In olive groves, vegetation ground cover (VGC) plays an important ecological role. The EU Common Agricultural Policy, through cross-compliance, acknowledges the importance of this factor, but, to determine the real impact of VGC, it must first be quantified. Accordingly, in the present study, eleven vegetation indices (VIs) were applied to quantify the density of VGC in olive groves (Olea europaea L.), according to high spatial resolution (10–12 cm) multispectral images obtained by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The fieldwork was conducted in early spring, in a Mediterranean mountain olive grove in southern Spain presenting various VGC densities. A five-step method was applied: (1) generate image mosaics using UAV technology; (2) apply the VIs; (3) quantify VGC density by means of sampling plots (ground-truth); (4) calculate the mean reflectance of the spectral bands and of the VIs in each sampling plot; and (5) quantify VGC density according to the VIs. The most sensitive index was IRVI, which accounted for 82% (p < 0.001) of the variability of VGC density. The capability of the VIs to differentiate VGC densities increased in line with the cover interval range. RVI most accurately distinguished VGC densities > 80% in a cover interval range of 10% (p < 0.001), while IRVI was most accurate for VGC densities < 30% in a cover interval range of 15% (p < 0.01). IRVI, NRVI, NDVI, GNDVI and SAVI differentiated the complete series of VGC densities when the cover interval range was 30% (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05).

El objetivo principal del proyecto es diseñar una metodología de evaluación de la potencialidad turística del territorio, especialmente la capacidad de este para acoger la práctica de actividades que forman parte del ecoturismo y el turismo activo.La metodología diseñada ha sido aplicada al ámbito geográfico de la Sierra de las Nieves, en la provincia de Málaga. No obstante, la misma podría ser aplicada en otros ámbitos de índole similar con las modificaciones pertinentes. El sistema parte del análisis territorial y del inventario de los recursos potencialmente turísticos. Toda la información que se genera es introducida en un SIG, para ser analizada y posteriormente representada cartográficamente. A partir de este punto se procede a diseñar y calcular los índices de potencialidad turística para cada municipio. Finalmente se generan mapas temáticos y se efectúa un análisis DAFO para valorar la situación actual y la potencialidad del sector turístico de la Sierra de las Nieves.La implementación de un SIG permite un análisis del sistema turístico de gran valor, convirtiéndose en una herramienta válida para la planificación del turismo, y su aplicación en el área de estudio demuestra que es una zona con grandes posibilidades, especialmente los municipios de Tolox y Yunquera por su capacidad para albergar actividades ecoturísticas y de turismo activo.The main objective of this project is to design a methodology for evaluating the tourism potential of the territory, especially its capacity to accommodate the practice of activities included in the definition of ecotourism and adventure tourism.The methodology has been applied to the area of Sierra de las Nieves, in the province of Málaga, however, it could be used in other areas of similar conditions with the appropriate changes. The system starts with a spatial analysis and the inventory of potential tourist resources. Then, all the information is introduced into a GIS. At this point we are able to design and calculate the index of tourism potential for each municipality. Finally, we generate thematic maps and make a SWOT analysis to evaluate the current situation and potential of tourism in the area of study.The implementation of a GIS with the main tourist resources, the tourist supply and the index of tourism potential, allows an analysis of the tourism system of great value to the planning and management process. Definitely, this paper proves that GIS is a valid tool for tourism planning and its implementation in the Sierra de las Nieves shows that it is a tourist area with important potential, especially the municipalities of Yunquera and Tolox because of its capacity to accommodate activities of ecotourism and adventure tourism.

Coastal spaces are shaped by human activity. Approaching their urban spaces allows us to analyse the concepts of structure, growth, and management. Highlighting the problems associated with these concepts can lead to intensive scientific analysis and provide solid research methods. This paper focuses on the study of how the process of territorial occupation takes place and the urban forms it generates on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. It is based on the consideration that the process of territorial occupation is deficient in its territorial adequacy. To analyse this, a methodology is proposed that addresses processes of analysis at different scales: dynamics of changes in land use, the study of the morphologies of urban development with spatial analysis tools, and the adaptation of urban processes to the characteristics of the spaces that support them with multi-criteria evaluation techniques and GIS (Geographical Information Systems). The results are specified in five degrees of suitability of the occupation of the territory. Two conclusions can be observed: first, urban planning gives rise to forms of occupation that follow a similar pattern in the twenty areas studied, and second, the suitability of the urban process is not governed by planning based on precepts of suitability and environmental logic but by a weakness of the adapted planning methods.

Modeling the social-spatial structure of urban spaces can facilitate the development of guidelines aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic while also acting as an instrument that helps decision-making concerning mitigation policies. The modeling process starts with categorization of urban spaces based on the concept of social vulnerability. A model is created based on this concept and the theory of analysis of social areas. Statistical techniques of factor analysis and geostatistics are applied. This generates a map of social differentiation that, when related to data on the evolution of the contagion, generates a multidimensional model of social vulnerability. The application of this model towards people (social structure) and the environment where they live (spatial structure) is specified. Our model assumes the uniqueness of cities, and it is intended to be a broadly applicable model that can be extrapolated to other urban areas if pertinent revisions are made. Our work demonstrates that aspects of the social and urban structures may be validly used to analyze and explain the spatial spread of COVID-19.

The relationship between the social structure of urban spaces and the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic is becoming increasingly evident. Analyzing the socio-spatial structure in relation to cases may be one of the keys to explaining the ways in which this contagious disease and its variants spread. The aim of this study is to propose a set of variables selected from the social context and the spatial structure and to evaluate the temporal spread of infections and their different degrees of intensity according to social areas. We define a model to represent the relationship between the socio-spatial structure of the urban space and the spatial distribution of pandemic cases. We draw on the theory of social area analysis and apply multivariate analysis techniques to check the results in the urban space of the city of Malaga (Spain). The proposed model should be considered capable of explaining the functioning of the relationships between societal structure, socio-spatial segregation, and the spread of the pandemic. In this paper, the study of the origins and consequences of COVID-19 from different scientific perspectives is considered a necessary approach to understanding this phenomenon. The personal and social consequences of the pandemic have been exceptional and have changed many aspects of social life in urban spaces, where it has also had a greater impact. We propose a geostatistical analysis model that can explain the functioning of the relationships between societal structure, socio-spatial segregation, and the temporal evolution of the pandemic. Rather than an aprioristic theory, this paper is a study by the authors to interpret the disparity in the spread of the pandemic as shown by the infection data.

It has been scientifically proven that climate change is a reality. In subarid Mediterranean limates, this fact is observed in the irregular distribution of rainfall, resulting in alternating periods of more or less prolonged drought with episodes of torrential rains concentrated in short periods of time. We have selected 11 natural areas in southern Spain, where we will observe these circumstances and where a series of ecosystems composed of vegetation covers of a high ecological value are found. We start from the question of whether these climatic circumstances are really deteriorating them. For this study, we propose a method that combines three analysis techniques: the design of the time series, the application of vegetation indices, and the use of techniques analysis of changes in land use. From the combination of these techniques in the period from 1997 to 2021, we have observed that there have been a dynamic of changes in land use that has maintained its original characteristics by more than 70%, so it is possible to affirm that the adaptation of ecosystems to climatic conditions has occurred satisfactorily. However, this general statement shows some particularities which are those that we will show in this work.