Topic Review
Decision Support Systems in Forestry and Tree-Planting Practices
Using deep neural networks (DNNs), a decision support system (DSS) can be trained to learn from a large dataset of tree data, including information about tree species, climate, soil conditions, and other factors that influence tree growth and survival. This is because the use of neural networks was proposed three decades ago to solve forest management problems by integrating forest knowledge with artificial intelligence (AI). AI greatly benefits sustainability and the preservation of ecosystem values, as increasing disruptions in a changing world can only be managed beyond human intelligence. Furthermore, despite the various DSSs and AI systems used, the appointment of appropriate project managers is crucial to the execution and subsequent success of a project.
  • 144
  • 04 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Approach to Existing Management Perspectives in Scuba Diving
There are a considerable number of studies reporting the negative impacts of recreational diving and their causes, yet there is a gap in the information regarding the aspects of activity management. A large part of the measures identified address stakeholders’ awareness, data on the activity, and implementing adapted management measures. Stakeholders need to be integrated into the entire process of managing the activity because they are the target for correcting actions.
  • 84
  • 04 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Salt Lake Aerosols' Chemical Composition and Health Effects
Salt Lakes, having a salt concentration higher than that of seawater and hosting unique extremophiles, are predominantly located in drought-prone zones worldwide, accumulating diverse salts and continuously emitting salt dust or aerosols. Salt Lake aerosols are produced through various processes, including lake-water spray, evaporation-induced salt crystallization, wind-driven dust emissions, microbial activities, chemical reactions, and anthropogenic influences. The primary mechanism involves the breaking of wind-driven waves at the lake surface. As the wind blows across the water, it generates waves. When these waves reach a critical size, they break and release tiny droplets into the air, which become airborne particles and form aerosols.
  • 153
  • 29 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Artificial Intelligence in Phytopathology
Plant diseases annually cause 10–16% yield losses in major crops, prompting urgent innovations. Artificial intelligence (AI) shows an aptitude for automated disease detection and diagnosis utilizing image recognition techniques, with reported accuracies exceeding 95% and surpassing human visual assessment. Forecasting models integrating weather, soil, and crop data enable preemptive interventions by predicting spatial-temporal outbreak risks weeks in advance at 81–95% precision, minimizing pesticide usage. Precision agriculture powered by AI optimizes data-driven, tailored crop protection strategies boosting resilience. Real-time monitoring leveraging AI discerns pre-symptomatic anomalies from plant and environmental data for early alerts. These applications highlight AI’s proficiency in illuminating opaque disease patterns within increasingly complex agricultural data. 
  • 428
  • 28 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Constructed Wetlands to Treat Effluents for Water Reuse
Urban and industrial wastewater discharges remain a major source of pollution worldwide. Urban runoff, stormwater overflows, and untreated sewage discharges are increasingly important sources of pollution. Population growth and the change in annual rainfall patterns associated with climate change make it increasingly difficult to meet the growing demand for recreational, industrial, agricultural, and domestic purposes. Thus, the regeneration of used water with the aim of giving it a second use is increasingly imperative. Solutions based on nature, such as constructed wetlands (CWs), offer high possibilities for the sustainable use of water, facilitating its treatment and reuse in situ, as well as contributions to adaptation to climate change through the use and promotion of vegetation, both in urban and rural areas. The circular economy criteria and objectives require opting for technologies and configurations that allow the recovery of nutrients and other resources contained in wastewater while allowing the reuse or recycling of the water itself for different uses. CWs offer very interesting benefits regarding both sustainability and circularity.
  • 79
  • 27 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Plant-Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR)-Based Biostimulants for Agricultural Production Systems
The application of biostimulants has been proven to be an advantageous tool and an appropriate form of management towards the effective use of natural resources, food security, and the beneficial effects on plant growth and yield. Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are microbes connected with plant roots that can increase plant growth by different methods such as producing plant hormones and molecules to improve plant growth or providing increased mineral nutrition. They can colonize all ecological niches of roots to all stages of crop development, and they can affect plant growth and development directly by modulating plant hormone levels and enhancing nutrient acquisition such as of potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, and essential minerals, or indirectly via reducing the inhibitory impacts of different pathogens in the forms of biocontrol parameters. Many plant-associated species such as Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Streptomyces, Serratia, Arthrobacter, and Rhodococcus can increase plant growth by improving plant disease resistance, synthesizing growth-stimulating plant hormones, and suppressing pathogenic microorganisms. The application of biostimulants is both an environmentally friendly practice and a promising method that can enhance the sustainability of horticultural and agricultural production systems as well as promote the quantity and quality of foods. They can also reduce the global dependence on hazardous agricultural chemicals. 
  • 128
  • 27 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Development and Effects of Organic Farms in Poland
Organic farms should, by definition, place particular emphasis on the protection of agricultural soils, landscape care and activities aimed at producing high-quality agricultural products. In Poland, its development strength largely depends on the presence of areas facing natural or other specific constraints (ANCs). Nearly ¾ of organic utilized agriculture area (UAA) is located in communes with a large share of them. Organic farms achieve lower production effects in comparison to conventional farms, and their disproportions also depend on the quality of natural farming conditions. In Poland, the personal competences of farmers are also an important determinant in joining organic farming.
  • 64
  • 26 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Watershed Processes and Streamflow Prediction
Accurate streamflow prediction (SFP) is crucial for water resource management, flood and drought forecasting, and reservoir operations. However, complex interactions between surface and subsurface processes in watersheds make predicting extreme events challenging. This work highlights the importance of incorporating physical understanding and process knowledge into data-driven SFP models for reliable and robust predictions, especially during extreme events.
  • 100
  • 26 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Damaged Sandstone Used in the Cathedral of Huesca
In order to manage problems arising from rainwater/rock interaction in Miocene sandstones (calcareous litharenites) widely used in various monuments of the Ebro Valley (NE of Spain), a survey has been conducted with particular application to the building and architectural decorative materials of the Cathedral of Huesca.
  • 67
  • 23 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Climatic Threats and Adaptation of Marine Biodiversity
Oceans play a vital role in socioeconomic and environmental development by supporting activities such as tourism, recreation, and food provision while providing important ecosystem services. However, concerns have been raised about the threat that climate change poses to the functions of oceans.
  • 65
  • 23 Feb 2024
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