Adrian Ursu | Universitatea Alexandru Ioan Cuza Iasi (original) (raw)

Papers by Adrian Ursu

SGEM International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference EXPO Proceedings

EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2019

The paper is based on diachronic analysis of historical maps from different periods, in order to ... more The paper is based on diachronic analysis of historical maps from different periods, in order to capture more accurately the evolution of the forest landscape in the subcarpathian sector of Bistriţa Valley. In order to achieve the final purpose, were used large scale cartographic materials covering a period of over two centuries (1788 – 2006), which were processed and interpreted into GIS environment. The results showed a continuous reduction of forest area, which in the first period occupied nearly half of the total study area. The main causes of these changes are of anthropogenic order, gradually replacing forests with pastures, agricultural land or built-up perimeter. During the whole period under review stands some small areas where afforestation works were made but insignificant in relation to the deforested areas.

13th SGEM GeoConference on ECOLOGY, ECONOMICS, EDUCATION AND LEGISLATION, 2013

This paper examines the current challenges in urban waste management systems under EU regulations... more This paper examines the current challenges in urban waste management systems under EU regulations for a newcomer state. Piatra Neamț is among the first Romanian cities which made the transition from a traditional to a modern waste management infrastructure through ISPA funds. These changes are poor reflected in rate of recyling and treatment so far according to analysis of waste streams. The paper performs a critical review of waste management services and also assesses the vulnerability to illegal dumping. Inappropriate sites of waste management facilities contribute to environmental pollution and urban landscape degradation. Comparative analysis between pre-accession period vs. current situation highlights one the one hand the improvements in this sector and on the other hand the difficulties to comply EU targets.

Remote Sensing

The expansion of bare sand surfaces indicates a tendency towards desertfication in certain period... more The expansion of bare sand surfaces indicates a tendency towards desertfication in certain periods as a result of the improper agricultural use of sand soils and of the significant changes in the climate in the past 30 years. The Normalised Sand Index (NSI) is a new index used to identify bare sand areas and their spatio-temporal evolution in SW Romania. Landsat scenes (1988, 2001, 2019), spectral and soil texture analysis (36 samples), covariates (e.g., soil map), and field observations allowed for the validation of the results. The performance of the NSI was compared with indices from the sand index family (e.g., Normalized Differential Sand Areas Index) and supervised classifications (e.g., Maximum Likelihood Classification) based on 47 random control square areas for which the soil texture is known. A statistical analysis of the NSI showed 23.6% (27,310.14 hectares) of bare sands in 1988, followed by an accelerated increase to 47.2% (54,737.73 hectares) in 2001 because of econom...

19th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM2019, Informatics, Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing, 2019

Geographia Technica

This study presents the results of GIS applications in Natural Hazards studies. We have attempted... more This study presents the results of GIS applications in Natural Hazards studies. We have attempted to evaluate the direct and induced effects of the sudden manifestation of a geomorphologic process upon the communication networks and rural settlements, as well as on the terrain accessibility. Spatial analysis proves very useful in risk assessment and crisis management. *

seminarcantemir.uaic.ro

Page 1. LUCRĂRILE SEMINARULUI GEOGRAFIC “DIMITRIE CANTEMIR” NR. 30, 2010 Methodological issues co... more Page 1. LUCRĂRILE SEMINARULUI GEOGRAFIC “DIMITRIE CANTEMIR” NR. 30, 2010 Methodological issues concerning the identification of areas with excess moisture. Case study: Bahlui drainage basin Ionuţ Minea, Adrian Ursu, Mihai Niculiţă Abstract. ...

