Land Use and Watersheds: Human Influence on Hydrology and Geomorphology in Urban and Forest Areas

10.1029/ws002 ◽  
2001 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Human Influence

scholarly journals Characteristics of the butterflies on various forms of land uses

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 15-22
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Szyszko-Podgórska
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Forest Site ◽  
Fallow Land ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Human Influence ◽  
Numerous Species ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Human Economic Activity ◽  
Trees And Shrubs

Abstract The purpose of the work was to identify the occurrence of butterflies depending on landform uses and human influence on the population domination structure. The research was conducted in the ‘Krzywda’ field-and-forest Site occupying 172 ha. The area consists of the land leaving in fallow, meadows and wasteland including about 68 ha of swamps that are strongly eutrophic due to human economic activity. The area is subjected to artificial succession inhibition processes in the form of mowing and cutting of trees and shrubs. 32 species of butterflies were recorded during the research, that is, 20% of all species within this group occurring in Poland. The research has approved the great spatial and quantitative diversification of the occurring area of butterflies depending on the form of the land uses. The greatest number of species and their greatest populations were found in the land laying in fallow without the removal of the biomass. The least number of species and their specimens were collected in the unmown laying fallow land. Lycaena virgaureae was the most numerous species collected. The correct domination structure characterized by a small number of numerous species and a large number of species consisting of a low number of specimens. Processes observed in the studied Site subjected to various types of land use influence the occurrence diversity of this group of insects.

Drivers of Degradation: Linking Large-scale Degradation to Human Influence in the Nigerian Guinea Savannah

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ademola. A Adenle ◽  
Chinwe Ifejika Speranza
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Spatial Relation ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Spatial Proximity ◽  
Land Use Land Cover ◽  
Land Use Management ◽  
Human Influence

<p>The Nigerian Guinea Savannah is the largest agro-ecological belt, encompassing about 49% of Nigeria, and is one of the most diverse, fragile and threatened ecosystems in the country.  Land degradation in the zone is a serious challenge driven by deforestation, agriculture and other livelihood needs. Yet the link between land degradation and unsustainable human influence is widely acknowledged but spatially under explored. The study thus examined the spatial relation of human influence with land degradation in order to inform better land use management. We updated the Human Influence Index by combining the following spatial layers, namely: (1) distance to a major city; (2) land use/land cover; (3) human population density; (4) distance to major roads; (5) distance to railways; and (6) navigable waterways. We then overlaid the Human Influence Index with MODIS-derived land degradation status in order to explain the level of human influence on land degradation. In total, 38% of the Nigerian Guinea Savannah land area are becoming more degraded, while 14% and 48% of the remaining area show either improvement or no change, respectively. However, spatial proximity of human activities was observed to influence land degradation, but with more degradation occurring in areas of low population density. This shows that the spatial pattern of Human Influence Index data cannot completely explain land degradation in the zone. We thus present a more holistic approach to identifying human influence on land degradation in the Nigerian Guinea Savannah.  </p>

scholarly journals Identifying the Drivers of Spatial Taxonomic and Functional Beta-Diversity of British Breeding Birds

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph P. Wayman ◽  
Jonathan P. Sadler ◽  
Thomas A. M. Pugh ◽  
Thomas E. Martin ◽  
Joseph A. Tobias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Environmental Filtering ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Predictor Variable ◽  
Dispersal Limitation ◽  
Functional Change ◽  
Pairwise Distance ◽  
Geographical Distance ◽  
Human Influence

Spatial variation in community composition may be driven by a variety of processes, including environmental filtering and dispersal limitation. While work has been conducted on the relative importance of these processes on various taxa and at varying resolutions, tests using high-resolution empirical data across large spatial extents are sparse. Here, we use a dataset on the presence/absence of breeding bird species collected at the 10 km × 10 km scale across the whole of Britain. Pairwise spatial taxonomic and functional beta diversity, and the constituent components of each (turnover and nestedness/richness loss or gain), were calculated alongside two other measures of functional change (mean nearest taxon distance and mean pairwise distance). Predictor variables included climate and land use measures, as well as a measure of elevation, human influence, and habitat diversity. Generalized dissimilarity modeling was used to analyze the contribution of each predictor variable to variation in the different beta diversity metrics. Overall, we found that there was a moderate and unique proportion of the variance explained by geographical distance per se, which could highlight the role of dispersal limitation in community dissimilarity. Climate, land use, and human influence all also contributed to the observed patterns, but a large proportion of the explained variance in beta diversity was shared between these variables and geographical distance. However, both taxonomic nestedness and functional nestedness were uniquely predicted by a combination of land use, human influence, elevation, and climate variables, indicating a key role for environmental filtering. These findings may have important conservation implications in the face of a warming climate and future land use change.

