Evaluation of Automated Object-Detection Algorithms for Koala Detection in Infrared Aerial Imagery.

Effective detection techniques are important for wildlife monitoring and conservation applications and are especially helpful for species that live in complex environments, such as arboreal animals like koalas (). The implementation of infrared cameras and drones has demonstrated encouraging outcomes, regardless of whether the detection was performed by human observers or automated algorithms. In the case of koala detection in eucalyptus plantations, there is a risk to spotters during forestry operations.

Wildfire, Environmental Risk and Deliberative Planning in the Locarnese Region of Switzerland.

A survey of residents in the Locarnese region of Canton Ticino, Switzerland was used to examine perceptions of exposure to environmental risk in the context of the deliberative Swiss planning system. There is a growing risk of wildfire in the region, and unless residents' risk perceptions are understood and effectively integrated into decision making, confidence in environmental planning processes could erode. The research analyses how peri-urban residents conceptualise risk, place and environment, and how they perceive their influence over local planning outcomes.

The Nature of Reality: Human Stress Recovery During Exposure to Biodiverse, Multisensory Virtual Environments.

Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) were used to test the effects of biodiversity on recovery from induced stress. Three natural environments and one urban environment were used to represent ordinal levels of biodiversity (none, low, moderate, and high). The four IVEs comprised visual, auditory, and olfactory stimuli.

For the Love of Nature: Exploring the Importance of Species Diversity and Micro-Variables Associated with Favorite Outdoor Places.

Although the restorative benefits of nature are widely acknowledged, there is a limited understanding of the attributes of natural environments that are fundamental to restorative experiences. Faced with growing human populations and a greater awareness of the wellbeing benefits natural environments provide, park agencies and planners are increasingly challenged with balancing human and ecological outcomes in natural areas. This study examines the physical and experiential qualities of natural environments people referred to when describing their connection to their most valued natural environments in an online questionnaire.