistaat Bayern wird intensiv diskutiert, wie die nach wie vor hohe Freifl{\"a}cheninanspruchnahme f{\"u}r Siedlungs- und Verkehrszwecke reduziert werden kann. Wissenschaftliche Grundlage f{\"u}r Steuerungsans{\"a}tze in der Stadt- und Regionalentwicklung sollte ein verbessertes staatliches Fl{\"a}chenmonitoring sein, welches {\"u}ber die amtliche Statistik und deren Hauptindikator "Siedlungs- und Verkehrsfl{\"a}che" hinaus auch die qualitative Dimension der Fl{\"a}cheninanspruchnahme einbezieht. Daf{\"u}r stellt dieser Beitrag methodische Erweiterungsans{\"a}tze f{\"u}r das Fl{\"a}chenmonitoring vor, welche kleinr{\"a}umige Analysen der Zersiedelung, Freiraumstruktur, Fl{\"a}chenversiegelung und {\"O}kosystemleistungen am Beispiel des Landkreises Rh{\"o}n-Grabfeld aufzeigen. Diese werden im Kontext der Debatte zu Ursachen und Steuerung der Freifl{\"a}cheninanspruchnahme sowie zu aktuellen Anforderungen an das Fl{\"a}chenmonitoring diskutiert. Betont wird deren Bedeutung f{\"u}r das Monitoring rechtlicher Vorgaben und politischer Ziele zur nachhaltigen Fl{\"a}chennutzung.}, language = {de} } @article{RoeschBiesterBogenriederetal.2017, author = {R{\"o}sch, Manfred and Biester, Harald and Bogenrieder, Arno and Eckmeier, Eileen and Ehrmann, Otto and Gerlach, Renate and Hall, Mathias and Hartkopf-Fr{\"o}der, Christoph and Herrmann, Ludger and Kury, Birgit and Lechterbeck, Jutta and Schier, Wolfram and Schulz, Erhard}, title = {Late neolithic agriculture in temperate Europe—a long-term experimental approach}, series = {Land}, volume = {6}, journal = {Land}, number = {1}, issn = {2073-445X}, doi = {10.3390/land6010011}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-198103}, pages = {11}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Long-term slash-and-burn experiments, when compared with intensive tillage without manuring, resulted in a huge data set relating to potential crop yields, depending on soil quality, crop type, and agricultural measures. Cultivation without manuring or fallow phases did not produce satisfying yields, and mono-season cropping on freshly cleared and burned plots resulted in rather high yields, comparable to those produced during modern industrial agriculture - at least ten-fold the ones estimated for the medieval period. Continuous cultivation on the same plot, using imported wood from adjacent areas as fuel, causes decreasing yields over several years. The high yield of the first harvest of a slash-and-burn agriculture is caused by nutrient input through the ash produced and mobilization from the organic matter of the topsoil, due to high soil temperatures during the burning process and higher topsoil temperatures due to the soil's black surface. The harvested crops are pure, without contamination of any weeds. Considering the amount of work required to fight weeds without burning, the slash-and-burn technique yields much better results than any other tested agricultural approach. Therefore, in dense woodland, without optimal soils and climate, slash-and-burn agriculture seems to be the best, if not the only, feasible method to start agriculture, for example, during the Late Neolithic, when agriculture expanded from the loess belt into landscapes less suitable for agriculture. Extensive and cultivation with manuring is more practical in an already-open landscape and with a denser population, but its efficiency in terms of the ratio of the manpower input to food output, is worse. Slash-and-burn agriculture is not only a phenomenon of temperate European agriculture during the Neolithic, but played a major role in land-use in forested regions worldwide, creating anthromes on a huge spatial scale.}, language = {en} } @article{UllmannMoellerBaumhaueretal.2022, author = {Ullmann, Tobias and M{\"o}ller, Eric and Baumhauer, Roland and Lange-Athinodorou, Eva and Meister, Julia}, title = {A new Google Earth Engine tool for spaceborne detection of buried palaeogeographical features - examples from the Nile Delta (Egypt)}, series = {E\&G Quaternary Science Journal}, volume = {71}, journal = {E\&G Quaternary Science Journal}, number = {2}, doi = {10.5194/egqsj-71-243-2022}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300164}, pages = {243-247}, year = {2022}, abstract = {No abstract available.}, language = {en} } @article{UllmannNillSchiestletal.2020, author = {Ullmann, Tobias and Nill, Leon and Schiestl, Robert and Trappe, Julian and Lange-Athinodorou, Eva and Baumhauer, Roland and Meister, Julia}, title = {Mapping buried paleogeographical features of the Nile Delta (Egypt) using the Landsat archive}, series = {E\&G Quartnerny Science Journal}, volume = {69}, journal = {E\&G Quartnerny Science Journal}, number = {2}, doi = {10.5194/egqsj-69-225-2020}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-230349}, pages = {225-245}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The contribution highlights the use of Landsat spectral-temporal metrics (STMs) for the detection of surface anomalies that are potentially related to buried near-surface paleogeomorphological deposits in the Nile Delta (Egypt), in particular for a buried river branch close to Buto. The processing was completed in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) for the entire Nile Delta and for selected seasons of the year (summer/winter) using Landsat data from 1985 to 2019. We derived the STMs of the tasseled cap transformation (TC), the Normalized Difference Wetness Index (NDWI), and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). These features were compared to historical topographic maps of the Survey of Egypt, CORONA imagery, the digital elevation model of the TanDEM-X mission, and modern high-resolution satellite imagery. The results suggest that the extent of channels is best revealed when differencing the median NDWI between summer (July/August) and winter (January/February) seasons (ΔNDWI). The observed difference is likely due to lower soil/plant moisture during summer, which is potentially caused by coarser-grained deposits and the morphology of the former levee. Similar anomalies were found in the immediate surroundings of several Pleistocene sand hills ("geziras") and settlement mounds ("tells") of the eastern delta, which allowed some mapping of the potential near-surface continuation. Such anomalies were not observed for the surroundings of tells of the western Nile Delta. Additional linear and meandering ΔNDWI anomalies were found in the eastern Nile Delta in the immediate surroundings of the ancient site of Bubastis (Tell Basta), as well as several kilometers north of Zagazig. These anomalies might indicate former courses of Nile river branches. However, the ΔNDWI does not provide an unambiguous delineation.}, language = {en} } @article{KunzKneisel2021, author = {Kunz, Julius and Kneisel, Christof}, title = {Three-dimensional investigation of an open- and a closed-system Pingo in northwestern Canada}, series = {Permafrost and Periglacial Processes}, volume = {32}, journal = {Permafrost and Periglacial Processes}, number = {4}, doi = {10.1002/ppp.2115}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-257678}, pages = {541-557}, year = {2021}, abstract = {The present study presents three-dimensional investigations of a hydrostatic pingo in the Mackenzie Delta region and a hydraulic pingo in the Ogilvie Mountains and contributes to a better understanding about the internal structures of the two pingo types. A combined approach using quasi-three-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography, ground-penetrating radar and frost probing allowed a clear delineation of frozen and unfrozen areas in the subsurface. At the hydrostatic pingo a massive ice core as well as a surrounding talik could be detected, but the location of the ice core and the talik differs from previous published assumptions. In contrast to acknowledged theory, at our site the massive ice core is not located in the center of the pingo but at the western edge, whereas the eastern flank is underlain by a talik, which surrounds the massive ice core. At the hydraulic pingo, the expected internal structure could be confirmed and the pathway of upwelling water could also be detected. The combined approach of the applied methods represents the first known three-dimensional geoelectrical investigation of pingos and provides new insights into the internal structure and architecture of the two different pingo types. The chosen approach allows further conclusions on the formation of these permafrost-affected landforms.}, language = {en} } @article{Schwalb‐WillmannRemelgadoSafietal.2020, author = {Schwalb-Willmann, Jakob and Remelgado, Ruben and Safi, Kamran and Wegmann, Martin}, title = {moveVis: Animating movement trajectories in synchronicity with static or temporally dynamic environmental data in R}, series = {Methods in Ecology and Evolution}, volume = {11}, journal = {Methods in Ecology and Evolution}, number = {5}, doi = {10.1111/2041-210X.13374}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-214856}, pages = {664 -- 669}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Visualizing movement data is challenging: While traditional spatial data can be sufficiently displayed as two-dimensional plots or maps, movement trajectories require the representation of time in a third dimension. To address this, we present moveVis, an R package, which provides tools to animate movement trajectories, overlaying simultaneous uni- or multi-temporal raster imagery or vector data. moveVis automates the processing of movement and environmental data to turn such into an animation. This includes (a) the regularization of movement trajectories enforcing uniform time instances and intervals across all trajectories, (b) the frame-wise mapping of movement trajectories onto temporally static or dynamic environmental layers, (c) the addition of customizations, for example, map elements or colour scales and (d) the rendering of frames into an animation encoded as GIF or video file. moveVis is designed to display interactions and concurrencies of animal movement and environmental data. We present examples and use cases, ranging from data exploration to visualizing scientific findings. Static spatial plots of movement data disregard the temporal dimension that distinguishes movement from other spatial data. In contrast, animations allow to display relocation in both time and space. We deem animations a powerful way to visually explore movement data, frame analytical findings and display potential interactions with spatially continuous and temporally dynamic environmental covariates.}, language = {en} } @article{StanleyUllmannLangeAthinodorou2021, author = {Stanley, Jean-Daniel and Ullmann, Tobias and Lange-Athinodorou, Eva}, title = {Holocene aridity-induced interruptions of human activity along a fluvial channel in Egypt's northern delta}, series = {Quaternary}, volume = {4}, journal = {Quaternary}, number = {4}, issn = {2571-550X}, doi = {10.3390/quat4040039}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-250285}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Geoarchaeological information presented here pertains to a subsidiary Nile channel that once flowed west of the main Sebennitic distributary and discharged its water and sediments at Egypt's then north-central deltaic coast. Periodical paleoclimatic episodes during the later Middle and Upper Holocene included decreased rainfall and increased aridity that reduced the Nile's flow levels and thus likely disrupted nautical transport and anthropogenic activity along this channel. Such changes in this deltaic sector, positioned adjacent to the Levantine Basin in the Eastern Mediterranean, can be attributed to climatic shifts triggered as far as the North Atlantic to the west, and African highland source areas of the Egyptian Nile to the south. Of special interest in a study core recovered along the channel are several sediment sequences without anthropogenic material that are interbedded between strata comprising numerous potsherds. The former are interpreted here as markers of increased regional aridity and reduced Nile flow which could have periodically disrupted the regional distribution of goods and nautical activities. Such times occurred ~5000 years B.P., ~4200-4000 years B.P., ~3200-2800 years B.P., ~2300-2200 years B.P., and more recently. Periods comparable to these are also identified by altered proportions of pollen, isotopic and compositional components in different radiocarbon-dated Holocene cores recovered elsewhere in the Nile delta, the Levantine region to the east and north of Egypt, and in the Faiyum depression south of the delta.}, language = {en} } @article{RemelgadoLeutnerSafietal.2018, author = {Remelgado, Ruben and Leutner, Benjamin and Safi, Kamran and Sonnenschein, Ruth and Kuebert, Carina and Wegmann, Martin}, title = {Linking animal movement and remote sensing - mapping resource suitability from a remote sensing perspective}, series = {Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation}, volume = {4}, journal = {Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1002/rse2.70}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-225199}, pages = {211-224}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Optical remote sensing is an important tool in the study of animal behavior providing ecologists with the means to understand species-environment interactions in combination with animal movement data. However, differences in spatial and temporal resolution between movement and remote sensing data limit their direct assimilation. In this context, we built a data-driven framework to map resource suitability that addresses these differences as well as the limitations of satellite imagery. It combines seasonal composites of multiyear surface reflectances and optimized presence and absence samples acquired with animal movement data within a cross-validation modeling scheme. Moreover, it responds to dynamic, site-specific environmental conditions making it applicable to contrasting landscapes. We tested this framework using five populations of White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) to model resource suitability related to foraging achieving accuracies from 0.40 to 0.94 for presences and 0.66 to 0.93 for absences. These results were influenced by the temporal composition of the seasonal reflectances indicated by the lower accuracies associated with higher day differences in relation to the target dates. Additionally, population differences in resource selection influenced our results marked by the negative relationship between the model accuracies and the variability of the surface reflectances associated with the presence samples. Our modeling approach spatially splits presences between training and validation. As a result, when these represent different and unique resources, we face a negative bias during validation. Despite these inaccuracies, our framework offers an important basis to analyze species-environment interactions. As it standardizes site-dependent behavioral and environmental characteristics, it can be used in the comparison of intra- and interspecies environmental requirements and improves the analysis of resource selection along migratory paths. Moreover, due to its sensitivity to differences in resource selection, our approach can contribute toward a better understanding of species requirements.}, language = {en} } @article{PaethPollinger2019, author = {Paeth, Heiko and Pollinger, Felix}, title = {Changes in mean flow and atmospheric wave activity in the North Atlantic sector}, series = {Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society}, volume = {145}, journal = {Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society}, number = {725}, doi = {10.1002/qj.3660}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-208079}, pages = {3801-3818}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In recent years, the midlatitudes are characterized by more intense heatwaves in summer and sometimes severe cold spells in winter that might emanate from changes in atmospheric circulation, including synoptic-scale and planetary wave activity in the midlatitudes. In this study, we investigate the heat and momentum exchange between the mean flow and atmospheric waves in the North Atlantic sector and adjacent continents by means of the physically consistent Eliassen-Palm flux diagnostics applied to reanalysis and forced climate model data. In the long-term mean, momentum is transferred from the mean flow to atmospheric waves in the northwest Atlantic region, where cyclogenesis prevails. Further downstream over Europe, eddy fluxes return momentum to the mean flow, sustaining the jet stream against friction. A global climate model is able to reproduce this pattern with high accuracy. Atmospheric variability related to atmospheric wave activity is much more expressed at the intraseasonal rather than the interannual time-scale. Over the last 40 years, reanalyses reveal a northward shift of the jet stream and a weakening of intraseasonal weather variability related to synoptic-scale and planetary wave activity. This pertains to the winter and summer seasons, especially over central Europe, and correlates with changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation as well as regional temperature and precipitation. A very similar phenomenon is found in a climate model simulation with business-as-usual scenario, suggesting an anthropogenic trigger in the weakening of intraseasonal weather variability in the midlatitudes.