Vasiliki Kamperidou

Response of colour and hygroscopic properties of Scots pine wood to thermal treatment

The effect of heat treatment on the surface colour and hygroscopic properties of pine wood were investigated in this study. Boards of Scots pine wood (Pinus sylvestris L.) were subjected to thermal treatment at 200°C, for 4, 6, and 8 h. The change of equilibrium moisture content and density values of the specimens in order to facilitate the understanding of the treated material behavior. The colour parameters L*, a* and b*, used to depict the total colour change (ΔE) of wood surface, were shown to change proportionally to the treatment intensity. Moreover, swelling in the tangential and radial directions and absorption of the specimens appeared to be enhanced in great extent by the thermal treatment process. The mean value of swelling percentage in the tangential direction decreased 10.26%, 17.22%, and 19.60% for specimens treated for 4, 6, and 8 h, respectively, referring to the final measurement after 72 h of immersion. In radial direction, mean value of swelling percentage decreased 19.56%, 32.75%, and 34.65% for treated for 4, 6 and 8 h, respectively, after 72 h immersion, which attests the decrease in swelling and improvement in the hygroscopic behavior of Scots pine wood.

Influence of Land Use Changes on Alluviation of Volvi Lake Wetland (North Greece)

The study deals with Volvi Lake, the second largest natural lake in Greece, where gradual alleviation and a land use change have taken place in the last 60 years. The aim of the study was to estimate the influence of land use changes of the area on sedimentation and alluviation rate. Due to the lack of sediment measurements the Gavrilovic model was used to calculate the mean annual erosion of the two main drainage basins of the Lake for 1945 and 2007. Field research, orthophotographs, and topographic maps dating from 1945, 1971, and 2007 were used to determine the evolution of the vegetation cover and lake shoreline, in order to compare and evaluate the Gavrilovic model results. An increase of 6% of the forested area in combination with the improvement of scrublands quality were enough to cause a 15% decrease of the mean annual sedimentation, according to the Gavrilovic model, as well as a 50% decrease in alluviation rate, according to delta change measurement, comparing the periods 1945-1971 and 1971-2007. The importance of vegetation for soil protection was clearly demonstrated, indicating that reducing the land use and enhancing the vegetation quality could slow down the erosion process.

Correction to: Evaluation of the post-fire erosion and flood control works in the area of Cassandra (Chalkidiki, North Greece)

In the original publication of the article, the given name and family name of the authors were interchanged. The corrected names are given in this correction.