Abstract:The increasing human population and the increasing number of vehicles in Tirana, Albania, emerges the need for extensive measurements of noise levels. The 831 measurements of noise levels were taken in Tirana in November 2015 for education purposes. Measurements were collected in eight locations in indoor like a classroom in a school building environment, a library and a healthcare facility and in outdoor environments like five crossroads. Noise levels were then compared with domestic and World Health Organization (WHO) standards. The logarithmic average of noise levels and the maximum value of noise level measured for the period of measurement (LAFmax) were interpolated using Interpolated Noise Levels for Observer Points in ArcGIS producing noise level maps for crossroads. The logarithmic average of noise levels and LAFmax measurements were respectively above domestic and WHO standards in 96% and 100% of outdoor environment and indoor environment locations. Interpolated values of logarithmic average of noise levels and LAFmax for five crossroads were above domestic and WHO standards indicating noise levels in road traffic could remain high. A yearly acoustic measurement for vehicles should be implemented. Participatory measurements of noise levels in quite indoor environments can be used to increase the awareness of inhabitants in Tirana.
Abstract. Countries in south-eastern Europe are cooperating to conserve a sub-endemic lynx species, Lynx lynx martinoi. Yet, the planning of species conservation should go hand-in-hand with the planning and management of (new) protected areas. Lynx lynx martinoi has a small, fragmented distribution with a small total population size and an endangered population. This study combines species distribution modelling with spatial prioritisation techniques to identify conservation areas for Lynx lynx martinoi. The aim was to determine locations of high probability of occurrence for the lynx, to potentially increase current protected areas by 20 % in Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. The species distribution modelling used generalised linear models with lynx occurrence and pseudo-absence data. Two models were developed and fitted using the lynx data: one based on natural factors, and the second based on factors associated with human disturbance. The Zonation conservation planning software was then used to undertake spatial prioritisations of the landscape using the first model composed of natural factors as a biological feature, and (inverted) a second model composed of anthropological factors such as a cost layer. The first model included environmental factors as elevation, terrain ruggedness index, woodland and shrub land, and food factor as chamois prey (occurrences) and had a prediction accuracy of 82 %. Second model included anthropological factors as agricultural land and had a prediction accuracy of 65 %. Prioritised areas for extending protected areas for lynx conservation were found primarily in the Albania–Macedonia–Kosovo and Montenegro–Albania–Kosovo cross-border areas. We show how natural and human factors can be incorporated into spatially prioritising conservation areas on a landscape level. Our results show the importance of expanding the existing protected areas in cross-border areas of core lynx habitat. The priority of these cross-border areas highlight the importance international cooperation can play in designing and implementing a coherent and long-term conservation plan including a species conservation plan to securing the future of the lynx.
The light use was assessed in ten indoor and outdoor environments of Tirana, Albania, in November 2017. The five indoor environments presented one lecture hall, one library and three labs in a school environment. The five major streets of the capital city of Tirana presented outdoor environments. Questionnaires were respectively used to assess two criteria of “Vista” and “Visual comfort” of daylight in indoor environments and security, obstacle detection and visibility in outdoor environments. Lighting quality aspects of “Vista” were evaluated at a higher rank compared to “Visual comfort”. The approximately 87 and 60 percent of respondents respectively were not able to detect a pavement obstacle after the sunset (dark) or to distinguish a familiar face at a distance of 5 and 10 m in outdoor environments. Lighting was respectively inadequately comfort to 86 percent of users in five indoor environments. Road lighting after dark was not satisfactory to 60 percent of respondents in outdoor environments. These initial findings identify that lighting could generally be inadequate in indoor and outdoor environments in Tirana. Further research is required on the light use in built environments in Tirana, Albania.
Abstract. Forests are important to people, wildlife and climate. Yet, not all forests are healthy throughout time. Unhealthy forests are providing fewer services and productions to people, harbouring less biodiversity and regulating less climate. Here, the preliminary findings are presented in a literature review on remote sensing measuring the changes in forest cover and the health of forest and of trees in Southeastern Europe including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia. The aim is to assess the publications that applied remote sensing data sources to investigate the changes in forest cover and forest health and tree health in the five Southeastern European countries by searching in Scopus and Google scholar. There is a higher number of studies applied to remote sensing data sources investigating forest cover change (92.4 percent) compared to forest health (6.7 percent) and tree health (0.8 percent) for five countries in Southeastern Europe. There was a disparity of remote sensing data source studies on forest cover change, forest health and tree health amongst five countries. Croatia and Slovenia lead by 68.9 percent and Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro by 31.1 percent of publications, according to Scopus and Google scholar. There were found no remote sensing data source studies on forest cover, forest health and tree health including all five countries altogether. A way to move forward is to increase cooperation between researchers, academic organisations and policy-makers amongst the five countries.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.