}, language = {en} } @article{TrappeBuedelMeisteretal.2022, author = {Trappe, Julian and B{\"u}del, Christian and Meister, Julia and Baumhauer, Roland}, title = {Combining geophysical and geomorphological data to reconstruct the development of relief of a medieval castle site in the Spessart low mountain range, Germany}, series = {Earth Surface Processes and Landforms}, volume = {47}, journal = {Earth Surface Processes and Landforms}, number = {1}, doi = {10.1002/esp.5242}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-257433}, pages = {228-241}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Within the Spessart low mountain range in central Germany, numerous castle ruins of the 13th century ce exist. Their construction and destruction were often determined by the struggle for political and economic supremacy in the region and for control over the Spessart's natural resources. Wahlmich Castle is located in a relatively uncommon strategic and geomorphological position, characterized by a fairly remote position and atypical rough relief. In order to reconstruct the local relief development and possible human impact, a multi-method approach was applied combining two-dimensional geoelectrical measurements, geomorphological mapping and stratigraphic-sedimentological investigations. This provides new insights into the influence of landscape characteristics on choices of castle locations. The combined geoelectrical, geomorphological and stratigraphic-sedimentological data show that the rough relief is of natural origin and influenced by regional faulting, which triggered sliding and slumping as well as weathering and dissection of the surface deposits. The rough relief and the lithology permitted intensive land use and building activities. However, the location of the castle offered access to and possibly control over important medieval traffic routes and also represented certain ownership claims in the Aschaff River valley. The economic situation combined with rivalry between different elites led to the castle being built in a geomorphological challenging and strategically less valuable location. Focusing on castles located in rare and challenging geomorphological positions may therefore lead to a better understanding of castle siting in the future.}, language = {en} } @article{GeyerPaisWotte2020, author = {Geyer, Gerd and Pais, Miguel Caldeira and Wotte, Thomas}, title = {Unexpectedly curved spines in a Cambrian trilobite: considerations on the spinosity in Kingaspidoides spinirecurvatus sp. nov. from the Anti-Atlas, Morocco, and related Cambrian ellipsocephaloids}, series = {PalZ}, volume = {94}, journal = {PalZ}, issn = {0031-0220}, doi = {10.1007/s12542-020-00514-x}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-231873}, pages = {645-660}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The new ellipsocephaloid trilobite species Kingaspidoides spinirecurvatus has a spectacular morphology because of a unique set of two long and anteriorly recurved spines on the occipital ring and the axial ring of thoracic segment 8. Together with the long genal spines this whimsical dorsally directed spine arrangement is thought to act as a non-standard protective device against predators. This is illustrated by the body posture during different stages of enrolment, contrasting with the more sophisticated spinosities seen in later trilobites, which are discussed in brief. Kingaspidoides spinirecurvatus from the lower-middle Cambrian boundary interval of the eastern Anti-Atlas in Morocco has been known for about two decades, with specimens handled as precious objects on the fossil market. Similar, but far less spectacular, spine arrangements on the thoracic axial rings are known from other ellipsocephaloid trilobites from the Anti-Atlas of Morocco and the Franconian Forest region of Germany. This suggests that an experimental phase of spine development took place within the Kingaspi-doides clade during the early-middle Cambrian boundary interval.}, language = {en} } @article{Ibebuchi2021, author = {Ibebuchi, Chibuike Chiedozie}, title = {On the Relationship between Circulation Patterns, the Southern Annular Mode, and Rainfall Variability in Western Cape}, series = {Atmosphere}, volume = {12}, journal = {Atmosphere}, number = {6}, issn = {2073-4433}, doi = {10.3390/atmos12060753}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-241018}, year = {2021}, abstract = {This study investigates circulation types (CTs) in Africa, south of the equator, that are related to wet and dry conditions in the Western Cape, the statistical relationship between the selected CTs and the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), and changes in the frequency of occurrence of the CTs related to the SAM under the ssp585 scenario. Obliquely rotated principal component analysis applied to sea level pressure (SLP) was used to classify CTs in Africa, south of the equator. Three CTs were found to have a high probability of being associated with wet days in the Western Cape, and four CTs were equally found to have a high probability of being associated with dry days in the Western Cape. Generally, the dry/wet CTs feature the southward/northward track of the mid-latitude cyclone, adjacent to South Africa; anti-cyclonic/cyclonic relative vorticity, and poleward/equatorward track of westerlies, south of South Africa. One of the selected wet CTs was significantly related to variations of the SAM. Years with an above-average SAM index correlated with the below-average frequency of occurrences of the wet CT. The results suggest that through the dynamics of the CT, the SAM might control the rainfall variability of the Western Cape. Under the ssp585 scenario, the analyzed climate models indicated a possible decrease in the frequency of occurrence of the aforementioned wet CT associated with cyclonic activity in the mid-latitudes, and an increase in the frequency of the occurrence of CT associated with enhanced SLP at mid-latitudes.}, language = {en} } @article{HoehnFrimmelDebailleetal.2021, author = {H{\"o}hn, Stefan and Frimmel, Hartwig E. and Debaille, Vinciane and Price, Westley}, title = {Pre-Klondikean oxidation prepared the ground for Broken Hill-type mineralization in South Africa}, series = {Terra Nova}, volume = {33}, journal = {Terra Nova}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1111/ter.12502}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-218545}, pages = {168 -- 173}, year = {2021}, abstract = {New Cu isotope data obtained on chalcopyrite from the Black Mountain and the Broken Hill deposits in the medium- to high-grade metamorphic Aggeneys-Gamsberg ore district (South Africa) require a revision of our understanding of the genesis of metamorphic Broken Hill-type massive sulphide deposits. Chalcopyrite from both deposits revealed unusually wide ranges in δ\(^{65}\)Cu (-2.41 to 2.84 per mille NIST 976 standard) in combination with distinctly positive mean values (0.27 and 0.94 per mille, respectively). This is interpreted to reflect derivation from various silicate and oxide precursor minerals in which Cu occurred in higher oxidation states. Together with the observation of a typical supergene base metal distribution within the deposits and their spatial association with an unconformity only meters above the ore horizon, our new data are best explained by supergene oxidation of originally possibly SEDEX deposits prior to metamorphic sulphide formation, between the Okiepian (1,210-1,180 Ma) and Klondikean (1,040-1,020 Ma) orogenic events.}, language = {en} } @article{JobBittlingmaierMayeretal.2021, author = {Job, Hubert and Bittlingmaier, Sarah and Mayer, Marius and von Ruschkowski, Eick and Woltering, Manuel}, title = {Park-People Relationships: The Socioeconomic Monitoring of National Parks in Bavaria, Germany}, series = {Sustainability}, volume = {13}, journal = {Sustainability}, number = {16}, issn = {2071-1050}, doi = {10.3390/su13168984}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-245061}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Questions about park-people relationships and the understanding and handling of the conflicts that may result from the creation and management of national parks in the surrounding area are prerequisites for both successful park management and sustainable rural tourism development. This paper analyzes the roles that research may play in relation to park-people relationships in the context of the two oldest German national parks located in Bavaria. The different fields of action of national parks are used to identify the potential for conflict, using detailed case studies from the Bavarian Forest and Berchtesgaden National Parks using quantitative population surveys carried out in 2018. The overall attitude towards both national parks is overwhelmingly positive, with trust towards park administrations and the perceived economic benefits from rural tourism being the attitudes most strongly correlated to the overall level of park-people relationships. Nevertheless, some points of contention still exist, like the ecological integrity approach towards strict nature conservation and related landscape changes (e.g., deadwood cover). A comparison over time shows in both cases that the spatial proximity to the protected area negatively influences people's attitudes towards the parks, but less so than in the past. Recommendations for national park management include communicating proactively and with greater transparency with locals and decision-makers, to identify conflicts earlier and, where possible, to eliminate them. Furthermore, developing a standardized method to monitor park-people relationships in Germany is a must and would benefit integrated approaches in research and management based on conservation social science.}, language = {en} } @article{PhilippDietzBucheltetal.2021, author = {Philipp, Marius and Dietz, Andreas and Buchelt, Sebastian and Kuenzer, Claudia}, title = {Trends in satellite earth observation for permafrost related analyses — A review}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {13}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {6}, doi = {10.3390/rs13061217}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-234198}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Climate change and associated Arctic amplification cause a degradation of permafrost which in turn has major implications for the environment. The potential turnover of frozen ground from a carbon sink to a carbon source, eroding coastlines, landslides, amplified surface deformation and endangerment of human infrastructure are some of the consequences connected with thawing permafrost. Satellite remote sensing is hereby a powerful tool to identify and monitor these features and processes on a spatially explicit, cheap, operational, long-term basis and up to circum-Arctic scale. By filtering after a selection of relevant keywords, a total of 325 articles from 30 international journals published during the last two decades were analyzed based on study location, spatio- temporal resolution of applied remote sensing data, platform, sensor combination and studied environmental focus for a comprehensive overview of past achievements, current efforts, together with future challenges and opportunities. The temporal development of publication frequency, utilized platforms/sensors and the addressed environmental topic is thereby highlighted. The total number of publications more than doubled since 2015. Distinct geographical study hot spots were revealed, while at the same time large portions of the continuous permafrost zone are still only sparsely covered by satellite remote sensing investigations. Moreover, studies related to Arctic greenhouse gas emissions in the context of permafrost degradation appear heavily underrepresented. New tools (e.g., Google Earth Engine (GEE)), methodologies (e.g., deep learning or data fusion etc.)and satellite data (e.g., the Methane Remote Sensing LiDAR Mission (Merlin) and the Sentinel-fleet)will thereby enable future studies to further investigate the distribution of permafrost, its thermal state and its implications on the environment such as thermokarst features and greenhouse gas emission rates on increasingly larger spatial and temporal scales.}, language = {en} } @article{Hardaker2022, author = {Hardaker, Sina}, title = {More Than Infrastructure Providers - Digital Platforms' Role and Power in Retail Digitalisation in Germany}, series = {Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie}, volume = {113}, journal = {Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie}, number = {3}, doi = {10.1111/tesg.12511}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-287297}, pages = {310 -- 328}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Digital platforms, such as Amazon, represent the major beneficiaries of the Covid-19 crisis. This study examines the role of digital platforms and their engagement in digitalisation initiatives targeting (small) brick-and-mortar retailers in Germany, thereby contributing to a better understanding of how digital platforms augment, substitute or reorganise physical retail spaces. This study applies a mixed-method approach based on qualitative interviews, participant observation as well as media analysis. First, the study illustrates the controversial role of digital platforms by positioning themselves as supporting partners of the (offline) retailers, while simultaneously shifting power towards the platforms themselves. Second, digital platforms have established themselves not only as infrastructure providers but also as actors within these infrastructures, framing digital as well as physical retail spaces, inter alia due to their role as publicly legitimised retail advisers. Third, while institutions want to help retailers to survive, they simultaneously enhance retailers' dependency on digital platforms.