Persistent land-use legacies increase small-scale diversity and strengthen vegetation–soil relationships on an unmanaged heathland

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 15-24
Author(s):  
Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas ◽  
Kris Verheyen ◽  
An De Schrijver ◽  
Jonas Morsing ◽  
Inger Kappel Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Land Use Legacies

scholarly journals A Model-Based Tool for Assessing the Impact of Land Use Change Scenarios on Flood Risk in Small-Scale River Systems—Part 1: Pre-Processing of Scenario Based Flood Characteristics for the Current State of Land Use

Hydrology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 102
Author(s):  
Frauke Kachholz ◽  
Jens Tränckner
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Small Rivers ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Ungauged Catchments ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Impact

Land use changes influence the water balance and often increase surface runoff. The resulting impacts on river flow, water level, and flood should be identified beforehand in the phase of spatial planning. In two consecutive papers, we develop a model-based decision support system for quantifying the hydrological and stream hydraulic impacts of land use changes. Part 1 presents the semi-automatic set-up of physically based hydrological and hydraulic models on the basis of geodata analysis for the current state. Appropriate hydrological model parameters for ungauged catchments are derived by a transfer from a calibrated model. In the regarded lowland river basins, parameters of surface and groundwater inflow turned out to be particularly important. While the calibration delivers very good to good model results for flow (Evol =2.4%, R = 0.84, NSE = 0.84), the model performance is good to satisfactory (Evol = −9.6%, R = 0.88, NSE = 0.59) in a different river system parametrized with the transfer procedure. After transferring the concept to a larger area with various small rivers, the current state is analyzed by running simulations based on statistical rainfall scenarios. Results include watercourse section-specific capacities and excess volumes in case of flooding. The developed approach can relatively quickly generate physically reliable and spatially high-resolution results. Part 2 builds on the data generated in part 1 and presents the subsequent approach to assess hydrologic/hydrodynamic impacts of potential land use changes.

scholarly journals Using Participatory Spatial Tools to Unravel Community Perceptions of Land-Use Dynamics in a Mine-Expanding Landscape in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane J. Aggrey ◽  
Mirjam A. F. Ros-Tonen ◽  
Kwabena O. Asubonteng
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
Food Crop ◽  
Mosaic Landscape ◽  
Rural Landscapes ◽  
The Future

AbstractArtisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in sub-Saharan Africa creates considerable dynamics in rural landscapes. Many studies addressed the adverse effects of mining, but few studies use participatory spatial tools to assess the effects on land use. Hence, this paper takes an actor perspective to analyze how communities in a mixed farming-mining area in Ghana’s Eastern Region perceive the spatial dynamics of ASM and its effects on land for farming and food production from past (1986) to present (2018) and toward the future (2035). Participatory maps show how participants visualize the transformation of food-crop areas into small- and large-scale mining, tree crops, and settlement in all the communities between 1986 and 2018 and foresee these trends to continue in the future (2035). Participants also observe how a mosaic landscape shifts toward a segregated landscape, with simultaneous fragmentation of their farming land due to ASM. Further segregation is expected in the future, with attribution to the expansion of settlements being an unexpected outcome. Although participants expect adverse effects on the future availability of food-crop land, no firm conclusions can be drawn about the anticipated effect on food availability. The paper argues that, if responsibly applied and used to reveal community perspectives and concerns about landscape dynamics, participatory mapping can help raise awareness of the need for collective action and contribute to more inclusive landscape governance. These findings contribute to debates on the operationalization of integrated and inclusive landscape approaches and governance, particularly in areas with pervasive impacts of ASM.

Accumulation patterns of soil organic matter in forests as a legacy of historical charcoal burning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Schneider ◽  
Alexander Bonhage ◽  
Florian Hirsch ◽  
Alexandra Raab ◽  
Thomas Raab
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Legacy Effects ◽  
Charcoal Production ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Land Use Legacies

<p>Human land use and occupation often lead to a high heterogeneity of soil stratigraphy and properties in landscapes within small, clearly delimited areas. Legacy effects of past land use also are also abundant in recent forest areas. Although such land use legacies can occur on considerable fractions of the soil surface, they are hardly considered in soil mapping and inventories. The heterogenous spatial distribution of land use legacy soils challenges the quantification of their impacts on the landscape scale. Relict charcoal hearths (RCH) are a widespread example for the long-lasting effect of historical land use on soil landscapes in forests of many European countries and also northeastern USA. Soils on RCH clearly differ from surrounding forest soils in their stratigraphy and properties, and are most prominently characterized by a technogenic substrate layer with high contents of charcoal. The properties of RCH soils have recently been studied for several regions, but their relevance on the landscape scale has hardly been quantified.</p><p>We analyse and discuss the distribution and ecological relevance of land use legacy soils across scales for RCH in the state of Brandenburg, Germany, with a focus on soil organic matter (SOM) stocks. Our analysis is based on a large-scale mapping of RCH from digital elevation models (DEM), combined with modelled SOM stocks in RCH soils. The distribution of RCH soils in the study region shows heterogeneity at different scales. The large-scale variation is related to the concentration of charcoal production to specific forest areas and the small-scale accumulation pattern is related to the irregular distribution of single RCH within the charcoal production fields. Considerable fractions of the surface area are covered by RCH soils in the major charcoal production areas within the study region. The results also show that RCH can significantly contribute to the soil organic matter stocks of forests, even for areas where they cover only a small fraction of the soil surface. The study highlights that considering land use legacy effects can be relevant for the results of soil mapping and inventories; and that prospecting and mapping land use legacies from DEM can contribute to improving such approaches.</p>

How do land-use legacies affect ecosystem services in United States cultural landscapes?