scholarly journals SOURCES OF ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACT AS FACTOR OF LAND USE PLANNING (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE OB-TOMSKY INTERFLUVE)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.Yu. Pasechnik ◽  
◽  
L.N. Chilinger ◽  
D.V. Yakusheva ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Anthropogenic Impact ◽  
Scientific Article ◽  
Human Influence ◽  
Anthropogenic Effect ◽  
Human Economic Activity

Scientific article devoted human influence such as ecological part of land use planning an example of Ob-Tomsk interstream area. The authors present methods for classifying human influence. This classification became the basis for assessing human economic activity within the boundaries of the study area. The authors concluded that it is important to study the anthropogenic effect in order to land use planning.

scholarly journals Trends in Global and Basin-Scale Runoff over the Late Twentieth Century: Methodological Issues and Sources of Uncertainty

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 3000-3014 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Alkama ◽  
B. Decharme ◽  
H. Douville ◽  
A. Ribes
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Surface Air Temperature ◽  
Human Influence ◽  
Northern Asia ◽  
Surface Warming ◽  
Total Runoff ◽  
Basin Scale

Abstract While human influence has been detected in global and regional surface air temperature, detection–attribution studies of direct (i.e., land use and water management) and indirect (i.e., climate related) effects of human activities on land surface hydrology remain a crucial and controversial issue. In the present study, a set of global offline hydrological simulations is performed during the 1960–94 period using the Interactions between Soil, Biosphere, and Atmosphere–Total Runoff Integrating Pathways (ISBA-TRIP) modeling system. In contrast to previous numerical sensitivity studies, the model captures the observed trend in river runoff over most continents without including land use changes and/or biophysical CO2 effects, at least when the comparison is made over 154 large rivers with a minimum amount of missing data. The main exception is northern Asia, where the simulated runoff trend is negative, in line with the prescribed precipitation forcing but in contrast with the observed runoff trend. The authors hypothesize that the observed surface warming and the associated decline of permafrost and glaciers, not yet included in most land surface models, could have contributed to the increased runoff at high latitudes. They also emphasize that the runoff trend is a regional-scale issue, if not basin dependent. In line with recent observational studies, their results suggest that CO2 stomatal conductance effects and land use changes are not the primary drivers of the multidecadal runoff variability at continental scales. However, the authors do not rule out a human influence on land runoff, at least through the high-latitude surface warming observed over recent decades.

The Watershed Atlas Project

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Lee ◽  
Corey L. Wilson ◽  
Angela Schörgendorfer
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Human Influence ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
Landscape Characteristics ◽  
Ecological Features ◽  
Political Boundaries ◽  
Land Use And Management ◽  
The Impact

The Watershed Atlas project visualizes landscape indicator aspects of multiple watersheds throughout Kentucky simultaneously. By viewing the landscape from a watershed perspective, this atlas is offers new insights into the impact of land use and management decisions on waterways. This atlas seeks to reveal the ways that human influence on the natural environment does not observe political boundaries. A watershed-based approach for making land management decisions takes into account that though cities, counties, and states may appear to be distinct entities, they are connected by ecological features and processes. This atlas can be used as a tool to identify which landscape characteristics are potentially relevant as a guide for future prioritization and management decisions, which may influence waterway quality.

