scholarly journals Land-use and the conservation of Sharpe's Longclaw Macronyx sharpei in central Kenya

2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muchane Muchai ◽  
Leon Bennun ◽  
Luc Lens ◽  
Matthew Rayment ◽  
Giovanna Pisano
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Dairy Farming ◽  
Private Land ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Central Kenya

The highland grasslands of central Kenya hold a suite of restricted-range bird species, including several of global conservation concern. These grasslands occur almost entirely on private land with no formal protection, and have received little conservation attention. This paper describes land-use change on the Kinangop Plateau, Kenya, and considers the implications for grassland bird species, especially Sharpe's Longclaw Macronyx sharpei. The Kinangop Plateau is an area of montane grassland east of the Rift Valley, used primarily for dairy farming since human settlement in 1964. However, dairy farming (which retains grassland as pasture) has given way to other forms of land-use, especially cultivation of crops. In March 1996, a questionnaire was administered to 50 landowners to investigate community attitudes towards birds and their conser vation, the extent of present land-use changes and likely future land-use patterns. The mean acreage of landholding was decreasing, and more grassland was rapidly being converted into cultivated land, with 3.2% being ploughed up during the six months from November 1995 to May 1996. Farmers expressed a preference for crop farming (66%) over livestock farming (26%) or other land uses. Thirty-two per cent expressed a positive attitude, and 60% were indifferent, towards birds. Most (76%) were not aware of biodiversity values or conservation. Though 64% were aware of declining bird populations around them, 82% of this group did not realize that their activities might be contributing to this decline. Sixty-eight per cent of landowners planned to convert all or part of their grassland holdings. Although landowners' interests seemed generally incompatible with grassland conservation, a substantial proportion (44%) were prepared to consider opportunities to enhance the area's conservation value. An informal follow-up survey in March 1999 concluded that prospects for the dairy industry and for grassland habitats on Kinangop were not as bleak as the initial survey suggested, but confirmed the delicate conservation status of Sharpe's Longclaw and its habitat. We suggest a variety of actions that might help to secure the future of Sharpe's Longclaw while promoting sustainable agricultural development on Kinangop, and propose several topics where further research is needed. Species such as Sharpe's Longclaw will only survive if we can develop ways of managing their habitats in a manner that is consistent, rather than in conflict, with the needs of the agricultural community.

scholarly journals Modeling enzootic raccoon rabies from land use patterns - Georgia (USA) 2006-2010

F1000Research ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 285 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Duke ◽  
Jesse D. Blanton ◽  
Melissa Ivey ◽  
Charles Rupprecht
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Geographical Information Systems ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Evergreen Forest ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Vaccination Programs ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Rabies Vaccination

We analyzed how land-use patterns and changes in urbanization influence reported rabid raccoons in Georgia from 2006 - 2010.  Using Geographical Information Systems and rabies surveillance data, multivariate analysis was conducted on 15 land-use variables that included natural topography, agricultural development, and urbanization to model positive raccoon rabies cases while controlling for potential raccoon submission bias associated with higher human population densities.  Low intensity residential development was positively associated with reported rabid raccoons while a negative association was found with evergreen forest.  Evergreen forests may offer a barrier effect where resources are low and raccoon populations are not supported.  Areas with pure stands of upland evergreen forest might be utilized in baiting strategies for oral rabies vaccination programs where fewer or no baits may be needed.  Their use as a barrier should be considered carefully in a cost-effective strategy for oral rabies vaccination (ORV) programs to contain the western spread of this important zoonotic disease.

scholarly journals Glorious past, uncertain present, bad future? Assessing effects of land-use changes on habitat suitability for a threatened farmland bird species

2010 ◽  
Vol 143 (11) ◽  
pp. 2770-2778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattia Brambilla ◽  
Fabio Casale ◽  
Valentina Bergero ◽  
Giuseppe Bogliani ◽  
G. Matteo Crovetto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Habitat Suitability ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Farmland Bird ◽  
Effects Of Land Use

Generating Policies for Sustainable Water Use in Complex Scenarios: An Integrated Land-Use and Water-Use Model of Monroe County, Michigan

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 664-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moira L Zellner
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Monroe County ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Water Users

Rapidly declining groundwater levels since the early 1990s have raised serious concern in Monroe County, Michigan. Hydrological studies suggest that land-use changes have caused this decline. The mechanisms linking land-use and groundwater dynamics are not clear, however. In this paper I present WULUM, the Water-Use and Land-Use Model, an agent-based model that serves as an analytical framework to understand how these processes interact to create the observed patterns of resource depletion, and to suggest policies to reverse the process. The land-use component includes the main groundwater extractors in the county—stone quarries, golf courses, farms, and households. The groundwater component includes the glacial deposits and the underlying bedrock acquifer. The behavior of water users is defined by simple rules that determine their location and consumption. The dynamics of groundwater are represented through infiltration and diffusion rules between each cell and its immediate neighbors. Initial explorations with the model showed that land-use patterns contributed significantly to groundwater declines, while eliminating quarry dewatering did not entirely solve the problem. Both low-density and high-density zoning restrictions improved aquifer conditions over medium-density development, suggesting a nonlinear relationship between intensity of residential use and groundwater levels. Moreover, of all the natural and policy variables, zoning had the greatest influence on urban settlement and therefore on resource consumption.

