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Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation
IEREK Interdisciplinary Series for Sustainable Development
Series editor
Mourad Amer
Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation (ASTI) is a series of peer-reviewed books
based on the best studies on emerging research that redefines existing disciplinary boundaries in
science, technology and innovation (STI) in order to develop integrated concepts for
sustainable development. The series is mainly based on the best research papers from various
IEREK and other international conferences, and is intended to promote the creation
and development of viable solutions for a sustainable future and a positive societal
transformation with the help of integrated and innovative science-based approaches. Offering
interdisciplinary coverage, the series presents innovative approaches and highlights how they
can best support both the economic and sustainable development for the welfare of all societies.
In particular, the series includes conceptual and empirical contributions from different
interrelated fields of science, technology and innovation that focus on providing practical
solutions to ensure food, water and energy security. It also presents new case studies offering
concrete examples of how to resolve sustainable urbanization and environmental issues. The
series is addressed to professionals in research and teaching, consultancies and industry, and
government and international organizations. Published in collaboration with IEREK, the ASTI
series will acquaint readers with essential new studies in STI for sustainable development.
123
Editors
Haroun Chenchouni Fernando Rocha
University of Tebessa Department of Geosciences
Tebessa, Algeria University of Aveiro
Aveiro, Portugal
Ezzoura Errami
Chouaïb Doukkali University Luisa Sabato
El Jadida, Morocco Università degli Studi di Bari
Aldo Moro
Bari, Italy
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
The valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services of natural and cultural heritage and
bioresources of many regions worldwide is still little known. The Mediterranean, Middle East
region as well as the surrounding area are ecologically unique due to large differences in
climatic, geographical and geological features, which offer countries of these region weighty
socio-economic potentials in terms of fertile agricultural lands, rich natural resources and the
existence of strategic resources such as crude oil and natural gas. Environmental degradation is
one of the largest threats that are being looked at in the world today, and this specific region is
no exception. Inappropriate and adverse human practices and activities such as disturbances
land damage, different forms of pollutions, overpopulation, landfills, deforestation, combined
with natural drivers are the main causes of land degradation and ecosystem destruction. The
destruction of the environment ravages large parts of the planet, in particular, heavily popu-
lated and/or exploited regions, and thus threatens the existence of all species, including ours.
Furthermore, economic companies maximize their profits by ignoring environmental protec-
tion, while governments encourage investment rather than strict regulations. These challenging
issues hamper the social welfare and sustainable development, which depends on three pillars
of sustainability: ‘Environment’, ‘Society’ and ‘Economy’. Public environmental conscious-
ness, however, keeps increasing with the increase of major global problems such as climate
change. Nowadays, people are interested in learning more about new advances in environ-
mental research initiatives in view of the ever growing environmental degradation. If efforts of
scholar ecologists and environmental activists are considered to have paid off socially, the
state of the environment of our planet has not improved as looked-for, yet.
This proceedings volume is based on the accepted papers for both oral and poster pre-
sentations during the 1st Springer Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences
(CAJG-1), Tunisia 2018. The book offers a broad range of new studies that discuss latest
advances in geoenvironmental sciences from diverse backgrounds including agroecology,
climate change, environmental biotechnology, biodiversity, geotourism and geoarchaeology.
It shares insights of experienced scholars from, but not limited to, research institutes in the
Mediterranean and Middle East region on how the understanding of ecological processes is the
key for improving practices in environment management and conservation. The main topics
include Environmental Assessment and Monitoring, Agroforestry Systems-Environment
interactions, Environmental Impacts, Restoration Ecology, Investigations and Applications of
Environmental Biotechnology, Spatiotemporal Patterns of Biodiversity, Paleobiology, and
Socio-economics of Geotourism and Archaeology. With its diverse topics and new results, this
volume enhances the understanding of environmental impacts and the state of restoration
ecology in natural and agricultural habitats as it maximizes the readers’ insights into emerging
environmental issues and challenges. It provides new insights and practical information based
on the latest data reconstructed from (i) various environmental assessments and monitoring of
v
vi Preface
Our appreciation is extended to the authors of the papers for their hard and diligent work and
producing high-quality contributions. We would like to thank the reviewers of the papers for
their in-depth reviews and great efforts in improving the quality of the papers. Also, thanks are
extended to Amjad Kallel who supervised and handled the evaluation process, to Sahbi Moalla
who handled the submission and evaluation system for the ten conference proceedings
volumes, and the publishing staff of Springer headed by Nabil Khélifi, Senior Editor for
their efforts and contributions in completing this conference proceedings volume. All the
above-mentioned efforts were very important in making this book a success.