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Keupp2024, author = {Keupp, Luzia Esther}, title = {Hochaufgel{\"o}ste Erfassung zuk{\"u}nftiger Klimarisiken f{\"u}r Land- und Forstwirtschaft in Unterfranken}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-34735}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-347350}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Das Klima und seine Ver{\"a}nderungen wirken sich direkt auf die Land- und Forstwirtschaft aus. Daher ist die Untersuchung der zuk{\"u}nftigen Klimarisiken f{\"u}r diese Sektoren von hoher Relevanz. Dies ist auch und vor allem f{\"u}r den schon heute weitr{\"a}umig trockheitsgepr{\"a}gten und vom Klimawandel besonders betroffenen nordwestbayerischen Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken der Fall, dessen Gebiet zu {\"u}ber 80 \% land- oder forstwirtschaftlich genutzt wird. Zur Untersuchung der Zukunft in hoher r{\"a}umlicher Aufl{\"o}sung werden Projektionen von regionalen Klimamodellen genutzt. Da diese jedoch Defizite in der Repr{\"a}sentation des beobachteten Klimas der Vergangenheit aufweisen, sollte vor der weiteren Verwendung eine Anpassung der Daten erfolgen. Dies geschieht in der vorliegenden Arbeit am Beispiel des regionalen Klimamodells REMO im Bezug auf klimatische Kennwerte f{\"u}r Trockenheit, Starkniederschlag, Hitze sowie (Sp{\"a}t-)Frost, die alle eine hohe land- und forstwirtschaftliche Bedeutung besitzen. Die Datenanpassung erfolgt durch zwei verschiedene Ans{\"a}tze. Zum Einen wird eine Biaskorrektur der aus Globalmodell-angetriebenen REMO-Daten berechneten Indizes durch additive und multiplikative Linearskalierung sowie empirische und parametrische Verteilungsanpassung durchgef{\"u}hrt. Zum Anderen wird ein exploratives Verfahren auf Basis von Model Output Statistics angewandt: Lokale und großr{\"a}umige atmosph{\"a}rische Variablen von REMO mit Reanalyseantrieb, die eine zeitliche Korrespondenz zu den Beobachtungen aufweisen, dienen als Pr{\"a}diktoren f{\"u}r die Aufstellung von Transferfunktionen zur Simulation der Indizes. Diese Transferfunktionen werden sowohl mithilfe Multipler Linearer Regression als auch mit verschiedenen Generalisierten Linearen Modellen konstruiert. Sie werden anschließend genutzt, um Analysen auf Basis von biaskorrigierten Globalmodell-angetriebenen REMO-Pr{\"a}diktoren durchzuf{\"u}hren. Sowohl f{\"u}r die Biaskorrektur als auch die Model Output Statistics wird eine Kreuzvalidierung durchgef{\"u}hrt, um die Ergebnisse unabh{\"a}ngig vom jeweiligen Trainingszeitraum zu untersuchen und die jeweils besten Varianten zu finden. Werden beide Verfahren mit ihren Unterkategorien f{\"u}r den gesamten historischen Modellzeitraum verglichen, so weist f{\"u}r alle Monat-Kennwert-Kombinationen eine der beiden Verteilungskorrekturen die besten Ergebnisse auf. Die Zukunftsprojektionen unter Verwendung der jeweils erfolgreichsten Methode zeigen im regionalen Durchschnitt f{\"u}r das 21. Jahrhundert negative Trends der (Sp{\"a}t-)Frost- und Eis- sowie positive Trends der Hitzetageh{\"a}ufigkeit. Winterliche Starkregenereignisse nehmen hinsichtlich ihrer Anzahl zu, im Sommer verst{\"a}rkt sich die Trockenheit. Die Hinzunahme zwei weiterer regionaler Klimamodelle best{\"a}tigt die allgemeinen Zukunftstrends, jedoch ergeben sich beim Sp{\"a}tfrost Widerspr{\"u}che, wenn dieser hinsichtlich der thermisch abgegrenzten Vegetationsperiode definiert wird. Zus{\"a}tzlich werden die Model Output Statistics auf gleiche Weise mit bodennahen Pr{\"a}diktoren zur Simulation von Ertr{\"a}gen aus Acker- und Weinbau wiederholt. Die G{\"u}te kann aufgrund mangelnder Beobachtungsdatenl{\"a}nge nur anhand der Reanalyse-angetriebenen REMO-Daten abgesch{\"a}tzt werden, ist hierbei jedoch deutlich besser als im Bezug auf die Kennwertsimulation. Die Zukunftsprojektionen von REMO sowie drei weiterer Regionalmodelle zeigen im Mittel {\"u}ber alle Landkreise Unterfrankens steigende Winter- sowie sinkende Sommerfeldfruchtertr{\"a}ge. Hinsichtlich der Frankenweinertr{\"a}ge widersprechen sich die Ergebnisse der drei Klassen Weiß-, Rot- und Gesamtwein insofern, als dass REMO und ein weiteres Modell negative Weiß- und Rotweinertragstrends, jedoch positive Gesamtweinertragstrends simulieren. Die zwei anderen verwendeten Modelle f{\"u}hren durch positive Trendvorzeichen f{\"u}r den Weißwein zu insgesamt koh{\"a}renten Ergebnissen. Die Resultate im Bezug auf die land- und forstwirtschaftlich relevanten klimatischen Kennwerte bedeuten, dass Anpassungsmaßnahmen gegen{\"u}ber Hitze sowie im Speziellen gegen{\"u}ber Trockenheit in Zukunft im ohnehin trockenheitsgepr{\"a}gten Unterfranken an Bedeutung gewinnen werden. Auch die unsicheren Projektionen im Bezug auf die Sp{\"a}tfrostgefahr m{\"u}ssen im Blick behalten werden. Die Trends der Feldfruchtertr{\"a}ge deuten in die gleiche Richtung, da Sommergetreide eine h{\"o}here Trockenheitsanf{\"a}lligkeit besitzen. Die unklaren Ergebnisse der Weinertr{\"a}ge hingegen lassen keine eindeutigen Schl{\"u}sse zu. Der starke anthropogene Einfluss auf die Erntemengen sowie die großen Unterschiede der Rebsorten hinsichtlich der klimatischen Eignung k{\"o}nnten ein Grund hierf{\"u}r sein.}, subject = {Klima}, language = {de} } @phdthesis{MeyerHeintze2024, author = {Meyer-Heintze, Simon}, title = {Holocene pedosedimentary sequences as archives for paleoenvironmental reconstructions}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-34909}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-349098}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Human-environment interaction has significantly altered the pedosphere since the Neolithic, if not since the early Holocene. In the course of clearance, agriculture, and (wood) pasture soils have been deeply modified or eroded. These types of land use practices but above all forms of sedentariness spread alongside floodplains and trajectories were oriented towards loess covered areas where fertile soils could develop. Besides this, also peripheral / marginal regions were settled due to population pressure or other factors. Evidence for landscape history and development can be found within archeological sites but also overbank deposits and anthropogenic slope deposits document vast transformation processes. The presented investigations took place within the natural region of the Windsheimer Bucht which is locat-ed in the district of Middle Franconia in northern Bavaria, Germany. In this area, Holocene soils predomi-nantly developed within mudstones of the Middle to Upper Triassic. The soil texture is extremely clay-rich which renders the soils problematic with regard to cultivation management. As a peculiarity, the gypsum underlying the mudstones is prone to karstification processes and resulting proceeding geomorphological processes shape the surface of the landscape. In the course of gypsum mining the karst forms are being exposed and archeological findings are being documented. The latter mainly date back to a span from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, but partly are of Younger Paleolithic origin. Especially subsidence sinkholes are capable of storing pedosediments of several meters in thickness. Despite the high clay content and connect-ed pedoturbation processes, the excavated sequences are stratigraphically and pedologically well-differentiated. The archives occur in the context of settlement structures such as pits and postholes; there-fore, they developed at the interface of natural developments and human impact on their surroundings. The main original research questions that were formulated within the general frame of a project funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG-projects Te295/15-1 and -2 and Fa390/9-1 and -2) focused on the attractors of the peripheral region for early settlers, the pedological conditions before land use, but also the impact of humans on soils and karst dynamics through time. In the course of the in hand study, the pedosedimentary archives have been approached with a multimethodological toolset which consisted of field analyses, soil morphological analyses from micro- to macro-scale, spectrophotometric (color), (laser) granulometric, and (iron-) pedochemical analyses. The numerical chronological frame was spanned by radiocarbon dating of different organic remains and bulk material if soil organic carbon was supposed-ly high. The result is a multi-dimensional data set that consists of analyses on different spatial scales but also on different levels of measurement. Thus, qualitative, semi-quantitative, and quantitative data consti-tute the basis for discussion. While the grain-size analyses underline the general sedimentological differen-tiation of the records and further affirm the high clay content within the pedosedimentary layers, iron-pedochemical analyses indicate an interplay between oxidation of iron and its chemical reduction. This is also manifested within the spectrophotometric record. Especially the versatile pedogenic characteristics that have been identified by field analyses are confirmed within the thin sections and, by considering all different analyses, the polygenic character of the pedosediments is emphasized. After stressing the general pedological specificities among the different investigated sites within the re-search area, for the collected data, the research further branches into the subjects of general notions on pedogenesis in clayey material and the classification of the respective pedosediments according to paleo-pedological concepts but also recent schemes. Concerning the latter, it becomes evident that established principles cannot be applied to the studied pedosediments without major adaptions. This underlines the specific characteristics of the material. The basis for further interpretations is the evaluation of the multi-level data set for the single records with regard to profile development and pedogenic processes. Hereby, the main drivers of pedogenesis could be identified, which are karst dynamics, land use, and subtle changes in parent material due to the admixture of slope deposits that contain allochthonous eolian material. The latter underlines the importance of Pleis-tocene preconditioning for understanding Holocene landscape dynamics. At the same time, a differentia-tion between the mentioned factors and Holocene climate development is difficult. The following compila-tion of record and localities within the given time frame unveils synchronous as well as asynchronous de-velopments; however, a clear connection between phases of Holocene climate and pedogenesis within the pedosediments cannot be established. Instead, it becomes evident that site specific factors or those that act on the scale of the micro-catchment of the investigated records are decisive. The aforementioned main topics of the project are also considered in the in hand study from a soil-geographic perspective: it is possible that before land use, there was an insular or thin cover by loess sedi-ments or at least upper layers (according to the concept of periglacial cover beds) which constituted the parent material for Holocene soil formation. The according soils, which were superior for agricultural purposes compared to those developed on the autochthonous mudstones, were eroded which exposed the clayey Upper to Middle Triassic beds. Erosion was aggravated due to the impermeable mudstones which enhanced overland flow and interflow within the overlying silty (loessic) material. This is further support-ed by the notions on erodibility of the clayey material that are derived from the comparison of conven-tional and laser granulometric analyses: probably, the clayey pedosediments are capable of forming micro-aggregates that can easily be eroded during heavy rainfall events despite the general consent that material with heavy texture should be rather resistant. The study presents a comprehensive view on clay-rich pedosediments and the complex effects of human-environment interaction on pedogenic as well as sedimentary processes through time that have not been investigated in such detail before. In this context, the multi-level soil morphological analyses and their necessity for a genetic interpretation with regard to the influence of natural versus anthropogenic factors need to be emphasized. Based on quantitative laboratory analytical data only, a respective differentiation would not be possible. This underlines the importance of the chosen soil-geographic multi-methodological approach for answering questions with regard to human-environment interaction but also geoarcheology in general.}, subject = {Geoarch{\"a}ologie}, language = {en} } @article{SchaeferFaethKneiseletal.2023, author = {Sch{\"a}fer, Christian and F{\"a}th, Julian and Kneisel, Christof and Baumhauer, Roland and Ullmann, Tobias}, title = {Multidimensional hydrological modeling of a forested catchment in a German low mountain range using a modular runoff and water balance model}, series = {Frontiers in Forests and Global Change}, volume = {6}, journal = {Frontiers in Forests and Global Change}, doi = {10.3389/ffgc.2023.1186304}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357358}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Sufficient plant-available water is one of the most important requirements for vital, stable, and well-growing forest stands. In the face of climate change, there are various approaches to derive recommendations considering tree species selection based on plant-available water provided by measurements or simulations. Owing to the small-parcel management of Central European forests as well as small-spatial variation of soil and stand properties, in situ data collection for individual forest stands of large areas is not feasible, considering time and cost effort. This problem can be addressed using physically based modeling, aiming to numerically simulate the water balance. In this study, we parameterized, calibrated, and verified the hydrological multidimensional WaSiM-ETH model to assess the water balance at a spatial resolution of 30 m in a German forested catchment area (136.4 km2) for the period 2000-2021 using selected in situ data, remote sensing products, and total runoff. Based on the model output, drought-sensitive parameters, such as the difference between potential and effective stand transpiration (Tdiff) and the water balance, were deduced from the model, analyzed, and evaluated. Results show that the modeled evapotranspiration (ET) correlated significantly (R2 = 0.80) with the estimated ET using MODIS data (MOD16A2GFv006). Compared with observed daily, monthly, and annual runoff data, the model shows a good performance (R2: 0.70|0.77|0.73; Kling-Gupta efficiency: 0.59|0.62|0.83; volumetric efficiency: 0.52|0.60|0.83). The comparison with in situ data from a forest monitoring plot, established at the end of 2020, indicated good agreement between observed and simulated interception and soil water content. According to our results, WaSiM-ETH is a potential supplement for forest management, owing to its multidimensionality and the ability to model soil water balance for large areas at comparable high spatial resolution. The outputs offer, compared to non-distributed models (like LWF-Brook90), spatial differentiability, which is important for small-scale parceled forests, regarding stand structure and soil properties. Due to the spatial component offered, additional verification possibilities are feasible allowing a reliable and profound verification of the model and its parameterization.}, language = {en} } @article{Ibebuchi2021, author = {Ibebuchi, Chibuike Chiedozie}, title = {Revisiting the 1992 severe drought episode in South Africa: the role of El Ni{\~n}o in the anomalies of atmospheric circulation types in Africa south of the equator}, series = {Theoretical and Applied Climatology}, volume = {146}, journal = {Theoretical and Applied Climatology}, number = {1-2}, issn = {1434-4483}, doi = {10.1007/s00704-021-03741-7}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-268569}, pages = {723-740}, year = {2021}, abstract = {During strong El Ni{\~n}o events, below-average rainfall is expected in large parts of southern Africa. The 1992 El Ni{\~n}o season was associated with one of the worst drought episodes in large parts of South Africa. Using reanalysis data set from NCEP-NCAR, this study examined circulation types (CTs) in Africa south of the equator that are statistically related to the El Ni{\~n}o signal in the southwest Indian Ocean and the implication of this relationship during the 1992 drought episode in South Africa. A statistically significant correlation was found between the above-average Nino 3.4 index and a CT that features widespread cyclonic activity in the tropical southwest Indian Ocean, coupled with a weaker state of the south Indian Ocean high-pressure. During the analysis period, it was found that the El Ni{\~n}o signal enhanced the amplitude of the aforementioned CT. The impacts of the El Ni{\~n}o signal on CTs in southern Africa, which could have contributed to the 1992 severe drought episode in South Africa, were reflected in (i) robust decrease in the frequency of occurrence of the austral summer climatology pattern of atmospheric circulation that favors southeasterly moisture fluxes, advected by the South Indian Ocean high-pressure; (ii) modulation of easterly moisture fluxes, advected by the South Atlantic Ocean high-pressure, ridging south of South Africa; (iii) and enhancement of the amplitude of CTs that both enhances subsidence over South Africa, and associated with the dominance of westerlies across the Agulhas current. Under the ssp585 scenario, the analyzed climate models suggested that the impact of radiative heating on the CT significantly related to El Ni{\~n}o might result in an anomalous increase in surface pressure at the eastern parts of South Africa.}, language = {en} } @article{KacicKuenzer2022, author = {Kacic, Patrick and Kuenzer, Claudia}, title = {Forest biodiversity monitoring based on remotely sensed spectral diversity — a review}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {14}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {21}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs14215363}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-290535}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Forests are essential for global environmental well-being because of their rich provision of ecosystem services and regulating factors. Global forests are under increasing pressure from climate change, resource extraction, and anthropologically-driven disturbances. The results are dramatic losses of habitats accompanied with the reduction of species diversity. There is the urgent need for forest biodiversity monitoring comprising analysis on α, β, and γ scale to identify hotspots of biodiversity. Remote sensing enables large-scale monitoring at multiple spatial and temporal resolutions. Concepts of remotely sensed spectral diversity have been identified as promising methodologies for the consistent and multi-temporal analysis of forest biodiversity. This review provides a first time focus on the three spectral diversity concepts "vegetation indices", "spectral information content", and "spectral species" for forest biodiversity monitoring based on airborne and spaceborne remote sensing. In addition, the reviewed articles are analyzed regarding the spatiotemporal distribution, remote sensing sensors, temporal scales and thematic foci. We identify multispectral sensors as primary data source which underlines the focus on optical diversity as a proxy for forest biodiversity. Moreover, there is a general conceptual focus on the analysis of spectral information content. In recent years, the spectral species concept has raised attention and has been applied to Sentinel-2 and MODIS data for the analysis from local spectral species to global spectral communities. Novel remote sensing processing capacities and the provision of complementary remote sensing data sets offer great potentials for large-scale biodiversity monitoring in the future.