European Journal of Tourism Research, 2019

Lake (or lacustrine) water is one of the most sensitive and vulnerable resources for many tourist... more Lake (or lacustrine) water is one of the most sensitive and vulnerable resources for many tourist destinations, whose attractiveness highly depends on the water quality and availability in the lakes. The Shchuchinsk-Burabay resort area, located in the Akmola region of the Northern Kazakhstan, is one of the most popular tourist destinations of the country, known for its attractive natural landscape and for its great number of lakes. However, during the last decades, these lakes have been facing environmental issues due to their overexploitation and increasing level of pollution. Thus, the aim of the current study is to examine the changes in surface area of these lakes during the last 30 years by using GIS technologies, and the influence of tourism industry upon this phenomenon. Accommodation facilities (hotels, sanatoriums and guesthouses), as main tourism-related water consumers, have been targeted within our analysis. Results show that tourism is one of the factors responsible for...

Simulating road network functionalities has a critical importance nowadays: it gives the opportun... more Simulating road network functionalities has a critical importance nowadays: it gives the opportunity to understand network architecture and places’ accessibility in a fast and effective manner. Our method integrates different factors of travel impedance – such as legal speed limitations, morphology, quality and hierarchy of network infrastructure. The tests show similar features to those of the professional route planner platforms, which enable us to use this model in further applications and to propose it as a method for other networks. Our application in the field of tourism accessibility has shown interesting results.Average speed of reaching business tourism destinations plays a certain role in destination development, though it is still hard to be estimated. Certainly, applying the model to more contrasting road networks would show critical spatial differentiations.

19th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM2019, Informatics, Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing, 2019

The political change in the Romanian society after 1989 Revolution, has clear consequences on all... more The political change in the Romanian society after 1989 Revolution, has clear consequences on all socio-economic aspects. This article presents the land use changes and their effects on the environment. The return to private property, from the state ownership, as a result of legislative change with the - Law 18/1991 and Law 169/1997 - has confused all operational agro- systems, and has led to a strong division of the agricultural parcels. The purpose of this article is to analyze the effects of legislative measures on land use in the region of north-eastern Romania, through Remote Sensing and GIS but also to emphasize the technical difficulties, encountered during the research process. We used Landsat and Spot Images, topographic maps and direct observation of the field. The identified changes may be reversible (the transition from arable to pasture) or final (the passage of the arable to construction), in the latter case the effect on the environment being stronger. There was also ...

15th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM2015, NANO, BIO AND GREEN � TECHNOLOGIES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE, Jun 20, 2015

Urban public transportation system changes, in post-communist period in Iasi municipality. During... more Urban public transportation system changes, in post-communist period in Iasi municipality. During the transition period, from the communist era to the market economy, the Romanian cities suffered important mutations such as deindustrialization, urban sprawl, changes in functional areas, the increase in cars number, etc. These changes required a quick adaptation of the urban public transportation system. This paper tries to reveal if these changes happened in the proper manner, taking into consideration the fact that Iasi city is one of the most polluted in the country. In the communist era, the city of Iasi has experienced a great development, becoming an important industrial, educational and medical center. The transportation system is the effect of the historical context of overall urban development of the city of Iasi. From the public transport point of view, adaptation to external transformations in the post-communist era is difficult, because suburbanization is not sustained by the development of an adequate transport infrastructure, which means for the home owners higher transportation costs and a higher motorization degree. The lack of public transport routes from these areas leads to higher traffic values in the city which remains the main polarization center of the region. Nowadays there is a series of major deficiencies in the level of polarization of the transport network in the urban space. Adapting supply to demand transport consists of qualitative restructuring of public transport.

Present Environment and Sustainable Development

This paper work tries to spatialize the effects of the anthropic activity on the environment, as ... more This paper work tries to spatialize the effects of the anthropic activity on the environment, as the human society continuous development requires space, food, energy and resources and that has a significant impact. Trying to evidentiate this kind of pressure over the environment by cartographic materials, that combines all effects is an impossible endeavor, but highlighting affected areas in an irreversible manner by an increased degree of artificiality is a necessity for the future environmental policy, so, starting from this point we were able to apply a methodology on the studied area and we obtained a seth of conclusing results.

