Land use impacts on physicochemical and microbial soil properties across the agricultural landscapes of Debrekidan, EasternTigray, Ethiopia

Human-induced soil change is attracting increasing attention, yet how to quantitatively measure anthropogenic impact on changes in soil properties remains unclear. Eight selected soil properties—bulk density (BD), sand, silt, and clay content, pH, soil organic matter (SOM), total carbon (TC), and total nitrogen (TN)—at four soil depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–40 cm) were measured across three soil series (Gallion, Latanier and Sharkey) in south-central Louisiana, USA, to quantify changes in soil properties as a function of three contrasting land use types, i.e. forest, cropland, and Wetlands Reserve Program. Partial eta-squared values (η2) derived from two-way analysis of variance were used to quantitatively compare natural factors (soil series) and anthropogenic impact (land use) on these soil properties. Results showed that properties such as BD, pH, SOM, TC, and TN could be easily changed by anthropogenic disturbance, especially at 0–10 cm, while soil texture was mainly a natural factor. The anthropogenic factor accounted for 55.2%, 39.5%, 33.2%, and 36.0% of changes in the soil properties at 0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–40 cm depth, respectively. These findings highlight the anthropogenic impact on selected soil properties.

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A PYTHON TOOL TO ESTIMATE LAND-USE IMPACTS ON GROUNDWATER NITRATE CONCENTRATIONS OBSERVED AT HIGH-CAPACITY PUMPING WELLS IN AN UNCONFINED GLACIAL AQUIFER

10.1130/abs/2020am-349317 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Stephanie Lynn DeVries ◽

◽

William Garrett Hooten ◽

William Garrett Hooten

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

High Capacity ◽

Land Use Impacts ◽

Pumping Wells ◽

Nitrate Concentrations

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Soil properties related to land-use systems in oases of Sangong river watershed, Xinjiang

Journal of Geographical Sciences ◽

10.1007/s11442-008-0483-9 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 483-498 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Geping Luo ◽

Xi Chen ◽

Wenqiang Xu

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Properties ◽

River Watershed ◽

Land Use Systems

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Toward a Dualistic Growth? Population Increase and Land-Use Change in Rome, Italy

Land ◽

10.3390/land10070749 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 749

Author(s):

Leonardo Bianchini ◽

Gianluca Egidi ◽

Ahmed Alhuseen ◽

Adele Sateriano ◽

Sirio Cividino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Population Growth ◽

Mediterranean Basin ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Arable Land ◽

Central Italy ◽

Agricultural Landscapes ◽

Population Increase ◽

Per Capita

The spatial mismatch between population growth and settlement expansion is at the base of current models of urban growth. Empirical evidence is increasingly required to inform planning measures promoting urban containment in the context of a stable (or declining) population. In these regards, per-capita indicators of land-use change can be adopted with the aim at evaluating long-term sustainability of urbanization processes. The present study assesses spatial variations in per-capita indicators of land-use change in Rome, Central Italy, at five years (1949, 1974, 1999, 2008, and 2016) with the final objective of quantifying the mismatch between urban expansion and population growth. Originally specialized in agricultural productions, Rome’s metropolitan area is a paradigmatic example of dispersed urban expansion in the Mediterranean basin. By considering multiple land-use dynamics, per-capita indicators of landscape change delineated three distinctive waves of growth corresponding with urbanization, suburbanization, and a more mixed stage with counter-urbanization and re-urbanization impulses. By reflecting different socioeconomic contexts on a local scale, urban fabric and forests were identified as the ‘winner’ classes, expanding homogeneously over time at the expense of cropland. Agricultural landscapes experienced a more heterogeneous trend with arable land and pastures declining systematically and more fragmented land classes (e.g., vineyards and olive groves) displaying stable (or slightly increasing) trends. The continuous reduction of per-capita surface area of cropland that’s supports a reduced production base, which is now insufficient to satisfy the rising demand for fresh food at the metropolitan scale, indicates the unsustainability of the current development in Rome and more generally in the whole Mediterranean basin, a region specialized traditionally in (proximity) agricultural productions.

