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Dr. Thomas Panagopoulos
University of Algarve

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0 Climate Change Adaptation
0 Environmental Justice
0 Green Infrastructure
0 Precision Agriculture
0 Sustainable Development

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Green Infrastructure
Sustainable Development
Nature-based Solutions
Precision Agriculture
Climate Change Adaptation
Environmental Justice
landscape restoration
carbon neutral cities

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Journal article
Published: 14 August 2021 in Journal of Environmental Management
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The concept of nature-based solutions (NBSs) has become increasingly popular among urban policymakers and planners to help them tackle the urban challenges arising from urban expansion and climate change. Stakeholders' involvement is a fundamental step, and stakeholders' perceptions and preferences can affect the development of NBS projects. This study aims to identify stakeholders' perceptions of the most critical urban challenges, the priority interventions, the preferred NBSs and the benefits of the NBSs, and to identify the determinants of these perceptions. A survey was administered to assess stakeholders' perceptions and views on implementing NBSs in two Portuguese cities with distinct urban, geographical, and socio-economic contexts. A binary logistic regression model was used to understand the determinants of the likelihood of the stakeholders’ answers. According to the stakeholders, climate change is one of the main concerns in the urban context. It is usually associated with the incidence of heatwaves and water scarcity. Additionally, stakeholders are concerned about the low quantity and poor management of green spaces (GSs). They believe that it will be necessary to increase the GS, to recover some degraded areas, and to increase mobility. The preferred NBSs were planting more urban trees, making green shaded areas, and rehabilitating riverbanks. The main expected benefits were benefits for leisure and relaxation, reductions in air temperature, purer air, and improvements in public health. The results showed mostly coherent connections between the main concerns/priorities of the stakeholders and the perceived NBS benefits; however, some stakeholders did not present coherent connections, indicating low awareness of the current policy for implementing NBSs to overcome existing and future urban challenges.

ACS Style

Vera Ferreira; Ana Paula Barreira; Luís Loures; Dulce Antunes; Thomas Panagopoulos. Stakeholders’ perceptions of appropriate nature-based solutions in the urban context. Journal of Environmental Management 2021, 298, 113502 .

AMA Style

Vera Ferreira, Ana Paula Barreira, Luís Loures, Dulce Antunes, Thomas Panagopoulos. Stakeholders’ perceptions of appropriate nature-based solutions in the urban context. Journal of Environmental Management. 2021; 298 ():113502.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vera Ferreira; Ana Paula Barreira; Luís Loures; Dulce Antunes; Thomas Panagopoulos. 2021. "Stakeholders’ perceptions of appropriate nature-based solutions in the urban context." Journal of Environmental Management 298, no. : 113502.

Journal article
Published: 16 April 2021 in Ocean & Coastal Management
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Recently coastal tourism has increased dashingly; however, it has negatively affected environmental, social and cultural sustainability. Algarve is the most visited tourist attraction in Portugal with a large number of beautiful beaches. Due to negative tourism impacts and climate change, coastal tourism management tools need to be assessed and implemented. Most beach areas have the dual mandate of conserving natural resources and providing opportunities for recreation and tourism. This paper aims to develop a methodology for sustainable beach management. An urban, rural, resort and remote beach type were chosen as case studies. The proposed methodology for assessing beach quality and effective beach management consisted of three parts: initially, SWOT analysis was performed, where overcrowding, coastal urbanization, ecosystem degradation and coastal erosion due to sea level rising emerged as main future threats. Beach quality evaluation was assessed using the Bath Area Registration and Evaluation (BARE) method. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to get the beach visitor's opinions. An Importance–performance (I–P) analysis has been applied to identify the service quality gap and the most appropriate actions to improve beach management. For most of the beach attributes, satisfaction exceeded importance, and hence no management attention was needed. Exceptions were the condition of litter facilities, public toilets, showers and associated footpaths, the use of renewable energy, and the presence of litter in sand and vegetation health. For these, satisfaction was lower than importance, suggesting management attention is needed. The combined methodology allowed to identify beach management priorities resulting in enhanced visitors' experiences and protecting the natural environment.

ACS Style

Goda Lukoseviciute; Thomas Panagopoulos. Management priorities from tourists’ perspectives and beach quality assessment as tools to support sustainable coastal tourism. Ocean & Coastal Management 2021, 208, 105646 .

AMA Style

Goda Lukoseviciute, Thomas Panagopoulos. Management priorities from tourists’ perspectives and beach quality assessment as tools to support sustainable coastal tourism. Ocean & Coastal Management. 2021; 208 ():105646.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Goda Lukoseviciute; Thomas Panagopoulos. 2021. "Management priorities from tourists’ perspectives and beach quality assessment as tools to support sustainable coastal tourism." Ocean & Coastal Management 208, no. : 105646.

Journal article
Published: 14 March 2021 in Landscape architecture and art
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The biophilic design promotes specific principles and patterns of nature-based solutions for health and well-being in the spaces we live and work. A growing body of literature advocates a more prominent role of nature in urban design and architecture, emphasizing the necessity of maintaining, enhancing, and restoring the beneficial experience of nature in the cities. Biophilia and nature-based solutions can improve the quality of built environment design and bring new opportunities to restore urban ecosystems and smart thinking for sustainable cities. The paper concludes that adopting biophilic principles in urban planning will lead to cities that can regenerate life and nurture end-users' health and well-being. Moreover, bring forward ways to transfer human nature ties' knowledge into restorative approaches to design the built environment.