Remote Sensing

The present paper aims to evaluate if the Natura 2000 sites in Romania are placed over dynamic ar... more The present paper aims to evaluate if the Natura 2000 sites in Romania are placed over dynamic areas from a land cover changes perspective, or if they are placed in areas with low human interest and what the impact of these changes are. The effectiveness of conservation measures was addressed by analyzing the number of land cover changes and their areas in Natura 2000 sites, before and after declaring them as protected areas. Corine Land Cover (CLC) data were used as a tool to identify threats and pressures from each Natura 2000 site, and also assess whether land cover changes are more frequent in sites with a high biodiversity index, compared to those with low diversity, in order to estimate the conservation status. Changes in the land cover during 1990–2018 are characterized by three types of events, from 1990 to 2000 with most changes recorded, followed by a relative period of stability from 2000 to 2012; the most dynamic period is from 2012 to 2018. The main changes are due to d...

16th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM2016, Informatics, Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing, Jun 28, 2016

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in b... more The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.

Proceedings 2018

One of the latest paradigms of today's interdisciplinary studies in geosciences, consists of the ... more One of the latest paradigms of today's interdisciplinary studies in geosciences, consists of the implementation of the newest, most accurate, and relevant datasets available, in order to emphasize the appearance, causality or effects of different phenomena, which interfere with humans. Therefore, there is a permanent strive for data, relevant in geographical analysis, which is highly accurate, and also cost-effective. Due to the recent developments in UAV technology, and lowering of production costs, drones have been integrated into methodological workflows all around the world, in numerous fields, ranging from habitat delineation, to geomorphologic mapping. Most such studies use either a digital surface model (DSM) or ortophoto imagery generated from drone aerial images. Also, Structure From Motion algorithms (SFM) have been highly developed recently, into detecting ever more complicated shapes and objects. This means that the drone has turned into an indispensable tool for generating base layers used in any GIS-based study, because it generates fast, high accuracy, repeatable, on demand data sets. This paper intends to reveal a methodological approach towards generating the two, most important raster layers for the majority of spatial analyses: the digital surface model/digital elevation model, and the ortophoto, respectively.

SGEM International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference EXPO Proceedings

EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2019

The paper is based on diachronic analysis of historical maps from different periods, in order to ... more The paper is based on diachronic analysis of historical maps from different periods, in order to capture more accurately the evolution of the forest landscape in the subcarpathian sector of Bistriţa Valley. In order to achieve the final purpose, were used large scale cartographic materials covering a period of over two centuries (1788 – 2006), which were processed and interpreted into GIS environment. The results showed a continuous reduction of forest area, which in the first period occupied nearly half of the total study area. The main causes of these changes are of anthropogenic order, gradually replacing forests with pastures, agricultural land or built-up perimeter. During the whole period under review stands some small areas where afforestation works were made but insignificant in relation to the deforested areas.

13th SGEM GeoConference on ECOLOGY, ECONOMICS, EDUCATION AND LEGISLATION, 2013

This paper examines the current challenges in urban waste management systems under EU regulations... more This paper examines the current challenges in urban waste management systems under EU regulations for a newcomer state. Piatra Neamț is among the first Romanian cities which made the transition from a traditional to a modern waste management infrastructure through ISPA funds. These changes are poor reflected in rate of recyling and treatment so far according to analysis of waste streams. The paper performs a critical review of waste management services and also assesses the vulnerability to illegal dumping. Inappropriate sites of waste management facilities contribute to environmental pollution and urban landscape degradation. Comparative analysis between pre-accession period vs. current situation highlights one the one hand the improvements in this sector and on the other hand the difficulties to comply EU targets.

