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Publications

Showing 81 – 100 of 4230 publications

El paisaje en el antiguo Egipto

Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis — 2025 — WHE88C0B6EBB4

A groundbreaking study redefines the role of landscape in ancient Egyptian funerary practices, revealing it as a dynamic force shaping cultural evolution rather than merely a backdrop. By integrating landscape archaeology with cognitive neuroscience—specifically through experimental neuro-archaeology using eye-tracking techniques—the research challenges outdated frameworks and demonstrates how external factors like topography and culture influence cognition. Case studies in Umm el-Qaab and Thebes uncover sacred sites linked to natural phenomena, introducing a novel conceptual framework that underscores the landscape's cultural agency. This approach offers a nuanced perspective on Egyptian studies, defying conventional interpretations and advancing our understanding of cultural development.

Elliptic Fourier Analysis of the two Threatened Aquilaria Lam.(Thymelaeaceae) and its Associated Flora in Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary (Mhrws), Davao Oriental, Philippines

Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary — 2025 — WHED6A9FB05E0

Research using Elliptic Fourier Analysis (EFA) demonstrates that leaf shape can effectively distinguish between two threatened Aquilaria species, offering a rapid identification tool for conservation efforts. The study, conducted at Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary in the Philippines, identified Shorea polysperma and Palaquium species as dominant keystone species, suggesting their role in forest dynamics. The sanctuary exhibits moderate floristic diversity, with indices of 2.98 (Barangay La Union) and 2.93 (Barangay Maputi). These findings highlight the need for protecting vulnerable, endangered, endemic, and indigenous species to combat illegal cutting and trade.

Enhancing the Visitor Experience with Immersive Technologies and Gaming: The Monserrate Use Case

Cultural Landscape of Sintra — 2025 — WHEA0C1A56982

Immersive technologies, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), significantly enhance visitor engagement at cultural heritage sites. A proposed AR/VR-based Web app for Monserrate Palace, a UNESCO-listed site in Sintra, Portugal, demonstrates this potential by offering interactive storytelling and immersive experiences that deepen the connection between visitors and historical narratives. The study explores how these technologies can address challenges in traditional tourism, such as limited visitor engagement, while addressing technical constraints and preservation concerns. Findings suggest that AR and VR not only enrich the visitor experience but also create memorable and enjoyable interactions with cultural heritage, making them valuable tools for modern audiences.

Enset Landraces: Conservation, Distribution, and Use in an Enset‐Based Agricultural System

The Gedeo Cultural Landscape — 2025 — WHE9CCE506C3E

Enset, a vital food security crop for over 25% of Ethiopia's population, supports diverse landraces adapted to varied ecological conditions, serving as food, animal feed, medicine, and fiber. A study across Hadiya, Gedeo, Gurage, Kembata Tembaro zones, and Basketo Special Woreda revealed moderate to high enset landrace diversity, with 274 vernacular names recorded but only 106 actively cultivated. Despite this, no significant differences in diversity were observed among sites. Food value was identified as the primary driver of landrace selection and abundance. The research employed in-depth interviews, surveys, group discussions, and field observations to analyze distribution and richness using Simpson’s diversity, Shannon–Wiener, and Margalef’s indices. The findings underscore the importance of maintaining landrace diversity and traditional knowledge for sustainable enset agriculture, resilience, and food security.

Environmental influence on the spatial abundance of tiger prey monitored using camera traps in Thap Lan and Pang Sida National Parks, Thailand

Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex — 2025 — WHE4B792538E4

A study in Thailand's Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex reveals critical environmental factors influencing the spatial abundance of five key tiger prey species: gaur, banteng, sambar deer, muntjac, and wild boar. Using advanced camera-trap data analysis models (REST and Royle-Nichols), researchers found that vegetation cover, proximity to human settlements, elevation, and salt licks significantly impact prey densities. Muntjac and wild boar consistently showed higher densities, with estimates ranging from 1.05 to 3.06 individuals per km² depending on the model used. These findings provide a novel framework for predicting animal density, offering crucial insights for conservation strategies aimed at sustaining tiger populations in this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Értékek és örökség Hollókőn

Old Village of Hollókő and its Surroundings — 2025 — WHE6F65F90E08

Hollókő's cultural heritage, encompassing both tangible and intangible elements, plays a pivotal role in the sustainable development of rural areas. While cultural tourism offers economic benefits by leveraging this heritage as a global attraction, its massification poses risks to the site's authenticity, condition, and value. The study reveals that the increasing tourist influx can degrade the heritage's integrity, disrupt local tranquility, and threaten long-term sustainability. Through surveys and interviews with key stakeholders, the research maps Hollókő's heritage history—its exploration, preservation, and tourism utilization—across different eras, reflecting societal processes. It also assesses the current state of the site, highlighting both its global visibility as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the challenges arising from its elevated status.