ACS Style

Thomas Panagopoulos; Madalina Sbarcea; Krzysztof Herman. A biophilic mind-set for a restorative built environment. Landscape architecture and art 2021, 17, 68 -77.

AMA Style

Thomas Panagopoulos, Madalina Sbarcea, Krzysztof Herman. A biophilic mind-set for a restorative built environment. Landscape architecture and art. 2021; 17 ():68-77.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas Panagopoulos; Madalina Sbarcea; Krzysztof Herman. 2021. "A biophilic mind-set for a restorative built environment." Landscape architecture and art 17, no. : 68-77.

Journal article
Published: 08 January 2021 in Horticulturae
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The aim of this work was to study the potential of two halophytes for fresh salads. Sarcocornia perennis (SAR) and Salicornia ramosissima (SAL) plant tips were harvested in May and July, and stored at 4 °C for 14 days. At harvest, mineral analyses (Na, K, Mg, Ca, P, N, Fe, Zn, Cu, Pb and Cd), chlorophyll content, protein, β-carotene and ascorbic acid were performed. Color (CIELab), phenolics, antioxidant activity and microbial contamination were measured at harvest and after 14 days storage at 4 °C, and a taste panel evaluated the products. SAL had generally slightly higher values of vitamin C, phenols and carotenoids than SAR. In SAR after 14 days of storage, the levels of phenols and the antioxidant activity were higher than at harvest, both in May and July. The opposite was observed for SAL. In this case, only the antioxidant activity was higher after 14 days of storage. Microbial contamination was very low, not reaching even half of critical limits. Both halophytes had good nutritional value, being suitable for use as fresh salads which can be stored for up to 14 days at 4 °C. SAR seems to be a better source of antioxidants, Ca and Fe than SAL and has less general quality and nutritional value changes from harvest time through cold storage. Fresh tips of both halophytes showed better appearance and nutritional quality when harvested in the early season (May) than at the end of the season (July).

ACS Style

Maria Antunes; Custódia Gago; Adriana Guerreiro; Ana Sousa; Miriam Julião; Maria Miguel; Maria Faleiro; Thomas Panagopoulos. Nutritional Characterization and Storage Ability of Salicornia ramosissima and Sarcocornia perennis for Fresh Vegetable Salads. Horticulturae 2021, 7, 6 .

AMA Style

Maria Antunes, Custódia Gago, Adriana Guerreiro, Ana Sousa, Miriam Julião, Maria Miguel, Maria Faleiro, Thomas Panagopoulos. Nutritional Characterization and Storage Ability of Salicornia ramosissima and Sarcocornia perennis for Fresh Vegetable Salads. Horticulturae. 2021; 7 (1):6.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maria Antunes; Custódia Gago; Adriana Guerreiro; Ana Sousa; Miriam Julião; Maria Miguel; Maria Faleiro; Thomas Panagopoulos. 2021. "Nutritional Characterization and Storage Ability of Salicornia ramosissima and Sarcocornia perennis for Fresh Vegetable Salads." Horticulturae 7, no. 1: 6.

Journal article
Published: 17 November 2020 in Applied Sciences
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Proper physical properties and standard chemical properties are among the criteria that consumers use to select fruits. Recently, researchers attempted to develop non-destructive methods for measuring properties, among which the near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is of great use. Fuji apples were collected in three different growth stages, and then starch and soluble solids were extracted. Spectral data in the range of 800 to 900 nm were used to predict the amount of starch content and 920 to 980 nm to estimate total soluble solids (TSS). Reflectance spectra were pre-processed and the most effective wavelengths of each property were selected using hybrid artificial neural network-simulated annealing (ANN-SA). Non-destructive estimation of physicochemical properties was conducted using spectral data of the most effective wavelengths using a hybrid artificial neural network-biogeography-based optimization algorithm (ANN-BBO). The results indicated that the regression coefficient of the best state of training for predicting starch was 0.97 and of TSS was 0.96, while R2 was 0.92 for both. The most effective wavelengths were 852.58, 855.54, 849.03, 855.83, 853.47, 844.90 nm for starch and 967.86, 966.67, 964.90, 958.40, 957.22, 963.97 nm for TSS.

ACS Style

Razieh Pourdarbani; Sajad Sabzi; Sanaz Jarolmasjed; Thomas Panagopoulos. Determination of the Most Effective Wavelengths for Prediction of Fuji Apple Starch and Total Soluble Solids Properties. Applied Sciences 2020, 10, 8145 .

AMA Style

Razieh Pourdarbani, Sajad Sabzi, Sanaz Jarolmasjed, Thomas Panagopoulos. Determination of the Most Effective Wavelengths for Prediction of Fuji Apple Starch and Total Soluble Solids Properties. Applied Sciences. 2020; 10 (22):8145.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Razieh Pourdarbani; Sajad Sabzi; Sanaz Jarolmasjed; Thomas Panagopoulos. 2020. "Determination of the Most Effective Wavelengths for Prediction of Fuji Apple Starch and Total Soluble Solids Properties." Applied Sciences 10, no. 22: 8145.

