Africa's protected areas are brightening at night: A long-term light pollution monitor based on nighttime light imagery

2021 ◽  
Vol 69 ◽  
pp. 102318
Author(s):  
Zihao Zheng ◽  
Zhifeng Wu ◽  
Yingbiao Chen ◽  
Guanhua Guo ◽  
Zheng Cao ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 681
Author(s):  
Jiayi Li ◽  
Yongming Xu ◽  
Weiping Cui ◽  
Meng Ji ◽  
Boyang Su ◽  
...  

In recent years, the number of artificial light sources has tremendously increased with the development of lighting technology and the economy. Nighttime light pollution has been an increasing environmental problem, resulting in negative impacts on human health and the ecological environment. Detailed knowledge of light pollution is important for the planning and management of urban lighting. In this study, light pollution in Nanjing, China was monitored and analyzed using field observations and a 130-m resolution Luojia 1-01 nighttime light imagery. Combined with in situ observations and satellite imagery, a variety of empirical models were established for estimating ambient illuminance at night. Cross-validation was employed to assess the performance of these models, indicating that the third-degree polynomials model had the best performance (MAE = 5.06 lx, R2 = 0.81). The developed third-degree polynomial model was then applied to the Luojia 1-01 image to map the nighttime illuminance in Nanjing. The nighttime illuminance depicted the spatial pattern of the light environment over Nanjing and also indicated some heavily light-polluted areas. Some lit areas were residential areas, whose high brightness had negative effects on residents and need particular attention. This study provides a quantitative and objective reference for the light pollution management in Nanjing, and also a reference for light pollution survey in other regions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Jiang ◽  
Guojin He ◽  
Wanchun Leng ◽  
Tengfei Long ◽  
Guizhou Wang ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Jiang ◽  
Guojin He ◽  
Tengfei Long ◽  
Chen Wang ◽  
Yuan Ni ◽  
...  

Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 2900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Jiang ◽  
Guojin He ◽  
Tengfei Long ◽  
Hongxiang Guo ◽  
Ranyu Yin ◽  
...  

The successful launch of Luojia 1-01 complements the existing nighttime light data with a high spatial resolution of 130 m. This paper is the first study to assess the potential of using Luojia 1-01 nighttime light imagery for investigating artificial light pollution. Eight Luojia 1-01 images were selected to conduct geometric correction. Then, the ability of Luojia 1-01 to detect artificial light pollution was assessed from three aspects, including the comparison between Luojia 1-01 and the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP-VIIRS), the source of artificial light pollution and the patterns of urban light pollution. Moreover, the advantages and limitations of Luojia 1-01 were discussed. The results showed the following: (1) Luojia 1-01 can detect a higher dynamic range and capture the finer spatial details of artificial nighttime light. (2) The averages of the artificial light brightness were different between various land use types. The brightness of the artificial light pollution of airports, streets, and commercial services is high, while dark areas include farmland and rivers. (3) The light pollution patterns of four cities decreased away from the urban core and the total light pollution is highly related to the economic development. Our findings confirm that Luojia 1-01 can be effectively used to investigate artificial light pollution. Some limitations of Luojia 1-01, including its spectral range, radiometric calibration and the effects of clouds and moonlight, should be researched in future studies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 65-72
Author(s):  
V. N. Shmagol' ◽  
V. L. Yarysh ◽  
S. P. Ivanov ◽  
V. I. Maltsev