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (11) ◽  
pp. 2205-2218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carly Ziter ◽  
Rose A. Graves ◽  
Monica G. Turner
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Land Use Legacies

scholarly journals Land-use legacies rather than climate change are driving the recent upward shift of the mountain tree line in the Pyrenees

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aitor Ameztegui ◽  
Lluís Coll ◽  
Lluís Brotons ◽  
Josep M. Ninot
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
Upward Shift ◽  
Land Use Legacies

Variation in small-scale spatial heterogeneity of soil properties and vegetation with different land use in semiarid grassland ecosystem

2008 ◽  
Vol 310 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 103-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiyong Zhou ◽  
Osbert Jianxin Sun ◽  
Zhongkui Luo ◽  
Hongmei Jin ◽  
Quansheng Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Spatial Heterogeneity ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Grassland Ecosystem ◽  
Semiarid Grassland

Land Use Legacies and the Future of Southern Appalachia

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ted L. Gragson ◽  
Paul V. Bolstad
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Southern Appalachia ◽  
The Future ◽  
Land Use Legacies

scholarly journals Divergencias y convergencias para asegurar la actividad agrícola en Ecuador: análisis de la parroquia Chuquiribamba (Loja) / Divergences and convergences to ensure agriculture in Ecuador: analysis of the Chuquiribamba Parrish (Loja)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verónica Iñiguez-Gallardo ◽  
Renato Serrano-Barbecho ◽  
Fabián René Reyes Bueno
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Agricultural Activity ◽  
Spatial Variables ◽  
The People ◽  
Family Economy ◽  
Southern Ecuador ◽  
Parcel Size

La regulación de uso del suelo es un continuo debate en el proceso de planificación territorial, sobre todo en Ecuador, donde la agricultura a pequeña escala es uno de los pilares de la economía familiar para un amplio porcentaje de habitantes del sector rural. Por esta razón, identificar las variables requeridas para mantener la actividad agrícola es una necesidad y obligación. El objetivo principal de este artículo es identificar las variables espaciales que inciden sobre la probabilidad de mantener la actividad agrícola, de acuerdo con las expectativas de la gente y las características del territorio. Para ello, se comparan datos de percepción de los pobladores sobre variables tales como superficie predial, distancia a carretera, a canales de riego y a mercados, con datos espaciales de estas mismas variables. El área de estudio es la Parroquia Chuquiribamba, perteneciente al cantón Loja, al sur del Ecuador, por ser una de las principales fuentes agrícolas del sector. Los resultados sugieren convergencias entre las percepciones de la gente y las variables espaciales necesarias para asegurar la actividad agrícola, así como divergencias respecto a la normativa que regula el tamaño mínimo predial.  Abstract Land-use regulation is an ongoing debate in the process of land-use planning. This is particularly true for a country such as Ecuador, where small-scale agriculture is one of the pillars of the family economy for a large percentage of inhabitants of the rural sector.  In this context, identifying the necessary variables for ensuring agricultural activities is a need and an obligation. The main objective of this article is to identify the spatial variables that affect the probability of maintaining agricultural activity, according to the expectations of the people and the characteristics of the territory. We compare data regarding the perceptions of the people of variables such as parcel size, road, irrigation and market proximity, with spatial data of the same variables. The area of study is the Chuquiribamba Parish, located in Canton Loja, in southern Ecuador. We selected it due to its agricultural importance in the Canton. The results suggest convergences between the perceptions of the people and the spatial variables necessary to safeguard agriculture, as well as divergences with the normative regulating the minimum parcel-size. 

scholarly journals Mapping land use capability in tropical conditions adapting criteria to different levels of agricultural management

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 631-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luís Renato Silva Taveira ◽  
Michele Duarte de Menezes ◽  
Anita Fernanda dos Santos Teixeira ◽  
Nilton Curi
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Minas Gerais ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Classification Systems ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Soil Map ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Tropical Conditions ◽  
Medium Level ◽  
Different Levels

ABSTRACT Land use capability is one of the most widespread technical-interpretative classification systems, however, regional adaptations may be necessary because different attributes may affect it. For these adaptations, the Minas Gerais soil map was used as the starting point for this study. The criteria to define the land use capability were adapted to management levels with small (level A) and medium (level B) application of capital and modern technology (level C). The aim of the present study was to map land use capability for Minas Gerais state, Brazil, following the criteria adapted to different levels of management and measure the accuracy of the resulting maps. The system of land use capability is widely used by INCRA in evaluations of rural properties. Erosion criterion was replaced by erodibility. The information was handled in a geographic information system. For validation, soil profiles from regional pedological surveys were sampled, classified, and its land use capability was compared to the land use capability shown on the map according to the different management levels. In spite of the small scale of the soil map, the maps of land use capability exhibited adequate accuracy: 73% (management level A), 71% (B), and 50% (C). Therefore, it can be applied in initial phases of regional planning studies, in which the level of details required is reduced (for example, in ecological-economic zoning). More detailed analyses still depend on detailed field surveys, as advocated by the system of land use capability.

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