}, language = {en} } @article{DhillonDahmsKuebertFlocketal.2022, author = {Dhillon, Maninder Singh and Dahms, Thorsten and K{\"u}bert-Flock, Carina and Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf and Zhang, Jie and Ullmann, Tobias}, title = {Spatiotemporal Fusion Modelling Using STARFM: Examples of Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 NDVI in Bavaria}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {14}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {3}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs14030677}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-323471}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The increasing availability and variety of global satellite products provide a new level of data with different spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions; however, identifying the most suited resolution for a specific application consumes increasingly more time and computation effort. The region's cloud coverage additionally influences the choice of the best trade-off between spatial and temporal resolution, and different pixel sizes of remote sensing (RS) data may hinder the accurate monitoring of different land cover (LC) classes such as agriculture, forest, grassland, water, urban, and natural-seminatural. To investigate the importance of RS data for these LC classes, the present study fuses NDVIs of two high spatial resolution data (high pair) (Landsat (30 m, 16 days; L) and Sentinel-2 (10 m, 5-6 days; S), with four low spatial resolution data (low pair) (MOD13Q1 (250 m, 16 days), MCD43A4 (500 m, one day), MOD09GQ (250 m, one-day), and MOD09Q1 (250 m, eight day)) using the spatial and temporal adaptive reflectance fusion model (STARFM), which fills regions' cloud or shadow gaps without losing spatial information. These eight synthetic NDVI STARFM products (2: high pair multiply 4: low pair) offer a spatial resolution of 10 or 30 m and temporal resolution of 1, 8, or 16 days for the entire state of Bavaria (Germany) in 2019. Due to their higher revisit frequency and more cloud and shadow-free scenes (S = 13, L = 9), Sentinel-2 (overall R\(^2\) = 0.71, and RMSE = 0.11) synthetic NDVI products provide more accurate results than Landsat (overall R\(^2\) = 0.61, and RMSE = 0.13). Likewise, for the agriculture class, synthetic products obtained using Sentinel-2 resulted in higher accuracy than Landsat except for L-MOD13Q1 (R\(^2\) = 0.62, RMSE = 0.11), resulting in similar accuracy preciseness as S-MOD13Q1 (R\(^2\) = 0.68, RMSE = 0.13). Similarly, comparing L-MOD13Q1 (R\(^2\) = 0.60, RMSE = 0.05) and S-MOD13Q1 (R\(^2\) = 0.52, RMSE = 0.09) for the forest class, the former resulted in higher accuracy and precision than the latter. Conclusively, both L-MOD13Q1 and S-MOD13Q1 are suitable for agricultural and forest monitoring; however, the spatial resolution of 30 m and low storage capacity makes L-MOD13Q1 more prominent and faster than that of S-MOD13Q1 with the 10-m spatial resolution.}, language = {en} } @article{GhasemiLatifiPourhashemi2022, author = {Ghasemi, Marziye and Latifi, Hooman and Pourhashemi, Mehdi}, title = {A novel method for detecting and delineating coppice trees in UAV images to monitor tree decline}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {14}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {23}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs14235910}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-297258}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Monitoring tree decline in arid and semi-arid zones requires methods that can provide up-to-date and accurate information on the health status of the trees at single-tree and sample plot levels. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are considered as cost-effective and efficient tools to study tree structure and health at small scale, on which detecting and delineating tree crowns is the first step to extracting varied subsequent information. However, one of the major challenges in broadleaved tree cover is still detecting and delineating tree crowns in images. The frequent dominance of coppice structure in degraded semi-arid vegetation exacerbates this problem. Here, we present a new method based on edge detection for delineating tree crowns based on the features of oak trees in semi-arid coppice structures. The decline severity in individual stands can be analyzed by extracting relevant information such as texture from the crown area. Although the method presented in this study is not fully automated, it returned high performances including an F-score = 0.91. Associating the texture indices calculated in the canopy area with the phenotypic decline index suggested higher correlations of the GLCM texture indices with tree decline at the tree level and hence a high potential to be used for subsequent remote-sensing-assisted tree decline studies.}, language = {en} } @article{OuedraogoHackmanThieletal.2023, author = {Ouedraogo, Valentin and Hackman, Kwame Oppong and Thiel, Michael and Dukiya, Jaiye}, title = {Intensity analysis for urban Land Use/Land Cover dynamics characterization of Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso}, series = {Land}, volume = {12}, journal = {Land}, number = {5}, issn = {2073-445X}, doi = {10.3390/land12051063}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-319397}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso remain the two major urban centers in Burkina Faso with an increasing trend in human footprint. The research aimed at analyzing the Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) dynamics in the two cities between 2003 and 2021 using intensity analysis, which decomposes LULC changes into interval, category and transition levels. The satellite data used for this research were composed of surface reflectance imagery from Landsat 5, Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 acquired from the Google Earth Engine Data Catalogue. The Random Forest, Support Vector Machine and Gradient Tree Boost algorithms were employed to run supervised image classifications for four selected years including 2003, 2009, 2015 and 2021. The results showed that the landscape is changing in both cities due to rapid urbanization. Ouagadougou experienced more rapid changes than Bobo-Dioulasso, with a maximum annual change intensity of 3.61\% recorded between 2015 and 2021 against 2.22\% in Bobo-Dioulasso for the period 2009-2015. The transition of change was mainly towards built-up areas, which gain targeted bare and agricultural lands in both cities. This situation has led to a 78.12\% increase of built-up surfaces in Ouagadougou, while 42.24\% of agricultural land area was lost. However, in Bobo-Dioulasso, the built class has increased far more by 140.67\%, and the agricultural land areas experienced a gain of 1.38\% compared with the 2003 baseline. The study demonstrates that the human footprint is increasing in both cities making the inhabitants vulnerable to environmental threats such as flooding and the effect of an Urban Heat Island, which is information that could serve as guide for sustainable urban land use planning.}, language = {en} } @article{KleinCoccoUereyenetal.2022, author = {Klein, Igor and Cocco, Arturo and Uereyen, Soner and Mannu, Roberto and Floris, Ignazio and Oppelt, Natascha and Kuenzer, Claudia}, title = {Outbreak of Moroccan locust in Sardinia (Italy): a remote sensing perspective}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {14}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {23}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs14236050}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-297232}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The Moroccan locust has been considered one of the most dangerous agricultural pests in the Mediterranean region. The economic importance of its outbreaks diminished during the second half of the 20th century due to a high degree of agricultural industrialization and other human-caused transformations of its habitat. Nevertheless, in Sardinia (Italy) from 2019 on, a growing invasion of this locust species is ongoing, being the worst in over three decades. Locust swarms destroyed crops and pasture lands of approximately 60,000 ha in 2022. Drought, in combination with increasing uncultivated land, contributed to forming the perfect conditions for a Moroccan locust population upsurge. The specific aim of this paper is the quantification of land cover land use (LCLU) influence with regard to the recent locust outbreak in Sardinia using remote sensing data. In particular, the role of untilled, fallow, or abandoned land in the locust population upsurge is the focus of this case study. To address this objective, LCLU was derived from Sentinel-2A/B Multispectral Instrument (MSI) data between 2017 and 2021 using time-series composites and a random forest (RF) classification model. Coordinates of infested locations, altitude, and locust development stages were collected during field observation campaigns between March and July 2022 and used in this study to assess actual and previous land cover situation of these locations. Findings show that 43\% of detected locust locations were found on untilled, fallow, or uncultivated land and another 23\% within a radius of 100 m to such areas. Furthermore, oviposition and breeding sites are mostly found in sparse vegetation (97\%). This study demonstrates that up-to-date remote sensing data and target-oriented analyses can provide valuable information to contribute to early warning systems and decision support and thus to minimize the risk concerning this agricultural pest. This is of particular interest for all agricultural pests that are strictly related to changing human activities within transformed habitats.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Dhillon2023, author = {Dhillon, Maninder Singh}, title = {Potential of Remote Sensing in Modeling Long-Term Crop Yields}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-32258}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-322581}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Accurate crop monitoring in response to climate change at a regional or field scale plays a significant role in developing agricultural policies, improving food security, forecasting, and analysing global trade trends. Climate change is expected to significantly impact agriculture, with shifts in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events negatively affecting crop yields, soil fertility, water availability, biodiversity, and crop growing conditions. Remote sensing (RS) can provide valuable information combined with crop growth models (CGMs) for yield assessment by monitoring crop development, detecting crop changes, and assessing the impact of climate change on crop yields. This dissertation aims to investigate the potential of RS data on modelling long-term crop yields of winter wheat (WW) and oil seed rape (OSR) for the Free State of Bavaria (70,550 km2 ), Germany. The first chapter of the dissertation describes the reasons favouring the importance of accurate crop yield predictions for achieving sustainability in agriculture. Chapter second explores the accuracy assessment of the synthetic RS data by fusing NDVIs of two high spatial resolution data (high pair) (Landsat (30 m, 16-days; L) and Sentinel-2 (10 m, 5-6 days; S), with four low spatial resolution data (low pair) (MOD13Q1 (250 m, 16-days), MCD43A4 (500 m, one day), MOD09GQ (250 m, one-day), and MOD09Q1 (250 m, 8-days)) using the spatial and temporal adaptive reflectance fusion model (STARFM), which fills regions' cloud or shadow gaps without losing spatial information. The chapter finds that both L-MOD13Q1 (R2 = 0.62, RMSE = 0.11) and S-MOD13Q1 (R2 = 0.68, RMSE = 0.13) are more suitable for agricultural monitoring than the other synthetic products fused. Chapter third explores the ability of the synthetic spatiotemporal datasets (obtained in chapter 2) to accurately map and monitor crop yields of WW and OSR at a regional scale. The chapter investigates and discusses the optimal spatial (10 m, 30 m, or 250 m), temporal (8 or 16-day) and CGMs (World Food Studies (WOFOST), and the semi-empiric light use efficiency approach (LUE)) for accurate crop yield estimations of both crop types. Chapter third observes that the observations of high temporal resolution (8-day) products of both S-MOD13Q1 and L-MOD13Q1 play a significant role in accurately measuring the yield of WW and OSR. The chapter investigates that the simple light use efficiency (LUE) model (R2 = 0.77 and relative RMSE (RRMSE) = 8.17\%) that required fewer input parameters to simulate crop yield is highly accurate, reliable, and more precise than the complex WOFOST model (R2 = 0.66 and RRMSE = 11.35\%) with higher input parameters. Chapter four researches the relationship of spatiotemporal fusion modelling using STRAFM on crop yield prediction for WW and OSR using the LUE model for Bavaria from 2001 to 2019. The chapter states the high positive correlation coefficient (R) = 0.81 and R = 0.77 between the yearly R2 of synthetic accuracy and modelled yield accuracy for WW and OSR from 2001 to 2019, respectively. The chapter analyses the impact of climate variables on crop yield predictions by observing an increase in R2 (0.79 (WW)/0.86 (OSR)) and a decrease in RMSE (4.51/2.57 dt/ha) when the climate effect is included in the model. The fifth chapter suggests that the coupling of the LUE model to the random forest (RF) model can further reduce the relative root mean square error (RRMSE) from -8\% (WW) and -1.6\% (OSR) and increase the R2 by 14.3\% (for both WW and OSR), compared to results just relying on LUE. The same chapter concludes that satellite-based crop biomass, solar radiation, and temperature are the most influential variables in the yield prediction of both crop types. Chapter six attempts to discuss both pros and cons of RS technology while analysing the impact of land use diversity on crop-modelled biomass of WW and OSR. The chapter finds that the modelled biomass of both crops is positively impacted by land use diversity to the radius of 450 (Shannon Diversity Index ~0.75) and 1050 m (~0.75), respectively. The chapter also discusses the future implications by stating that including some dependent factors (such as the management practices used, soil health, pest management, and pollinators) could improve the relationship of RS-modelled crop yields with biodiversity. Lastly, chapter seven discusses testing the scope of new sensors such as unmanned aerial vehicles, hyperspectral sensors, or Sentinel-1 SAR in RS for achieving accurate crop yield predictions for precision farming. In addition, the chapter highlights the significance of artificial intelligence (AI) or deep learning (DL) in obtaining higher crop yield accuracies.