Ethiopia: Enhancing Landscape Connectivity Through Agroforests

The Gedeo Cultural Landscape — 2025 — WHE67009006BD

Agroforests in the Gedeo Cultural Landscape of Ethiopia serve as critical biodiversity havens and landscape connectors, mimicking natural forests to support sustainable agroforestry practices. These systems enhance on-farm conservation, environmental resilience, and livelihoods while acting as buffers against deforestation and fragmentation. They provide habitats for disturbance-sensitive species, conserve native tree gene pools, and facilitate ecological connectivity through corridors and stepping stones. Additionally, the diverse species composition in Gedeo agroforests significantly contributes to biomass and carbon storage, aiding climate change mitigation. Despite their ecological and socio-economic benefits, these agroforests face threats from land degradation, monoculture cash crops, climate change, market limitations, financial constraints, and insufficient technical knowledge.

Ethnotourism In The Bukhara Oasis: Opportunities, Achievements and Problems

Historic Centre of Bukhara — 2025 — WHEFD7088AA1D

Bukhara's ethnotourism potential is highlighted as a key driver for global tourism, leveraging its rich historical and ethnographic heritage. The study reveals that the oasis, centered around the Zarafshan River, offers unique cultural experiences through its multiethnic communities, architecture, and culinary traditions. By analyzing Bukhara's aesthetic preferences and worldview, the research demonstrates how ethnotourism destinations such as Shirin, Sheykhon, Qorgon, and Borontepa actively promote national customs and folk arts. Challenges to ethnotourism growth are also identified, along with recommendations for sustainable development. The study positions Bukhara as an outdoor ethnographic museum, crucial for the expansion of global travel.

Evaluating Digital Tool’s Integration for the Preservation of XX century Architectures

The work of engineer Eladio Dieste: Church of Atlántida — 2025 — WHE969E5AF3EF

A robust, multi-tool digital documentation approach enhances the preservation of twentieth-century architectural landmarks, as demonstrated by a case study on Eladio Dieste's UNESCO-listed Church of Atlántida. The research reveals that while SLAM-based methods show greater deviation, they remain valuable for initial surveys or confined spaces, whereas photogrammetry excels in capturing unreachable features, complementing laser scanning's precision. By integrating these tools and aligning their data sets with scalar fields to trace reliability, the study proposes a replicable workflow that improves data quality and supports sustainable conservation practices.

Evaluating flood and landslide hazards to cultural heritage sites in Historic Cairo

Historic Cairo — 2025 — WHE6809C07C96

Historic Cairo faces significant vulnerability to natural disasters such as flooding and landslides. A recent study reveals that 54.1% of the area is at very low to moderate risk for floods, while 12.4% is classified as very high hazard, impacting 21 heritage sites. Additionally, 16% of the area is in high-threat zones for landslides, affecting 13 cultural sites. When considering both hazards, at least 30 sites are in high-risk areas, including 9 in very high-risk zones, particularly in central and eastern Historic Cairo. The research employed remote sensing and GIS methods, prioritizing key factors using the Analytic Hierarchy Process to generate hazard maps. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted risk mitigation strategies to protect Historic Cairo's cultural heritage. The study provides a valuable GIS-based database and hazard maps for urban planners, policymakers, and stakeholders.

Examining the Mediating Effect of Destination Image Between Sensory Impression and Behavioral Intention: Empirical Evidence From China World Natural Heritage Sites

Mount Sanqingshan National Park — 2025 — WHECFDCFEB391

A significant mediating role of destination image between sensory impressions and behavioral intentions is identified, particularly highlighting the influence of visual, olfactory, auditory, and tactile stimuli on tourists' cognitive, affective, and conative images at Mount Sanqingshan National Park (MSNP). The study, grounded in Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theory, demonstrates that destination image positively impacts behavioral intention, especially through the conative component. Using data from 393 on-site questionnaires analyzed via Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), the research reveals how sensory impressions shape tourists' perceptions and subsequent behaviors, offering novel insights for branding World Natural Heritage Sites (WNHSs).

Execution of Repair Works on the Trogir –Čiovo Island Bridge

Historic City of Trogir — 2025 — WHEA77F0A140F

A comprehensive restoration of the Trogir–Čiovo Island Bridge, a UNESCO-listed movable bridge connecting Croatia's historic city of Trogir to Čiovo Island, was successfully executed. The 63-year-old structure, featuring steel and reinforced concrete elements with stone cladding, underwent systematic repairs divided into three key phases: restoration of the central steel arch span and expansion joints; rehabilitation of reinforced concrete components including roadway slabs, pedestrian walkways, arches, and caissons; and renewal of the stone facade. Conducted by Spegra in collaboration with Trogir's Conservation Department, the project ensured structural integrity while preserving aesthetic heritage. This case study highlights effective methodologies for restoring complex, mixed-material bridges in culturally significant coastal environments.

Exploring Local Attitudes Towards Sustainable Tourism Development and Community Resilience in Skadar Lake and Durmitor National Parks, Montenegro: A Socio-Demographic Analysis

Durmitor National Park — 2025 — WHE85F180262A

Residents of Durmitor National Park exhibit more pronounced perceptions of both positive and negative tourism impacts compared to those in Skadar Lake National Park, while the latter show greater enthusiasm for tourism promotion. Socio-demographic factors, particularly education and age, significantly shape these attitudes. The study used questionnaire data analyzed via regression analysis, ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlation, ensuring robust statistical validity. These findings highlight the need for tailored tourism development strategies that address local community needs and perceptions in both parks.