Journal article
Published: 04 November 2020 in Postharvest Biology and Technology
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“Algarve Citrus” are non-climacteric Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) commodities. They are harvested with minimal levels of juice content (≥35 %), soluble solids content (SSC) (≥10 %) and maturation index (MI) (≥8), as required by the respective PGI normative reference. These internal quality attributes (IQA) are usually determined in small samples of fruit collected from the orchards close to harvest. This study aimed to use geostatistics to help predict the optimal harvest date (OHD) of two sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) cultivars, namely, ‘Newhall’, and ‘Valencia Late’, at two different edaphoclimatic conditions observed in the locations of Quarteira, at the coast, and Paderne, near a mountainous area. Two orchards of 0.5-0.7 ha per cultivar were chosen and a total of 25 trees were georeferenced within each orchard, comprising 100 sampling points/trees. Firmness, juice content, SSC and MI of fruit were determined through time. In general, the fruit grown in Quarteira showed higher SSC and MI and lower firmness values, ripening two months earlier than those grown in Paderne, although the full effect of the various edaphoclimatic factors on these results are not fully understood. However, geospatial modelling of ripening has shown a large variability within the orchards, with some IQA evolution patterns observed in some orchards and/or cultivars but not in the others. Specifically, 1) a negative correlation between the firmness and MI spatial patterns; 2) a variable decay rate of firmness, much faster in Paderne for 'Valencia Late'; 3) local minima in juice content, below 35 %, observed in restricted spatial areas and in specific time periods, and which were clearer in ‘Newhall’. These local variations highlight the need for an optimized management based on geospatial modelling. For example, the variable decay rate of firmness must be taken into account during fruit harvest and postharvest handling. On the other side, the observation of localized plots with juice content below 35 % must be contextualized in the broader picture of the entire orchard which, in the present study, always had consistent temporal average level above 35 %. This study has provided evidence that fruit ripening variability should be considered in the site-specific orchard management of citrus to optimize their harvest date.

ACS Style

Ana M. Cavaco; Sandra P. Cruz; M. Dulce Antunes; Rui Guerra; Rosa Pires; Andreia M. Afonso; António Brázio; Leonardo Silva; Márcia Rosendo Lucas; Mariana Daniel; Thomas Panagopoulos. Spatiotemporal modelling of the quality and ripening of two cultivars of “Algarve Citrus” orchards at different edaphoclimatic conditions. Postharvest Biology and Technology 2020, 172, 111386 .

AMA Style

Ana M. Cavaco, Sandra P. Cruz, M. Dulce Antunes, Rui Guerra, Rosa Pires, Andreia M. Afonso, António Brázio, Leonardo Silva, Márcia Rosendo Lucas, Mariana Daniel, Thomas Panagopoulos. Spatiotemporal modelling of the quality and ripening of two cultivars of “Algarve Citrus” orchards at different edaphoclimatic conditions. Postharvest Biology and Technology. 2020; 172 ():111386.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ana M. Cavaco; Sandra P. Cruz; M. Dulce Antunes; Rui Guerra; Rosa Pires; Andreia M. Afonso; António Brázio; Leonardo Silva; Márcia Rosendo Lucas; Mariana Daniel; Thomas Panagopoulos. 2020. "Spatiotemporal modelling of the quality and ripening of two cultivars of “Algarve Citrus” orchards at different edaphoclimatic conditions." Postharvest Biology and Technology 172, no. : 111386.

Journal article
Published: 14 September 2020 in Heliyon
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In an increasingly competitive tourism market, it is essential to assess visitors' demands and levels of satisfaction. Currently, in Greece, there are two public and one private zoo. The Attica zoological park located in Athens has the most extensive collection of animals from all over the world. At the same time, the two public zoos serve a double purpose as zoos and peri-urban parks. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to determine the views and attitudes of the visitors in both public and private zoos of Greece. A total of 707 questionnaires were collected in Attika Park during the weekends of 2017. According to the results, the visitors were mainly middle-aged and highly educated with their motivation for their visits focused on entertainment. They visit the Park mostly in springtime, traveling mainly by car and covering distances of 5–50 km. As regards the quality of infrastructure, facilities, and services available at the zoo, the visitors of Attica Park found access to the area and security provided at the site as very satisfactory. At the same time, they consider that the animal's living conditions, their hygiene, and the existence of shelters for injured animals to be inadequate. The overall satisfaction with the outdoor recreation experience and satisfaction with the existing park facilities and services was higher at the Attica Zoological Park (91.1%) than in the two public zoos of Greece. The results of this work provide lessons that will improve zoo management, animal welfare, and sustain the flow of visitors.

ACS Style

Paraskevi Karanikola; Thomas Panagopoulos; Stilianos Tampakis; Antonios Tampakis. Visitor preferences and satisfaction in Attica zoological park, Greece. Heliyon 2020, 6, 1 .