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Importance of meteorological and land use parameters for insect diversity in agricultural landscapes

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148159 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 148159

Author(s):

Jakub Horák ◽

Patrik Rada ◽

Ludwig Lettenmaier ◽

Michal Andreas ◽

Petr Bogusch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Agricultural Landscapes ◽

Insect Diversity

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Analysis of spatiotemporal changes of agricultural land after the Second World War in Czechia

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-91946-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Vít Zelinka ◽

Johana Zacharová ◽

Jan Skaloš

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Population Change ◽

Temporal Analysis ◽

Second World War ◽

Agricultural Landscapes ◽

German Population ◽

World War ◽

Landscape Type ◽

Second World

AbstractThe term Sudetenland refers to large regions of the former Czechoslovakia that had been dominated by Germans. German population was expelled directly after the Second World War, between 1945 and 1947. Almost three million people left large areas in less than two years. This population change led to a break in the relationship between the people and the landscape. The aim of the study is to compare the trajectories of these changes in agricultural landscapes in lower and higher altitudes, both in depopulated areas and areas with preserved populations. This study included ten sites in the region of Northern Bohemia in Czechia (18,000 ha in total). Five of these sites represent depopulated areas, and the other five areas where populations remained preserved. Changes in the landscape were assessed through a bi-temporal analysis of land use change by using aerial photograph data from time hoirzons of 2018 and 1953. Land use changes from the 1950s to the present are corroborated in the studied depopulated and preserved areas mainly by the trajectory of agricultural land to forest. The results prove that both population displacement and landscape type are important factors that affect landscape changes, especially in agricultural landscapes.

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Variation of soil properties under different landscape positions and land use in Hunkuyi, Northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment ◽

10.1007/s10661-021-08974-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 193 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Fatihu Kabir Sadiq ◽

Lemuel Musa Maniyunda ◽

Abdulraheem Okehi Anumah ◽

Kayode Adesina Adegoke

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Soil Properties ◽

Northern Guinea Savanna ◽

Guinea Savanna

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Land use, climate change and ‘boom-bust’ sequences in agricultural landscapes: Interdisciplinary perspectives from the Peloponnese (Greece)

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology ◽

10.1016/j.jaa.2021.101319 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 63 ◽

pp. 101319

Author(s):

Erika Weiberg ◽

Anton Bonnier ◽

Martin Finné

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Land Use ◽

Agricultural Landscapes

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Changing Land Use and Population Density Are Degrading Water Quality in the Lower Mekong Basin

Water ◽

10.3390/w13141948 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 1948

Author(s):

Flavia Tromboni ◽

Thomas E. Dilts ◽

Sarah E. Null ◽

Sapana Lohani ◽

Peng Bun Ngor ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Land Use ◽

Population Density ◽

Local Population ◽

Reference Conditions ◽

Mekong River ◽

Land Use Impacts ◽

Wet Season ◽

Mekong Basin ◽

Lower Mekong Basin

Establishing reference conditions in rivers is important to understand environmental change and protect ecosystem integrity. Ranked third globally for fish biodiversity, the Mekong River has the world’s largest inland fishery providing livelihoods, food security, and protein to the local population. It is therefore of paramount importance to maintain the water quality and biotic integrity of this ecosystem. We analyzed land use impacts on water quality constituents (TSS, TN, TP, DO, NO3−, NH4+, PO43−) in the Lower Mekong Basin. We then used a best-model regression approach with anthropogenic land-use as independent variables and water quality parameters as the dependent variables, to define reference conditions in the absence of human activities (corresponding to the intercept value). From 2000–2017, the population and the percentage of crop, rice, and plantation land cover increased, while there was a decrease in upland forest and flooded forest. Agriculture, urbanization, and population density were associated with decreasing water quality health in the Lower Mekong Basin. In several sites, Thailand and Laos had higher TN, NO3−, and NH4+ concentrations compared to reference conditions, while Cambodia had higher TP values than reference conditions, showing water quality degradation. TSS was higher than reference conditions in the dry season in Cambodia, but was lower than reference values in the wet season in Thailand and Laos. This study shows how deforestation from agriculture conversion and increasing urbanization pressure causes water quality decline in the Lower Mekong Basin, and provides a first characterization of reference water quality conditions for the Lower Mekong River and its tributaries.

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