Volume 39 (2020): Issue 1 (March 2020)

The presented study considers the impact of public expenditure related to land development on the potential of an urban green infrastructure to provide ecosystem services (ES). The study site (Szachty) is located in Poznań, the fifth largest city in Poland. In the article, we recognised the type of expenditure (permanent infrastructure and ongoing maintenance), the costs and the influence on ES (stimulating, weakening or no relevant). The study shows that the financial policy concerning the study area is focused on creating an infrastructure that enhances cultural ecosystem services (CES). However, the creation of recreational facilities weakens the potential of the area for supplying regulating services concerning maintaining nursery populations and habitats. The results highlight the need for scientific support for policymakers in understanding the synergies and trade-offs between ES, resulting from financial decisions. This is particularly important in the decision-making process in the areas of high natural value, in which full, long-term effects of the decisions may be barely visible and incomprehensible for the society. Showing the impact of financial decisions on the structure and level of ES may provide arguments supporting a more complex and high-quality social dialogue, including balancing the interests of various stakeholders.

The aim of this study is to highlight three of the urban geomorphosites of Craiova city, which can be promoted in a specific itinerary for geotourism or integrated, along with other objectives, in different touristic products. The selection of the three sites was made after analysing historical documents, images and maps, which show the landscape transformation, the development of the community and the settlement expansion. For the assessment of the sites, the method created by the University of Rome was used and two stages were performed: a) the geomorphological analysis by multitemporal and multidisciplinary approaches and b) the geomorphoheritage characterisation by calculating the VSGh index (Value of a Site for Geotourism index) based on the presence of five attributes. One of the three sites, The Valley of the 7 Wells, is nowadays an invisible geomorphosite with an important geotouristic and educational potential.

This investigation additionally recognizes partner cooperation issue and furthermore to moderate the real issue through subjective and quantitative appraisal of riverine wetland. Considering a floodplain wetland in rustic West Bengal, the concentration was extended to perceive the type of wetland capacities as per the idea of individuals’ contribution by group examination. Be that as it may, NDVI was connected to ponder the total weeds condition into the wetland to decide the connection between Water Quality Index (WQI) with Normalized Difference Vegatation Index (NDVI) and its impact on valuation. In ANOVA, which is computed by MINITAB programming, centrality level was lower than 0.05 for each case.

Geotourism is a type of qualified tourism promoting geosites related to the geological outcrops and relief elements, such as river channels. Examples of these landforms with high educational values can be seen in the Białka and Skawa riverbeds. However, an important element in the description of such geosites (geomorphosites) is their educational values, which make it possible to clearly determine their suitability and possible use in geotourism. The assessment methods are the only methods of evaluating these values. But they are subjective, and the results of the analyses carried out on them largely depend on the knowledge and experience of the evaluator. In this paper, four geomorphosites have been assessed using the triangulation expert method. All described geomorphosites have received a high educational value, and the highest had the Białka Gorge.

A waterfall is a very steep (commonly nearly vertical) fall of some magnitude in a river course. Waterfalls are widespread fluvial landforms that have been described from many parts of the world. Thirty-eight World Heritage Properties include waterfalls in their designation. In addition, some waterfalls are actual or potential geomorphosites. Waterfalls occur in almost all climatic environments, though they are particularly common in formerly glaciated areas. They occur on a huge diversity of rock types, although in general, they do not form persistent or large falls on soft or unconsolidated rocks. Waterfalls also occur in a wide range of geomorphological settings: glaciated areas, areas of active tectonism, areas of sea-cliff retreat and sea-level change, great escarpments on passive margins, basins with river capture, rifted and faulted areas and areas that have been subjected to megaflooding. Multiple processes account for waterfall retreat and varying rates of recession. Although the greatest interest has been in rates of waterfall recession, there are examples of waterfalls that prograde as a result of tufa deposition.

