Thomas Panagopoulos

• PHD
• Professor at University of Algarve

In recent decades, the issues of ecology and environmental sustainability have become a global concern in contemporary urban design. Among various urban elements, water features play a significant role in improving the ecological characteristics of their surrounding environment, especially in hot and arid areas. The aim of this study is to evaluate...

Amenity trees contribute to the overall quality of urban environments and are valued for their beauty and the benefits they bring to communities. However, the assessment of this capital commonly concludes with considerations of its vitality and decorativeness. Thus, this research provided a monetary assessment of losses caused by the supercell stor...

Recent trail development has been motivated by sustainable tourism destination principles, suggesting a paradigm incorporating an eco-cultural trail concept. As with conventional trails, eco-cultural trail destination governance necessitates coordinated development and management of all landscape elements, emphasizing and protecting cultural and na...

Understanding long-term changes in topography and topsoil grain composition is crucial for the management of agricultural landscapes, especially in areas prone to wind erosion. This study investigates long-term changes in topography and topsoil grain composition within an agricultural landscape in south-western Slovakia. To analyse topographic chan...

The Algarve region, which socio-economy is mostly based on Sun and Sea tourism, may experience a decline due to the loss of beach area as a tourist resource because of sea level rise. As such, an adaptation pathway to enhance the regional resilience of Mediterranean regions such as the Algarve is necessary in a changing climate. Thereby, knowing th...

Public policies implemented by the Brazilian government for the promotion of urban agriculture were examined. Urban agriculture contributes to combatting problems related to food security and environmental issues in cities. In Brazil, the Ministry of Social Development initiated the elaboration of a policy to support urban agriculture, having liste...

Green infrastructure provides ecosystem services (ESs) and disservices (EDSs), although EDSs are understudied. By considering both, this study contributes to the literature. The inhabitants’ perception of the importance of ESs/EDSs is assessed through a survey in two Portuguese cities facing extreme climatic events. “Heat reduction” and “contact wi...

This paper discusses weather factors that may affect the level of visitation at recreational walking trails and provides insights into how specific factors (wind, rain etc.) can influence visitation. The quantity of visitors received affects trail management strategies, as there are often damaging effects attributed to the excessive visitation of n...

NBS provides the technical basis for adaptation to climate change, and co-creation is the vehicle for the co-production of knowledge and innovation, both forming a strong binomial for the UE Green Infrastructures Strategy. Nonetheless, one of the main challenges for the implementation of effective co-creation strategies is the incorporation of know...

The prospect of many species or unique landscapes disappearing from the planet has resulted in the mobilization of humanity to take measures against this catastrophic course. Thus, efforts are currently being made to organize action worldwide to preserve biodiversity and protect natural ecosystems. The institutionalization of Protected Areas aiming...

Green infrastructure in cities is increasingly acknowledged as a way to contribute to tackling the challenges posed by climate change. However, studies analyzing urban inhabitants' attitudes towards green infrastructure when dealing with climate change effects are still scarce. Using as case studies two Portuguese cities of different sizes and soci...

One of the most recent and pressing issues for policymakers to address is the presence of wild boars in urban and rural areas. Their aggressive spread and invasion of human-populated areas have created an alarming problem as the coexistence of wild boars and people poses serious threats to human life and property. Human-caused factors, such as resi...

The relationship between agricultural knowledge and water management is very important. Indigenous knowledge in agriculture can improve the water crisis situation and alleviate water stress from dry and semi-arid areas. Therefore, the combination of these two impacts can improve the agricultural sector and reduce the effects of drought. The purpose...

The most common forms of active transportation are walking and cycling. Many cities of the world have given substantial emphasis to the promotion of active travel with a series of reports from government and other bodies making walking or cycling for short journeys more popular among people. The purpose of the study was to investigate the perceptio...

The development of recreational trails has gained popularity in recent years and therefore many scholars have studied various aspects of them. However, the recreational trail theoretical framework lacks an understanding of the relationship between the stage of trail development and income multiplier value. This research aims to examine this relatio...

Mediterranean destinations are mostly based on sun and beach tourism through the qualification of its coastal assets, which establishes a framework of low diversification of their regional socioeconomy that will encounter climate change as a challenge that could constitute a potential threat of disruptive impact to these regions, specially, when lo...

