Fostering Research into Coupled Long-Term Dynamics of Climate, Land Use, Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services in the Central French Alps

Investments to promote sustainable land-use within critical river catchment areas are often undertaken to provide benefits to society. Investments generally aim to protect or restore ecological infrastructure—the underlying framework of ecosystems, functions and processes that supply ecosystem services—for multiple benefits to society. However, the empirical evidence base from studies across the world on both mechanisms and outcomes to support these assumptions is limited. We collate evidence on the benefits of ecological infrastructure interventions, in terms of ecosystem services provided to society, from three major South African water-providing catchments using a novel framework. In these catchments, millions of US Dollars' worth of investments have been made into ecological infrastructure since 1996. We ask the question: is there evidence that ecological infrastructure interventions are delivering the proposed benefits? Results show that even in catchments with substantial, long-term financial investment into ecological infrastructure, research has not empirically confirmed the benefits. Better baseline data collection is required, and monitoring during and after ecological infrastructure interventions, to quantify benefits to society. This evidence is needed to leverage investment into ecological infrastructure interventions at scale. Investment at scale is needed to transition to more sustainable land-use to unlock greater benefits to nature and people.

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Over 150 Years of Change: Object-Oriented Analysis of Historical Land Cover in the Main River Catchment, Bavaria/Germany

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12244048 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (24) ◽

pp. 4048

Author(s):

Yrneh Ulloa-Torrealba ◽

Reinhold Stahlmann ◽

Martin Wegmann ◽

Thomas Koellner

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Land Cover ◽

Land Cover Change ◽

Historical Maps ◽

River Catchment ◽

Main River ◽

Object Based

The monitoring of land cover and land use change is critical for assessing the provision of ecosystem services. One of the sources for long-term land cover change quantification is through the classification of historical and/or current maps. Little research has been done on historical maps using Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA). This study applied an object-based classification using eCognition tool for analyzing the land cover based on historical maps in the Main river catchment, Upper Franconia, Germany. This allowed land use change analysis between the 1850s and 2015, a time span which covers the phase of industrialization of landscapes in central Europe. The results show a strong increase in urban area by 2600%, a severe loss of cropland (−24%), a moderate reduction in meadows (−4%), and a small gain in forests (+4%). The method proved useful for the application on historical maps due to the ability of the software to create semantic objects. The confusion matrix shows an overall accuracy of 82% for the automatic classification compared to manual reclassification considering all 17 sample tiles. The minimum overall accuracy was 65% for historical maps of poor quality and the maximum was 91% for very high-quality ones. Although accuracy is between high and moderate, coarse land cover patterns in the past and trends in land cover change can be analyzed. We conclude that such long-term analysis of land cover is a prerequisite for quantifying long-term changes in ecosystem services.

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Long-term effects of climate and land-use change on larch budmoth outbreaks in the French Alps

Climate Research ◽

10.3354/cr01251 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 62 (1) ◽

pp. 1-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

G Battipaglia ◽

U Büntgen ◽

SPJ McCloskey ◽

O Blarquez ◽

N Denis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

French Alps

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Disentangling effects of climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services – a multi-scale experimental design

10.1101/2021.03.05.434036 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Redlich ◽

Jie Zhang ◽

Caryl Benjamin ◽

Maninder Singh Dhillon ◽

Jana Englmeier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Environmental Gradients ◽