AMA Style

Paraskevi Karanikola, Thomas Panagopoulos, Stilianos Tampakis, Antonios Tampakis. Visitor preferences and satisfaction in Attica zoological park, Greece. Heliyon. 2020; 6 (9):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Paraskevi Karanikola; Thomas Panagopoulos; Stilianos Tampakis; Antonios Tampakis. 2020. "Visitor preferences and satisfaction in Attica zoological park, Greece." Heliyon 6, no. 9: 1.

Journal article
Published: 06 May 2020 in Sustainability
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While the world population continues to grow, increasing the need to produce more and better-quality food, climate change, urban growth and unsustainable agricultural practices accelerate the loss of available arable land, compromising the sustainability of agricultural lands both in terms of productivity and environmental resilience, and causing serious problems for the production-consumption balance. This scenario highlights the urgent need for agricultural modernization as a crucial step to face forthcoming difficulties. Precision agriculture techniques appear as a feasible option to help solve these problems. However, their use needs to be reinvented and tested according to different parameters, in order to define both the environmental and the economic impact of these new technologies not only on agricultural production, but also on agricultural sustainability. This paper intends, therefore, to contribute to a better understanding of the impact of precision agriculture through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)/remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) techniques in small Mediterranean farms. We present specific data obtained through the application of the aforementioned techniques in three farms located along the Portuguese-Spanish border, considering three parameters (seeding failure, differentiated irrigation and differentiated fertilization) in order to determine not only the ecological benefits of these methods, but also their economic and productivity aspects. The obtained results, based on these methods, highlight the fact that an efficient combination of UAV/RPAS and NDVI techniques allows for important economic savings in productivity factors, thus promoting a sustainable agriculture both in ecological and economic terms. Additionally, contrary to what is generally defended, even in small farms, as the ones assessed in this study (less than 50 ha), the costs associated with the application of the aforementioned precision agriculture processes are largely surpassed by the economic gains achieved with their application, regardless of the notorious environmental benefits introduced by the reduction of crucial production inputs as water and fertilizers.

ACS Style

Luís Loures; Alejandro Chamizo; Paulo Ferreira; Ana Loures; Rui Castanho; Thomas Panagopoulos. Assessing the Effectiveness of Precision Agriculture Management Systems in Mediterranean Small Farms. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3765 .

AMA Style

Luís Loures, Alejandro Chamizo, Paulo Ferreira, Ana Loures, Rui Castanho, Thomas Panagopoulos. Assessing the Effectiveness of Precision Agriculture Management Systems in Mediterranean Small Farms. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (9):3765.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Luís Loures; Alejandro Chamizo; Paulo Ferreira; Ana Loures; Rui Castanho; Thomas Panagopoulos. 2020. "Assessing the Effectiveness of Precision Agriculture Management Systems in Mediterranean Small Farms." Sustainability 12, no. 9: 3765.

Journal article
Published: 16 April 2020 in Sustainability
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Urban forests provide multiple benefits in improving people’s lives and can be an important tool for achieving the goal of carbon neutral cities. In this study, we analyzed the diversity of plant species from urban forests in cities in the Brazilian Amazonia, based on data from scientific articles, through a systematic literature review. Our analysis revealed that 530 taxa, of which 479 were identified at the species level and 51 at the genus level, covering 38,882 individuals were distributed in 29 cities. The three most frequent species were Ficus benjamina, Mangifera indica, and Licania tomentosa. Exotic species were more frequent than native. The three most frequent species had almost 42% of the inventoried individuals. The choice of species has been made mainly by the local population, without monitoring by the public authorities. Recommendations for sustainable management of urban forests in Amazonia include investing in training of management bodies, periodic inventories, and awareness actions about the benefits of urban green infrastructure and on the advantages of native species. Policies for the sustainable management of urban green areas are necessary. The municipal governments must continuously monitor indicators of urban ecosystem services and provide financial resources for maintaining and increasing those area rates per person.

ACS Style

Thiago Almeida Vieira; Thomas Panagopoulos. Urban Forestry in Brazilian Amazonia. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3235 .

AMA Style

Thiago Almeida Vieira, Thomas Panagopoulos. Urban Forestry in Brazilian Amazonia. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (8):3235.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thiago Almeida Vieira; Thomas Panagopoulos. 2020. "Urban Forestry in Brazilian Amazonia." Sustainability 12, no. 8: 3235.

Journal article
Published: 01 February 2020 in Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
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Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) serves both inhabitants’ and visitors’ numerous and various needs. This research aimed to enhance knowledge regarding the role of UGI in urban tourism. The research questions addressed tourists’ perceptions of UGI, their understanding and uses of UGI, and the ways that this understanding influenced their travel choice to specific urban destinations. A cross-cultural comparative study among urban tourists was carried out in eight European countries. The selection of case studies followed a roughly comparative logic, employing the same on-site questionnaire survey administered in a sample of large and medium size cities in Southern European, Central European and Northern European countries. Looking from the perspective of the tourists’ countries of origin, our findings validate a well-established trend in international tourism, namely the fact that neighbouring countries tend to be the most significant tourist markets of an urban destination. The other major finding confirmed the most well-known tourist movement patterns of Northern and Central Europeans travelling to the Mediterranean for tourism purposes. While the study revealed that the majority of the tourists interviewed were not very familiar with the term ‘Green Infrastructure’, nor with specific UGI features offered in the visited cities, the importance of UGI was acknowledged and viewed in a mostly very positive light. The majority of respondents enjoyed visiting UGI and used it for some light physical activity or for purposes of relaxation, socialization, and in order to explore the culture and society of the destination city. The fact that most UGI in the case study cities is located around or within a short distance from important heritage sites provided UGI with an indirect possibility of being included in the tourists’ visiting plans. In conclusion, the results of this study may prove to be very helpful to local and regional authorities in considering how to plan, manage and promote an urban tourism destination’s green infrastructure as part of the tourism offer.