Remote Sensing

The expansion of bare sand surfaces indicates a tendency towards desertfication in certain period... more The expansion of bare sand surfaces indicates a tendency towards desertfication in certain periods as a result of the improper agricultural use of sand soils and of the significant changes in the climate in the past 30 years. The Normalised Sand Index (NSI) is a new index used to identify bare sand areas and their spatio-temporal evolution in SW Romania. Landsat scenes (1988, 2001, 2019), spectral and soil texture analysis (36 samples), covariates (e.g., soil map), and field observations allowed for the validation of the results. The performance of the NSI was compared with indices from the sand index family (e.g., Normalized Differential Sand Areas Index) and supervised classifications (e.g., Maximum Likelihood Classification) based on 47 random control square areas for which the soil texture is known. A statistical analysis of the NSI showed 23.6% (27,310.14 hectares) of bare sands in 1988, followed by an accelerated increase to 47.2% (54,737.73 hectares) in 2001 because of econom...

19th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM2019, Informatics, Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing, 2019

Geographia Technica

This study presents the results of GIS applications in Natural Hazards studies. We have attempted... more This study presents the results of GIS applications in Natural Hazards studies. We have attempted to evaluate the direct and induced effects of the sudden manifestation of a geomorphologic process upon the communication networks and rural settlements, as well as on the terrain accessibility. Spatial analysis proves very useful in risk assessment and crisis management. *

seminarcantemir.uaic.ro

Page 1. LUCRĂRILE SEMINARULUI GEOGRAFIC “DIMITRIE CANTEMIR” NR. 30, 2010 Methodological issues co... more Page 1. LUCRĂRILE SEMINARULUI GEOGRAFIC “DIMITRIE CANTEMIR” NR. 30, 2010 Methodological issues concerning the identification of areas with excess moisture. Case study: Bahlui drainage basin Ionuţ Minea, Adrian Ursu, Mihai Niculiţă Abstract. ...

European Journal of Tourism Research, 2019

Lake (or lacustrine) water is one of the most sensitive and vulnerable resources for many tourist... more Lake (or lacustrine) water is one of the most sensitive and vulnerable resources for many tourist destinations, whose attractiveness highly depends on the water quality and availability in the lakes. The Shchuchinsk-Burabay resort area, located in the Akmola region of the Northern Kazakhstan, is one of the most popular tourist destinations of the country, known for its attractive natural landscape and for its great number of lakes. However, during the last decades, these lakes have been facing environmental issues due to their overexploitation and increasing level of pollution. Thus, the aim of the current study is to examine the changes in surface area of these lakes during the last 30 years by using GIS technologies, and the influence of tourism industry upon this phenomenon. Accommodation facilities (hotels, sanatoriums and guesthouses), as main tourism-related water consumers, have been targeted within our analysis. Results show that tourism is one of the factors responsible for...

Simulating road network functionalities has a critical importance nowadays: it gives the opportun... more Simulating road network functionalities has a critical importance nowadays: it gives the opportunity to understand network architecture and places’ accessibility in a fast and effective manner. Our method integrates different factors of travel impedance – such as legal speed limitations, morphology, quality and hierarchy of network infrastructure. The tests show similar features to those of the professional route planner platforms, which enable us to use this model in further applications and to propose it as a method for other networks. Our application in the field of tourism accessibility has shown interesting results.Average speed of reaching business tourism destinations plays a certain role in destination development, though it is still hard to be estimated. Certainly, applying the model to more contrasting road networks would show critical spatial differentiations.

19th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM2019, Informatics, Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing, 2019

The political change in the Romanian society after 1989 Revolution, has clear consequences on all... more The political change in the Romanian society after 1989 Revolution, has clear consequences on all socio-economic aspects. This article presents the land use changes and their effects on the environment. The return to private property, from the state ownership, as a result of legislative change with the - Law 18/1991 and Law 169/1997 - has confused all operational agro- systems, and has led to a strong division of the agricultural parcels. The purpose of this article is to analyze the effects of legislative measures on land use in the region of north-eastern Romania, through Remote Sensing and GIS but also to emphasize the technical difficulties, encountered during the research process. We used Landsat and Spot Images, topographic maps and direct observation of the field. The identified changes may be reversible (the transition from arable to pasture) or final (the passage of the arable to construction), in the latter case the effect on the environment being stronger. There was also ...