<p>The long-term population dynamics of the red deer (<em>Cervus elaphus</em> L.) and European roe deer (<em>Capreolus</em> <em>capreolus</em> L.) at the mountain and forest zone of Crimea during 1980-2017 is presented. Fluctuations in numbers of both species are cyclical and partly synchronous. Period of oscillations in the population of red deer is about 25 years, the average duration of the oscillation period of number of roe deer is 12.3 years. During the fluctuations in the number the increasing and fall in population number of the red deer had been as 26-47 %, and roe deer – as 22-34 %. Basing on the dada obtained we have assumed that together with large-scale cycles of fluctuations in population number of both red deer and roe deer the short cycles of fluctuations in the number of these species with period from 3.5 to 7.5 years take place. Significant differences of the parameters of cyclical fluctuations in the number of roe deer at some sites of the Mountainous Crimea: breaches of synchronicity, as well as significant differences in the duration of cycles are revealed. The greatest deviations from the average values of parameters of long-term dynamics of the number of roe deer in Crimea are noted for groups of this species at two protected areas. At the Crimean Nature Reserve the cycle time of fluctuations of the numbers of roe deer was 18 years. At the Karadag Nature Reserve since 1976 we can see an exponential growth in number of roe deer that is continued up to the present time. By 2016 the number of roe deer reached 750 individuals at a density of 437 animals per 1 thousand ha. Peculiarity of dynamics of number of roe deer at some sites proves the existence in the mountain forest of Crimea several relatively isolated groups of deer. We assumed that "island" location of the Crimean populations of red deer and European roe deer, their relatively little number and influence of permanent extreme factors of both natural and anthropogenic origination have contributed to a mechanism of survival of these populations. The elements of such a mechanism include the following features of long-term dynamics of the population: the reduction in the period of cyclic population fluctuations, while maintaining their amplitude and the appearance of additional small cycles, providing more flexible response of the population to the impact of both negative and positive environmental factors. From the totality of the weather conditions for the Crimean population of roe deer the recurring periods of increases and downs in the annual precipitation amount may have relevance. There was a trend of increase in the roe deer population during periods of increasing annual precipitation.</p>


2014 ◽  
pp. 124-129
Author(s):  
Z. V. Karamysheva

The review contains detailed description of the «Atlas of especially protected natural areas of Saint Petersburg» published in 2013. This publication presents the results of long-term studies of 12 natural protected areas made by a large research team in the years from 2002 to 2013 (see References). The Atlas contains a large number of the historical maps, new satellite images, the original illustrations, detailed texts on the nature of protected areas, summary tables of rare species of vascular plants, fungi and vertebrates recorded in these areas. Special attention is paid to the principles of thematic large-scale mapping. The landscape maps, the vegetation maps as well as the maps of natural processes in landscapes are included. Reviewed Atlas deserves the highest praise.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Shigihara Lima ◽  
Douglas Francisco Marcolino Gherardi ◽  
Luciano Ponzi Pezzi ◽  
Leilane Gonçalves dos Passos ◽  
Clarissa Akemi Kajiya Endo ◽  
...  

AbstractProjected future climate scenarios anticipate a warmer tropical ocean and changes in surface currents that will likely influence the survival of marine organisms and the connectivity of marine protected areas (MPAs) networks. We simulated the regional effects of climate change on the demographic connectivity of parrotfishes in nine MPAs in the South Atlantic through downscaling of the HadGEM2-ES Earth System Model running the RCP 8.5 greenhouse gas trajectory. Results indicate a tropicalization scenario over the tropical southwest Atlantic following an increase of sea surface temperature (SST) between 1.8 and 4.5 °C and changes in mean surface currents between − 0.6 to 0.5 m s−1 relative to present conditions. High mortality rates will reduce demographic connectivity and increase the isolation of oceanic islands. The simulation of organismal response to ocean warming shows that acclimation can significantly improve (p < 0.001) particle survival, promoting connectivity and tropicalization of MPAs, with potential impacts on their functional integrity and long-term resilience.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 7566-7579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaofu Li ◽  
Hongyu Liu ◽  
Chuan Luo ◽  
Panpan Li ◽  
Hengpeng Li ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALICE B. KELLY ◽  
A. CLARE GUPTA

SUMMARYThis study considers the issue of security in the context of protected areas in Cameroon and Botswana. Though the literature on issues of security and well-being in relation to protected areas is extensive, there has been less discussion of how and in what ways these impacts and relationships can change over time, vary with space and differ across spatial scales. Looking at two very different historical trajectories, this study considers the heterogeneity of the security landscapes created by Waza and Chobe protected areas over time and space. This study finds that conservation measures that various subsets of the local population once considered to be ‘bad’ (e.g. violent, exclusionary protected area creation) may be construed as ‘good’ at different historical moments and geographical areas. Similarly, complacency or resignation to the presence of a park can be reversed by changing environmental conditions. Changes in the ways security (material and otherwise) has fluctuated within these two protected areas has implications for the long-term management and funding strategies of newly created and already existing protected areas today. This study suggests that parks must be adaptively managed not only for changing ecological conditions, but also for shifts in a protected area's social, political and economic context.


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