}, subject = {Ernteertrag}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Dhillon2023, author = {Dhillon, Maninder Singh}, title = {Potential of Remote Sensing in Modeling Long-Term Crop Yields}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-33052}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-330529}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Accurate crop monitoring in response to climate change at a regional or field scale plays a significant role in developing agricultural policies, improving food security, forecasting, and analysing global trade trends. Climate change is expected to significantly impact agriculture, with shifts in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events negatively affecting crop yields, soil fertility, water availability, biodiversity, and crop growing conditions. Remote sensing (RS) can provide valuable information combined with crop growth models (CGMs) for yield assessment by monitoring crop development, detecting crop changes, and assessing the impact of climate change on crop yields. This dissertation aims to investigate the potential of RS data on modelling long-term crop yields of winter wheat (WW) and oil seed rape (OSR) for the Free State of Bavaria (70,550 km2), Germany. The first chapter of the dissertation describes the reasons favouring the importance of accurate crop yield predictions for achieving sustainability in agriculture. Chapter second explores the accuracy assessment of the synthetic RS data by fusing NDVIs of two high spatial resolution data (high pair) (Landsat (30 m, 16-days; L) and Sentinel-2 (10 m, 5-6 days; S), with four low spatial resolution data (low pair) (MOD13Q1 (250 m, 16-days), MCD43A4 (500 m, one day), MOD09GQ (250 m, one-day), and MOD09Q1 (250 m, 8-days)) using the spatial and temporal adaptive reflectance fusion model (STARFM), which fills regions' cloud or shadow gaps without losing spatial information. The chapter finds that both L-MOD13Q1 (R2 = 0.62, RMSE = 0.11) and S-MOD13Q1 (R2 = 0.68, RMSE = 0.13) are more suitable for agricultural monitoring than the other synthetic products fused. Chapter third explores the ability of the synthetic spatiotemporal datasets (obtained in chapter 2) to accurately map and monitor crop yields of WW and OSR at a regional scale. The chapter investigates and discusses the optimal spatial (10 m, 30 m, or 250 m), temporal (8 or 16-day) and CGMs (World Food Studies (WOFOST), and the semi-empiric light use efficiency approach (LUE)) for accurate crop yield estimations of both crop types. Chapter third observes that the observations of high temporal resolution (8-day) products of both S-MOD13Q1 and L-MOD13Q1 play a significant role in accurately measuring the yield of WW and OSR. The chapter investigates that the simple light use efficiency (LUE) model (R2 = 0.77 and relative RMSE (RRMSE) = 8.17\%) that required fewer input parameters to simulate crop yield is highly accurate, reliable, and more precise than the complex WOFOST model (R2 = 0.66 and RRMSE = 11.35\%) with higher input parameters. Chapter four researches the relationship of spatiotemporal fusion modelling using STRAFM on crop yield prediction for WW and OSR using the LUE model for Bavaria from 2001 to 2019. The chapter states the high positive correlation coefficient (R) = 0.81 and R = 0.77 between the yearly R2 of synthetic accuracy and modelled yield accuracy for WW and OSR from 2001 to 2019, respectively. The chapter analyses the impact of climate variables on crop yield predictions by observing an increase in R2 (0.79 (WW)/0.86 (OSR)) and a decrease in RMSE (4.51/2.57 dt/ha) when the climate effect is included in the model. The fifth chapter suggests that the coupling of the LUE model to the random forest (RF) model can further reduce the relative root mean square error (RRMSE) from -8\% (WW) and -1.6\% (OSR) and increase the R2 by 14.3\% (for both WW and OSR), compared to results just relying on LUE. The same chapter concludes that satellite-based crop biomass, solar radiation, and temperature are the most influential variables in the yield prediction of both crop types. Chapter six attempts to discuss both pros and cons of RS technology while analysing the impact of land use diversity on crop-modelled biomass of WW and OSR. The chapter finds that the modelled biomass of both crops is positively impacted by land use diversity to the radius of 450 (Shannon Diversity Index ~0.75) and 1050 m (~0.75), respectively. The chapter also discusses the future implications by stating that including some dependent factors (such as the management practices used, soil health, pest management, and pollinators) could improve the relationship of RS-modelled crop yields with biodiversity. Lastly, chapter seven discusses testing the scope of new sensors such as unmanned aerial vehicles, hyperspectral sensors, or Sentinel-1 SAR in RS for achieving accurate crop yield predictions for precision farming. In addition, the chapter highlights the significance of artificial intelligence (AI) or deep learning (DL) in obtaining higher crop yield accuracies.}, subject = {Ernteertrag}, language = {en} } @article{AnsahAbuKleemannetal.2022, author = {Ansah, Christabel Edena and Abu, Itohan-Osa and Kleemann, Janina and Mahmoud, Mahmoud Ibrahim and Thiel, Michael}, title = {Environmental contamination of a biodiversity hotspot — action needed for nature conservation in the Niger Delta, Nigeria}, series = {Sustainability}, volume = {14}, journal = {Sustainability}, number = {21}, issn = {2071-1050}, doi = {10.3390/su142114256}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-297214}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The Niger Delta belongs to the largest swamp and mangrove forests in the world hosting many endemic and endangered species. Therefore, its conservation should be of highest priority. However, the Niger Delta is confronted with overexploitation, deforestation and pollution to a large extent. In particular, oil spills threaten the biodiversity, ecosystem services, and local people. Remote sensing can support the detection of spills and their potential impact when accessibility on site is difficult. We tested different vegetation indices to assess the impact of oil spills on the land cover as well as to detect accumulations (hotspots) of oil spills. We further identified which species, land cover types, and protected areas could be threatened in the Niger Delta due to oil spills. The results showed that the Enhanced Vegetation Index, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and the Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index were more sensitive to the effects of oil spills on different vegetation cover than other tested vegetation indices. Forest cover was the most affected land-cover type and oil spills also occurred in protected areas. Threatened species are inhabiting the Niger Delta Swamp Forest and the Central African Mangroves that were mainly affected by oil spills and, therefore, strong conservation measures are needed even though security issues hamper the monitoring and control.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Weigand2024, author = {Weigand, Matthias Johann}, title = {Fernerkundung und maschinelles Lernen zur Erfassung von urbanem Gr{\"u}n - Eine Analyse am Beispiel der Verteilungsgerechtigkeit in Deutschland}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-34961}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-349610}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen stellen einen der wichtigsten Umwelteinfl{\"u}sse in der Wohnumwelt der Menschen dar. Einerseits wirken sie sich positiv auf die physische und mentale Gesundheit der Menschen aus, andererseits k{\"o}nnen Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen auch negative Wirkungen anderer Faktoren abmildern, wie beispielsweise die im Laufe des Klimawandels zunehmenden Hitzeereignisse. Dennoch sind Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen nicht f{\"u}r die gesamte Bev{\"o}lkerung gleichermaßen zug{\"a}nglich. Bestehende Forschung im Kontext der Umweltgerechtigkeit (UG) konnte bereits aufzeigen, dass unterschiedliche sozio-{\"o}konomische und demographische Gruppen der deutschen Bev{\"o}lkerung unterschiedlichen Zugriff auf Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen haben. An bestehenden Analysen von Umwelteinfl{\"u}ssen im Kontext der UG wird kritisiert, dass die Auswertung geographischer Daten h{\"a}ufig auf zu stark aggregiertem Level geschieht, wodurch lokal spezifische Expositionen nicht mehr genau abgebildet werden. Dies trifft insbesondere f{\"u}r großfl{\"a}chig angelegte Studien zu. So werden wichtige r{\"a}umliche Informationen verloren. Doch moderne Erdbeobachtungs- und Geodaten sind so detailliert wie nie und Methoden des maschinellen Lernens erm{\"o}glichen die effiziente Verarbeitung zur Ableitung h{\"o}herwertiger Informationen. Das {\"u}bergeordnete Ziel dieser Arbeit besteht darin, am Beispiel von Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen in Deutschland methodische Schritte der systematischen Umwandlung umfassender Geodaten in relevante Geoinformationen f{\"u}r die großfl{\"a}chige und hochaufgel{\"o}ste Analyse von Umwelteigenschaften aufzuzeigen und durchzuf{\"u}hren. An der Schnittstelle der Disziplinen Fernerkundung, Geoinformatik, Sozialgeographie und Umweltgerechtigkeitsforschung sollen Potenziale moderner Methoden f{\"u}r die Verbesserung der r{\"a}umlichen und semantischen Aufl{\"o}sung von Geoinformationen erforscht werden. Hierf{\"u}r werden Methoden des maschinellen Lernens eingesetzt, um Landbedeckung und -nutzung auf nationaler Ebene zu erfassen. Diese Entwicklungen sollen dazu beitragen bestehende Datenl{\"u}cken zu schließen und Aufschluss {\"u}ber die Verteilungsgerechtigkeit von Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen zu bieten. Diese Dissertation gliedert sich in drei konzeptionelle Teilschritte. Im ersten Studienteil werden Erdbeobachtungsdaten der Sentinel-2 Satelliten zur deutschlandweiten Klassifikation von Landbedeckungsinformationen verwendet. In Kombination mit punktuellen Referenzdaten der europaweiten Erfassung f{\"u}r Landbedeckungs- und Landnutzungsinformationen des Land Use and Coverage Area Frame Survey (LUCAS) wird ein maschinelles Lernverfahren trainiert. In diesem Kontext werden verschiedene Vorverarbeitungsschritte der LUCAS-Daten und deren Einfluss auf die Klassifikationsgenauigkeit beleuchtet. Das Klassifikationsverfahren ist in der Lage Landbedeckungsinformationen auch in komplexen urbanen Gebieten mit hoher Genauigkeit abzuleiten. Ein Ergebnis des Studienteils ist eine deutschlandweite Landbedeckungsklassifikation mit einer Gesamtgenauigkeit von 93,07 \%, welche im weiteren Verlauf der Arbeit genutzt wird, um gr{\"u}ne Landbedeckung (GLC) r{\"a}umlich zu quantifizieren. Im zweiten konzeptionellen Teil der Arbeit steht die differenzierte Betrachtung von Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen anhand des Beispiels {\"o}ffentlicher Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen (PGS), die h{\"a}ufig Gegenstand der UG-Forschung ist, im Vordergrund. Doch eine h{\"a}ufig verwendete Quelle f{\"u}r r{\"a}umliche Daten zu {\"o}ffentlichen Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen, der European Urban Atlas (EUA), wird bisher nicht fl{\"a}chendeckend f{\"u}r Deutschland erhoben. Dieser Studienteil verfolgt einen datengetriebenen Ansatz, die Verf{\"u}gbarkeit von {\"o}ffentlichem Gr{\"u}n auf der r{\"a}umlichen Ebene von Nachbarschaften f{\"u}r ganz Deutschland zu ermitteln. Hierf{\"u}r dienen bereits vom EUA erfasste Gebiete als Referenz. Mithilfe einer Kombination von Erdbeobachtungsdaten und Informationen aus dem OpenStreetMap-Projekt wird ein Deep Learning -basiertes Fusionsnetzwerk erstellt, welche die verf{\"u}gbare Fl{\"a}che von {\"o}ffentlichem Gr{\"u}n quantifiziert. Das Ergebnis dieses Schrittes ist ein Modell, welches genutzt wird, um die Menge {\"o}ffentlicher Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen in der Nachbarschaft zu sch{\"a}tzen (𝑅 2 = 0.952). Der dritte Studienteil greift die Ergebnisse der ersten beiden Studienteile auf und betrachtet die Verteilung von Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen in Deutschland unter Hinzunahme von georeferenzierten Bev{\"o}lkerungsdaten. Diese exemplarische Analyse unterscheidet dabei Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen nach zwei Typen: GLC und PGS. Zun{\"a}chst wird mithilfe deskriptiver Statistiken die generelle Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chenverteilung in der Bev{\"o}lkerung Deutschlands beleuchtet. Daraufhin wird die Verteilungsgerechtigkeit anhand g{\"a}ngiger Gerechtigkeitsmetriken bestimmt. Abschließend werden die Zusammenh{\"a}nge zwischen der demographischen Komposition der Nachbarschaft und der verf{\"u}gbaren Menge von Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen anhand dreier exemplarischer soziodemographischer Gesellschaftsgruppen untersucht. Die Analyse zeigt starke Unterschiede der Verf{\"u}gbarkeit von PGS zwischen st{\"a}dtischen und l{\"a}ndlichen Gebieten. Ein h{\"o}herer Prozentsatz der Stadtbev{\"o}lkerung hat Zugriff das Mindestmaß von PGS gemessen an der Vorgabe der Weltgesundheitsorganisation. Die Ergebnisse zeigen auch einen deutlichen Unterschied bez{\"u}glich der Verteilungsgerechtigkeit zwischen GLC und PGS und verdeutlichen die Relevanz der Unterscheidung von Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chentypen f{\"u}r derartige Untersuchungen. Die abschließende Betrachtung verschiedener Bev{\"o}lkerungsgruppen arbeitet Unterschiede auf soziodemographischer Ebene auf. In der Zusammenschau demonstriert diese Arbeit wie moderne Geodaten und Methoden des maschinellen Lernens genutzt werden k{\"o}nnen bisherige Limitierungen r{\"a}umlicher Datens{\"a}tze zu {\"u}berwinden. Am Beispiel von Gr{\"u}nfl{\"a}chen in der Wohnumgebung der Bev{\"o}lkerung Deutschlands wird gezeigt, dass landesweite Analysen zur Umweltgerechtigkeit durch hochaufgel{\"o}ste und lokal feingliedrige geographische Informationen bereichert werden k{\"o}nnen. Diese Arbeit verdeutlicht, wie die Methoden der Erdbeobachtung und Geoinformatik einen wichtigen Beitrag leisten k{\"o}nnen, die Ungleichheit der Wohnumwelt der Menschen zu identifizieren und schlussendlich den nachhaltigen Siedlungsbau in Form von objektiven Informationen zu unterst{\"u}tzen und {\"u}berwachen.}, subject = {Geografie}, language = {de} } @article{WeismannMoeckelPaethetal.2023, author = {Weismann, Dirk and M{\"o}ckel, Martin and Paeth, Heiko and Slagman, Anna}, title = {Modelling variations of emergency attendances using data on community mobility, climate and air pollution}, series = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {13}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-023-47857-4}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357578}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Air pollution is associated with morbidity and mortality worldwide. We investigated the impact of improved air quality during the economic lockdown during the SARS-Cov2 pandemic on emergency room (ER) admissions in Germany. Weekly aggregated clinical data from 33 hospitals were collected in 2019 and 2020. Hourly concentrations of nitrogen and sulfur dioxide (NO2, SO2), carbon and nitrogen monoxide (CO, NO), ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5) measured by ground stations and meteorological data (ERA5) were selected from a 30 km radius around the corresponding ED. Mobility was assessed using aggregated cell phone data. A linear stepwise multiple regression model was used to predict ER admissions. The average weekly emergency numbers vary from 200 to over 1600 cases (total n = 2,216,217). The mean maximum decrease in caseload was 5 standard deviations. With the enforcement of the shutdown in March, the mobility index dropped by almost 40\%. Of all air pollutants, NO2 has the strongest correlation with ER visits when averaged across all departments. Using a linear stepwise multiple regression model, 63\% of the variation in ER visits is explained by the mobility index, but still 6\% of the variation is explained by air quality and climate change.}, language = {en} } @article{BellKleinRieseretal.2023, author = {Bell, Alexandra and Klein, Doris and Rieser, Jakob and Kraus, Tanja and Thiel, Michael and Dech, Stefan}, title = {Scientific evidence from space — a review of spaceborne remote sensing applications at the science-policy interface}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {15}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {4}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs15040940}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-303925}, year = {2023}, abstract = {On a daily basis, political decisions are made, often with their full extent of impact being unclear. Not seldom, the decisions and policy measures implemented result in direct or indirect unintended negative impacts, such as on the natural environment, which can vary in time, space, nature, and severity. To achieve a more sustainable world with equitable societies requires fundamental rethinking of our policymaking. It calls for informed decision making and a monitoring of political impact for which evidence-based knowledge is necessary. The most powerful tool to derive objective and systematic spatial information and, thus, add to transparent decisions is remote sensing (RS). This review analyses how spaceborne RS is used by the scientific community to provide evidence for the policymaking process. We reviewed 194 scientific publications from 2015 to 2020 and analysed them based on general insights (e.g., study area) and RS application-related information (e.g., RS data and products). Further, we classified the studies according to their degree of science-policy integration by determining their engagement with the political field and their potential contribution towards four stages of the policy cycle: problem identification/knowledge building, policy formulation, policy implementation, and policy monitoring and evaluation. Except for four studies, we found that studies had not directly involved or informed the policy field or policymaking process. Most studies contributed to the stage problem identification/knowledge building, followed by ex post policy impact assessment. To strengthen the use of RS for policy-relevant studies, the concept of the policy cycle is used to showcase opportunities of RS application for the policymaking process. Topics gaining importance and future requirements of RS at the science-policy interface are identified. If tackled, RS can be a powerful complement to provide policy-relevant evidence to shed light on the impact of political decisions and thus help promote sustainable development from the core.