15th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM2015, NANO, BIO AND GREEN � TECHNOLOGIES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE, Jun 20, 2015

Urban public transportation system changes, in post-communist period in Iasi municipality. During... more Urban public transportation system changes, in post-communist period in Iasi municipality. During the transition period, from the communist era to the market economy, the Romanian cities suffered important mutations such as deindustrialization, urban sprawl, changes in functional areas, the increase in cars number, etc. These changes required a quick adaptation of the urban public transportation system. This paper tries to reveal if these changes happened in the proper manner, taking into consideration the fact that Iasi city is one of the most polluted in the country. In the communist era, the city of Iasi has experienced a great development, becoming an important industrial, educational and medical center. The transportation system is the effect of the historical context of overall urban development of the city of Iasi. From the public transport point of view, adaptation to external transformations in the post-communist era is difficult, because suburbanization is not sustained by the development of an adequate transport infrastructure, which means for the home owners higher transportation costs and a higher motorization degree. The lack of public transport routes from these areas leads to higher traffic values in the city which remains the main polarization center of the region. Nowadays there is a series of major deficiencies in the level of polarization of the transport network in the urban space. Adapting supply to demand transport consists of qualitative restructuring of public transport.

Present Environment and Sustainable Development

This paper work tries to spatialize the effects of the anthropic activity on the environment, as ... more This paper work tries to spatialize the effects of the anthropic activity on the environment, as the human society continuous development requires space, food, energy and resources and that has a significant impact. Trying to evidentiate this kind of pressure over the environment by cartographic materials, that combines all effects is an impossible endeavor, but highlighting affected areas in an irreversible manner by an increased degree of artificiality is a necessity for the future environmental policy, so, starting from this point we were able to apply a methodology on the studied area and we obtained a seth of conclusing results.

Remote Sensing

The present paper aims to evaluate if the Natura 2000 sites in Romania are placed over dynamic ar... more The present paper aims to evaluate if the Natura 2000 sites in Romania are placed over dynamic areas from a land cover changes perspective, or if they are placed in areas with low human interest and what the impact of these changes are. The effectiveness of conservation measures was addressed by analyzing the number of land cover changes and their areas in Natura 2000 sites, before and after declaring them as protected areas. Corine Land Cover (CLC) data were used as a tool to identify threats and pressures from each Natura 2000 site, and also assess whether land cover changes are more frequent in sites with a high biodiversity index, compared to those with low diversity, in order to estimate the conservation status. Changes in the land cover during 1990–2018 are characterized by three types of events, from 1990 to 2000 with most changes recorded, followed by a relative period of stability from 2000 to 2012; the most dynamic period is from 2012 to 2018. The main changes are due to d...

16th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM2016, Informatics, Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing, Jun 28, 2016

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in b... more The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately.

Proceedings 2018

One of the latest paradigms of today's interdisciplinary studies in geosciences, consists of the ... more One of the latest paradigms of today's interdisciplinary studies in geosciences, consists of the implementation of the newest, most accurate, and relevant datasets available, in order to emphasize the appearance, causality or effects of different phenomena, which interfere with humans. Therefore, there is a permanent strive for data, relevant in geographical analysis, which is highly accurate, and also cost-effective. Due to the recent developments in UAV technology, and lowering of production costs, drones have been integrated into methodological workflows all around the world, in numerous fields, ranging from habitat delineation, to geomorphologic mapping. Most such studies use either a digital surface model (DSM) or ortophoto imagery generated from drone aerial images. Also, Structure From Motion algorithms (SFM) have been highly developed recently, into detecting ever more complicated shapes and objects. This means that the drone has turned into an indispensable tool for generating base layers used in any GIS-based study, because it generates fast, high accuracy, repeatable, on demand data sets. This paper intends to reveal a methodological approach towards generating the two, most important raster layers for the majority of spatial analyses: the digital surface model/digital elevation model, and the ortophoto, respectively.