ACS Style

T.S. Terkenli; S. Bell; O. Tošković; J. Dubljević-Tomićević; Thomas Panagopoulos; I. Straupe; K. Kristianova; L. Straigyte; Liz O'Brien; I. Živojinović. Tourist perceptions and uses of urban green infrastructure: An exploratory cross-cultural investigation. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 2020, 49, 126624 .

AMA Style

T.S. Terkenli, S. Bell, O. Tošković, J. Dubljević-Tomićević, Thomas Panagopoulos, I. Straupe, K. Kristianova, L. Straigyte, Liz O'Brien, I. Živojinović. Tourist perceptions and uses of urban green infrastructure: An exploratory cross-cultural investigation. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. 2020; 49 ():126624.

Chicago/Turabian Style

T.S. Terkenli; S. Bell; O. Tošković; J. Dubljević-Tomićević; Thomas Panagopoulos; I. Straupe; K. Kristianova; L. Straigyte; Liz O'Brien; I. Živojinović. 2020. "Tourist perceptions and uses of urban green infrastructure: An exploratory cross-cultural investigation." Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 49, no. : 126624.

Review
Published: 15 January 2020 in Sustainability
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Cities are facing a broad range of social and environmental challenges due to the current pressure of global urbanization. Nature-based solutions aim to utilize green infrastructure to improve people’s health and wellbeing. The design of urban environments must embrace the individual ideals of citizens and stakeholders which can only be achieved if effective methods of communication, involvement, and feedback are ensured. Such a procedure creates trust during its implementation, helping to take ownership and stewardship of processes and sites. This systematic literature review explores the current state of the art regarding citizen and stakeholder participation in nature-based solutions (NBS). The search on the SCOPUS database identified 142 papers in total that met the inclusion criteria. The participation analysis was separated in two areas: (a) analysis of perceptions, preferences, and perspectives of citizens and stakeholders, and (b) analysis of the participation process, including challenges and opportunities, motivations, methods and frameworks, and collaborative governance. The results revealed that stakeholder and citizen participation or collaboration in nature-based solutions is increasingly recognized as promising; however, research in several related domains is still lacking.

ACS Style

Vera Ferreira; Ana Barreira; Luís Loures; Dulce Antunes; Thomas Panagopoulos. Stakeholders’ Engagement on Nature-Based Solutions: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability 2020, 12, 640 .

AMA Style

Vera Ferreira, Ana Barreira, Luís Loures, Dulce Antunes, Thomas Panagopoulos. Stakeholders’ Engagement on Nature-Based Solutions: A Systematic Literature Review. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (2):640.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Vera Ferreira; Ana Barreira; Luís Loures; Dulce Antunes; Thomas Panagopoulos. 2020. "Stakeholders’ Engagement on Nature-Based Solutions: A Systematic Literature Review." Sustainability 12, no. 2: 640.

Journal article
Published: 06 January 2020 in Sustainability
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The tourism and recreational offer of Mediterranean destinations involves, essentially, the promotion of mass tourism, based on the appeal of the sun and beach, and the quality of its coastal assets. Alongside the impacts of climate change, poor tourism diversification represents a threat to the resilience of the territory. Thus, heterogenization of noncoastal tourism products presents an opportunity to strengthen regional resilience to present and future challenges, hence the need to study, comparatively, the complementary preferences of tourists and residents of these regions in order to unveil their willingness to diversify their recreational experience, not only in coastal spaces, but also—and especially—in interior territories with low urban density. Consequently, this strategic option may represent a way of strengthening resilience and sustainability through diversification. In this context, a survey was conducted among 400 beach tourists and 400 residents of a case study—namely, three municipalities of the Algarve region in southern Portugal—in order to analyze their degree of preference for activities besides the sun and beach, such as nature-based and cultural tourism activities, and to probe the enhancement potential of each tourism and recreational activity through the various landscape units considered by experts, stakeholders, and tour operators. The respective degree of preference and enhancement potential were indexed to the area of each landscape unit. Subsequently, respecting the existing recreational structure and constraints, a suitability map for territory enhancement and the implementation of smart tourism practices for each tourism activity and landscape unit is presented. Results show a significant preference for noncoastal outdoor recreational activities.

ACS Style

André Samora-Arvela; Jorge Ferreira; Eric Vaz; Thomas Panagopoulos. Modeling Nature-Based and Cultural Recreation Preferences in Mediterranean Regions as Opportunities for Smart Tourism and Diversification. Sustainability 2020, 12, 433 .

AMA Style

André Samora-Arvela, Jorge Ferreira, Eric Vaz, Thomas Panagopoulos. Modeling Nature-Based and Cultural Recreation Preferences in Mediterranean Regions as Opportunities for Smart Tourism and Diversification. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (1):433.