vii
About the 1st Springer Conference of the Arabian
Journal of Geosciences (CAJG-1), Tunisia 2018
The Arabian Journal of Geosciences (AJG) is a Springer journal publishing original articles on
the entire range of Earth sciences in partnership with the Saudi Society for Geosciences. The
journal focuses on, but not limited to, research themes which have regional significance to the
Middle East, the Euro-Mediterranean, Africa, and Asia. The journal receives on average 2000
submissions a year and accepts around 500 papers for publication in its 24 annual issues
(acceptance rate 25%). It enjoys the participation of an editorial team of 100 international
associate editors who generously help in evaluating and selecting the best papers.
In 2008, Prof. Abdullah Al-Amri, in close partnership with Springer, founded the Arabian
Journal of Geosciences (AJGS). In this year, the journal celebrates its tenth anniversary. On
this occasion and to mark this event, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the AJGS
Prof. Al-Amri organized in close collaboration with Springer the 1st Conference of the
Arabian Journal of Geosciences (1st CAJG) in Hammamet, Tunisia, from November 12 to 15,
2018 (www.cajg.org).
ix
x About the 1st Springer Conference of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences (CAJG-1), Tunisia 2018
The conference was an occasion to endorse the journal’s long-held reputation for bringing
together leading authors from the Middle East, the Euro-Mediterranean, Africa, and Asia who
work at the wide-ranging fields of Earth sciences. The conference covered all crosscutting
themes of Geosciences and focused principally on the following ten tracks:
The dynamic four-day conference provided more than 450 attendees with opportunities to
share their latest unpublished findings and learn the newest geoscience studies. The event also
allowed attendees to meet and discuss with the journal’s editors and reviewers.
More than 950 short contributing papers to the conference were submitted by authors from
more than 70 countries. After a pre-conference peer review process by more than 500
reviewers, 700 papers were accepted. These papers were published as chapters in the
conference proceedings by Springer.
The conference proceedings consist of ten edited volumes, each edited by the following
group of Arabian Journal of Geosciences (AJGS) editors and other guest editors:
Santanu Banerjee (AJGS Editor): Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
Reza Barati (AJGS Editor): The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
Shirish Patil (Guest Editor): Saudi Aramco and King Fahd University of Petroleum and
Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
General Chair
Abdullah Al-Amri: Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AJGS,
King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
Conference Supervisor
Nabil Khélifi: Senior Publishing Editor, Springer Middle East
and North African Program Springer, a part of Springer Nature,
Heidelberg, Germany
xiii
xiv About the Conference Steering Committee
Evaluation Chair
Amjad Kallel: Assistant Editor of AJGS, ENIS, University of
Sfax, Tunisia
Publication Chair
Biswajeet Pradhan: Associate Editor of AJGS, University of
Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Program Chair
Hakim Saibi: Associate Editor/Assistant Editor of AJGS,
United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Communication Chair
Mohamed Ksibi: Guest of Editorial Board of AJGS, ISBS,
University of Sfax, Tunisia
About the Conference Steering Committee xvii
Conference Manager
Mohamed Sahbi Moalla: Coordinator of AJGS, ISET,
University of Sfax, Tunisia
Contents
Part I Keynote
Using Water Chemistry to Understand Ancient Maya Land
and Water Use Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach and Timothy Beach
xix
xx Contents
xxiii
xxiv About the Editors
Geoarchaeology Geochemistry Water resources
Mesoamerica Ancient Maya The geographic setting of this research is in Northwestern