The design and sustainable development of tourist destinations in sensitive environments must follow an environmentally conscious approach that meets the resource and service needs of present and future generations without compromising the health of the ecosystems that provide them. The aim of this paper is to develop an eco-conscious design framew...

This work presents a new deep learning architecture, SpectraNet–53, for quantitative analysis of fruit spectra, optimized for predicting Soluble Solids Content (SSC, in °Brix). The novelty of this approach resides in being an architecture trainable on a very small dataset, while keeping a performance level on-par or above Partial Least Squares (PLS...

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Climate change is affecting cities worldwide. Accordingly, cities are required to find sustainable solutions to tackle climate change’s effects, designing bottom-up policies to enhance their success. The involvement of stakeholders plays a central role in the definition of appropriate policies to tackle the challenges posed to cities by climate cha...

Recreational trails are a type of nature-based tourism providing various activities such as hiking, biking, rafting or horseback riding. Increasing investment in infrastructure and touristic services development has resulted in higher visitor expenditure and thus contributed to economic development. This study aims to review the current economic im...

The aim of this study was the non-destructive assessment of 'Ortanique' (Citrus reticulata Blanco x Citrus sinensis (L) Osbeck) ripening, based on the prediction of internal quality attributes (IQA) by shortwave near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (SW-NIRS) calibration models. Spectra from fruit of 50 trees located in two different orchards, wer...

Recreational trails represent corridors of benefits to human health and well-being, learning and education through an understanding of other cultures or countries, raising environmental awareness, local economic development, limiting the dispersion of the visitors, linking key attractions of a given area or diversifying tourism markets. However, tr...

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 s...

The phenomenological expression showing crop yield to be directly dependent on water deficiency, under saline conditions, has encouraged a continued focus on salinity as a viable approach to increase crop yields. This work reassesses crop response to availability of saline soil water ASW in two stages (A) Develop a simple approach suggesting that p...

This presentation describes the applications of visible-near infrared spectroscopy, developed at CEOT, with the aim of monitoring various internal fruit quality parameters and making early detection of diseases in trees. Some of the more representative investigations are described briefly in this poster: 1. Early detection of mealybug infestation o...

A simple empirical approach is proposed for the determination of crop relative yield (%) through the soil total water potential (kPa). Recurring to decimal logarithms, from analytical exponential expressions, a linear simple relationship of soil total water potential Ψt (matric Ψm + potential Ψo) function and crop relative yield was studied and dev...

Recently the demand for recreational trail network has increased rapidly, forming the trail-related recreation as one of the most popular outdoor activities. Trail-related recreation became popular in the region of Algarve due to environmental richness, which is reflected in its great diversity of landscapes. However, unmanaged recreational trails...

Gully erosion susceptibility mapping is an essential land management tool to reduce soil erosion damages. This study investigates gully susceptibility based on multiple diagnostic analysis, support vector machine and random forest algorithms, and also a combination of these models, namely the ensemble model. Thus, a gully susceptibility map in the...

Rising demand for access to trail networks has encouraged local governments to invest in trail development. This study is the first attempt to estimate the local income multiplier effect of recreational trail tourism, applying an Ad hoc model. The most popular recreational trail in the Algarve region of Portugal was used as a study case to verify t...

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 imp...

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 na...

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 ac...

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 s...

O projeto BIODES (Melhorar a vida no espaço urbano em um ambiente em mudança através do desenho biofílico) financiado pela FCT na área científica da Geografia (Gestão ambiental e urbanismo), tem como objetivo demonstrar soluções baseadas na natureza e através de casos de estudo e monitorizar melhorias na vida urbana quando aplicamos o desenho biofí...

Nas duas cidades temos o envolvimento do cidadão deste o início do projeto com participação ativa e com entrevistas aos atores principais. Nas demonstrações do desenho biofílico contamos com a participação das próprias crianças que serrão os beneficiários diretos, os seus professores, os pais, a autoridade local e a academia.

“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...

Planners and designers are often interested in the criteria, values, and principles employed to create an intervention. In our study, we were interested in respondents’ guiding beliefs and principles associated with post-industrial land reclamation. Experts have proposed heuristically, dimensions and sets of guiding planning and design beliefs asso...