Arable Land ◽

Potential Range ◽

Mean Annual Temperature ◽

List Type ◽

Multi Scale ◽

Land Use Types

SummaryClimate and land-use change are key drivers of environmental degradation in the Anthropocene, but too little is known about their interactive effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Long-term data on biodiversity trends are currently lacking. Furthermore, previous ecological studies have rarely considered climate and land use in a joint design, did not achieve variable independence or lost statistical power by not covering the full range of environmental gradients.Here, we introduce a multi-scale space-for-time study design to disentangle effects of climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The site selection approach coupled extensive GIS-based exploration and correlation heatmaps with a crossed and nested design covering regional, landscape and local scales. Its implementation in Bavaria (Germany) resulted in a set of study plots that maximizes the potential range and independence of environmental variables at different spatial scales.Stratifying the state of Bavaria into five climate zones and three prevailing land-use types, i.e. near-natural, agriculture and urban, resulted in 60 study regions covering a mean annual temperature gradient of 5.6–9.8 °C and a spatial extent of 380×360 km. Within these regions, we nested 180 study plots located in contrasting local land-use types, i.e. forests, grasslands, arable land or settlement (local climate gradient 4.5–10 °C). This approach achieved low correlations between climate and land-use (proportional cover) at the regional and landscape scale with |r ≤0.33| and |r ≤0.29|, respectively. Furthermore, using correlation heatmaps for local plot selection reduced potentially confounding relationships between landscape composition and configuration for plots located in forests, arable land and settlements.The suggested design expands upon previous research in covering a significant range of environmental gradients and including a diversity of dominant land-use types at different scales within different climatic contexts. It allows independent assessment of the relative contribution of multi-scale climate and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Understanding potential interdependencies among global change drivers is essential to develop effective restoration and mitigation strategies against biodiversity decline, especially in expectation of future climatic changes. Importantly, this study also provides a baseline for long-term ecological monitoring programs.

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Long-term land use change analysis in south-central Angola. Assessing the trade-off between major ecosystem services with remote sensing data

Biodiversity & Ecology ◽

10.7809/b-e.00346 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 360-367 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Anne Schneibel ◽

Achim Röder ◽

Marion Stellmes ◽

David Frantz

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Remote Sensing Data ◽

Change Analysis ◽

Trade Off ◽

Sensing Data ◽

South Central

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Ecosystem Services for Environmental Sustainability

10.4018/978-1-7998-8482-8.ch002 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 12-30

Author(s):

Bhavya Kavitha Dwarapureddi ◽

Swathi Dash ◽

Saritha Vara

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Land Degradation ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Anthropogenic Activities ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

Chief Factors ◽

Gathering Data

Many of the most valuable contributions of ecosystems to human wellbeing are ecosystem services and are generally underrepresented in assessments. Indirect and direct factors including biophysical dynamics like soil properties, changing climatic conditions, plant functional structures, and anthropogenic activities like changes in land use and land degradation reduce ecosystem services. It is challenging and important to identify these factors and also to estimate their relative contributions to the degradation of ecosystem services. The chapter is an attempt to identify all these important factors and also suggest ways to enhance ecosystem services. Furthermore, incorporation of local knowledge would enable quantifying ecosystem services at a greater spatial resolution and also help in identifying chief factors influencing ecosystem service delivery. Furthermore, a long-term program needs to be established for gathering data towards streamlining ecosystem services wherein involvement of stakeholders is necessary for designing payments for these programs.

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OMERE: A Long-Term Observatory of Soil and Water Resources, in Interaction with Agricultural and Land Management in Mediterranean Hilly Catchments

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13665 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jérôme Molénat ◽