Chicago/Turabian Style

André Samora-Arvela; Jorge Ferreira; Eric Vaz; Thomas Panagopoulos. 2020. "Modeling Nature-Based and Cultural Recreation Preferences in Mediterranean Regions as Opportunities for Smart Tourism and Diversification." Sustainability 12, no. 1: 433.

Journal article
Published: 04 January 2020 in Applied Sciences
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The first step in identifying fruits on trees is to develop garden robots for different purposes such as fruit harvesting and spatial specific spraying. Due to the natural conditions of the fruit orchards and the unevenness of the various objects throughout it, usage of the controlled conditions is very difficult. As a result, these operations should be performed in natural conditions, both in light and in the background. Due to the dependency of other garden robot operations on the fruit identification stage, this step must be performed precisely. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to design an identification algorithm in orchard conditions using a combination of video processing and majority voting based on different hybrid artificial neural networks. The different steps of designing this algorithm were: (1) Recording video of different plum orchards at different light intensities; (2) converting the videos produced into its frames; (3) extracting different color properties from pixels; (4) selecting effective properties from color extraction properties using hybrid artificial neural network-harmony search (ANN-HS); and (5) classification using majority voting based on three classifiers of artificial neural network-bees algorithm (ANN-BA), artificial neural network-biogeography-based optimization (ANN-BBO), and artificial neural network-firefly algorithm (ANN-FA). Most effective features selected by the hybrid ANN-HS consisted of the third channel in hue saturation lightness (HSL) color space, the second channel in lightness chroma hue (LCH) color space, the first channel in L*a*b* color space, and the first channel in hue saturation intensity (HSI). The results showed that the accuracy of the majority voting method in the best execution and in 500 executions was 98.01% and 97.20%, respectively. Based on different performance evaluation criteria of the classifiers, it was found that the majority voting method had a higher performance.

ACS Style

Sajad Sabzi; Razieh Pourdarbani; Davood Kalantari; Thomas Panagopoulos. Designing a Fruit Identification Algorithm in Orchard Conditions to Develop Robots Using Video Processing and Majority Voting Based on Hybrid Artificial Neural Network. Applied Sciences 2020, 10, 383 .

AMA Style

Sajad Sabzi, Razieh Pourdarbani, Davood Kalantari, Thomas Panagopoulos. Designing a Fruit Identification Algorithm in Orchard Conditions to Develop Robots Using Video Processing and Majority Voting Based on Hybrid Artificial Neural Network. Applied Sciences. 2020; 10 (1):383.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sajad Sabzi; Razieh Pourdarbani; Davood Kalantari; Thomas Panagopoulos. 2020. "Designing a Fruit Identification Algorithm in Orchard Conditions to Develop Robots Using Video Processing and Majority Voting Based on Hybrid Artificial Neural Network." Applied Sciences 10, no. 1: 383.

Editorial
Published: 17 July 2019 in Land
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With the notion of landscape urbanism long neglected, interlinkages between ecology and architecture in the built environment are becoming visible. Yet, the diversity in understandings of the interconnections between cities and nature is the starting point for our research interest. This volume contains nine thoroughly refereed contributions concerning a wide range of topics in landscape architecture and urban green infrastructure. While some papers attempt to conceptualize the relation further, others clearly have an empirical focus. Thereby, this special issue provides a rich body of work, and will act as a starting point for further studies on biophilic urbanism and integrative policies, such as the sustainable development goals of the United Nations.

ACS Style

Thomas Panagopoulos. Special Issue: Landscape Urbanism and Green Infrastructure. Land 2019, 8, 112 .

AMA Style

Thomas Panagopoulos. Special Issue: Landscape Urbanism and Green Infrastructure. Land. 2019; 8 (7):112.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas Panagopoulos. 2019. "Special Issue: Landscape Urbanism and Green Infrastructure." Land 8, no. 7: 112.

Journal article
Published: 17 June 2019 in Sustainability
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Climate and land use change can influence susceptibility to erosion and consequently land degradation. The aim of this study was to investigate in the baseline and a future period, the land use and climate change effects on soil erosion at an important dam watershed occupying a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz. The future climate change at the study area was inferred using statistical downscaling and validated by the Canadian earth system model (CanESM2). The future land use change was also simulated using the Markov chain and artificial neural network, and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation was adopted to estimate soil loss under climate and land use change scenarios. Results show that rainfall erosivity (R factor) will increase under all Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios. The highest amount of R was 40.6 MJ mm ha−1 h−1y−1 in 2030 under RPC 2.6. Future land use/land cover showed rangelands turning into agricultural lands, vegetation cover degradation and an increased soil cover among others. The change of C and R factors represented most of the increase of soil erosion and sediment production in the study area during the future period. The highest erosion during the future period was predicted to reach 14.5 t ha−1 y−1, which will generate 5.52 t ha−1 y−1 sediment. The difference between estimated and observed sediment was 1.42 t ha−1 year−1 at the baseline period. Among the soil erosion factors, soil cover (C factor) is the one that watershed managers could influence most in order to reduce soil loss and alleviate the negative effects of climate change.