Belize, Central America. Between 1993 and 2018 we have
conducted hydrologic and geomorphic studies of the Three
Rivers Region of Belize, to understand ancient Maya land
1 Introduction and water use (Beach et al. 2015a, b; Luzzadder-Beach et al.
2012; Luzzadder-Beach and Beach 2008, 2009). The Three
This paper synthesized and presented findings on ancient Rivers include the Rio Bravo, the Rio Azul, and the Booth’s
Maya land and water management in perennial wetlands of River watersheds, draining the La Lucha and Rio Bravo
the Maya Lowlands (Beach et al. 2015a, b; Luzzadder-Beach escarpments. This region is on the normally faulted limestone
et al. 2012; Luzzadder-Beach and Beach 2008, 2009). We platform of the southern Yucatan Peninsula. In the course of
presented prior background, then focused on regional studies our field work from 2000 to 2018, we have excavated scores
of water chemistry in the Three Rivers region of North- of trenches, and collected hundreds of soil and water chem-
western Belize, comparing surface and ground water results, istry samples thus far. This presentation will focus on syn-
and wetland results. These watersheds were studied in the thesizing the hydrologic and water chemistry portions of the
context of Ancient Maya land and water use, including fieldwork (Beach et al. 2015a, b; Luzzadder-Beach et al.
wetland field sites we have studied in Northwestern Belize. 2012; Luzzadder-Beach and Beach 2008, 2009) and their
The focus of our geoarchaeological investigations was relationship to other geoarchaeological results for the area.
centered on the Programme for Belize Rio Bravo Conser- Our analytical methods have been determining parallel
vation and Management Area, and in the Maya Research lines of proxy evidence at multiple spatial scales. These
methods include excavation to understand soil, geomor-
phological, and archaeological stratigraphy. We have also
engaged in over 2 decades of water quality monitoring to
S. Luzzadder-Beach (&) T. Beach
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
establish the regional waters’ geochemical background and
e-mail: [email protected] links to geologic parent materials. Other lines of evidence
include sampling artifacts and ecofacts that indicate past variation in water chemistry across a region influences the
environments and land use adaptations (e.g., soil chemistry geographies of ecology and human land and water use
and physics, water chemistry, pollen, phytoliths, carbon potentials (Beach et al. 2015a, b; Luzzadder-Beach et al.
dating of samples, micromorphology, and macrobotanicals). 2012; Luzzadder-Beach and Beach 2008, 2009).
The spatial extent of these findings was measured using
surface and aerial survey, and remote sensing imagery
analysis. 5 Conclusion
R. Singh A. Sarkar Keywords
ICARDA, New Delhi, India Inclusive agroecosystems Digital diffusion
A. A. Niane Ecological intensification Big-data Scaling
ICARDA, Beirut, Lebanon
A. Amri
ICARDA, Rabat, Morocco
M. Louhaichi B. Dhehibi E. Bonaiuti B. Le T. Oweis
1 Introduction
ICARDA, Amman, Jordan
Y. Saharawat
Dry lands host an enormous variety of biophysical envi-
ICARDA, Kabul, Afghanistan ronments with extremely contrasting socio-economic and
K. Nadagoudar
demographic conditions. This complexity leads to a wide
Data Grokr, Bengaluru, India variability in agricultural functions and productivity across
J. Koo
spatio-temporal scales. Therefore, there is a definite need for
International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, an ecosystem-based approach for better managing natural
DC, USA resources to improve productivity in a sustainable way that
X. Xiao integrates three main goals—environmental health, eco-
University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA nomic profitability, and social equity. Enormous efforts are
H. Ballal underway to gather data and information on agricultural
Geodesign Hub, Ranelagh, Ireland production and related aspects at various scales (http://
M. H. Mehta bigdata.cgiar.org/). There are hundreds of data, tools, apps
Indian Council of Food and Agriculture, New Delhi, India
and much knowledge available for the increasing produc- 3.1 Sustainable Intensification of Rice Fallows
tivity but in silos, often without much focus on the ecolog-
ical functions. There is need for meta-analysis of the best As agricultural production, supply-demand gap continues to
practices with diffusion of ecological functions for designing rise, the total arable land area is not expected to increase
demand-driven, location-based sustainable agro-ecosystems significantly, and future increase of agricultural production
for resilient livelihood in dry areas. will depend more upon sustainable intensification of crop
fallows. One such intensification opportunity lies in the use of
rice fallows. At present, nearly *11 million ha rice-fallows
2 Approach are left unproductive. Such large-scale agricultural intensifi-
cation needs up-to-date information on the dynamics of the
The dry areas represent a wide agro-biodiversity and the rice-based production systems, farm typology, crop and
origin of climate resilient crops. However, in the last few variety specific suitable areas, natural resource base and value
decades, the productivity was a major driver rather than chains. Such requirements have led to the development of
functional systems which resulted in the loss of agro- digital agricultural platform designed to help intensification
biodiversity in the farming systems. Production follows and crop diversification in crop fallows with food legumes.