}, language = {en} } @article{DhillonDahmsKuebertFlocketal.2023, author = {Dhillon, Maninder Singh and Dahms, Thorsten and K{\"u}bert-Flock, Carina and Liepa, Adomas and Rummler, Thomas and Arnault, Joel and Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf and Ullmann, Tobias}, title = {Impact of STARFM on crop yield predictions: fusing MODIS with Landsat 5, 7, and 8 NDVIs in Bavaria Germany}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {15}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {6}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs15061651}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-311092}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Rapid and accurate yield estimates at both field and regional levels remain the goal of sustainable agriculture and food security. Hereby, the identification of consistent and reliable methodologies providing accurate yield predictions is one of the hot topics in agricultural research. This study investigated the relationship of spatiotemporal fusion modelling using STRAFM on crop yield prediction for winter wheat (WW) and oil-seed rape (OSR) using a semi-empirical light use efficiency (LUE) model for the Free State of Bavaria (70,550 km\(^2\)), Germany, from 2001 to 2019. A synthetic normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) time series was generated and validated by fusing the high spatial resolution (30 m, 16 days) Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) (2001 to 2012), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) (2012), and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) (2013 to 2019) with the coarse resolution of MOD13Q1 (250 m, 16 days) from 2001 to 2019. Except for some temporal periods (i.e., 2001, 2002, and 2012), the study obtained an R\(^2\) of more than 0.65 and a RMSE of less than 0.11, which proves that the Landsat 8 OLI fused products are of higher accuracy than the Landsat 5 TM products. Moreover, the accuracies of the NDVI fusion data have been found to correlate with the total number of available Landsat scenes every year (N), with a correlation coefficient (R) of +0.83 (between R\(^2\) of yearly synthetic NDVIs and N) and -0.84 (between RMSEs and N). For crop yield prediction, the synthetic NDVI time series and climate elements (such as minimum temperature, maximum temperature, relative humidity, evaporation, transpiration, and solar radiation) are inputted to the LUE model, resulting in an average R\(^2\) of 0.75 (WW) and 0.73 (OSR), and RMSEs of 4.33 dt/ha and 2.19 dt/ha. The yield prediction results prove the consistency and stability of the LUE model for yield estimation. Using the LUE model, accurate crop yield predictions were obtained for WW (R\(^2\) = 0.88) and OSR (R\(^2\) = 0.74). Lastly, the study observed a high positive correlation of R = 0.81 and R = 0.77 between the yearly R\(^2\) of synthetic accuracy and modelled yield accuracy for WW and OSR, respectively.}, language = {en} } @article{KunzUllmannKneiseletal.2023, author = {Kunz, Julius and Ullmann, T. and Kneisel, C. and Baumhauer, R.}, title = {Three-dimensional subsurface architecture and its influence on the spatiotemporal development of a retrogressive thaw slump in the Richardson Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada}, series = {Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research}, volume = {55}, journal = {Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research}, number = {1}, issn = {1523-0430}, doi = {10.1080/15230430.2023.2167358}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-350147}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The development of retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) is known to be strongly influenced by relief-related parameters, permafrost characteristics, and climatic triggers. To deepen the understanding of RTS, this study examines the subsurface characteristics in the vicinity of an active thaw slump, located in the Richardson Mountains (Western Canadian Arctic). The investigations aim to identify relationships between the spatiotemporal slump development and the influence of subsurface structures. Information on these were gained by means of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR). The spatiotemporal development of the slump was revealed by high-resolution satellite imagery and unmanned aerial vehicle-based digital elevation models (DEMs). The analysis indicated an acceleration of slump expansion, especially since 2018. The comparison of the DEMs enabled the detailed balancing of erosion and accumulation within the slump area between August 2018 and August 2019. In addition, manual frost probing and GPR revealed a strong relationship between the active layer thickness, surface morphology, and hydrology. Detected furrows in permafrost table topography seem to affect the active layer hydrology and cause a canalization of runoff toward the slump. The three-dimensional ERT data revealed a partly unfrozen layer underlying a heterogeneous permafrost body. This may influence the local hydrology and affect the development of the RTS. The results highlight the complex relationships between slump development, subsurface structure, and hydrology and indicate a distinct research need for other RTSs.}, language = {en} } @article{MeistervonSuchodoletzZeeden2023, author = {Meister, Julia and von Suchodoletz, Hans and Zeeden, Christian}, title = {Preface: Quaternary research from and inspired by the first virtual DEUQUA conference}, series = {E\&G Quaternary Science Journal}, volume = {72}, journal = {E\&G Quaternary Science Journal}, number = {2}, doi = {10.5194/egqsj-72-185-2023}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-350157}, pages = {185-187}, year = {2023}, abstract = {No abstract available.}, language = {en} } @article{ReinermannAsamGessneretal.2023, author = {Reinermann, Sophie and Asam, Sarah and Gessner, Ursula and Ullmann, Tobias and Kuenzer, Claudia}, title = {Multi-annual grassland mowing dynamics in Germany}, series = {Frontiers in Environmental Science}, volume = {11}, journal = {Frontiers in Environmental Science}, issn = {2296-665X}, doi = {10.3389/fenvs.2023.1040551}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-320700}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Introduction: Grasslands cover one third of the agricultural area in Germany and are mainly used for fodder production. However, grasslands fulfill many other ecosystem functions, like carbon storage, water filtration and the provision of habitats. In Germany, grasslands are mown and/or grazed multiple times during the year. The type and timing of management activities and the use intensity vary strongly, however co-determine grassland functions. Large-scale spatial information on grassland activities and use intensity in Germany is limited and not openly provided. In addition, the cause for patterns of varying mowing intensity are usually not known on a spatial scale as data on the incentives of farmers behind grassland management decisions is not available. Methods: We applied an algorithm based on a thresholding approach utilizing Sentinel-2 time series to detect grassland mowing events to investigate mowing dynamics in Germany in 2018-2021. The detected mowing events were validated with an independent dataset based on the examination of public webcam images. We analyzed spatial and temporal patterns of the mowing dynamics and relationships to climatic, topographic, soil or socio-political conditions. Results: We found that most intensively used grasslands can be found in southern/south-eastern Germany, followed by areas in northern Germany. This pattern stays the same among the investigated years, but we found variations on smaller scales. The mowing event detection shows higher accuracies in 2019 and 2020 (F1 = 0.64 and 0.63) compared to 2018 and 2021 (F1 = 0.52 and 0.50). We found a significant but weak (R2 of 0-0.13) relationship for a spatial correlation of mowing frequency and climate as well as topographic variables for the grassland areas in Germany. Further results indicate a clear value range of topographic and climatic conditions, characteristic for intensive grassland use. Extensive grassland use takes place everywhere in Germany and on the entire spectrum of topographic and climatic conditions in Germany. Natura 2000 grasslands are used less intensive but this pattern is not consistent among all sites. Discussion: Our findings on mowing dynamics and relationships to abiotic and socio-political conditions in Germany reveal important aspects of grassland management, including incentives of farmers.}, language = {en} } @article{RedlichZhangBenjaminetal.2022, author = {Redlich, Sarah and Zhang, Jie and Benjamin, Caryl and Dhillon, Maninder Singh and Englmeier, Jana and Ewald, J{\"o}rg and Fricke, Ute and Ganuza, Cristina and Haensel, Maria and Hovestadt, Thomas and Kollmann, Johannes and Koellner, Thomas and K{\"u}bert-Flock, Carina and Kunstmann, Harald and Menzel, Annette and Moning, Christoph and Peters, Wibke and Riebl, Rebekka and Rummler, Thomas and Rojas-Botero, Sandra and Tobisch, Cynthia and Uhler, Johannes and Uphus, Lars and M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg and Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf}, title = {Disentangling effects of climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services—A multi-scale experimental design}, series = {Methods in Ecology and Evolution}, volume = {13}, journal = {Methods in Ecology and Evolution}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1111/2041-210X.13759}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-258270}, pages = {514-527}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Climate and land-use change are key drivers of environmental degradation in the Anthropocene, but too little is known about their interactive effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Long-term data on biodiversity trends are currently lacking. Furthermore, previous ecological studies have rarely considered climate and land use in a joint design, did not achieve variable independence or lost statistical power by not covering the full range of environmental gradients. Here, we introduce a multi-scale space-for-time study design to disentangle effects of climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The site selection approach coupled extensive GIS-based exploration (i.e. using a Geographic information system) and correlation heatmaps with a crossed and nested design covering regional, landscape and local scales. Its implementation in Bavaria (Germany) resulted in a set of study plots that maximise the potential range and independence of environmental variables at different spatial scales. Stratifying the state of Bavaria into five climate zones (reference period 1981-2010) and three prevailing land-use types, that is, near-natural, agriculture and urban, resulted in 60 study regions (5.8 × 5.8 km quadrants) covering a mean annual temperature gradient of 5.6-9.8°C and a spatial extent of ~310 × 310 km. Within these regions, we nested 180 study plots located in contrasting local land-use types, that is, forests, grasslands, arable land or settlement (local climate gradient 4.5-10°C). This approach achieved low correlations between climate and land use (proportional cover) at the regional and landscape scale with |r ≤ 0.33| and |r ≤ 0.29| respectively. Furthermore, using correlation heatmaps for local plot selection reduced potentially confounding relationships between landscape composition and configuration for plots located in forests, arable land and settlements. The suggested design expands upon previous research in covering a significant range of environmental gradients and including a diversity of dominant land-use types at different scales within different climatic contexts. It allows independent assessment of the relative contribution of multi-scale climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Understanding potential interdependencies among global change drivers is essential to develop effective restoration and mitigation strategies against biodiversity decline, especially in expectation of future climatic changes. Importantly, this study also provides a baseline for long-term ecological monitoring programs.}, language = {en} } @article{LibandaPaeth2023, author = {Libanda, Brigadier and Paeth, Heiko}, title = {Modelling wind speed across Zambia: Implications for wind energy}, series = {International Journal of Climatology}, volume = {43}, journal = {International Journal of Climatology}, number = {2}, doi = {10.1002/joc.7826}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-312134}, pages = {772 -- 786}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Wind energy is a key option in global dialogues about climate change mitigation. Here, we combined observations from surface wind stations, reanalysis datasets, and state-of-the-art regional climate models from the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX Africa) to study the current and future wind energy potential in Zambia. We found that winds are dominated by southeasterlies and are rarely strong with an average speed of 2.8 m·s\(^{-1}\). When we converted the observed surface wind speed to a turbine hub height of 100 m, we found a ~38\% increase in mean wind speed for the period 1981-2000. Further, both simulated and observed wind speed data show statistically significant increments across much of the country. The only areas that divert from this upward trend of wind speeds are the low land terrains of the Eastern Province bordering Malawi. Examining projections of wind power density (WPD), we found that although wind speed is increasing, it is still generally too weak to support large-scale wind power generation. We found a meagre projected annual average WPD of 46.6 W·m\(^{-2}\). The highest WPDs of ~80 W·m\(^{-2}\) are projected in the northern and central parts of the country while the lowest are to be expected along the Luangwa valley in agreement with wind speed simulations. On average, Zambia is expected to experience minor WPD increments of 0.004 W·m\(^{-2}\) per year from 2031 to 2050. We conclude that small-scale wind turbines that accommodate cut-in wind speeds of 3.8 m·s\(^{-1}\) are the most suitable for power generation in Zambia. Further, given the limitations of small wind turbines, they are best suited for rural and suburban areas of the country where obstructions are few, thus making them ideal for complementing the government of the Republic of Zambia's rural electrification efforts.}, language = {en} } @article{StanglRauchRauhetal.2021, author = {Stangl, Stephanie and Rauch, Sebastian and Rauh, J{\"u}rgen and Meyer, Martin and M{\"u}ller-Nordhorn, Jacqueline and Wildner, Manfred and W{\"o}ckel, Achim and Heuschmann, Peter U.