Damien Raclot ◽

Rim Zitouna ◽

Jean Albergel ◽

Marc Voltz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Water Resources ◽

Land Management ◽

Observation Strategy ◽

Mass Flows ◽

The Mediterranean ◽

The Impact ◽

Soil And Water

The hydrology of the Mediterranean region is affected by global changes such as climate and land use changes. In rural areas, changes in farming practices and landscape management can be the main drivers of changes in water cycles and in matter transport associated with hydrological fluxes, such as contaminants and sediments. The process underlying these changes can be slow, such as in land use or contaminant dynamics, or infrequent over time, such as erosion. Understanding these processes and their relationship requires long-term observations to capture slow dynamics or infrequent events. In this context, we present the Mediterranean agro-hydrological observatory OMERE (Mediterranean observatory of the rural environment and water) by explaining the observation strategy and by emphasizing how this strategy and associated research have contributed to a better understanding of the impact of agricultural and land management on mass flows in Mediterranean farmed headwater catchments. The OMERE observatory is made up of two agricultural catchments, one in the north of Tunisia and the other in the south of France, accounting for for the diversity of agricultural and ecosystem situations in hilly Mediterranean areas. The OMERE observatory belongs to the French national network OZCAR, dedicated to the observation of the critical zone. The observation strategy is motivated by monitoring the flow of water, sediments and contaminants and hydrological and climatic variables at different spatial scales from cultivated plots and landscape elements to the catchment scale. These measurements were made with fine temporal resolution on a long-term scale and examining land use, agricultural practices and soil surface characteristics. The long-term observation strategy aims to support multidisciplinary integrative research to elucidate the conditions that improve soil and water management and the provision of ecosystem services in the Mediterranean context of rain-fed agriculture. The observatory addressed three scientific questions: (i) better understand water flows, erosion and contaminants, in particular pesticides, and their natural and anthropogenic factors in the short and long term; (ii) analyze the overall effects of agriculture and land management on mass flows at different scales, from the plot to the watershed or the landscape; and (iii) develop new scenarios for sustainable agricultural management and better delivery of ecosystem services. Some of the scientific progresses driven by the questions drawn from the OMERE observatory are presented.Voltz, M., and A. Albergel. 2002. OMERE: Observatoire M&#233;diterran&#233;en de l&#8217;Environnement Rural et de l&#8217;Eau- Impact des actions anthropiques sur les transferts de masse dans les hydrosyst&#232;mes m&#233;diterran&#233;ens ruraux. Proposition d&#8217;Observatoire de Recherche en Environnement. Minist. Fran&#231;ais Rech., ParisMol&#233;nat, J., Raclot, D., Zitouna R., ...., Albergel, J., and Voltz M., 2018, OMERE: A Long-Term Observatory of Soil and Water Resources, in Interaction with Agricultural and Land Management in Mediterranean Hilly Catchments, Vadose Zone J., 17:180086. doi:10.2136/vzj2018.04.0086

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Central Otago - Built on gold, growing on grass.

Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association ◽

10.33584/jnzg.2014.76.2950 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 76 ◽

pp. 15-23

Author(s):

Barrie J. Wills

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Land Use ◽

National Economy ◽

Local Community ◽

Central Government ◽

Future Generations ◽

Economic Potential ◽

District Council ◽

Definition Of

A warm welcome to our "World of Difference" to all delegates attending this conference - we hope your stay is enjoyable and that you will leave Central Otago with an enhanced appreciation of the diversity of land use and the resilient and growing economic potential that this region has to offer. Without regional wellbeing the national economy will struggle to grow, something Central Government finally seems to be realising, and the Central Otago District Council Long Term Plan 2012-2022 (LTP) signals the importance of establishing a productive economy for the local community which will aid in the economic growth of the district and seeks to create a thriving economy that will be attractive to business and residents alike. Two key principles that underpin the LTP are sustainability and affordability, with the definition of sustainability being "… development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

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Interrelationships between municipal spatial policy strategy and airport operation and development. Lodz Airport case study

Urban Development Issues ◽

10.2478/udi-2018-0029 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 59 (1) ◽

pp. 65-79

Author(s):

Katarzyna Nikorowicz-Zatorska

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Urban Planning ◽

Cultural Development ◽

The Other ◽

Local Authorities ◽

Spatial Management ◽

The One ◽

Surrounding Areas

Abstract The present paper focuses on spatial management regulations in order to carry out investment in the field of airport facilities. The construction, upgrades, and maintenance of airports falls within the area of responsibility of local authorities. This task poses a great challenge in terms of organisation and finances. On the one hand, an active airport is a municipal landmark and drives local economic, social and cultural development, and on the other, the scale of investment often exceeds the capabilities of local authorities. The immediate environment of the airport determines its final use and prosperity. The objective of the paper is to review legislation that affects airports and the surrounding communities. The process of urban planning in Lodz and surrounding areas will be presented as a background to the problem of land use management in the vicinity of the airport. This paper seeks to address the following questions: if and how airports have affected urban planning in Lodz, does the land use around the airport prevent the development of Lodz Airport, and how has the situation changed over the time? It can be assumed that as a result of lack of experience, land resources and size of investments on one hand and legislative dissonance and peculiar practices on the other, aviation infrastructure in Lodz is designed to meet temporary needs and is characterised by achieving short-term goals. Cyclical problems are solved in an intermittent manner and involve all the municipal resources, so there’s little left to secure long-term investments.

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