function and functional agricultural systems are by far more The digital interactive platform help analyze the farming
productive and sustainable than dysfunctional systems such systems, patterns, dynamics of the crop fallows, length of
as few commodity oriented or mono-cropping systems over fallows duration, the start and end of the fallow periods, their
long term. This requires dramatic transformational changes seasonality, cropping intensity, etc. helping target sustainable
from mono systems to multi-cropping systems and re-design intensification of the legumes crops in the rice fallows with
of the present agricultural landscape with functional metrics. multiple benefits to farmers as well the environment (Fig. 1).
This entails the systematic quantification of the agricultural
production systems and farm analytics at multiple scale(s)
with a wide array of data sources to design science-based 4 Towards Restoring Lost Agro-Ecosystems
innovative strategies and principles for inclusive multifunc-
tional agro-ecosystems that are both sustained by nature and Loss of soil health coupled with increasing temperature and
sustainable in their nature (Tittonell 2014). The effective use water scarcity remain key factors for determining sustainable
of integrated data in geospatial domains help develop agricultural productivity and the agri-food systems future.
ecological-intensification design eco-zones with location Agriculture production at present relies solely on few crops
specific crops/varieties, crop sequence, rotation, intensity and predominantly under monocultures of industrial agriculture.
crop water productivity (Biradar et al. 2009; Low et al. 2017) However, there are still many traditional farming systems
under a variable and uncertain climate. Such ecologically with wide array of practices and production functions, which
balanced agricultural production systems (agro-ecosystems) supports the resilience of agro-ecosystems (Altieri et al. 2015;
contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Mehta 2017). The diversified agro-ecosystems is found to be
(SDGs). more productive, helps in bridging the yield gaps, more
sustainable and resilient to extreme climate events (Astier
et al. 2012; Gaba et al. 2015; Low et al. 2018). A regular,
3 Use Cases accurate and cost effective spatial monitoring of rice-based
production systems with satellite data made it feasible to
Several ongoing efforts are made by leveraging the big-data target specific legume intensification. It provides spatially
analytics to build use-cases, quantify the agricultural explicit information retrieval about crop productivity, pattern,
dynamics and understand the variability and drivers for inter and intra seasonal as well as farm variability which helps
sustainable production systems. Project based site specific develop integrated agro-ecosystems. Such principles need to
studies have been undertaken in different agro-ecologies be embedded in various farm practices and agricultural
across the dry areas (http://geoagro.icarda.org/); such as development strategies, where each one has different effects
intensification of food legumes in rice fallows in South Asia, on productivity, stability and resiliency within the farm sys-
adoption of conservation agriculture practices in North tem. The digital technology would play key role in an effec-
Africa, quantification of yield gaps and land degradation in tive diffusion of sustainable agro-ecosystems and targeting a
central Asia, trans-boundary land/water productivity at river wider and faster adaptation to changing climate and demog-
basins. Here we presented one use-case on ‘sustainable raphy. Finally, only by creating policies endorsed diffusion of
intensification of the rice fallows in India as an example and digital technology that integrates ecological functions with
other use-cases can be found in the dedicated portal (http:// economic and social welfare can we promote the adoption of
geoagro.icarda.org/intensification). sustainable agricultural systems across the scales.
Digital Diffusion for Inclusive Agroecosystems 9
Fig. 1 Spatial Big-data based digital agricultural platform for ecological intensification of rice fallows in India