Severin Cazanescu

Motorway impact study on agricultural land based on satellite images and GIS.

Whenever a new motorway is built, an important agricultural area is affected. In order to evaluate it’s impact in the environment the new technologies based on GIS (Geographical Information System) and Remote Sensing can be a real help. The satellite images or other ortho-rectified aerial photos can offer a real image of the study area and help the designers to take the right decision according to their needs. Also using GIS technology, intersecting different layers, can be obtained, relatively easy, areas, perimeters, slopes, volumes, in fact, different data needed in the design process. The images offer something that we can not find on the maps, the aspect and orientation of parcels and their different land use. Also using a DTM (Digital Terrain Modell) the real world can be represented more accurate. That means we can decide easier on different aspects of the new project. The main data needed: topographic layer; hydrographic layer; land use/cover layer; DTM; Satellite/aerial image; Projected parameters of the motorway. Based on the satellite/aerial images the old topographical maps can be updated. In this study is an example on how the project had to be modified because of the old topographical map. The main result of the study consists in series of land areas, classified upon the land cover and surface, affected by the motorway. Also, based on the DTM, a three dimensional view of the area can be represented as a layout or as flight-through.

Energy Saving Potential in the Field of Residential Buildings in Rural Area in Romania

Sustainable development of the Romanian economy is based on general objectives which have in view to create a functional market economy, compatible with the principles, mechanisms, institutions and policy of the European Union, with respect to all social and economic sub-systems, including agriculture and rural area. In these strategic objectives achievement, the sustainable development plays an important role, having in view the energy consumption decreasing and promotion of energy efficiency measures. We can’t speak about sustainable development in any field, without taking into consideration the energy consumption, the energy resources preservation and the environmental protection. The paper deals with residential sector in Romania, which is the second energy consumer of the economy. It emphasizes the energy consumptions in rural area. The presumed evolution of the energy savings in the rural area, the necessary investment funds for the application of the energy efficiency measures and the resulted greenhouse gas emissions reduction for 2010–2020 periods are estimated.

Studies regarding the estimation of the economic potential of the rural areas.

The paper presents a solution for the development of a forecast regarding the annual medium gross income obtained from the use of the rural area – agriculture and forestry – to point out the present limits of the rural economy and the action directions to follow in order to increase the sustainable economic performances.