Enrique González-Sosa

Integration of remote sensing techniques for monitoring desertification in Mexico

ABSTRACT Desertification is considered one of the most serious threats to arid, semiarid, and sub-humid environments. In this study, several remote sensing techniques were integrated for monitoring desertification in a semiarid region of the central Mexican plateau (state of Querétaro). Landsat TM images were used to compute the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Bare-Soil Index (BSI), and albedo (α). A change vector analysis (CVA) examined changes in the direction and magnitude of indicators during the 1993–2011 period in order to detect degradations or improvements in land conditions over a period of time. In addition, a desertification degree index (DDI) was applied based on the NDVI–α relationship. The results indicated that in the semiarid zone of the state of Querétaro, 48.3% of land use corresponds with agricultural areas; 2.7% of the area does not present any degree of desertification, while 49% presents the following degrees of desertification: 5.5% extreme, 10.9% severe, 18.9% moderate, and 13.7% low. The DDI applied in this approach for evaluating this phenomenon at the regional and municipal level is an effective tool for identifying areas at risk of desertification, in addition to monitoring changes in the degree or direction of desertification.

A Physically Based Runoff Model Analysis of the Querétaro River Basin

Today the knowledge of physical parameters of a basin is essential to know adequately the rainfall-runoff process; it is well known that the specific characteristics of each basin such as temperature, geographical location, and elevation above sea level affect the maximum discharge and the basin time response. In this paper a physically based model has been applied, to analyze water balance by evaluating the volume rainfall-runoff using SHETRAN and hydrometric data measurements in 2003. The results have been compared with five ETp different methodologies in the Queretaro river basin in central Mexico. With these results the main effort of the authorities should be directed to better control of land-use changes and to working permanently in the analysis of the related parameters, which will have a similar behavior to changes currently being introduced and presented in observed values in this basin. This methodology can be a strong base for sustainable water management in a basin, the prognosis and effect of land-use changes, and availability of water and also can be used to determine application of known basin parameters, basically depending on land-use, land-use changes, and climatological database to determine the water balance in a basin.

La gestión del conocimiento herramienta decisiva en la gestión de los recursos intangibles en una Industria Aeroespacial

This article offers to researchers and practical physicians different questions about feasible steps to promote, perpetuate, move and create organizational knowledge. The current study –of a descriptive mixed type- was carried with the intention to review the processes of knowledge management in an aerospace industry located in Queretaro City. The study was conducted to analyze the efficiency of the strategies in the process of knowledge management through information and communication technologies (ICT). The review of the phenomenon of management and conversion of knowledge included evaluating its presence in the industry field. The study was carried out using a case study of the organization KA (firm studied), based on surveys with the staff. The findings allowed us to highlight the substantive and administrative functions within the spiral for creation of organizative knowledge, in an epistemological dimension of organizative creation of knowledge. One of the main findings of this study is the identification of the process of conversion of knowledge management through the adaptation of knowledge of the staff. This shows the presence of a consensus about the conversion and appropriation of knowledge in the studied aerospace industry. The latter is especially important if we take into account that the aerospace industry is new in Queretaro, mainly because in the domestic industry there is a real need to use and implement lessons learned in previous experiences in order to improve the decision making process and to create new knowledge from intangible resources in the organizations.

Effect of Water Resources in the Queretaro River: Climate Analysis and Other Changes

© 2013 Gonzalez-Sosa et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Effect of Water Resources in the Queretaro River: Climate Analysis and Other Changes