Enhancing biodiversity conservation in existing land-use plans with widely available datasets and spatial analysis techniques

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
SEBASTIAN MARTINUZZI ◽  
LUIS RIVERA ◽  
NATALIA POLITI ◽  
BROOKE L. BATEMAN ◽  
ESTEFANIA RUIZ DE LOS LLANOS ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Habitat Availability ◽  
Human Influence ◽  
Forest Connectivity ◽  
The North ◽  
Wilderness Areas ◽  
Conservation Concern ◽  
Land Use Plan

SUMMARYIn many developing countries, high rates of deforestation and biodiversity loss make conservation efforts urgent. Improving existing land-use plans can be an option for enhancing biodiversity conservation. We showcase an approach to enhancing an existing forest land-use plan using widely available data and spatial tools, focusing on Argentina's Southern Yungas ecoregion. We mapped the distribution of wilderness areas and species and habitats of conservation concern, assessed their representation in the land-use plan and quantified potential changes in habitat availability and forest connectivity. Wilderness comprised 48% of the study area, and the highest concentrations of elements of conservation concern were in the north. In the current land-use plan, wilderness areas often occur in regions where logging and grazing are allowed, and a large proportion of the forest with the highest conservation value (43%) is under some level of human influence. Furthermore, we found that deforestation being legally allowed in the land-use plan could reduce forest connectivity and habitat availability substantially. We recommend updating the current land-use plan by considering human influence and elements of conservation concern. More broadly, we demonstrate that widely available spatial datasets and straightforward approaches can improve the usefulness of existing land-use plans so that they more fully incorporate conservation goals.

scholarly journals Megafire affects stream sediment flux and dissolved organic matter reactivity, but land use dominates nutrient dynamics in semiarid watersheds

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257733
Author(s):  
Trevor Crandall ◽  
Erin Jones ◽  
Mitchell Greenhalgh ◽  
Rebecca J. Frei ◽  
Natasha Griffin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
Extreme Precipitation ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Human Influence ◽  
Organic Matter Concentration ◽  
Matter Concentration

Climate change is causing larger wildfires and more extreme precipitation events in many regions. As these ecological disturbances increasingly coincide, they alter lateral fluxes of sediment, organic matter, and nutrients. Here, we report the stream chemistry response of watersheds in a semiarid region of Utah (USA) that were affected by a megafire followed by an extreme precipitation event in October 2018. We analyzed daily to hourly water samples at 10 stream locations from before the storm event until three weeks after its conclusion for suspended sediment, solute and nutrient concentrations, water isotopes, and dissolved organic matter concentration, optical properties, and reactivity. The megafire caused a ~2,000-fold increase in sediment flux and a ~6,000-fold increase in particulate carbon and nitrogen flux over the course of the storm. Unexpectedly, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration was 2.1-fold higher in burned watersheds, despite the decreased organic matter from the fire. DOC from burned watersheds was 1.3-fold more biodegradable and 2.0-fold more photodegradable than in unburned watersheds based on 28-day dark and light incubations. Regardless of burn status, nutrient concentrations were higher in watersheds with greater urban and agricultural land use. Likewise, human land use had a greater effect than megafire on apparent hydrological residence time, with rapid stormwater signals in urban and agricultural areas but a gradual stormwater pulse in areas without direct human influence. These findings highlight how megafires and intense rainfall increase short-term particulate flux and alter organic matter concentration and characteristics. However, in contrast with previous research, which has largely focused on burned-unburned comparisons in pristine watersheds, we found that direct human influence exerted a primary control on nutrient status. Reducing anthropogenic nutrient sources could therefore increase socioecological resilience of surface water networks to changing wildfire regimes.

scholarly journals Hydrological Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 799
Author(s):  
František Petrovič
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Environmental Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Human Influence ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Water is a basic, necessary condition for life. It is referred to as the main commodity of the 21st century. There are already many areas in the world where its deficiency causes the degradation of landscape components (soil, flora, fauna), leading to the abandonment of this landscape and a gradual deterioration into desert. Desertification can lead to poverty, health problems and loss of biodiversity. Such negative processes can be caused by human influence either directly or indirectly. Indirectly, the civilization has an impact on water as a result of climate change influenced by its activities. The matter of climate change is currently a very frequently discussed issue. Climate change on planet Earth has been ongoing in the past and continues to happen today. However, most alarming is the fact that change is currently happening much faster and with increasing intensity. For this reason, the issue of climate change is no longer perceived only as a possible future threat, but rather is considered as one of the crucial environmental problems of today.

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