}, title = {Disparities in Accessibility to Evidence-Based Breast Cancer Care Facilities by Rural and Urban Areas in Bavaria, Germany}, series = {Cancer}, volume = {127}, journal = {Cancer}, number = {13}, doi = {10.1002/cncr.33493}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-239854}, pages = {2319 -- 2332}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background Breast cancer (BC), which is most common in elderly women, requires a multidisciplinary and continuous approach to care. With demographic changes, the number of patients with chronic diseases such as BC will increase. This trend will especially hit rural areas, where the majority of the elderly live, in terms of comprehensive health care. Methods Accessibility to several cancer facilities in Bavaria, Germany, was analyzed with a geographic information system. Facilities were identified from the national BC guideline and from 31 participants in a proof-of-concept study from the Breast Cancer Care for Patients With Metastatic Disease registry. The timeframe for accessibility was defined as 30 or 60 minutes for all population points. The collection of address information was performed with different sources (eg, a physician registry). Routine data from the German Census 2011 and the population-based Cancer Registry of Bavaria were linked at the district level. Results Females from urban areas (n = 2,938,991 [ie, total of females living in urban areas]) had a higher chance for predefined accessibility to the majority of analyzed facilities in comparison with females from rural areas (n = 3,385,813 [ie, total number of females living in rural areas]) with an odds ratio (OR) of 9.0 for cancer information counselling, an OR of 17.2 for a university hospital, and an OR of 7.2 for a psycho-oncologist. For (inpatient) rehabilitation centers (OR, 0.2) and genetic counselling (OR, 0.3), women from urban areas had lower odds of accessibility within 30 or 60 minutes. Conclusions Disparities in accessibility between rural and urban areas exist in Bavaria. The identification of underserved areas can help to inform policymakers about disparities in comprehensive health care. Future strategies are needed to deliver high-quality health care to all inhabitants, regardless of residence.}, language = {en} } @article{IbebuchiPaeth2021, author = {Ibebuchi, Chibuike Chiedozie and Paeth, Heiko}, title = {The Imprint of the Southern Annular Mode on Black Carbon AOD in the Western Cape Province}, series = {Atmosphere}, volume = {12}, journal = {Atmosphere}, number = {10}, issn = {2073-4433}, doi = {10.3390/atmos12101287}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-248387}, year = {2021}, abstract = {This study examines the relationship between variations of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and black carbon (BC) at 550 nm aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the Western Cape province (WC). Variations of the positive (negative) phase of the SAM are found to be related to regional circulation types (CTs) in southern Africa, associated with suppressed (enhanced) westerly wind over the WC through the southward (northward) migration of Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude cyclones. The CTs related to positive (negative) SAM anomalies induce stable (unstable) atmospheric conditions over the southwestern regions of the WC, especially during the austral winter and autumn seasons. Through the control of CTs, positive (negative) SAM phases tend to contribute to the build-up (dispersion and dilution) of BC in the study region because they imply dry (wet) conditions which favor the build-up (washing out) of pollutant particles in the atmosphere. Indeed, recent years with an above-average frequency of CTs related to positive (negative) SAM anomalies are associated with a high (low) BC AOD over southwesternmost Africa.}, language = {en} } @book{Guth2020, author = {Guth, Denis}, title = {Zur Sicherstellung der ‚Vertr{\"a}glichkeit' innerst{\"a}dtischer Einkaufszentren - Raumbezogene Diskurs- und Kalkulationsordnungen am Beispiel der Mainzer Innenstadt}, publisher = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press}, address = {W{\"u}rzburg}, isbn = {978-3-95826-130-3}, doi = {10.25972/WUP-978-3-95826-131-0}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-192670}, publisher = {W{\"u}rzburg University Press}, pages = {248}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Der Begriff der ‚Vertr{\"a}glichkeit' spielt eine zentrale Rolle f{\"u}r die politisch-planerische Steuerung von Einzelhandels- und Stadtentwicklung. Besonders kontrovers wird v.a. seit Mitte der 1990er Jahre die Frage der ‚Vertr{\"a}glichkeit' innerst{\"a}dtischer Einkaufszentren diskutiert. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht anhand ehemaliger Shopping-Center-Planungen f{\"u}r die Mainzer Innenstadt, wie der Vertr{\"a}glichkeitsbegriff in der Praxis gef{\"u}llt wird und welche planerischen Steuerungslogiken hieraus hervorgehen. Die Arbeit setzt sich kritisch mit der Frage auseinander, auf welche normativen Wissensordnungen {\"u}ber den innerst{\"a}dtischen Raum sich die politisch-planerische Bearbeitung der Vertr{\"a}glichkeitsproblematik st{\"u}tzt und welche Machtwirkungen hiermit einhergehen. Ausgehend von einer poststrukturalistisch inspirierten, diskurstheoretischen Perspektive verschiebt die Studie damit den geographischen Blick auf die Vertr{\"a}glichkeitsfrage: Was ‚Vertr{\"a}glichkeit' f{\"u}r die politisch-planerische Praxis konkret bedeutet, ob ein geplantes Einkaufszentrum als ‚(innenstadt)vertr{\"a}glich' gelten kann bzw. welche konkreten Interventionen dies erfordert, h{\"a}ngt demzufolge weniger von objektiven {\"o}konomischen, r{\"a}umlichen oder st{\"a}dtebaulichen Gegebenheiten ab - vielmehr zeigt die Studie, dass eine ganzen Reihe von Techniken raumbezogener Wissensproduktion mobilisiert werden m{\"u}ssen, damit die Vertr{\"a}glichkeitsfrage {\"u}berhaupt als eine objektivierbare Frage erscheinen kann.}, subject = {Einkaufszentrum}, language = {de} } @techreport{MeyerJobLaneretal.2022, author = {Meyer, Constantin and Job, Hubert and Laner, Peter and Omizzolo, Andrea and Kollmann, Nadia and Clare, Jasmin and Vesely, Philipp and Riedler, Walter and Plassmann, Guido and Coronado, Oriana and Praper Gulič, Sergeja and Gulič, Andrej and Koblar, Simon and Teofili, Corrado and Rohringer, Verena and Schoßleitner, Richard and Ainz, Gerhard}, title = {OpenSpaceAlps - Manuale di Pianificazione: Prospettive per la salvaguardia coerente degli Spazi Aperti nella regione alpina}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-27704}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-277042}, pages = {114}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Nella regione alpina, si pu{\`o} osservare il continuo consumo di spazi aperti a causa dell'aumento di aree di insediamento e di infrastrutture tecniche e la conseguente impermeabilizzazione del suolo. Questo fenomeno porta principalmente alla perdita di suolo agricolo. A seconda dell'estensione dello sviluppo, si riscontra anche una maggiore frammentazione del paesaggio, che {\`e} associata all'isolamento degli habitat naturali e alla perdita della connettivit{\`a} ecologica, cos{\`i} come ad altre conseguenze negative. Il progetto OpenSpaceAlps ha affrontato questo problema e, sulla base di procedure cooperative partecipate attuate in diverse regioni pilota alpine, ha sviluppato approcci e strategie di soluzione per la salvaguardia sostenibile degli spazi aperti. Questo manuale supporta le attivit{\`a} e il processo decisionale di vari stakeholder, in primo luogo i pianificatori delle autorit{\`a} pubbliche di pianificazione. Sulla base di un'analisi delle sfide e delle condizioni generali nella regione alpina, il manuale presenta e confronta i "principi" centrali della pianificazione degli spazi aperti. Inoltre, vengono discusse strategie di pianificazione integrata per diverse categorie spaziali.}, subject = {Raumordnung}, language = {it} } @article{ReinermannAsamKuenzer2020, author = {Reinermann, Sophie and Asam, Sarah and Kuenzer, Claudia}, title = {Remote Sensing of Grassland Production and Management - A Review}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {12}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {12}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs12121949}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-207799}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Grasslands cover one third of the earth's terrestrial surface and are mainly used for livestock production. The usage type, use intensity and condition of grasslands are often unclear. Remote sensing enables the analysis of grassland production and management on large spatial scales and with high temporal resolution. Despite growing numbers of studies in the field, remote sensing applications in grassland biomes are underrepresented in literature and less streamlined compared to other vegetation types. By reviewing articles within research on satellite-based remote sensing of grassland production traits and management, we describe and evaluate methods and results and reveal spatial and temporal patterns of existing work. In addition, we highlight research gaps and suggest research opportunities. The focus is on managed grasslands and pastures and special emphasize is given to the assessment of studies on grazing intensity and mowing detection based on earth observation data. Grazing and mowing highly influence the production and ecology of grassland and are major grassland management types. In total, 253 research articles were reviewed. The majority of these studies focused on grassland production traits and only 80 articles were about grassland management and use intensity. While the remote sensing-based analysis of grassland production heavily relied on empirical relationships between ground-truth and satellite data or radiation transfer models, the used methods to detect and investigate grassland management differed. In addition, this review identified that studies on grassland production traits with satellite data often lacked including spatial management information into the analyses. Studies focusing on grassland management and use intensity mostly investigated rather small study areas with homogeneous intensity levels among the grassland parcels. Combining grassland production estimations with management information, while accounting for the variability among grasslands, is recommended to facilitate the development of large-scale continuous monitoring and remote sensing grassland products, which have been rare thus far.}, language = {en} } @article{RieserVesteThieletal.2021, author = {Rieser, Jakob and Veste, Maik and Thiel, Michael and Sch{\"o}nbrodt-Stitt, Sarah}, title = {Coverage and Rainfall Response of Biological Soil Crusts Using Multi-Temporal Sentinel-2 Data in a Central European Temperate Dry Acid Grassland}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {13}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {16}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs13163093}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-245006}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are thin microbiological vegetation layers that naturally develop in unfavorable higher plant conditions (i.e., low precipitation rates and high temperatures) in global drylands. They consist of poikilohydric organisms capable of adjusting their metabolic activities depending on the water availability. However, they, and with them, their ecosystem functions, are endangered by climate change and land-use intensification. Remote sensing (RS)-based studies estimated the BSC cover in global drylands through various multispectral indices, and few of them correlated the BSCs' activity response to rainfall. However, the allocation of BSCs is not limited to drylands only as there are areas beyond where smaller patches have developed under intense human impact and frequent disturbance. Yet, those areas were not addressed in RS-based studies, raising the question of whether the methods developed in extensive drylands can be transferred easily. Our temperate climate study area, the 'Lieberoser Heide' in northeastern Germany, is home to the country's largest BSC-covered area. We applied a Random Forest (RF) classification model incorporating multispectral Sentinel-2 (S2) data, indices derived from them, and topographic information to spatiotemporally map the BSC cover for the first time in Central Europe. We further monitored the BSC response to rainfall events over a period of around five years (June 2015 to end of December 2020). Therefore, we combined datasets of gridded NDVI as a measure of photosynthetic activity with daily precipitation data and conducted a change detection analysis. With an overall accuracy of 98.9\%, our classification proved satisfactory. Detected changes in BSC activity between dry and wet conditions were found to be significant. Our study emphasizes a high transferability of established methods from extensive drylands to BSC-covered areas in the temperate climate. Therefore, we consider our study to provide essential impulses so that RS-based biocrust mapping in the future will be applied beyond the global drylands.}, language = {en} } @article{DhillonDahmsKuebertFlocketal.2020, author = {Dhillon, Maninder Singh and Dahms, Thorsten and Kuebert-Flock, Carina and Borg, Erik and Conrad, Christopher and Ullmann, Tobias}, title = {Modelling Crop Biomass from Synthetic Remote Sensing Time Series: Example for the DEMMIN Test Site, Germany}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {12}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {11}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs12111819}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-207845}, year = {2020}, abstract = {This study compares the performance of the five widely used crop growth models (CGMs): World Food Studies (WOFOST), Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES)-Wheat, AquaCrop, cropping systems simulation model (CropSyst), and the semi-empiric light use efficiency approach (LUE) for the prediction of winter wheat biomass on the Durable Environmental Multidisciplinary Monitoring Information Network (DEMMIN) test site, Germany. The study focuses on the use of remote sensing (RS) data, acquired in 2015, in CGMs, as they offer spatial information on the actual conditions of the vegetation. Along with this, the study investigates the data fusion of Landsat (30 m) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (500 m) data using the spatial and temporal reflectance adaptive reflectance fusion model (STARFM) fusion algorithm. These synthetic RS data offer a 30-m spatial and one-day temporal resolution. The dataset therefore provides the necessary information to run CGMs and it is possible to examine the fine-scale spatial and temporal changes in crop phenology for specific fields, or sub sections of them, and to monitor crop growth daily, considering the impact of daily climate variability. The analysis includes a detailed comparison of the simulated and measured crop biomass. The modelled crop biomass using synthetic RS data is compared to the model outputs using the original MODIS time series as well. On comparison with the MODIS product, the study finds the performance of CGMs more reliable, precise, and significant with synthetic time series. Using synthetic RS data, the models AquaCrop and LUE, in contrast to other models, simulate the winter wheat biomass best, with an output of high R2 (>0.82), low RMSE (<600 g/m\(^2\)) and significant p-value (<0.05) during the study period. However, inputting MODIS data makes the models underperform, with low R2 (<0.68) and high RMSE (>600 g/m\(^2\)). The study shows that the models requiring fewer input parameters (AquaCrop and LUE) to simulate crop biomass are highly applicable and precise. At the same time, they are easier to implement than models, which need more input parameters (WOFOST and CERES-Wheat).}, language = {en} } @article{FakhriLatifi2021, author = {Fakhri, Seyed Arvin and Latifi, Hooman}, title = {A consumer grade UAV-based framework to estimate structural attributes of coppice and high oak forest stands in semi-arid regions}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {13}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {21}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs13214367}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-248469}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Semi-arid tree covers, in both high and coppice growth forms, play an essential role in protecting water and soil resources and provides multiple ecosystem services across fragile ecosystems. Thus, they require continuous inventories. Quantification of forest structure in these tree covers provides important measures for their management and biodiversity conservation. We present a framework, based on consumer-grade UAV photogrammetry, to separately estimate primary variables of tree height (H) and crown area (A) across diverse coppice and high stands dominated by Quercus brantii Lindl. along the latitudinal gradient of Zagros mountains of western Iran. Then, multivariate linear regressions were parametrized with H and A to estimate the diameter at breast height (DBH) of high trees because of its importance to accelerate the existing practical DBH inventories across Zagros Forests. The estimated variables were finally applied to a model tree aboveground biomass (AGB) for both vegetative growth forms by local allometric equations and Random Forest models. In each step, the estimated variables were evaluated against the field reference values, indicating practically high accuracies reaching root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.68 m and 4.74 cm for H and DBH, as well as relative RMSE < 10\% for AGB estimates. The results generally suggest an effective framework for single tree-based attribute estimation over mountainous, semi-arid coppice, and high stands.