Monsoon driven ecosystem and landscape change in the 'Top End' of Australia during the past 35 kyr

2021 ◽  
Vol 583 ◽  
pp. 110659
Author(s):  
Samuel K. Marx ◽  
William Reynolds ◽  
Jan-Hendrik May ◽  
Matthew S. Forbes ◽  
Nicola Stromsoe ◽  
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Keyword(s):  
2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theo Van Der Sluis ◽  
Thanasis Kizos ◽  
Bas Pedroli

Abstract The Mediterranean landscape has been rapidly changing over the past decades. Many regions saw a population decline, which resulted in changing land use, abandonment of marginal lands and colonisation by shrubs and tree species. Typical features like farming terraces, olive yards, and upland grasslands have been decreasing over the past 50 years. This results in a declining biodiversity and loss of traditional Mediterranean landscapes. In this paper we assess the landscape changes that took place in two areas, in Portofino, on the Italian Riviera, and Lesvos, a Greek island near the Turkish coast. We compared land use maps and aerial photographs over the past decades to quantify the land use changes in these two areas. Additional information was acquired from farmers’ interviews and literature. We found that changes are related to societal changes in the appraisal of agricultural land uses, and to the urban expansion, tourism and recreation. These diffuse processes are a result of policy measures and autonomous societal transformations. This is confirmed by the results of two interview surveys: between 1999 and 2012 agricultural land use in Portofino regional Park and buffer zone further marginalised, and the associated landscape changes are perceived as a substantial loss of character and identity. This problem is emblematic for large parts of the Mediterranean. Comparing different landscapes reveal similar processes of landscape change, which can be related to similar driving forces. Based on such comparisons, we learn about possible trajectories of change, and ask for a comprehensive approach to land use management.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Unger ◽  
I-Kuai Hung ◽  
Kenneth Farrish ◽  
Darinda Dans

The Haynesville Shale lies under areas of Louisiana and Texas and is one of the largest gas plays in the U.S. Encompassing approximately 2.9 million ha, this area has been subject to intensive exploration for oil and gas, while over 90% of it has traditionally been used for forestry and agriculture. In order to detect the landscape change in the past few decades, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery for six years (1984, 1989, 1994, 2000, 2006, and 2011) was acquired. Unsupervised classifications were performed to classify each image into four cover types: agriculture, forest, well pad, and other. Change detection was then conducted between two classified maps of different years for a time series analysis. Finally, landscape metrics were calculated to assess landscape fragmentation. The overall classification accuracy ranged from 84.7% to 88.3%. The total amount of land cover change from 1984 to 2011 was 24%, with 0.9% of agricultural land and 0.4% of forest land changed to well pads. The results of Patch-Per-Unit area (PPU) index indicated that the well pad class was highly fragmented, while agriculture (4.4-8.6 per sq km) consistently showed a higher magnitude of fragmentation than forest (0.8-1.4 per sq km).


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Tappeiner ◽  
Georg Leitinger ◽  
Anita Zariņa ◽  
Matthias Bürgi

Abstract Context Landscape ecology early on developed the awareness that central objects of investigation are not stable over time and therefore the historical dimension must be included, or at least considered. Objectives This paper considers the importance of history in landscape ecology in terms of its impact on patterns and processes and proposes to complement these with the notion of pathways in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of landscape change. Methods We develop a conceptual framework distinguishing between legacy effects, which include pattern and processes, and path dependence, with a focus of development pathways and we illustrate these perspectives by empirical examples. Results Combined short- to long-lasting imprints and legacies of historical patterns and processes reveal how present patterns and processes are in various ways influenced by legacies of the past. The focus on inherent dynamics of development pathways sheds light on the process of change itself, and its trajectories, and reveals the role of event chains and institutional reproduction. Conclusions Understanding patterns, processes, and pathways over time, allows a more complete analysis of landscape change, and forms the base to preserve vital ecosystem services of both human-made and natural landscapes for the future.


2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Bunbury

Abstract The Memphite ruin mounds around the modern town of Mit Rahina in northern Egypt form a part of a region around which the capital of Egypt mi grated through time. Some of these migrations were the responses to landscape changes and the area is one that is subject to a number of types of landscape change. The delta and river systems as well as the deserts that surround Memphis changed profoundly as global temperatures rose at theend of the last ice age. This paper summarises the main landscape processes that affected the area and pro poses a model for river migration and delta-head change in the Memphite floodplain.


Author(s):  
Emily W. B. Russell Southgate

This chapter introduces the use of materials found in sediments for reconstructing the past. After summarizing methods for collecting, processing and dating sediment, it presents a variety of organisms, minerals and other chemicals useful for interpreting the history of both the surroundings of a sedimentary basin and of the basin itself. A critical part of this analysis is understanding the processes by which materials get to the basin and the sediment and are changed after sedimentation. The relationship between the evidence, for example, pollen, and the organisms or landscapes that produce the evidence is illustrated by examples taken from different types of landscapes. The chapter discusses multidisciplinary studies and models that integrate independent indicators of climate and vegetation to arrive at a composite picture of landscape change and allows interpretation of causes of changes seen in the sediment.


Landscapes ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Norris Nicholson

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