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...

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 s...

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 analys...

The Algarve region, south of Portugal, is a case study of Mediterranean tourism, and its recreational offer is essentially based on the promotion of sun and beach product and on the qualification of its coastal assets, establishing a framework of weak tourism differentiation which, conjugated with the climate change impacts, poses a threat to the r...

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 choi...

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...

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 o...

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 shou...

This research aims to enhance knowledge regarding the role of UGI in urban tourism and recreation. The research questions addressed tourists’ perceptions of UGI, their understanding and uses of UGI, and the ways that this understanding influences their travel choice to specific urban destinations. A cross-cultural comparative study among urban tour...

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 concer...

https://www.anuala.ro/proiecte/2019/224/ Anuala de Arhitectura București » Proiecte » Ediția 2019 » Cercetare prin arhitectură / Carte de arhitectură: Impactul hazardurilor naturale și antropice asupra ariilor urbane Autori: arh. Maria Bostenaru Dan, ing. geol. Mirela Adriana Anghelache, ing. constr. Andreea Duțu, geogr. Diana Alexandra Gheorghe (P...

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 c...

Portugal and Spain share one of the greatest Europeans borderline areas. This fact has direct impacts on a large territory and consequently on the communities' living on it. Still, even if the border areas represent an important fraction of the territory, planning policies have not achieved to implement specific cooperation programs that could enab...

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 Sou...

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...

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 a...

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...

Frugality is a core notion of sustainability, and responsible resource management should be prioritized in urban planning and landscape architecture. Low-budget strategies as a deliberate means of creating valuable, attractive, well-used, sociable public spaces are recognized by some influential designers using the “Light, cheap, quick” methodology...

The aim of this research was to test the viability of short wave near infrared spectroscopy (SW-NIRS) for the monitoring of fruit quality and ripening evolution in Algarve Citrus orchards (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck ‘Newhall’). Specifically, we have investigated the robustness of SW-NIRS calibration models in real conditions, that is: i) measurement...

Creating liveable cities is a policy priority, especially for cities that are experiencing population loss. A decline in the number of inhabitants is commonly associated with low levels of residential satisfaction. However, such a supposition does not often find empirical support in shrinking cities. In the present study, we identify variables that...

Cycling as a mode of transport is a low-cost, health-improving way to travel and offers environmental benefits for the cities that promote it. It is only recently, though, with concerns over climate change, pollution, congestion, and obesity among others, that have cities throughout the world have begun to implement policies to promote cycling. In...

Studies about the subject of cultivated land confirmed that it is the part of urban informal open space and the specific land using form in the city's natural area. It has ecological, cultural, social and socio-economic value and help to achieve more sustainable urban forms. The European practice shows that the functions of allotments are changing...

Between 1981 and 2001 health competencies in Spain passed from the Central Government to the Autonomous Communities (AC). Those issues conducted to a not heterogeneous health services in continental Spain. This is undoubtedly aggravated high-tech health equipment provision, as in the case of hemodynamics rooms that perform primary balloon percutane...

Alexandroupolis and Kavala are the only coastal cities of the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace region, in northern Greece. The present study examines residents evaluation of the marine and coastal sectors to the perspectives of development and quality of life in these cities. The main aquatic and terrestrial sea pollution factors were evaluated and the...

In the Municipality of Paggaio near to Kavala city, the main sectors of development in the region constitute agriculture and stock breeding. There are also 8 active quarries extracting white marble and slate. The quarrying industries take place in the region related only to a small part of the population. Nevertheless residents of the nearby villag...

Predicting soil erosion potential is important in watershed management. A rapidly growing Iranian population and climate change are expected to influence land use and soil sustainability. In recent years, northern Iran has experienced significant land use changes due to internal migration along the Caspian coast and conversion of forests and rangel...

This volume addresses new innovations in quality of life and well-being from the perspectives of the individual, society and community. It aggregates the perspectives, research questions, methods and results that consider how quality of life is influenced in our modern society. Chapters in this volume present theoretical and practical examples on d...

