Diego Varga

Long term effects of traffic noise on mortality in the city of Barcelona, 2004–2007

Numerous studies showing statistically significant associations between environmental noise and adverse health effects already exist for short-term (over one day at most) and long-term (over a year or more) noise exposure, both for morbidity and (albeit to a lesser extent) mortality. Recently, several studies have shown this association to be independent from confounders, mainly those of air pollutants. However, what has not been addressed is the problem of misalignment (i.e. the exposure data locations and health outcomes have different spatial locations). Without any explicit control of such misalignment inference is seriously compromised. Our objective is to assess the long-term effects of traffic noise on mortality in the city of Barcelona (Spain) during 2004-2007. We take into account the control of confounding, for both air pollution and socioeconomic factors at a contextual level and, in particular, we explicitly address the problem of misalignment. We employed a case-control design with individual data. We used deaths resulting from myocardial infarction, hypertension, or Type II diabetes mellitus in Barcelona between 2004 and 2007 as cases for the study, while for controls we used deaths (likewise in Barcelona and over the same period of time) resulting from AIDS or external causes (e.g. accidental falls, accidental poisoning by psychotropic drugs, drugs of abuse, suicide and self-harm, or injuries resulting from motor vehicle accidents). The controls were matched with the cases by sex and age. We used the annual average equivalent A-weighted sound pressure levels for daytime (7-21h), evening-time (21-23h) and night-time (23-7h), and controlled for the following confounders: i) air pollutants (NO2, PM10 and benzene), ii) material deprivation (at a census tract level) and iii) land use and other spatial variables. We explicitly controlled for heterogeneity (uneven distribution of both response and environmental exposures within an area), spatial dependency (of the observations of the response variables), temporal trends (long-term behaviour of the response variables) and spatial misalignment (between response and environmental exposure locations). We used a fully Bayesian method, through the Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation (INLA). Specifically, we plugged the whole model for the exposure into the health model and obtained a linear predictor defined on the entire spatial domain. Separate analyses were carried out for men and for women. After adjusting for confounders, we found that traffic noise was associated with myocardial infarction mortality along with Type II diabetes mellitus in men (in both cases, odds ratios (OR) were around 1.02) and mortality from hypertension in women (ORs around 1.01). Nevertheless, only in the case of hypertension in women, does the association remain statistically significant for all age groups considered (all ages, ≥65 years and ≥75 years).

Spatial pattern modelling of wildfires in Catalonia, Spain 2004-2008

The paper has three objectives: firstly, to evaluate how the extent of clustering in wildfires differs across the years they occurred; secondly, to analyse the influence of covariates on trends in the intensity of wildfire locations; and thirdly, to build maps of wildfire risks, by year and cause of ignition, in order to provide a tool for preventing and managing vulnerability levels. For these objectives we analysed the spatio-temporal patterns produced by wildfire incidences in Catalonia, located in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula. The methodology used has allowed us to quantify and assess possible spatial relationships between the distribution of risk of ignition and causes. These results may be useful in fire management decision-making and planning. The methods shown in this paper may contribute to the prevention and management of wildfires, which are not random in space or time, as we have shown here.

Spatio-temporal log-Gaussian Cox processes for modelling wildfire occurrence: the case of Catalonia, 1994-2008

Wildfires have become one of the principal environmental problems in the Mediterranean basin. While fire plays an important role in most terrestrial plant ecosystems, the potential hazard that it represents for human lives and property has led to the application of fire exclusion policies that, in the long term, have caused severe damage, mainly due to the increase of fuel loadings in forested areas, in some forest systems. The lack of an easy solution to forest fire management highlights the importance of preventive tasks. The observed spatio-temporal pattern of wildfire occurrences may be idealized as a realization of some stochastic process. In particular, we may use a space–time point pattern approach for the analysis and inference process. We studied wildfires in Catalonia, a region in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula, and we analyzed the spatio-temporal patterns produced by those wildfire incidences by considering the influence of covariates on trends in the intensity of wildfire locations. A total of 3,166 wildfires from 1994–2008 have been recorded. We specified spatio-temporal log-Gaussian Cox process models. Models were estimated using Bayesian inference for Gaussian Markov Random Field through the integrated nested Laplace approximation algorithm. The results of our analysis have provided statistical evidence that areas closer to humans have more human induced wildfires, areas farther have more naturally occurring wildfires. We believe the methods presented in this paper may contribute to the prevention and management of those wildfires which are not random in space or time.

Geographic Information Technology and Innovative Teaching: Keys to Geography Degree Curriculum Reform

Abstract The adaptation of geography studies to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) framework has led to curriculum-content restructuring and new teaching and learning methods. This transformation was used as an opportunity to adjust the students’ skills more fittingly to their future professional needs. The new degree program in geography, land-use planning, and environmental management at the University of Girona (Catalonia, Spain) offers a sequential learning trajectory based on the treatment of geographic information and progressive levels of experience: GIS technician, GIS analyst, and TIS project manager. Technical innovations have been introduced through free and open-source programs as well as collaborative online resources (wikis) that enable students to acquire full autonomy.

Societal benefits from agricultural landscapes in Girona, Catalonia

Taking into account the perceptions of locals as well as visitors to La Plana de l’Empordà, a region in Girona (Spain) undergoing an agricultural intensification process, this study attempts to explore the linkages between agricultural landscapes and human well-being by performing open, single-question interviews with 241 respondents. The results show a high perception of cultural ecosystem services as benefits from agricultural landscapes, although differences across respondent groups and across a rural–urban gradient suggest important trade-offs. Our results demonstrate that potential conflicts in the study area might emerge between a rural view on agricultural landscapes and a more production-oriented landscape appreciation. We consider it relevant to take into account potential social conflicts due to the new social composition in Mediterranean rural areas where different perceptions regarding the delivery of ecosystem services coexist.

Exploring Aesthetic Preferences in Rural Landscapes and the Relationship with Spatial Pattern Indices

Abstract This study examines how local population, tourists and farmers relate to rural landscapes, by exploring visual landscape preferences and the influence of everyday landscapes on the research subjects. Results point towards an immense variability in visual landscape preferences amongst user groups living in or visiting the study area (Plana de l’Empordà, Girona, Spain). Tourists rate grasslands at the top of their preference list, local residents prefer orchards, and farmers favour fields of irrigated herbaceous crops; showing, altogether, that the users relationship with the landscape determines their visual preferences. Results show that farmers prefer agriculture dominated scenes while local residents and tourists prefer scenes with equilibrium between agricultural and natural elements. Likewise, the presence of margins is widely appreciated aesthetically by all respondents. Furthermore, results underline the importance of landscapes that are familiar to the respondents.