ACS Style

Mohammad Reza Azimi Sardari; Ommolbanin Bazrafshan; Thomas Panagopoulos; Elham Rafiei Sardooi. Modeling the Impact of Climate Change and Land Use Change Scenarios on Soil Erosion at the Minab Dam Watershed. Sustainability 2019, 11, 3353 .

AMA Style

Mohammad Reza Azimi Sardari, Ommolbanin Bazrafshan, Thomas Panagopoulos, Elham Rafiei Sardooi. Modeling the Impact of Climate Change and Land Use Change Scenarios on Soil Erosion at the Minab Dam Watershed. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (12):3353.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mohammad Reza Azimi Sardari; Ommolbanin Bazrafshan; Thomas Panagopoulos; Elham Rafiei Sardooi. 2019. "Modeling the Impact of Climate Change and Land Use Change Scenarios on Soil Erosion at the Minab Dam Watershed." Sustainability 11, no. 12: 3353.

Journal article
Published: 17 November 2018 in Land
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Mass urbanisation presents one of the most urgent challenges of the 21st century. The development of cities and the related increasing ground sealing are asking even more for the restoration of urban rivers, especially in the face of climate change and its consequences. This paper aims to demonstrate nature-inspired solutions in a recovery of a Southern European river that was canalised and transformed in culvert pipes. The river restoration project naturally tells the history of the city, creates a sense for the place, as well as unifying blue–green infrastructure in a symbolic way by offering areas for recreation. To improve well-being and city resilience in the long term, a regenerative sustainability approach based on biophilic design patterns was proposed. Such actions will provide greater health, social cohesion, and well-being for residents and simultaneously reduce the risks of climate change, such as heat island effect and flash floods, presenting the benefits of the transition to a regenerative economy and holistic thinking.

ACS Style

Marie Luise Blau; Frieder Luz; Thomas Panagopoulos. Urban River Recovery Inspired by Nature-Based Solutions and Biophilic Design in Albufeira, Portugal. Land 2018, 7, 141 .

AMA Style

Marie Luise Blau, Frieder Luz, Thomas Panagopoulos. Urban River Recovery Inspired by Nature-Based Solutions and Biophilic Design in Albufeira, Portugal. Land. 2018; 7 (4):141.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marie Luise Blau; Frieder Luz; Thomas Panagopoulos. 2018. "Urban River Recovery Inspired by Nature-Based Solutions and Biophilic Design in Albufeira, Portugal." Land 7, no. 4: 141.

Journal article
Published: 12 November 2018 in Land
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Although it is well-established that urban green infrastructure is essential to improve the population’s wellbeing, in many developed countries, the availability of green spaces is limited or its distribution around the city is uneven. Some minority groups may have less access or are deprived of access to green spaces when compared with the rest of the population. The availability of public green spaces may also be directly related to the geographical location of the city within Europe. In addition, current planning for urban regeneration and the creation of new high-quality recreational public green spaces sometimes results in projects that reinforce the paradox of green gentrification. The aim of this study was to explore the concept of environmental justice in the distribution of the public green spaces in two contrasting cities, Tartu, Estonia; and Faro, Portugal. Quantitative indicators of public green space were calculated in districts in each city. The accessibility of those spaces was measured using the “walkability” distance and grid methods. The results revealed that there was more availability and accessibility to public green spaces in Tartu than in Faro. However, inequalities were observed in Soviet-era housing block districts in Tartu, where most of the Russian minority live, while Roma communities in Faro were located in districts without access to public green space. The availability of public green spaces varied from 1.22 to 31.44 m2/inhabitant in the districts of Faro, and 1.04 to 164.07 m2/inhabitant in the districts of Tartu. In both cities, 45% of the inhabitants had accessible public green spaces within 500 m of their residence. The development of targeted new green infrastructure could increase access to 88% of the population for the city of Faro and 86% for Tartu, delivering environmental justice without provoking green gentrification. The outcome of this study provides advice to urban planners on how to balance green space distribution within city neighbourhoods.

ACS Style

Catarina De Sousa Silva; Inês Viegas; Τhomas Panagopoulos; Simon Bell. Environmental Justice in Accessibility to Green Infrastructure in Two European Cities. Land 2018, 7, 134 .

AMA Style

Catarina De Sousa Silva, Inês Viegas, Τhomas Panagopoulos, Simon Bell. Environmental Justice in Accessibility to Green Infrastructure in Two European Cities. Land. 2018; 7 (4):134.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Catarina De Sousa Silva; Inês Viegas; Τhomas Panagopoulos; Simon Bell. 2018. "Environmental Justice in Accessibility to Green Infrastructure in Two European Cities." Land 7, no. 4: 134.