The number of cities experiencing population decline has been increasing worldwide. Despite the existence of theoretical propositions of shrinkage as an opportunity to increase levels of residential satisfaction, the issue has not been addressed empirically. This paper contributes to fill this gap by assessing, through survey, the residential satis...

Despite the worldwide trend of urbanisation, data reveal that some cities are growing whereas others are losing inhabitants. To assess such dynamics in Portuguese cities, demographic, employment, housing, and climate variables were analysed as possible drivers of population change for the period 1991–2011. Panel data models show that higher shares...

Urban forests (UF) and green infrastructure (GI) – including trees that are not only in woodlands, but also on streets, along streams, in parks, and on roofs – provide important ecosystem services for urban and peri-urban populations. By allowing for urban living in pleasant and healthy surroundings, breaking up the paved and impermeable built envi...

The main goal of this work was to verify the historic data of historic artificial water reservoir Ottergrund, Banská Štiavnica district, which is inscribed in the UNESCO world heritage list. Main focus was set to area-storage capacity curve. There is historic map with the display of reservoir bottom contours and area-storage capacity curve in a pap...

Abstract: The study and academic training of citizens in issues of forest and protected areas shapes the environmentally friendly attitudes to graduates. Attitudes include public beliefs and assessments of ecosystem management activities. In education it is necessary to redefine our values and ethical norms and obligations towards man and the natur...

Samora-Arvela, A., Ferrão, J., Ferreira, J., Panagopoulos, T., Vaz, E. (2017). Green Infrastructure, Climate change and Spatial Planning: Learning lessons across borders. Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics. Vol. V, Issue 3, pp. 176-188. ISSN: 2183-1912. Disponível em: http://www.cieo.pt/journal/2017/JSD_3_2017.pdf

Samora-Arvela, A., Ferrão, J. Ferreira, J., Oliveira, R., Panagopoulos, T., Vaz, E. (2016). Infraestrutura verde e alterações climáticas: um contributo para a mitigação e adaptação do território às alterações climáticas. In García Marín, R.; Alonso Sarría, F.; Belmonte Serrato, F.; Moreno Muñoz, D. (Eds.) XV Coloquio Ibérico de Geografía. Retos y t...

Calcium (Ca²⁺) and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) appear to have opposite effects on the development of bitter pit. However, both post-harvest treatments seem capable of influencing fruit ripening, reducing superficial scald and improving post-storage quality. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of calcium chloride and 1-MCP alon...

Urban national forest parks provide nature preservation and recreational opportunities for socio-economically disadvantaged communities as well as tourists. We empirically examine the preferences and satisfaction of visitors in the Athalassa National Forest Park, which is located in a peri-urban area in the capital city of Cyprus. This study examin...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate residents’ perceptions, preferences and satisfaction concerning the urban green infrastructure of Kalamaria, Greece, to evaluate the importance of urban parks for residents’ well-being and to suggest management improvements. Design/methodology/approach – Following a random sampling method, 385...

Green Infrastructure (GI) and Urban Forests (UF) provide important ecosystem services for urban and peri-urban populations. However, particular sections of society such as the income deprived, the disabled and ethnic minority groups may not have the same opportunities and access to GI and UF that more affluent sections of society enjoy. They may al...

The present and future climate change will lead to impacts on tourism, which will change the human thermal comfort and tourist seasonality, decrease landscape aesthetic quality to be expressed by continuous reduction of beach area, changes in vegetation and animal biogeographical distribution and loss of biodiversity, among others. opportunities, a...

The attractiveness of cities as places to live determines population movements into or out of them. Understanding the appealing features is fundamental to local governments, particularly for cities facing population decline. Pull and push attributes can include economic aspects, the availability of amenities and psychological constructs, initiating...

Cities develop according to different patterns, undergoing population growth during some periods and decline (shrinkage) during others. Theories attempting to understand these behaviours include: 1) shrinkage is a natural process in the life cycle of a city, alternating with periods of growth, or 2) shrinkage is an extreme event that places cities...

The aim of INSPIRATION is to establish and promote the adoption of a strategic research agenda for land use, land-use changes and soil management in the light of current and future societal challenges. Main objectives are:  Formulate, consult on and revise an end-user oriented strategic research agenda (SRA);  Scope out models for implementing th...