Similar to most cities in Europe/the world, Kosovo also faces the problem of urban mobility, which is characterised by congestion. The most concerning problems are: waste of time, money, energy consumption, environmental problems and others. They arise due to the imbalanced state of using urban mobility in Pristina (Prishtinë), while eco-travels are minor. In order to reduce these problems, this paper aimed to examine the current situation of urban mobility in Pristina by analysing the mobility indicators of cars, trains, buses, bicycles and walking, in relation to purpose, distance and time. The research methodology was the direct survey method conducted with the citizens of Pristina and daily immigrants over a week. The results of the survey showed that 44% of the participants used cars for travelling, while other transportation alternatives (soft and eco-transport) were limited and problematic. In the absence of institutional practices for collecting periodic data, the results of this study will not only contribute in filling the information gap, but also will properly address the needs for transportation planning in Pristina and design objectives for a multimodal transportation strategy in this city to lessen the negative impacts of the aforementioned problems and increase travel facilities.

The coordinates of 18°26′ and 19°22′ east latitude and 41°52′ and 43°32′ north longitude set geographic position of Montenegro. The total length of its land borders is 614 km. The border alongside Croatia is 14 km long, alongside Bosnia and Herzegovina 225 km, alongside Serbia 20 km, and alongside Albania 172 km of the state border (partly across the Scadar lake and alongside the river Bojana). There is a 100 km of air distance between the furthest points at the sea. The factual length of the Montenegrin coast is about 280 km, which makes the serrated coefficient of 2.8. Montenegro is in proportion to its territory and population the smallest of all ex-Yugoslav republics. It spreads over the area of 13,812 square kilometres which makes 5.4% of ex-Yugoslav territory. According to 2003 census, 620.145 citizens lived in 1240 settlements, which were 45 citizens on a square kilometre. Out of 21 municipalities six are in the coastal region. The largest municipality in Montenegro (as well as in both ex-Yugoslavia and in the State union of Serbia and Montenegro) is Nikšić with 2,065 square kilometres, and the smallest is Tivat with 46 square kilometres. The capital of Montenegro is Podgorica with population of 96,076.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of culinary tourism experience between gender groups in Iranian culinary education tours. The research sample was randomly selected from 50 foreign tourists who participated in Persian Food Torus Institute’s culinary tours during four months. Kim et al. (2012) model of Memorable Tourism Experiences (MTEs) is used to design the research questionnaire and data. The results show that there is a significant difference in women’s desire for enjoyment, sense of freedom, power and refreshment rather than men. But in terms of novelty, local culture, meaningfulness, and knowledge gained for both men and women, it was no difference.

The Mekong Delta is sinking and shrinking. This is because of the absolute sea-level rise, and because of the subsidence of the land. The absolute sea-level rise originates from the thermal expansion of the ocean waters and the melting of ice on land, plus other factors including changes in winds and ocean circulation patterns. The subsidence originates from the construction of dams in the river basin upstream of the Delta, that has dramatically reduced the flow of water and sediments, and excessive groundwater withdrawal, plus other factors including riverbed mining, infrastructural extension, and urbanization. The origin of alluvial delta created by a continuous supply of water and sediments and the natural subsidence of uncompacted soils is relevant background information to understand the current trends. Another factor affecting the sinking and shrinking include the degradation of the coastal mangrove belt. It is concluded that the subsidence due to the reduced flow of sediments and water, and the withdrawal of groundwater more than the replenishment of aquifers is more than one order of magnitude larger than the absolute sea-level rise estimated by satellite and climate models, or the value estimated from tide gauges, that is much less. The current sinking and shrinking trends are not sustainable, as the low-lying Delta may disappear before the end of this century.

This study presents the information on the dynamics of changes in land use/land cover (LULC) spatially and temporally related to the causes of flooding in the study area. The dynamics of LULC changes have been derived based on the classification of Landsat imagery for the period between 1990 and 2016. Terrain surface classification (TSC) was proposed as a micro-landform classification approach in this study to create flood hazard assessment and mapping that was produced based on the integration of TSC with a probability map for flood inundation, and flood depth information derived from field observation. TSC as the micro-landform classification approach was derived from SRTM30 DEM data. Multi-temporal Sentinel-1 data were used to construct a pattern of historical inundation or past flooding in the study area and also to produce the flood probability map. The results of the study indicate that the proposed flood hazard mapping (FHM) from the TSC as a micro-landform classification approach has the same pattern with the results of the integration of historical inundation or previous floods, as well as field investigations in the study area. This research will remain an important benchmark for planners, policymakers and researchers regarding spatial planning in the study area. In addition, the results can provide important input for sustainable land use plans and strategies for mitigating flood hazards.