Journal article
Published: 30 August 2018 in Land
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Pedestrian zones are public spaces intended for the continued and safe mobility of pedestrians and people with disabilities, and they provide multiple benefits to urban areas. They counterbalance the densely built-up areas, decrease atmospheric pollution, increase available green or social space, increase walking and cycling rates, and facilitate active play for children. Done properly, pedestrianization may also increase local business sales. Greece boasts open public spaces and the pedestrianization of common roads. The economic crisis that Greece has been experiencing since 2008 has led people to give up their vehicles and use the pedestrian streets more frequently. The purpose of this paper was to investigate residents’ perceptions and satisfaction rates concerning the pedestrian streets of Kalamaria, Greece, and evaluate their importance for residents’ well-being. Following a random sampling method, 400 residents were interviewed. A two-step cluster analysis was conducted. The survey showed that the urban residents visited pedestrian zones in Kalamaria at least once a week, and the visits lasted 46–60 min. The improvement of urban landscape aesthetics and people’s health and well-being were evaluated as important functions of pedestrian zones. The results also indicate that residents were not satisfied with their quality of life and the existing green infrastructures of the pedestrian streets, even though they have a positive disposition toward the construction or transformation of pedestrian streets. The residents expressed their unwillingness to pay more public taxes for the construction and maintenance of pedestrian and cycling streets. The safety and convenience of the mobility of residents were the most important advantages of the pedestrian streets. Meanwhile, overspill parking and difficulties with finding parking spaces were the main disadvantages for the residents. Local authorities can use the results of the present survey to manage the city’s green infrastructure and use this information in the urban planning framework.

ACS Style

Thomas Panagopoulos; Stilianos Tampakis; Paraskevi Karanikola; Aikaterini Karipidou-Kanari; Apostolos Kantartzis. The Usage and Perception of Pedestrian and Cycling Streets on Residents’ Well-being in Kalamaria, Greece. Land 2018, 7, 100 .

AMA Style

Thomas Panagopoulos, Stilianos Tampakis, Paraskevi Karanikola, Aikaterini Karipidou-Kanari, Apostolos Kantartzis. The Usage and Perception of Pedestrian and Cycling Streets on Residents’ Well-being in Kalamaria, Greece. Land. 2018; 7 (3):100.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Thomas Panagopoulos; Stilianos Tampakis; Paraskevi Karanikola; Aikaterini Karipidou-Kanari; Apostolos Kantartzis. 2018. "The Usage and Perception of Pedestrian and Cycling Streets on Residents’ Well-being in Kalamaria, Greece." Land 7, no. 3: 100.

Chapter
Published: 23 August 2018 in Regional Research Frontiers - Vol. 2
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Mediterranean destinations that rely on sun and beach tourism—like the Algarve region, south of Portugal—are in a fragile situation. Challenges related to an aging population and climate change (e.g. extreme temperatures and sea level rise) will have consequences on the development of Mediterranean regions. In this context, sea level rise and beach area reduction could have a disruptive impact in these touristic regions. This chapter discusses how a strategy of regional resilience enhancement could allow for a transition and a differentiation from mainstream sun and beach touristic activities to alternative and sustainable types of tourism, such as nature-based and cultural-landscape touring. It outlines a touristic green infrastructure spatial planning approach to reinforce regional resilience as a competitive, cultural and systemic adaptation strategy, diversifying regional development basis overall.

ACS Style

André Filipe Samora Arvela; Eric Vaz; João Ferrão; Jorge Ferreira; Thomas Panagopoulos. Diversifying Mediterranean Tourism as a Strategy for Regional Resilience Enhancement. Regional Research Frontiers - Vol. 2 2018, 105 -127.

AMA Style

André Filipe Samora Arvela, Eric Vaz, João Ferrão, Jorge Ferreira, Thomas Panagopoulos. Diversifying Mediterranean Tourism as a Strategy for Regional Resilience Enhancement. Regional Research Frontiers - Vol. 2. 2018; ():105-127.

Chicago/Turabian Style

André Filipe Samora Arvela; Eric Vaz; João Ferrão; Jorge Ferreira; Thomas Panagopoulos. 2018. "Diversifying Mediterranean Tourism as a Strategy for Regional Resilience Enhancement." Regional Research Frontiers - Vol. 2 , no. : 105-127.

Journal article
Published: 01 July 2018 in Postharvest Biology and Technology
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ACS Style

Ana M. Cavaco; Rosa Pires; M. Dulce Antunes; Thomas Panagopoulos; António Brazio; Andreia M. Afonso; Leonardo Mendes e Silva; Márcia Rosendo Lucas; Bernardo Cadeiras; Sandra P. Cruz; Rui Guerra. Validation of short wave near infrared calibration models for the quality and ripening of ‘Newhall’ orange on tree across years and orchards. Postharvest Biology and Technology 2018, 141, 86 -97.

AMA Style

Ana M. Cavaco, Rosa Pires, M. Dulce Antunes, Thomas Panagopoulos, António Brazio, Andreia M. Afonso, Leonardo Mendes e Silva, Márcia Rosendo Lucas, Bernardo Cadeiras, Sandra P. Cruz, Rui Guerra. Validation of short wave near infrared calibration models for the quality and ripening of ‘Newhall’ orange on tree across years and orchards. Postharvest Biology and Technology. 2018; 141 ():86-97.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ana M. Cavaco; Rosa Pires; M. Dulce Antunes; Thomas Panagopoulos; António Brazio; Andreia M. Afonso; Leonardo Mendes e Silva; Márcia Rosendo Lucas; Bernardo Cadeiras; Sandra P. Cruz; Rui Guerra. 2018. "Validation of short wave near infrared calibration models for the quality and ripening of ‘Newhall’ orange on tree across years and orchards." Postharvest Biology and Technology 141, no. : 86-97.