scholarly journals What Awaits Myanmar’s Uplands Farmers? Lessons Learned from Mainland Southeast Asia

Land ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Jepsen ◽  
Matilda Palm ◽  
Thilde Bruun
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Mainland Southeast Asia

Mainland Southeast Asia (MSA) has seen sweeping upland land use changes in the past decades, with transition from primarily subsistence shifting cultivation to annual commodity cropping. This transition holds implications for local upland communities and ecosystems. Due to its particular political regime, Myanmar is at the tail of this development. However, with Myanmar’s official strategy of agricultural commercialization and intensification, recent liberalization of the national economy, and influx of multinational agricultural companies, the effects on upland land transitions could come fast. We analyze the current state of upland land use in Myanmar in a socio-economic and political context, identify the dynamics in three indicator commodity crops (maize, cassava, and rubber), and discuss the state driven economic, tenurial and policy reforms that have occurred in upland areas of mainland Southeast Asian countries in past decades. We draw on these insights to contextualize our study and hypothesize about possible transition pathways for Myanmar. The transition to annual commodity cropping is generally driven by a range of socio-economic and technical factors. We find that land use dynamics for the three indicator crops are associated with market demand and thus the opening of national Southeast-Asian economies, research and development of locally suitable high yielding varieties (HYVs), and subsidies for the promotion of seeds and inputs. In contrast, promotion of HYVs in marginal areas and without adequate agricultural extension services may results in agricultural contraction and yield dis-intensification. The environmental impacts of the transition depend on the transition pathway, e.g., through large-scale plantation projects or smallholder initiatives. The agricultural development in upland MSA follows a clear diffusion pattern with transition occurring first in Thailand, spreading to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. While these countries point to prospects for Myanmar, we hypothesize that changes will come slow due to Myanmar’s sparse rural infrastructure, with uncertainty about tenure, in particular in areas still troubled by armed conflicts, and unwillingness of international investors to approach Myanmar given the recent setbacks to the democratization process.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND FUTURE LAND USE IN THE UNITED STATES: AN ECONOMIC APPROACH

2011 ◽  
Vol 02 (01) ◽  
pp. 27-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
DAVID HAIM ◽  
RALPH J. ALIG ◽  
ANDREW J. PLANTINGA ◽  
BRENT SOHNGEN
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Cropland Area ◽  
Climate Change Effects ◽  
Net Returns

An econometric land-use model is used to project regional and national land-use changes in the United States under two IPCC emissions scenarios. The key driver of land-use change in the model is county-level measures of net returns to five major land uses. The net returns are modified for the IPCC scenarios according to assumed trends in population and income and projections from integrated assessment models of agricultural prices and agricultural and forestry yields. For both scenarios, we project large increases in urban land by the middle of the century, while the largest declines are in cropland area. Significant differences among regions in the projected patterns of land-use change are evident, including an expansion of forests in the Mountain and Plains regions with declines elsewhere. Comparisons to projections with no climate change effects on prices and yields reveal relatively small differences. Thus, our findings suggest that future land-use patterns in the U.S. will be shaped largely by urbanization, with climate change having a relatively small influence.

scholarly journals Analysis of drought hazards in agricultural land in Pacitan Regency, Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Istika Nita ◽  
Aditya Nugraha Putra ◽  
Alia Febrianingtyas
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Confusion Matrix ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Drought Hazard ◽  
Reference Parameters ◽  
Spatial Plan

Pacitan Regency is a region in East Java Province with varied landforms and high disaster potential, including drought. The drought hazard in this region has not yet been determined. This study was conducted to analyze the potential of drought in Pacitan Regency in 2018 with the previous two decades (1998 and 2008) to predict future droughts. The study also focused on verifying how land-use changes impact drought potential. Mapping drought potential was based on the Ministry of Forestry method and was modified for this study. Drought potential was determined by scoring features and analyzing with a weighted overlay. Reference parameters and patterns of land-use change, as determined by Landsat 5, 7, and 8 satellite imagery, were analyzed. Then, the changing pattern was used to predict future 2030 land-use patterns using business as usual (BAU) analysis. For comparison, a land-use analysis was also done using the land capability class (LCC) and regional spatial plan (RSP). Data was validated using a confusion matrix. The accuracy of the drought estimation for Pacitan Regency was 75%. The results showed that the drought potential high and very-high level risk groups increased. The increase occurred due to changes in land use, specifically land management and plant species selection. Based on the results of the predicting BAU analysis, the level of potential of drought will increase by 2030. The regional spatial plan (RSP) and LCC analysis determined that, with no drought intervention, drought hazard in Pacitan Regency will increase.

scholarly journals Geographic distribution and conservation status of the bay cat Catopuma badia, a Bornean endemic

Oryx ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 394-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Mohd-Azlan ◽  
Jim Sanderson
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Museum Specimens ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
The World

AbstractDespite being one of the rarest felids in the world the Endangered Bornean bay cat Catopuma badia has received little conservation attention. Most information consists of historical records, morphological descriptions, and anecdotes from various sources. During 2003–2006 we undertook surveys using camera trapping, interviews and field observations, to determine the species’ distribution and document any threats to its persistence. We also examined museum specimens and completed a thorough literature review, collecting 15 additional geographic records throughout Borneo. Our results show that opportunistic hunting and land use changes are the main threats to the bay cat, and we make recommendations for its conservation.

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