Exploring the Hidden Dimension in the Islamic Architecture: The Medina of Tunis as a Study Case

Medina of Tunis — 2025 — WHE4A0A1B293E

The Medina of Tunis embodies a hidden dimension where mythological, sacred, ritual, and legendary elements shape living spaces and practices. This study reveals how cosmogony, the imaginary, and hidden dimensions influence urban and architectural design, acting as mirrors reflecting worldviews. By focusing on auto-centric processes—where inhabitant practices and representation systems interact—the research uncovers an unsuspected facet of Islamic architecture's lived experiences. The approach combines field survey with analysis of symbolic and spatial relationships, offering a nuanced understanding of how these intangible forces structure urban landscapes.

Exploring the potentials of adaptive reuse of cisterns in historic cities: Case of Safranbolu

City of Safranbolu — 2025 — WHEE8ACFB7EF4

Adaptive reuse of historic cisterns could significantly enhance water efficiency in heritage cities, offering a sustainable solution to the growing demand for water resources. A study focusing on Safranbolu, known for its preserved architecture, found that local cisterns have the potential to manage and treat water consumed by buildings when combined with greywater reuse and limited rainwater collection. The research involved a field study of 11 cisterns and detailed water consumption data from 25 buildings, suggesting that such structures could play a supplementary role in sustainable water management. However, economic feasibility, technical capacity, and maintenance processes remain critical considerations for implementation.

Factores determinantes del flujo turístico en la Reserva de la Biosfera El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar.

El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve — 2025 — WHEBE00FAA030

Tourist flow to the El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve is primarily driven by global tourist GDP, health risks (such as COVID-19), inflation rates, and holiday periods. A multiple linear regression model, analyzing visitor data and socioeconomic variables from 2009–2021, revealed these key determinants. The findings provide actionable insights for tourism management, enabling more accurate future visitor projections and supporting sustainable conservation efforts in this UNESCO-listed protected area.

Fast-survey techniques for digital mapping and understanding the Ksar of Ait Ben Haddou

Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou — 2025 — WHE68B733CD9D

A groundbreaking approach demonstrates that rapid, non-invasive digital mapping techniques can effectively capture the complex morphology of vernacular heritage sites with metric reliability. By combining unmanned aerial systems (UAS) videogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), researchers achieved high-resolution 3D representations of the Ksar of Ait Ben Haddou in southern Morocco, prioritizing speed, portability, and minimal equipment without compromising accuracy. Comparative analyses revealed that UAS-based photogrammetric data, processed through Structure from Motion–Multi View Stereo (SfM-MVS) algorithms, closely matched TLS measurements, validating its potential for preliminary analysis and interpretative modeling. This methodology offers a scalable solution for documenting architectural form, construction logic, and typological variation, enhancing visual comprehension of complex heritage structures.

Field test of dehumidifiers for avoiding condensation in unheated historical wooden houses

Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland — 2025 — WHEC013D836F8

A field test of sorption dehumidifiers in the UNESCO World Heritage site 'Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland' successfully mitigated condensation risk, a threat to valuable wall paintings. The study found that dehumidifiers, programmed to limit indoor relative humidity (RH) to 80%, effectively prevented condensation across all rooms despite high air change rates (~0.8 ACH). While RH peaks occurred locally and temporarily due to transient wind or stack conditions, the overall effectiveness was demonstrated through climate logging and tracer gas measurements. The research provides practical guidance for dehumidifier installation in unheated historical wooden structures, balancing preservation needs with environmental control.

Floristic study of the Bromeliaceae in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, MA, Brazil

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park — 2025 — WHEC3AF14A588

A comprehensive floristic study of the Bromeliaceae family within Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil, identified four distinct species across three genera: Aechmea, Ananas, and Bromelia. This research contributes critical taxonomic data to the understanding of bromeliad diversity in the park's unique ecosystems, which include mangrove, cerrado, and restinga vegetation. Fieldwork conducted in Barreirinhas and Santo Amaro municipalities revealed species adapted to the park's sand dune landscapes, with detailed descriptions, identification keys, photographs, and ecological insights provided for each. The study highlights the importance of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park as a biodiversity hotspot, particularly for bromeliads, while emphasizing the need for further research on their geographic distribution and conservation status.

Fortified Dwellings Of A Forgotten Past: The Mystery of Korean Mounds

Gaya Tumuli — 2025 — WHED3958B9630

Korean mounds, traditionally classified as tombs, may serve a more complex purpose beyond burial sites. A new study challenges the conventional understanding by proposing that these megalithic structures could have functioned as fortified dwellings or repositories for preserving cultural knowledge and artifacts, akin to Egyptian pyramids or Chinese mounds. The research suggests that sealed wooden chambers, encased in layers of clay and earth, were designed not only to protect grave contents from robbers but also from environmental elements. If Korean mounds contain artifacts inconsistent with typical burial practices, this theory could gain further support. The study revisits ancient sites like the Gaya Tumuli, offering a fresh perspective on their role in safeguarding a lost civilization's heritage.