}, language = {en} } @article{ReinermannGessnerAsametal.2022, author = {Reinermann, Sophie and Gessner, Ursula and Asam, Sarah and Ullmann, Tobias and Schucknecht, Anne and Kuenzer, Claudia}, title = {Detection of grassland mowing events for Germany by combining Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 time series}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {14}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {7}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs14071647}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-267164}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Grasslands cover one-third of the agricultural area in Germany and play an important economic role by providing fodder for livestock. In addition, they fulfill important ecosystem services, such as carbon storage, water purification, and the provision of habitats. These ecosystem services usually depend on the grassland management. In central Europe, grasslands are grazed and/or mown, whereby the management type and intensity vary in space and time. Spatial information on the mowing timing and frequency on larger scales are usually not available but would be required in order to assess the ecosystem services, species composition, and grassland yields. Time series of high-resolution satellite remote sensing data can be used to analyze the temporal and spatial dynamics of grasslands. Within this study, we aim to overcome the drawbacks identified by previous studies, such as optical data availability and the lack of comprehensive reference data, by testing the time series of various Sentinel-2 (S2) and Sentinal-1 (S1) parameters and combinations of them in order to detect mowing events in Germany in 2019. We developed a threshold-based algorithm by using information from a comprehensive reference dataset of heterogeneously managed grassland parcels in Germany, obtained by RGB cameras. The developed approach using the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) derived from S2 led to a successful mowing event detection in Germany (60.3\% of mowing events detected, F1-Score = 0.64). However, events shortly before, during, or shortly after cloud gaps were missed and in regions with lower S2 orbit coverage fewer mowing events were detected. Therefore, S1-based backscatter, InSAR, and PolSAR features were investigated during S2 data gaps. From these, the PolSAR entropy detected mowing events most reliably. For a focus region, we tested an integrated approach by combining S2 and S1 parameters. This approach detected additional mowing events, but also led to many false positive events, resulting in a reduction in the F1-Score (from 0.65 of S2 to 0.61 of S2 + S1 for the focus region). According to our analysis, a majority of grasslands in Germany are only mown zero to two times (around 84\%) and are probably additionally used for grazing. A small proportion is mown more often than four times (3\%). Regions with a generally higher grassland mowing frequency are located in southern, south-eastern, and northern Germany.}, language = {en} } @article{MayrKleinRutzingeretal.2021, author = {Mayr, Stefan and Klein, Igor and Rutzinger, Martin and Kuenzer, Claudia}, title = {Determining temporal uncertainty of a global inland surface water time series}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {13}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {17}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs13173454}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-245234}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Earth observation time series are well suited to monitor global surface dynamics. However, data products that are aimed at assessing large-area dynamics with a high temporal resolution often face various error sources (e.g., retrieval errors, sampling errors) in their acquisition chain. Addressing uncertainties in a spatiotemporal consistent manner is challenging, as extensive high-quality validation data is typically scarce. Here we propose a new method that utilizes time series inherent information to assess the temporal interpolation uncertainty of time series datasets. For this, we utilized data from the DLR-DFD Global WaterPack (GWP), which provides daily information on global inland surface water. As the time series is primarily based on optical MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) images, the requirement of data gap interpolation due to clouds constitutes the main uncertainty source of the product. With a focus on different temporal and spatial characteristics of surface water dynamics, seven auxiliary layers were derived. Each layer provides probability and reliability estimates regarding water observations at pixel-level. This enables the quantification of uncertainty corresponding to the full spatiotemporal range of the product. Furthermore, the ability of temporal layers to approximate unknown pixel states was evaluated for stratified artificial gaps, which were introduced into the original time series of four climatologic diverse test regions. Results show that uncertainty is quantified accurately (>90\%), consequently enhancing the product's quality with respect to its use for modeling and the geoscientific community.}, language = {en} } @article{WeiBlaschke2018, author = {Wei, Chunzhu and Blaschke, Thomas}, title = {Pixel-wise vs. object-based impervious surface analysis from remote sensing: correlations with land surface temperature and population density}, series = {Urban Science}, volume = {2}, journal = {Urban Science}, number = {1}, issn = {2413-8851}, doi = {10.3390/urbansci2010002}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-197829}, pages = {2}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Impervious surface areas (ISA) are heavily influenced by urban structure and related structural features. We examined the effects of object-based impervious surface spatial pattern analysis on land surface temperature and population density in Guangzhou, China, in comparison to classic per-pixel analyses. An object-based support vector machine (SVM) and a linear spectral mixture analysis (LSMA) were integrated to estimate ISA fraction using images from the Chinese HJ-1B satellite for 2009 to 2011. The results revealed that the integrated object-based SVM-LSMA algorithm outperformed the traditional pixel-wise LSMA algorithm in classifying ISA fraction. More specifically, the object-based ISA spatial patterns extracted were more suitable than pixel-wise patterns for urban heat island (UHI) studies, in which the UHI areas (landscape surface temperature >37 °C) generally feature high ISA fraction values (ISA fraction >50\%). In addition, the object-based spatial patterns enable us to quantify the relationship of ISA with population density (correlation coefficient >0.2 in general), with global human settlement density (correlation coefficient >0.2), and with night-time light map (correlation coefficient >0.4), and, whereas pixel-wise ISA did not yield significant correlations. These results indicate that object-based spatial patterns have a high potential for UHI detection and urbanization monitoring. Planning measures that aim to reduce the urbanization impacts and UHI intensities can be better supported.}, language = {en} } @article{UereyenKuenzer2019, author = {Uereyen, Soner and Kuenzer, Claudia}, title = {A review of earth observation-based analyses for major river basins}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {11}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {24}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs11242951}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-193849}, pages = {2951}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Regardless of political boundaries, river basins are a functional unit of the Earth's land surface and provide an abundance of resources for the environment and humans. They supply livelihoods supported by the typical characteristics of large river basins, such as the provision of freshwater, irrigation water, and transport opportunities. At the same time, they are impacted i.e., by human-induced environmental changes, boundary conflicts, and upstream-downstream inequalities. In the framework of water resource management, monitoring of river basins is therefore of high importance, in particular for researchers, stake-holders and decision-makers. However, land surface and surface water properties of many major river basins remain largely unmonitored at basin scale. Several inventories exist, yet consistent spatial databases describing the status of major river basins at global scale are lacking. Here, Earth observation (EO) is a potential source of spatial information providing large-scale data on the status of land surface properties. This review provides a comprehensive overview of existing research articles analyzing major river basins primarily using EO. Furthermore, this review proposes to exploit EO data together with relevant open global-scale geodata to establish a database and to enable consistent spatial analyses and evaluate past and current states of major river basins.}, language = {en} } @article{NillUllmannKneiseletal.2019, author = {Nill, Leon and Ullmann, Tobias and Kneisel, Christof and Sobiech-Wolf, Jennifer and Baumhauer, Roland}, title = {Assessing Spatiotemporal Variations of Landsat Land Surface Temperature and Multispectral Indices in the Arctic Mackenzie Delta Region between 1985 and 2018}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {11}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {19}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs11192329}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-193301}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Air temperatures in the Arctic have increased substantially over the last decades, which has extensively altered the properties of the land surface. Capturing the state and dynamics of Land Surface Temperatures (LSTs) at high spatial detail is of high interest as LST is dependent on a variety of surficial properties and characterizes the land-atmosphere exchange of energy. Accordingly, this study analyses the influence of different physical surface properties on the long-term mean of the summer LST in the Arctic Mackenzie Delta Region (MDR) using Landsat 30 m-resolution imagery between 1985 and 2018 by taking advantage of the cloud computing capabilities of the Google Earth Engine. Multispectral indices, including the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) and Tasseled Cap greenness (TCG), brightness (TCB), and wetness (TCW) as well as topographic features derived from the TanDEM-X digital elevation model are used in correlation and multiple linear regression analyses to reveal their influence on the LST. Furthermore, surface alteration trends of the LST, NDVI, and NDWI are revealed using the Theil-Sen (T-S) regression method. The results indicate that the mean summer LST appears to be mostly influenced by the topographic exposition as well as the prevalent moisture regime where higher evapotranspiration rates increase the latent heat flux and cause a cooling of the surface, as the variance is best explained by the TCW and northness of the terrain. However, fairly diverse model outcomes for different regions of the MDR (R2 from 0.31 to 0.74 and RMSE from 0.51 °C to 1.73 °C) highlight the heterogeneity of the landscape in terms of influential factors and suggests accounting for a broad spectrum of different factors when modeling mean LSTs. The T-S analysis revealed large-scale wetting and greening trends with a mean decadal increase of the NDVI/NDWI of approximately +0.03 between 1985 and 2018, which was mostly accompanied by a cooling of the land surface given the inverse relationship between mean LSTs and vegetation and moisture conditions. Disturbance through wildfires intensifies the surface alterations locally and lead to significantly cooler LSTs in the long-term compared to the undisturbed surroundings.}, language = {en} } @article{AsareKyeiForkuorVenus2015, author = {Asare-Kyei, Daniel and Forkuor, Gerald and Venus, Valentijn}, title = {Modeling Flood Hazard Zones at the Sub-District Level with the Rational Model Integrated with GIS and Remote Sensing Approaches}, series = {Water}, volume = {7}, journal = {Water}, doi = {10.3390/w7073531}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-151581}, pages = {3531 -- 3564}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Robust risk assessment requires accurate flood intensity area mapping to allow for the identification of populations and elements at risk. However, available flood maps in West Africa lack spatial variability while global datasets have resolutions too coarse to be relevant for local scale risk assessment. Consequently, local disaster managers are forced to use traditional methods such as watermarks on buildings and media reports to identify flood hazard areas. In this study, remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques were combined with hydrological and statistical models to delineate the spatial limits of flood hazard zones in selected communities in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Benin. The approach involves estimating peak runoff concentrations at different elevations and then applying statistical methods to develop a Flood Hazard Index (FHI). Results show that about half of the study areas fall into high intensity flood zones. Empirical validation using statistical confusion matrix and the principles of Participatory GIS show that flood hazard areas could be mapped at an accuracy ranging from 77\% to 81\%. This was supported with local expert knowledge which accurately classified 79\% of communities deemed to be highly susceptible to flood hazard. The results will assist disaster managers to reduce the risk to flood disasters at the community level where risk outcomes are first materialized.}, language = {en} } @article{UllmannSauerbreyHoffmeisteretal.2019, author = {Ullmann, Tobias and Sauerbrey, Julia and Hoffmeister, Dirk and May, Simon Matthias and Baumhauer, Roland and Bubenzer, Olaf}, title = {Assessing Spatiotemporal Variations of Sentinel-1 InSAR Coherence at Different Time Scales over the Atacama Desert (Chile) between 2015 and 2018}, series = {Remote Sensing}, volume = {11}, journal = {Remote Sensing}, number = {24}, issn = {2072-4292}, doi = {10.3390/rs11242960}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-193836}, pages = {2960}, year = {2019}, abstract = {This study investigates synthetic aperture radar (SAR) time series of the Sentinel-1 mission acquired over the Atacama Desert, Chile, between March 2015 and December 2018. The contribution analyzes temporal and spatial variations of Sentinel-1 interferometric SAR (InSAR) coherence and exemplarily illustrates factors that are responsible for observed signal differences. The analyses are based on long temporal baselines (365-1090 days) and temporally dense time series constructed with short temporal baselines (12-24 days). Results are compared to multispectral data of Sentinel-2, morphometric features of the digital elevation model (DEM) TanDEM-X WorldDEM™, and to a detailed governmental geographic information system (GIS) dataset of the local hydrography. Sentinel-1 datasets are suited for generating extensive, nearly seamless InSAR coherence mosaics covering the entire Atacama Desert (>450 × 1100 km) at a spatial resolution of 20 × 20 meter per pixel. Temporal baselines over several years lead only to very minor decorrelation, indicating a very high signal stability of C-Band in this region, especially in the hyperarid uplands between the Coastal Cordillera and the Central Depression. Signal decorrelation was associated with certain types of surface cover (e.g., water or aeolian deposits) or with actual surface dynamics (e.g., anthropogenic disturbance (mining) or fluvial activity and overland flow). Strong rainfall events and fluvial activity in the periods 2015 to 2016 and 2017 to 2018 caused spatial patterns with significant signal decorrelation; observed linear coherence anomalies matched the reference channel network and indicated actual episodic and sporadic discharge events. In the period 2015-2016, area-wide loss of coherence appeared as strip-like patterns of more than 80 km length that matched the prevailing wind direction. These anomalies, and others observed in that period and in the period 2017-2018, were interpreted to be caused by overland flow of high magnitude, as their spatial location matched well with documented heavy rainfall events that showed cumulative precipitation amounts of more than 20 mm.}, language = {en} }